Just a Simple Message

So, I recently started getting back into watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (which is a lovely family show, by the way), and got into an argument with someone over this one episode that had lots of in-jokes related to fan theories about background characters. I did not quite enjoy this episode as much as I would have liked, as about the only jokes I got were Doctor Who references... I guess I just don't really pay attention to background characters, or to fan theories related thereto. When I pointed it out, I was told, rather brusquely, that I am not a 'true fan' of the show. And this made me remember quite a few other things like that, which were directed either at me or at other fandom members, both online and off-line. Such as:

You are not a true fan of Lord of the Rings if you haven't read all the Middle-Earth lore there is (including the works published by Christopher Tolkien).

You are not a true fan of Harry Potter if you do not have a Pottermore account/ if you did not get yourself mentally 'sorted' into a House.

You are not a true fan of Doctor Who if you prefer the new series over the classic series/if you like the Ninth Doctor/if you do not want Clara Oswald dead.

You are not a true fan of the Sherlock series if you also like the original books, set in the 19th century/if you do not ship Sherlock and John.

You are not a true fan of the Elder Scrolls games if you do not like Morrowind better than the later games/if you like portraying the franchise's villains or less liked characters in a comical light rather than wishing a horrible death unto them.

You are not a true fan of the Dragon Age games if you do not pick a side in the shipping wars (eg. if you like and romance Fenris but see no problem with people who like and romance Anders, and vice versa).

And then I thought that this tendency to set up criteria for what makes a 'true fan' is rather unhealthy... Let us all enjoy what we enjoy without having to pass some sort of initiation test!