In my old CT blog I had written the following:
"I've seen posts that say if someone fans you, you should fan them back. In good conscience I can't fan someone who has nothing stashed. If I fan someone I want to have a good reason to come back to their page. I want to find jokes, vids, surveys, and/or lots of art. Those whom I fan are very special and have worked very hard to earn it."
Additionally I will amend this to say, that they have to have stash and pics that I *like*. Other ways to earn a fanning from me are to be a good and loyal friend, to consistently rate my stuff, or to make significant verifiable community contributions here on fubar or in rl. There are probably other ways as well but...
Basically it means you have won my admiration, so if I'm your fan you can count on it actually meaning something.
If you are my fan and the only reason you are is in the hopes that I will fan you back, I do understand if you unfan me.
Profiles
I definitely do not fan anyone who's profile I cannot in good conscience even rate because it is empty and says nothing about them. Pretty pictures and cool videos are great stash items, but on your profile I want to see some actual writing about who you are in some way or another. The only exception I make to this are members of LDC family whom all get automatic profile rates from me.
Here is what I have in my CT blog about profiles:
"Here is what I like to see in a profile:
Location - Just put your zip code in. It only shows the city.
Something ... anything! ... about you. I don't care what it is. At least five words. (Most Important Part. The rest is just window dressing.)
Comments - html comments enabled.
A picture - It doesn't have to be you. Just something you like that shows in your profile view. (removed a bit here that in retrospect didn't make sense)
Music - Video or Track, preferably with an off switch. Just one. Please put the rest of your videos and tracks in your stash.
Background - Not necessary, but a nice touch.
This is only what I look for on the profile page itself and has nothing to do with the pictures in your photos."
