Author’s Note@26/6/09: Oh, there was no way I wasn’t posting this again. It’s completely and utterly epic and needs to exist. So there. 
Chaser fans are curious, wonderful, infuriating creatures. I both love them and hate them.
The success of The War has brought a whole new contingent of fans to the fore, some of whom deserve to be shot more than anything. Some also deserve my undying love, but that’s another story.
My observations of said Chaser fans spans from livejournal to myspace to facebook to the Chaser site and other smaller assorted places. They tend to fall into distinct categories, despite their protestations otherwise. Any references to ‘the forum’ relate solely to the Chaser forum found at their website.
The Elitists
First, we have The Elitists.
Now, the Elitists are a bunch of up-themselves snobs who think they’re better fans/the only true fans/the only legitimate fans because:
a) they’re not fangirls
b) they loved them before they were on TV/knew them at uni/stalked them at uni/stalked Andrew’s band/stalked them at some point/knew their parents/knew them when they were foetuses, as if somehow the longer you’ve known them, the more legitimate your claim is to being a True Chaser Fan™; and
c) they don’t fancy the boys at all, because, ew, so not a fangirl. *sighs* They only love them for their intelligence and how brilliant they are at what they do. Go figure.
These fans are particularly annoying in that they carry that smug, superior air about them and generally like attacking anyone who shows even the tiniest hints of fangirlism, because the natural enemy of the Elitist is the Fangirl, an eternal battle that shall go on for eternity, or until The Chaser disappear, never to be seen again. They’re a bit like Chris Taylor, in that they thrive on pissing contests to see who’s more pretentious than the others.
The Bandwagoners
Then you have the “bandwagoners”, which is a term I hate using, but it will suffice.
These are the fans who only liked them once they started The War. Usually teenagers, usually annoying, usually but not always have a thing about Andrew’s hair/Chris Taylor/crazy Chas. Craig and Jules tend to be neglected somewhat. Will probably be oblivious to Charles and Dom’s existence, or even that The Chaser originated as a satirical newspaper. May or may not have watched CNNNN or The Election Chaser or The Chaser Decides, since they were only ickle babies at the time and/or had no idea the shows actually existed. May not even be aware The Chaser are satirical. Prone to bouts of exclamations as to how much they love Clive or the Crazy Warehouse Guy, or any other character Andrew’s done for The War. Usually speak in high-pitched squeals and are infuriating to be around. Will result in you wanting to smack them round the head with something solid.
“Bandwagoners” are generally disliked and abused and never tolerated, and more often than not, can be found on myspace/bebo/facebook, typing in incoherent English in a manner that makes it seem like they’re having a seizure. May not even be aware the boys have their own website either. Often found after tapings or at any event the boys happen to be at (ABC’s 75th birthday parties, I’m looking at you) begging their favourite Chaser if they can have their babies or clambering all over Andrew, trying to touch his hair. Trufax. *nods*
“Bandwagoners”, it must be said, are generally ignorant of other Chaser fans from the other groups, preferring to stay with their kind and multiply in an avalanche of netspeak, squealing and horrible, horrible fan pages.
The Moderately Sane Fans
Then you’ve got the moderate fans, who aren’t all that crazy, may fancy one or two of them to some degree, Julian more often than not, probably liked them for several years, may or may not have bought the paper, and seem to be the sanest amongst the whole lot. Not huge in number, usually older than fangirls and “bandwagoners” and seem the most likely to act like children on the Chaser forum when bored out of their minds. Most often the source of forum drama, whereby someone is picked on constantly and eventually leaves the forum, or someone is banned, or both. Seem to think they’re superior because they’re older. May or may not be grammar nazis/teachers/mothers on the forum. Okay, so that spilled over from fandom to the forum, whatever.
Will bitch about the boys being “mainstream”, because they remember when the boys were hardly known at all and they were their little cult group to love and adore and impress people with their love of something so obscure and political. Will also bitch about the boys not doing so much political satire anymore. May also wistfully wish for the CNNNN days to be back.
