My opinion of the term 'Canon'

So today my twitter feed was caught in a set of discussion over what is considered 'Canon'.

So Canon is a word used to describe what is considered to be official in things like Characters and Story in a particular franchise/show/book etc.

For some, what is official canon is considered to be sacred and anyone doing anything that goes against that is therefore a target of ridicule. This becomes more problematic when there is more then one creator/writer and the longer it goes the more changes occur, which in turn splits a fanbase further.

Then you have those who believe their own canon should be the official one and attack anyone who disagrees with them. This too becomes worse when that person also has a following of people who agree with them.

A good example is the Sonic fandom, a franchise that by this point has so many different versions of the characters and lore that it can be very difficult to navigate at times. Then when those at the top change things around preferring one version over another, it can become hectic. Given how long it has gone for and how many versions there are, each new one has new fans which can result in conflict with older fans. It was bad enough with the whole 2D vs 3D argument, but when you get into Characters, Lore, Shipping etc. you find where the fan base it truly divided.

So where do I stand on what is canon and what isn't?

Simple:

Multiverse

Yep, I love the idea of multiverse theory and how many franchises tackle the issue.  I'm a strong believer that in every franchise, every universe of characters and story are but one of many. Sure, the owners of said franchises may have their official canon, but from that a multiverse (or alternative universes) begin to exist through the creativity of fans. Their characters, their stories, exist in an alternate universe and everything that exists in it is its own canon. Nothing can change that, though the original franchise owners may try to deny its existence or even destroy the multiverse, in truth, they really can't. The fandom creates its own and that alone justifies their existence. 

In a way, the official canon is still the official canon, only those who own those rights can alter with it. However, every fans work exists in an alternate universe, one that only they can shape and it is part of a much larger multiverse. It would mean that you could do what you want with your universe without it upsetting someone else's universe. I imagine that if people gave up on trying to justify what they believe is officially canon and just accepted that their canon is officially an alternative universe canon, it might stop at least a part of every fandom from going at each other.

Well, I hope. Humans are only human after all.