Audience

[Todd]

Do you ever think about the audience of your shrines? Do you aim to write for people unfamiliar with the subject, intending to provide a sort of introduction, or do you write more for people who have experienced what your subject came from (the game, anime, etc)? Do you write mostly for yourself, or with other readers in mind? Do you try to make it clear on your index who your shrine is intended for?

[Samantha]

This is a great discussion question, Todd!

I think I do a mix of all of those things. I generally make sites more "for myself," in that I really have a lot to say about the subject and want to get my thoughts out because it's fun to analyze characters and all. That being said, I usually try to have some sort of introductory section for people who aren't familiar with the subject since I tend to shrine some more obscure things.

Other than my usual warning about spoilers being around the site, I don't think I do a good job of making it clear who my audience is. I might have to keep that in mind for the next time I make a site...

[Mikari]

I've gotten used to writing for myself, my friends and Amassment as a whole. I haven't really thought of people outside of Amassment, though they might visit. I like to talk about characters that seem interesting or somehow caught my attention in a why that I have more to say than simply "I like x because of y and z." As for knowing or not knowing about the series, I mostly think of people who don't know the series, though in some cases, some series are so well known by those audiences that I write more so to the existing fans.

[Crystal]

For the targeted audience I somewhat aim for both. I try to figure out how to explain the subject so it makes sense to the person reading it who is unfamiliar with the subject but I always write it for those who are already familiar with it (if that makes any sense at all...). I also write my shrines as a sort of mix for myself and visitors. I write my content in a way I am 90% happy with and have the hope that visitors will appreciate the effort I put into it. If they don't I don't worry about it too much. I'm just happy to have finished it mostly (I'm looking at you Zelda!). And yes I try to make clear on the index what my site is for. I like providing visitors with info so they know what to expect when they visit my sites. I just hate surprises so that's why I do it lol.

[Larissa]

I try and provide a spoiler-free introduction on all of my sites; I think all of my current sites have that, except my Pokémon ones, and I feel okay not having that on those. (Honestly I'm not really sure what kind of audience my Pokémon sites are for; I make them for fun but I'm not really sure if they're appealing to anyone outside of the immediate Amassment crowd.)

For the most part I try to make my sites accessible to anyone familiar with the series it's from, and if you're not familiar, hopefully it's at least entertaining. I make fansites for fun but also because I feel like I have something to say, otherwise I wouldn't put them online. I use the introduction pages as a way to help people who aren't familiar with the material learn more about it and find out where they can get into it, and then for those who do know what the thing's about, they can see what I think about it.

I've been thinking about this a lot recently since I've been building a series fansite, but I see fansites as an opinionated alternative to wikis and use that as the "hook" to draw people in for the written content. My goal is basically -- hey, you're on the web looking for this subject, here's an opinionated site with lots of information about that subject versus the cut and dry of a wiki. Not sure if I've succeeded (or will succeed), but that's the goal.

I kind of see media sections as having a separate "audience" from those who read content, since it can be someone who's just looking for stuff on google who finds that part of the site and never looks at the rest. I'm okay with that and am okay with providing useful media for that visitor; I try and keep things easily accessible for them.

[Robin]

Do you aim to write for people unfamiliar with the subject, intending to provide a sort of introduction, or do you write more for people who have experienced what your subject came from (the game, anime, etc)?

I like to write for both--my sites generally have lots of introductory content for beginners and lots of in-depth content for old hats (see my gaming site). It makes my site feel more complete doing it this way (which makes my OCD happy xD).

My intro pages sometimes include links to wiki articles, etc., in case I don't want to rehash basic details (see my Clefairy shrine, cause ain't nobody got time fo' basically rewriting a Pokedex entry). But if I'm comfortable doing lots of intro or the subject needs a good common-sense intro, I'll write more. As for my in-depth content, I try to make people think differently about the subject matter, delve into a little meta-analysis, or even present an opinion that runs counter to traditional thought (see my essay on helping other players in City of Heroes/MMOs in general).

Do you write mostly for yourself, or with other readers in mind?
I used to write my shrines a lot for myself, and if anybody else found it interesting, cool. Now that I've experienced writing for a blog, writing for a Sunday school class, and writing a novel, I realize my prose does need to be more reader-based. Read: less wordy, more explanatory; less off-topic A.D.D. Kid rambling, more focused examples. Not sure if I'm all that successful making it reader-friendly yet, though :D

Do you try to make it clear on your index who your shrine is intended for?
I usually try to write a "hook" on the index page so that the site is inviting for anyone to read, and advise for spoilers if necessary. (Sometimes I'll include links to introductory pages or in-depth articles in my hook, like "Have no idea who [this character] is? Click here! Longtime fan? You'll enjoy [this article]!")

[Camy]

Do you ever think about the audience of your shrines?

Yes.

Do you aim to write for people unfamiliar with the subject, intending to provide a sort of introduction, or do you write more for people who have experienced what your subject came from (the game, anime, etc)?

I write for both. I always make sure to warn them ahead of time that spoilers are in my shrines since I prefer to have it complete all in one go. Sesshoumaru's Castle was an exception due to the manga ongoing at the time before it finally stopped.

I always include a small summary of the series since I know how curious people can be if they suddenly stumble upon it or have seen the character elsewhere and is looking the character up to see where they're from.

Do you write mostly for yourself, or with other readers in mind?

I actually haven't thought about that. World Eater though was definitely for myself since Alduin is a jerk and to make it enjoyable, and to mock him a lot, I went that route.

Although, I always think of the readers since I break down my writing in paragraphs that are comfortable to the eye so that it won't be too chucnky and intimidating. For long pages, I add in anchor points so they can quickly jump to the information they need.

Do you try to make it clear on your index who your shrine is intended for?

Clear as water!

[nyxmidnight]

That's a great question, Todd, and I know you've asked me about it. I think my answer is, "It depends".

For example, my Sky Doll shrine, La Poupée qui fait non, is geared toward making people want to get into the series. I have made efforts to write spoilerless previews and character infos, and even when I will revamp it I intend to keep it it this way. So Scandalous! is another one that's mainly for people who have not played before; in fact, the target, I believe, is people stumbling across our beloved punning penis demon and researching WTF.

On the other hand, I think Senpai Noticed Me! is my most "for players" shrine. Not because I wrote a very short intro, but because I analyze the game more than I describe a series of scenes were the two interact, so I think it makes more sense if you have played the game first. Another example is Atheist, because there is so little actual information about Adil that I have to infer his personality through the very few actions he takes throughout the game.

First and foremost, though, I write for myself, and I try to inject humour into my stuff because that's who I am.

[dubiousdisc]

Everything that Larissa said down to the comma. :P

[Larissa]

Everything that Larissa said down to the comma. :P

/fistbump