Fandom Classic

Synonyms:
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	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 How Are Classics Defined?; 2 Some Examples of Fandom Classics 2.1 Fiction 2.1.1 All for the Game; 2.1.2 Blake's 7; 2.1.3 Captain America; 2.1.4 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers; 2.1.5 due South; 2.1.6 Haikyuu; 2.1.7 Hanson; 2.1.8 Harry Potter; 2.1.9 Les Misérables; 2.1.10 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; 2.1.11 One Direction; 2.1.12 The Professionals; 2.1.13 Sherlock Holmes; 2.1.14 Stargate Atlantis; 2.1.15 Star Trek; 2.1.16 Starsky & Hutch; 2.1.17 Supernatural; 2.1.18 Team Fortress 2; 2.1.19 Total Drama; 2.1.20 Transformers; 2.1.21 The Walking Dead; 2.1.22 X-Files; 2.1.23 X-Men; 2.1.24 Yuri on Ice; ; 2.2 Art; 2.3 Vids; 2.4 Podfics; 2.5 Meta Essays; ; 3 Meta and Further Reading;

You may be looking for the glossary term Classic, which is a jargon for a specific genre of fanwork that is canon compliant or ignores certain episodes or seasons.

A fandom classic is a fanwork that is more or less recognized as "must-read" or "must view" by fans within the same fandom.

Online fandoms develop so quickly that a fanwork can be labeled "classic" within months.

How Are Classics Defined?

There is no one metric by which a fanwork can be defined as a "classic". However, a multitude of factors can contribute to a work being given that label. They include:

The number of recs a work receives.
The number of times the work comes up in fannish discussions.
Fanwork awards.
The popularity of the fanwork's creator. BNFs and creators with a preexisting reputation for producing well-liked works will receive more attention than other fans.
The pairing or subject matter of the work; for example, a work featuring a fandom's juggernaut pairing will typically receive more attention than other works.
The fanwork's length. Fanworks that are exceptionally long may receive attention based solely on their impressive length.
The fanwork's genre.
Mentions from mainstream or otherwise non-fannish media sources.

Note that not all fannish attention comes from a place of praise. Shockfic and badfic can become incredibly well-known within a fandom without necessarily earning the label of "classic", as can works that otherwise rock some fannish boats. On the flip side, works labelled as "classics" can be subject to more critical scrutiny than they would have received if they remained obscure.

Some Examples of Fandom Classics

Fiction

Sherlock Holmes

Stargate Atlantis

Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left To Lose by Synecdochic

Twist and Shout by gabriel and standbyme
Last Outpost Of All That Is by gekizetsu

Nine Rings of Vos by sanjuno

The Walking Dead

Broken Mirrors and Sweet Junction by theramblinrose

X-Files

Classics (or, Your Fanfic Education is Not Complete Until You've Read ...) - a list of "must-read" The X-Files stories posted at X-Files Lost & Found
Oklahoma, by Amperage and Livengoo
Iolokus Series by RivkaT and MustangSally
Ghosts by torch

X-Men

X-Manson by Dr. Benway

Yuri on Ice

Art

art by Suzan Lovett for the zine Master of the Revels (The Professionals)

Vids

Closer by Killa and TJonesy (Star Trek: TOS)
The Rose by Kendra Hunter and Diana Barbour (Starsky & