Holly is talking about slash fan fiction, which is fiction written by fans that extends a narrative series by describing homoerotic relationships, e.g., Kirk/Spock. She’s interested in what this tells us about community, for the slash community (via mailing lists) is strong. [Abstract] The gen fan fiction writers (“gen” = general audience) are often outraged by the slashers rendering their heroes as gay. Slashers are generally sensitive to this and label their stories as “adults only.” In fact, an entire vocabulary has emerged for specifying exactly the sort of offense might be taken. The communities consist of adults who treat one another respectfully. Holly says that this is a type of community that Robert Putnam missed in Bowling Alone.

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