Stan = Someone involved in the activity around the artist and who helps to keep the fanbase alive through various actions and supports financially through its purchases (album ...). They are fans who remain loyal and active in the community even when the artist is inactive.
Casual listeners = Someone who appreciates the artist and/or his music, owns albums, goes to concerts...
The problem in kpop is that casual listners have a negative connotation and many people call themselves stans so as not to be seen as antis.
So for me you're a casual listeners MissBehave , for example in my case I own all the blackpink albums but I consider myself a casual listener because I do not participate in the community. The real difference is in the involvement for me.
Company stans = Same as a stan but for several groups of the same company and also stan previous groups of the company.
Success stan = Person without personality who claims to follow and like a group when it becomes popular to meet a need to belong.
Stan for me does the hardcore stuff, you can get a truncated biography of each member recited off the top of their heads, they got all the albums since debut or have since they noticed the group, merch, lightstick, probably went to one or two concerts. Moves the schedule for the events.
Fan does stan but only when it fits into their schedule. Normal Schedule comes first. Could still streambot lol.
Casual (like me) probably only stream, sing their praises, and chat about them.
Ultra casual (my own category lulul) Only likes to listen to the music, doesn't make an effort to learn the rest.
This kind of gets into the discussion we had on your other thread.
Stan: you know all the details or a lot of things the average person wouldn’t know.
(I stan EXO and NCT - I’m happy about a lore reference to EXO-L planet in an MV and laughing about a Yuta-Xiaojun AWSAZ.)
Fan: you like the music or the group a lot and listen often and maybe know a few tidbits but not details.
(I’m a fan of RV and Purple Kiss. I couldn’t tell you anyone’s birthdays or ages or anything, not even approximately, and don’t know any fandom in jokes really but could you tell you about some performances and can list most if not all of the albums!)
Casual listener: you like a song here and there but don’t really have full albums in your lists or don’t know much at all about the group and may not even know all of the members LOL. You might check out what’s new from them if you have a minute.
(I’m a casual listener of Mamamoo, The Boyz, Pixy and SKZ. I had to go into my Spotify playlists to see who was there in limited amounts..)
I would say you are a fan. A casual listener would not buy a physical. A more dedicated casual listener might at most download only their favorite songs from a release. You're not a stan because you're not giving into the cult of personality.
For example: I would say I'm a stan of Yoshi but only a fan of Treasure because Yoshi is the only member I'm obsessed with.
Stans are basically hardcore/loyal fans. They know the members and all the their music. They keep updated on the group's content and schedule. Fans are basically the same, but less hard-core about the group. Casuals like the group and will checkout the music when they make a comeback. Won't necessarily listen to bsides and doesn't buy albums.
Display MoreStan = Someone involved in the activity around the artist and who helps to keep the fanbase alive through various actions and supports financially through its purchases (album ...). They are fans who remain loyal and active in the community even when the artist is inactive.
Casual listeners = Someone who appreciates the artist and/or his music, owns albums, goes to concerts...
The problem in kpop is that casual listners have a negative connotation and many people call themselves stans so as not to be seen as antis.
So for me you're a casual listeners MissBehave , for example in my case I own all the blackpink albums but I consider myself a casual listener because I do not participate in the community. The real difference is in the involvement for me.
Company stans = Same as a stan but for several groups of the same company and also stan previous groups of the company.
Success stan = Person without personality who claims to follow and like a group when it becomes popular to meet a need to belong.
Ah, so "fans" isn't a category for you between stan and casual listener. Just casual listener and stan.
Tbh, I don't participate in kpop community other than posting here and I mainly talk about general topics with users in various fandoms rather than just sticking with exols. (I don't really get a chance to interact with mbbs since there are so few here). By that criteria, I'm a casual listener of Monsta X and EXO. That doesn't feel like the right label to me tho.
Display MoreStan for me does the hardcore stuff, you can get a truncated biography of each member recited off the top of their heads, they got all the albums since debut or have since they noticed the group, merch, lightstick, probably went to one or two concerts. Moves the schedule for the events.
Fan does stan but only when it fits into their schedule. Normal Schedule comes first. Could still streambot lol.
Casual (like me) probably only stream, sing their praises, and chat about them.
Ultra casual (my own category lulul) Only likes to listen to the music, doesn't make an effort to learn the rest.
I could see this. I consider myself a stan of EXO and Monsta X, but an absolutely *terrible* one. Like i know nothing about them, but i listen to them obsessively, buy their albums/merch and I'm taking a week off of work to go to MX concerts in two different cities.
I would say you are a fan. A casual listener would not buy a physical. A more dedicated casual listener might at most download only their favorite songs from a release. You're not a stan because you're not giving into the cult of personality.
For example: I would say I'm a stan of Yoshi but only a fan of Treasure because Yoshi is the only member I'm obsessed with.
Wait tho, would that make you a solo stan then?
Stan is like MEGAAA FAN; someone who works hard on the group and even spends money on them cause that's how much the person loves them. The stan knows all the members well, keeps up with their activities regularly and listens to their discography a lot. To stan a group means they're your favorite or in your favorites list
Fan is a person who enjoys the artist's music and content, but isn't dedicated to the artist as actively as the stan. They have a fair share of knowledge ofn the group; the fan gets excited when a new video or announcement is dropped, recommends their fave's music to others and goes to concerts or buys stuff if possible
Casual listener is someone who listens to the artist's music or watches their videos from time to time. Casual listeners normally just like the more popular or a specific selection of the group's songs and don't really know much about them or express interest in the more personal stuff
I generally only watch fancams of my bias and maybe wrecker. I feel like there's a thin line between solo stan/group fan and stans group with a bias
Lol sometimes I'm just amazed at all the things people know
Ah, so "fans" isn't a category for you between stan and casual listener. Just casual listener and stan.
For me "fan" is just the word for say i like this. stan & casual listeners are just more precise terms.
So you participate, you also help to make live your fandom when you're active here. Everyone participates in the way they can, but there is always a core that keeps the community alive even here on akpop between different fandoms.
If I decide I really like a group, I'll take the trouble to learn all of their names and which faces go with which name - but that's as far as I'll ever go.
A "stan" to me is a crazed 15-year-old who will climb fences and break into buildings to be able to brush one fingertip against their idols' clothes as they pass by. 
this. all three terms aren't quantifiable and may vary person to person.
i mean, the term "stan" literally came from an eminem song and described a fan so obsessed he committed murder-suicide over him. the definition is so loose at this point that the only person that can determine it is yourself in relation to yourself only.
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Welcome to the club lol
