On Fanlore and Squee

[stultiloquentia]

Here's the thing: I want to play with Fanlore. Specifically, I want to run around adding links to more rec and master lists than anybody could possibly want, and citations of specific stories that I think are good illustrations of trope x, and author blurbs! "Author X is influential in this corner of fandom, and here's what she's known for, and here's her website."

But I'm embarrassed!

I'm not afraid of being biased, because that's hopeless; of course I'm going to be biased; I'm a FANGIRL. But I'm afraid of looking like I'm just sucking up, scurrying around kissing the velvet slippers of my favourite BNFs. I already maintain a recs site in which I fawn with perfect complacence, so it's a dumb hang-up, really.

But I think it's Fanlore's big problem right now: people are afraid to add stuff, because they might do it wrong, and accidentally let loose a squee or something. Oh noes.

I have a proposal.

How about we declare it Shameless Fangirl Week at Fanlore (I am open to catchier titles), and go out and persuade everybody to pick one fan -- reccer, mod, maker of good things -- who helped shape their own fannish experience, and give them a page. Doesn't have to be comprehensive. Needn't even contain adjectives, if you still fear being flogged by a ghostly Salmon of Objectivity. Just needs to be a start.

Fanlore can still get down with its judicious overviews of Major Trends and Prominent Figures. But can we make it a crazy, Willy Wonka-esque Clearinghouse of Goodies, too?

Comments

[lynnenne]

My issue with Fanlore is a bit more personal. Fandom has set itself up as a "safe space," but wikis are by definition public. They can be read, and edited, by anyone - from academics looking to study fannish history, to lawyers looking to file copyright infringement complaints. I don't post a lot of personal details about myself in my LJ, but there are people who know my full name, what city I live in, what I do for a living, which company I work for, etc. I don't want all that crap turning up on Fanlore, and I'm sure there are other fans who don't want that, either.

Very few fans I know would be shitty enough to post those kind of details (I know *you* wouldn't) but there's always one, you know? Someone who decides to edit the post with stuff that I'd prefer remain private, just to cause trouble. I'd be reluctant to turn my history over to fandom-at-large to chronicle, because non-Buffyverse fans don't know or care about me. They have no vested interest in protecting my privacy, and academics, historians and lawyers have even less. So I remain wary of the whole endeavour.

[stultiloquentia]

Fanlore's identity protection policy is designed to make sure your private info stays off the site. Nothing that you haven't posted publicly would ever go there.

What I'd love to do (for eg.) is create a Spike/Angel page where fans could find (and yep, edit) a list of archives, rec sites and influential stories without having to wade through (horrors) Google, especially now that many of the people who were writing the creme de la creme back in the day have dispersed and moved on to new shinies. You wouldn't want your stuff to be linked there at all, as a resource for newbies?

from academics looking to study fannish history, to lawyers looking to file copyright infringement complaints.
Ahh, I don' like seeing those two groups placed next to each other! Acafen are awesome! I identify as one, thanks. And lawyers sniffing for cases? Seriously? They've got more winnable fish to fry. Fan fiction made it into freakin' Merriam-Webster this year.

If you don't want your own page there, I'll absolutely respect that, but just to let you know, if you ever DO find that somebody's made one for you, you can set up a "track changes" notifier to keep an eye on it. I'm currently tracking all the Stargate pages, like a big dork. :)

[lynnenne]

The privacy policy does make me feel better, and the ability to track changes makes me feel a WHOLE lot better. It's great to be able to monitor whether anyone is trying to "out" you. (I hate that term, but there are professional repercussions for some of us. I really wish there weren't!)

What I'd love to do (for eg.) is create a Spike/Angel page where fans could find (and yep, edit) a list of archives, rec sites and influential stories without having to wade through (horrors) Google, especially now that many of the people who were writing the creme de la creme back in the day have dispersed and moved on to new shinies.

I think that'd be a great thing to have, and I think most fans would be okay with being linked. (Also: "the horrors of Google" made me LOL. :)

[stultiloquentia]

Cool. I really do believe in the OTW as a force of good. :) I'm pretty careful about my online identity, myself (though not as careful as some people need to be). Writing about other people, I'd err on the side of caution. Way, way over, scrunched against the side of caution.

One of the reasons Fanlore, and the whole OTW, came into being is that we, fandom, were already being misrepresented -- by silly, out-of-touch, anthropologist aca-but-not-(god forbid!)-fans, by the media, by That Other Crummy Wiki That We Shall Not Name. This is a way for us to make sure our lore, if it does get written down (and it will), gets written by us. I'm pretty passionate about that.