At Tosche Station, we’ve never supported people telling fans how to be “good fans” or gatekeeping of any sort.  It’s rude, discriminatory, and frankly, quite stupid.  It doesn’t matter if you saw A New Hope on opening night in 1977 or if you just discovered the franchise last year.  Anyone can be a fan of Star Wars and there’s no right way to be one.

Friend of the blog Bryan Young brought the Jedi Pledge to my attention.  Started by Andrew Slack of the Harry Potter Alliance, the Jedi Pledge asks fans to promise to make all new fans feel welcome in this galaxy far, far away; to call out the bad behavior exhibited by other fans; and to make the Star Wars fandom a safe place for everyone.  To quote the pledge’s final line:

Rebellions are built on hope, and it is our hope that Star Wars fandom can become the most welcoming and inclusive fandom in the galaxy…

You can check out the entirety of the Jedi Pledge and sign it over at jedipledge.org.