"Shipping" as a word confined to online only? Are there others?

[Ubiquitousclate]

If that reads strangely, it's because I didn't know how else to present it, nor to whom I could learn more about this "phenomenon," since this is the Miscellaneous section.

Back story:

In the Tumblr days of ten years ago, one of my friends would post the usual variety of commentary regarding various fandoms (did I state that correctly?). She mentioned "shipping" in regard to--I believe it was an Agent Valentine--so whatever that was part of. I believe that there was a discussion of shipping here on TrekBBS not long ago!

She and I had met swing dancing, so the next time I saw her at a dance, I asked her what "shipping" referred to. She gave me a rather cold look, and said that "shipping" was a word confined to online usage, and not to be spoken aloud. I had never heard of such a thing in my life! I then asked her what was the matter with my asking her what it meant. She grudgingly informed me, and we got past that--thankfully.

She is a late Millennial, and not terrible adept, socially, but it made me wonder if there are there *words* that some group of people has deemed for online discourse only, and not to be spoken, especially in regard to niche-interests. I realize that certain words and phrases read better than they are spoken, and vice-versa, but can anyone assist as to this "phenomenon" which frankly makes no sense, but reminds me of how a group who don't really have much going for them make up "rules" that will then lead them to look down on others who don't abide by them, even if they defy reason, or aren't known to others.

If that's clear as mud, I take the blame. I have a number of other niche interests such as collecting 78rpm records, vintage men's clothing from the 1910's-1930's, antiquarian books, and there's "shop talk" associated with each, but I can't think of any words or phrases that are only to be used by the "initiated" and none else.

So odd; but so is this posting, I guess. Anyway, any help in making sense of this is appreciated.

 

[Timewalker]

Your friend is out to lunch.

"Shipping" has numerous definitions, one of which is the act of sending cargo from one place to another, via motor vehicle, airplane, or cargo ship. Where does she think the stuff she buys comes from - does it all poof into existence in her own community, rather than some of it coming from somewhere else? First I heard that this is an internet-only word or concept, or that it's a "dirty word."

Another definition has to do with relationships, hence the term "ship" because deity-of-your-choice forbid that modern people refrain from the lazy practice of only using half a word instead of the whole word. The first time I encountered "shipping" in this way was in the 1990s when I started reading soap opera magazines. This was pre-internet, or at least pre-online forums when they were popular and plentiful. An example would be General Hospital - Do you 'ship' Jason with Liz, Carly, Sam, or whoever that character is with now, if he's still on the show? (it's been years since I last watched, so I have no idea).

Fast-forward another decade and that's where the whole "shipping" and fandom thing took off. It has to do with the relationships between characters in whatever fandom. Some of these have other terms. For instance, in the Harry Potter series, one of the most popular "ships" is Wolfstar - a same-sex relationship between Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. I suspect that idea took off based on a very short part of the scene in The Prisoner of Azkaban when Sirius and Remus hugged in the Shrieking Shack. Millions of little mental light bulbs would have gone off in fans' imaginations, that these two characters could have been more than merely friends, even though later in the series Remus marries Nymphadora Tonks and they have a baby.

All's fair in love and relationships in fandom. It's a mostly-harmless way for some fans to engage with whatever books, movies, TV shows, comics, etc. they're into.

I say "mostly" harmless, because there are some people who see characters in a certain way and are furious with anyone who doesn't agree with them and imagines them a different way. Sometimes this can lead to some really insanely hostile things said on social media sites, or even forums. I've seen it happen here on TrekBBS a few times.


You might have heard of the term "ship name". It has nothing to do with the names of actual ships. In this context, it's a portmanteau (combination) of characters' names involved in whatever relationship is being talked about.

Examples: Back in the days when General Hospital was part of my daily routine, the character pairing of Liz and Jason was very popular. Fans would shorten this to a portmanteau of "Liaison" (Liz & Jason).

In more recent times, particularly with people who write fanfiction, there are 'ship names that have become subgenre terms to tell others which characters feature prominently in the story. For instance, there are people who enjoy Harry Potter stories in which Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger have a romantic relationship. So they write "Dramione" stories. Or take the TV show BBC Merlin as an example. The chemistry among the characters of that show is so amazing that it's possible to imagine just about any two characters as a viable pairing to write a story about (well, other than those related by blood; incest stories are revolting and I'm glad most people aren't into those).

So... to sum up, "shipping" isn't an online-only thing. It's been around as long as people have been imagining relationships between favorite characters. It's not something people are forbidden from speaking aloud (what a ridiculous concept). And if this person insists on arguing about it, hand her a dictionary.