Amazingly, the io9 article doesn’t mention the quote you pulled, although it does mention Dr. Who.

Personally, as a rabid SF fan, I love being catered to. It’s convergence. When Mulder and Scully hooked up, yeah, that was a huge concession on the part of the creators, but it was also saying “We don’t own this story anymore.” It’s like saying that whoever loves the characters most becomes the author. I think there’s a lot of truth in that.

I believe it’s the SF purists who are crying fandom because it symbolizes SF going mainstream, when they want it kept underground and misunderstood. But please, how obsequiously did Asimov and Heinlein (whom I despise) cater to their audiences?

Art will always be somewhat commercial in that you’re trying to communicate to others, even if in another century or whatever. Getting someone to look at, listen to, or read what you produce is an act of marketing.

What I have seen RTD (as he’s known by the fans…) try to achieve is an arm’s length separation. He knows that the fans will have their debates regardless and that his role is to make the show a commercial success.

It is interesting to compare that to the producers of Battlestar Galactica who have tied themselves in knots by interacting very intensively with online fan sites to the extent that they have been accused of stealing fans’ ideas.

One of the ironies in RTD’s position is that he is, essentially, a Dr Who fan and many of those working on the show are too. Certainly, as Dr Who has continued, it has routinely delivered many in-jokes and references for fans while maintaining a very commercial focus. Without having read the original quote in context, I would guess that Davies is arguing that shows go wrong when they are written by fans for fans. That is certainly the perceived wisdom behind what happened to Dr. Who in the 80s.

What a good question. The first thing I’d want to know is whether there’s already online fan activity happening around the band. If there’s already a relatively functional fan board I’d say link to that one. If there isn’t, I think it’s better to provide a space than to have no space.

But if you create your own board for your own fans, you have to be willing to let go of what’s written on it. That is, if your band comes out with a new album, and the fans start trashing it on your website, you have to leave those posts up. Is that something you and they are comfortable with? If they post your lyrics or guitar tabs will you be inclined to sue them? Will your music publisher insist that you do? If they set up ways to torrent your band’s bootlegs, will that be ok? even if they’re distributing shows you didn’t think were up to your band’s standards?

If those are things you’re not ok with, then my recommendation is to provide things that will make fans want to talk — streams, videos, downloads — and encourage your most engaged fans to set up discussion elsewhere.

What I think is best on band sites are freebies, streams, and news updates that fans can repost in their communities and some sort of ask-the-band set up where people can submit questions or comments and the band can respond. Or a band blog with open comments. In other words, there are other ways to engage fans with the band directly without having to rule the discussion fans have with each other.