This paper seeks to examine what professional subtitlers can learn from their amateur counterparts known as fansubbers . When examining any form of subtitling, researchers and practitioners tend to operate from the axiomatic position that professional subtitling offers the most ‘correct’ and least intrusive translation option. It is this type of reasoning that has kept the professional subtitling industry stuck with the same run of the mill subtitles while fansubbers have started to explore alternative approaches that have yielded both aesthetic and functional subtitles that push the boundaries of what audiences are used to. When not judged from the stoic pe rspective of industry ‘best practice’, an examination of fansubbing holds the potential to provide professional subtitlers with an insight into how these type of creative subtitling practices can offer audiences a richer viewing experience and involve them as active participants in the meaning making process.