On fandoms and fansites

[dubiousdisc]

Once upon a time, fansites were the major fandom hubs of the Internet. Many of them used to have lively communities annexed to them, and some of them survive to this day. It's undeniable that they played a big part in the forging of the early Internet fandoms.

Now, fandom has moved from these site-based communities to social media. Where do you think fansites as they are now stand in the sea of Internet fandom, and what is their effect on the tide?

In your own sites, would you say you take fandom into account in both concept and content? Also, do you attempt to build some sort of fanbase, or is your communication one-way? What are your reasons?

Lastly, do you think that nowadays fansites could stand as pillars of a fandom, or have they been completely replaced in that function?

[anon]

I've been thinking about fan sites and their ties to a fan community for the longest time, so thank you for posting this question!

Back before social networking was introduced, going to a fan section on a fan site was the only way to find like-minded people or go view displays of fanwork, especially if it catered to a specific pairing (as people have different views on pairings). Having a forum was even better because the webmaster and other like-minded fans could communicate and support each other. Now the way fan sites are run have changed, because more people are inclined to go to social networks instead of fan sites to create discussions and connections.

I used to have a profile on my fan site on an "about me" page, and made like-minded friends that way as well as established my repertoire in fan communities. Unfortunately I got my fair share of creepers and jerk fanboys too.

With a new generation and more people entering the Internet, I tend to feel people are less likely to support a fan site because there are other resources (like, people would be more likely to support Wikipedia because it's stable and better known). Fan sites used to be a way for people to communicate but people don't need them to get their manifestos out in the open and they're more likely to get attention on tumblr. (If you run a huge fan site and are respected well enough you're like a BNF to some people.)

Fan communities also used to be pretty cliquey and well dispersed, at least according to my experiences. If people wanted to join a community they would use fan sites as their gateways. Now since media is converging people seem to be more accepting and tolerant.

I've "fostered" a community through some of my fan sites before but that didn't go through because I didn't go on my partnered forums a lot. For me, I feel that fan sites are more personal and different than say, oh, a wiki or whatever. The masses of newer people coming onto the Internet don't really see the personal aspect of it these days. I left a particular fan site of mine that became really popular and when I made the decision to close it, I had some people attempting to mirror my site and others begging me to port my writing into a wiki. I can see where they were coming from but I hated how they felt they were entitled to my writing... I basically told them that they can construct their own site because information and media are way more accessible to them than they were when I was starting my site. I also told them that I could give them basic statistics and clarification, but there was no way I'm giving them any speculations or opinions because they were from my own judgment.

Sorry to go off a tangent there. :P My original fan site was dedicated to a magical girl series so when you have a bunch of 20-30 year old fanboys who are not the demographic acting pretty elitist that kind of ruins everything. (I actually did end up reuploading the fan site in secret.)

[Camy]

The fansites stand now in the internet fandom is, well, just that, a fansite. Sure, there's wikipedia, wikias, and other sites, but fandoms are mostly either on forums, facebook, livejournal, etc,. A fansite is dedicated to show every information, and some essays and pictures, of the subject (characters, series, pairing, etc.,) Forums and other places may still be the main hub because that's easier now to talk to other fellow fans. That's what people like to have to talk about their likes, dislikes, and have some debates and also fan over a recent episode. But, they also like to go to a fansite. While I talked about making a site for Ulquiorra on Bleach Aslyum on one of the threads I frequented at that time, they said for me to do it and that's what I like to say. People enjoy it still, even though it's not the main hub.

To be honest, I have no idea if I take the fandom into count in concept or content. Nor do I try to build a fanbase. For me, my sites are to show I love the character and what to show it. They are always free to contact me through the site too even though I don't have guestbooks on them anymore since spam is a pain now even if I do put in captcha.

Lastly, while I do think fansites can be informative, they aren't really pillars of fandoms anymore. I have to say that they have been completely replaced but that doesn't mean that they are ignored. Even now I get hits for my sites since they still appear on the search engine and still have information that some people, new or old to the fandom, may need.

[Mikari]

Because forums and the like are more common and interactive, fansites have in turn become a little less interactive. I still remember when fansites where the place to go for news, screen caps, fandom, etc. Now we have twitter and what not for news, you tube for full episodes, Deviant Art and many others for fandom and they're all just so convenient... At the same time, though fansites have become rarer, I find their quality has increased. They've become smaller in terms of being more centered on the elements that can't be so easily found elsewhere such as articles and the like but they have a special quality to them that makes them more so works of art rather than just hubs for a community, though they could also still serve as such. Overall, they might not be the pillars, but fansites are still a very good addition to the fandom.

[dubiousdisc]

Heh might as well answer to my own discussion at some point, duh

Joe: Yeah, that's also the story of my first fansite, which had a considerably larger and louder following than the projects I'm working on now... I'd say though that all the bad things that happened with it, down to having people feeling entitled to decide what was "best" for my own fansite, were more so the things that happen with anything when it becomes popular enough than specifically related to the fact that it was a fansite back then in the day, even though nowadays fansites are less likely to have fanbases of that type and therefore less likely to have those problems. Well, in the end I closed that fansite because I had moved to other things in the meanwhile and I was tired to have people leaving me angry comments and wanting to take over because I didn't consider a Pokémon fansite my utmost priority in life, go figure.

Now I'm very wary of having any sort of public forum on any project I have. At this point, my fansites are mostly for elaborating on things that I like, and I have no intention whatsoever of dealing with a possible community behind them. Not that I think that it could happen again, as I haven't received any annoying mail regarding my current projects. I'm getting the feeling that people don't take fansites for granted anymore, which is great. Well, they're really not that common anymore, so we're allowed to do whatever we want with them with no one really whining at us, which is also great.

I do still take a tiny bit into account fandom or lack thereof, but at this point I'm happily divorced from it so...

I wouldn't say that a fansite could be as important as they once were now. I don't think that's where the communities are right now. Still, I scream every time I find an active fansite for something I like :D

[Destinie]

I think when I make fansites it's an outlet for my fan-ness, so I think communication is one way. I like being able to talk to people about what I like but I find that I tend to try to stay out of certain fandom communities these days. :x I think that other networking sites have become more of the hub for fans and their interests these days. (Things I can think of: Deviantart, Livejournal, Tumblr, etc.)

When working on my sites I hardly take the general fandom into account and rarely aim my interests towards them. Mainly because I make shrines to things that aren't so popular and if I do, I find that I am uneasy talking to some more hard-core fans. Some people take it as a challenge and want to correct what you've done, where as I just think it's a fun thing. (Kind of like writing a fanfiction or doing a fanart.)

I think there are still fansites that hold their weight in the fan community but they are usually ones that allow for a lot of discussion and networking between fans.