Fanlore forums

[aethel]

Wiki editing is fun and a fannish activity like any other. Sharing and discussing what we love is part of what we do as fans, and there are many fans who might love Fanlore if they had the chance to get to know the wiki and the community surrounding it. Right now doing that on Fanlore is difficult for people new to wiki editing, and even experienced editors sometimes feel alone in what they are doing.

Therefore, there is one thing we hope to get off the ground this year, and it’s one many of you have asked for: a wiki forum.

It could be a place where people:

- introduce themselves / get to know one another / chat informally
- ask questions about wiki editing, and answer one anothers’ questions
- collaborate/brainstorm on and squee about wiki pages
- ask questions about Fanlore policies, and receive answers from Fanlore Wiki Committee members
- find previously answered questions without having to de-lurk

Since late last term, there have also been discussions within the OTW (our parent organization) about establishing public org-wide forums and how to incorporate the desired Fanlore forum into that structure. But rather than wait on org-wide forums, we thought Fanlore could more quickly and easily set up a forum hosted by a third party.

Currently, we are looking at Vanilla Forums for hosting. It has several advantages: you could sign in with other accounts (twitter, google, fb), we could have a custom domain name, and we would be able to move it to our own servers without losing content if we needed to. Most importantly, it appears to be the only viable option for accessible forum software, but if someone familiar with accessibility issues can offer alternative suggestions, please let us know.

Once we have a Fanlore forum, we might be able to add other OTW spaces (for example an AO3 forum) to the existing account at a later date.

Now we want to hear from you:

- What do you hope to see in a forum? What would make you want to use it? (What would put you off from using it?)
- Which topics and threads would you like to have?
- Some ideas: FAQ, introduction thread, compilation of talk page discussions, pages in progress, announcements, news, fannish history discussions, suggestions, gardeners, …

At present, the wiki committee doesn’t have experience setting up or running a forum, so input from anyone with forum expertise would be appreciated and fans willing to help as a moderator would be welcomed with open arms.

We’re in the early stages of planning, so really, any sort of input is appreciated!

Comments

[inkstone]

I like your subforum suggestions! At the very least, I definitely agree that there needs to be a separation between focused work and chit chat. One of the reasons why I wanted a forum was because I wanted a centralized location for discussing specific work (creating/editing/sprucing up articles, for example) and it would just irritate me to have those threads mixed in with random chit chat.

(Heh! At the forums I haunt, it's usually called Off-Topic or The Water Cooler.)

I also second your suggestion for a FAQ-type sticky for newbies (and anyone who needs them for reference). I definitely agree that the info on the wiki itself was not useful to me when I was starting out and if I hadn't had another editor to walk me through things, I certainly wouldn't have caught on as quickly as I did.

[extempore]

At the forums I haunt, it's usually called Off-Topic or The Water Cooler.
Hm, Off Topic is a bit dry, and Water Cooler for a place to chat is a term/association many people probably aren't familiar with. (At least, I wasn't. At the work places I have been where water coolers had been installed, they never served a communicative purpose. People just filled up their water bottles and went back to their work. In my work culture it would be a coffee or tea kitchen where people meet and chat.)

I'm in favour of having a non-related chat forum, because that's often the place where connections happen easier and quicker, helping to build the community.

[inkstone]

Oh, I definitely agree there should be a non-related chat section/subforum just because if you don't have one, those threads will take over the entire forum. /wry That's what's happened in my experience anyway.

[unjapanologist]

Yes to a non-related chat forum. "Off Topic" sounds familiar to me for that sort of thing, but a water cooler as a place to chat isn't an association that I make easily, either. (Also a coffee/tea kitchen culture person.)

[tuuulia]

Hey inkstone,

I definitely agree that the info on the wiki itself was not useful to me when I was starting out and if I hadn't had another editor to walk me through things, I certainly wouldn't have caught on as quickly as I did.

I was just wondering if you could tell, what kind of info you were looking for and what do you think there should have been so you it would've been helpful to you? Like what is missing and what is "must" in there?