How important are archives for a fandom?

[emmagrant01]

lori wonders about the role of a central archive in the longevity of a fandom. In particular, she wonders if there's a solution to the Star Wars fandom's problem of the lack of a FictionAlley-type all-inclusive archive. The Master-Apprentice archive is one of the only active archives left for prequels-era fic, it seems. What does this mean for our fandom?

Comments

[zhonnika.livejournal.com]

I still have to reply to your comment about TFN (nazi bastards!) but had to comment that this was something that always bugged me in SW fandom (I was in it from 1999-2001, used to write drippy Ani/Ami het *dies*). I think with a fandom so diverse in WHAT you can write about, whether it be books, movies, games, etc. it's a shock that there ISN'T a catch-all website for SW. MA is about the only I remember with a freaking TON of stories, and yet they are all about the Q/O ship. I think that were there an organized website for SW, I would likely pop over and read a few. Right now it's hard to find good fic in the abyss that is unorganized websites.

[thalia]

Just for the record, MA does accept any slash pairings, and there's a noticeable bit of non-Q/O, although it's definitely a minority.

[zhonnika.livejournal.com]

Heh, shows what I know. I haven't been there in a long time, and at the time it was mostly Q/O *sigh*.

And I agree with you on your comment below. FA does not accept NC17 for several reasons. We in HP have Restriced Section for NC17 and so forth.

[thalia]

I have to admit, people seem to be able to cope with HP despite the lack of a centralized archive, although it's *a lot* harder to find stories. I think HP is hard to get started in, for slashers who are used to other fandoms, but people seem to manage.

FictionAlley, incidentally, isn't all-inclusive--it doesn't accept NC-17 stories, which is a rather large omission. I think Kiln Fiction is the only all-inclusive HP archive, except that it doesn't seem to be working right now, and I don't know anyone who uses it.

Personally, I'm quite happy to see slash, het and gen separated, just to make it easier to find things. It sounds like someone needs to start a gen archive for SW prequel stories, but I'm not volunteering.

[clara-posts.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm quite happy to see slash, het and gen separated, just to make it easier to find things

I agree on that point. I like having MA as my one-stop SW prequel slash shop :o)

It sounds like someone needs to start a gen archive for SW prequel stories, but I'm not volunteering.

It does sound that way - and nor am I!!

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

You're right that FA isn't all-inclusive in that it doesn't accept NC-17 fic, but it's a heck of a lot more inclusive than anything we have in the SW-prequels fandom. And then there are so many other huge HP archives that accept NC-17 fic, and they don't lean towards het or slash exclusively. So slash and het aren't separated in the HP fandom so much, and it doesn't seem to be a problem.

And I'm not advocating for inclusion of het or gen fic in the M_A archive, by any means. But it's too bad there aren't any other active archives for that sort of fic, ya know? I do think there's a direct correlation between "potential audience" and "amount of fic written".

[thalia]

I totally agree about the lack of a het or gen TPM archive; it's really a shame. Unfortunately, I'm not into those enough to do the work of starting one.

I have to admit, the only HP archives I visit regularly are all slash--Ink-Stained Fingers, Walking the Plank, the Potter Slash Archive, the Howl Kingdom.... If there are HP archives that accept het and gen, I just don't know about them. But that says more about how fragmented that fandom is than about the state of the archives, I think. Fiction Alley makes me crazy; I just can't figure out how to find anything there.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Walking the Plank? I've been in the HP fandom for over a year, and I've never heard of that one! You're right that the fandom is huge and fractured. I don't read a lot of het in HP, but I do know where to find it. The Restricted Section (http://www.restrictedsection.org/) has a lot, as does Fan Domination's HP section (http://www.fandomination.net/?mode=navigation&categoryid=426), Harry Potter Fanfiction (http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/), and I guess Skehawke, as well...

Someone told me not long ago that FA's search function is really out of date, and that the best way to find new fic there is to subscribe to the "owls" for new fic. I couldn't figure out how to do that, though. I rely heavily on LJ and people's recs in HP!

[thalia]

Walking the Plank is Snape/Harry, which is probably why you've never heard of it. And, yeah, I mostly go by recs, too. It's just too hard finding good stories in HP just by browsing.

[nike-victory.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think there is a het/gen TPM/AotC archive out there. Some of my first TPM fiction, which was gen, is archived there. The sad part is, I can't remember the url. *facepalm*

Archives

[sabrinagb.livejournal.com]

First, *love* the icon!!!

As far as archives go, one of the ways I actually found the MA Group was by stumbling across the archive when I searched for slash and SW. I was also sent an email by a friend notifying me the the Group was back in action. (I was not part of the group before it was TOS'd, though) I think the archives are vitally important and I had the worst time finding anything gen *before* I discovered slash. I more often than not, followed the Ewan/Liam trails to their other fandoms, which is not really what I wanted to read.

When I think of the SW fandom, I have to admit to thinking of it in two separate entities. There is the gen SW fandom that deals with all kinds of pairings throughout the 5 current movies. The second is the TPM fandom, which for me is slash. I would be interested in seeing an active Gen list develop for some of the other pairing that can be fun to read, but I have to admit to being enamoured of an loyal to MA.

[jenab.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think a central archive accepting gen, het and slash keeps a fandom active and can provide a very good stepping stone for people may want to venture into other aspects of SW such as writing or reading gen or het. As a writer who reads and writes het, slash and some gen, a central archive provides one main area for me to find new authors or new people to talk to.

[aidenfire]

Hey, I like your recs and your site and you write like a non-stupid person, so I'm friending you, k?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I write like a non-stupid person, eh? Thanks! *grins* Friend away!