Younger fangirls wanting to legitimise their place on the forum mimic their spelling/grammar nazi act in a bid to be accepted and try to act like the saner older females of the forum in a bid to save themselves from abuse.
On the forum, there’s a subset of mostly male politically inclined arseholes who generally make for intelligent conversation and berate newbies and fangirls with fervour. Can be harsh bastards, but are generally entertaining and are the ones most inclined to argue with you.
The Fangirls
The fangirls come next. I mention these separately from the “bandwagoners” as these girls claim they aren’t bandwagoners or fangirls and want us all to believe they’re super-intelligent and mature, even when they’re only 14 and really, they so love The Chaser for the political satire and not because OMG those bois r lyk so hawt!!12!. *nods*
Generally try-hards who are in denial of their fangirl status and often do so when introducing themselves on the forum. Can often infuriate other members of the forum with their incessant habit of using the forum like an MSN conversation when they should be using the chatroom instead. Can be identified by their Chaser avatars, as anyone on the forum who isn’t a fangirl does not feel the need to have a Chaser avatar. Cats, bunnies, politicians, world leaders, dictators, Dylan Moran, Dr Cox or cartoon characters generally suffice.
Will spend most of their time squeeing over the boys in spite of their fangirl denials. Their lives revolve around tapings, the boys, and how hot they are. But never let it be said that they’re fangirls. No way. Totally not fangirls. *insert high pitched squeal about how hot Andrew is here*
Will also bitch about the boys being “mainstream”, even if they’ve only been watching since mid-2006. May try to legitimise their claim by saying that ‘everyone at their school watches it now, but they don’t get the political stuff, not like I do’, as if it somehow makes them better.
The Slashers
The last and final group is probably the smallest and least visible, and a lot of fans are in denial of its existence, or are unaware it even exists at all.
In some regards considered lower than the “bandwagoners”, Chaser slashers are generally frowned upon in most circles despite the homoeroticism being so blatant that subtext is irrelevant. XD Slashers enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy of those fans that dare to point out how evil they are when nonslashers are quite happy to discuss Chris/Craig kisses, or Chas/Andrew kisses, or whatever blatant flirting they noticed that week, and admit it might be a little bit hot, but apparently, that’s as far as you can take it, because actually writing Chaser smutfics is an unforgivable offence, subject to flaming, arguing and abuse from all corners and particular abuse coming from Elitists, who see slashers as perverting their precious Chaser boys.
Chaser slashers are generally not too self-promoting, since admitting to slashing the guys generally does not elicit a positive response unless around other slashers. Like “bandwagoners”, they generally keep to themselves, and hide their activities in a bid to avoid drama.
Generally speaking, Chaser slashers are mid-long term fans, although there’s some newer fans than that. They often secretly wish they could proclaim their love of slashing the boys without fear of being ridiculed, while also wishing they could convince the rest of the fandom that the boys are indeed slashy and seeing the subtext isn’t that hard to do since it’s blatantly obvious, even back to CNNNN.
Often ignored and invisible, the slashers have grown considerably in numbers over the last two years. Not that anyone outside the slashers knows or realises this. Can also have fangirly tendencies, but not about how much they want to have Andrew’s babies, but more about how they want Chris to have Andrew’s babies. Popular pairings include the classic and original Chris/Craig, Chris/Andrew, Andrew/Craig, and Andrew/Chas. Yes, there’s a theme. XD Julian/Chas is also popular, although not as much as the others. Will scrutinise The War every week for anything remotely slashy. Can border on the obsessive.
These are the main groups I’ve observed over the last few years. The general bitchiness between the groups lends the fandom as a whole a general air of disconnectedness. The groups are quite separate from each other, and only interact in the form of conflict more often than not.
That is not to say some areas of some groups can overlap and get along, but it’s a rare occurrence. Older fans usually resent the flood of young teenage fans who don’t appreciate the boys in the same way they do.
And so endeth the lesson.