本研究針對一種稱為幽默粉絲的當代在線現象進行討論。由於幽默很少在粉絲研究被討論，本研究試圖解釋為什麼粉絲會用網絡素材製作幽默的內容，以及這些粉絲作品如何在網絡空間傳播。本研究採用質性研究方法，旨在通過對粉絲作品的創作者和消費者進行半結構化的深度訪談來收集實證資料。
為了實現這些目標，本研究應用Henry Jenkins 提出的參與文化概念來調查粉絲在社交網絡上的參與行為。社交媒體為粉絲提供了一個協作參與的新空間，讓他們可以與他人互動並組織各種活動。這些活動包括粉絲作品的生產和消費行為。通過應用信號理論，特別是內容創作者的送禮行為和內容消費者的情緒分享行為，本研究旨在解釋粉絲的幽默內容及其創作者在粉絲團中的角色。此外，本研究也進一步探索這些粉絲內容如何在社交媒體中傳播甚至成為病毒式傳播、為粉絲研究人員和社交媒體管理員提供學術方面以及管理方面的建議。

This study addresses a contemporary online phenomenon called humorous fandom. Since humor is seldom brought up as a topic of discussion in fan studies, this study seeks to explain why fans participate in producing funny artifacts from online commodities, and how these fannish works circulate in the cyberspace. Adopting qualitative research methods, this study aims to assemble the empirical data through semi-structured in-depth interviews with both the creators and the consumers of fannish works.
In order to achieve these objectives, this study applies the notion of participatory culture proposed by Henry Jenkins to investigate the fan’s participatory practices in social networks. Social media provides fans a new space for collaborative participation, allows them to interact with others and organize various activities. These activities include fan works production and consumption behaviors. By applying the signaling theory, specifically in the gift-giving behavior of content creators and emotion-sharing behavior of content consumers, this study aims to explain the roles of the fannish funny content as well as its creator within the fandom. Moreover, this study also purposes to explore how this fannish content spread and even become viral in social media. Thereotical and managerial implications are deduced for fan study researchers and social media administrators.

Table of Content
THESIS VALIDATION LETTER i
Acknowledgement ii
摘要 iii
Abstract iv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. RESEARCH BACKGROUND 1
1.2. RESEARCH MOTIVATION 3
1.3. RESEARCH PURPOSES AND QUESTIONS 7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURES REVIEW 9
2.1. FAN STUDIES AND FAN HUMOR 9
2.2. PARTICIPATORY CULTURE IN THE NEW MEDIA ERA 11
2.2.1. History of fandom studies 11
2.2.2. Participatory culture 14
2.3. FAN FREE LABOR 18
2.4. SIGNALING THEORY AND INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 20
2.4.1. Signaling theory 20
2.4.2. Gift-giving as social communication signal 22
2.4.3. Emotion-sharing as social communication signal 24
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 28
3.1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 28
3.2. RESEARCHER AS AN ACA-FAN 29
3.3. METHOD 30
3.3.1. Research process 30
3.3.2. Participants sample 31
3.3.3. Interview outline 33
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36
4.1. EXPERIENCES OF ENGAGING WITH HUMOROUS CONTENT 36
4.1.1. Experiences in producing and publishing humorous content 36
4.1.2. Experiences of using humorous content 50
4.2. MOTIVATION OF ENGAGING WITH HUMOROUS CONTENT 59
4.3. THE ROLES OF HUMOROUS FANS AND THEIR CREATIVE WORKS 69
4.4. DISCUSSION 80
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 85
5.1. CONCLUSION 85
5.2. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS 87
5.2.1. Theoretical implications 87
5.2.2. Managerial implications 89
5.3. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 90
REFERENCES 92

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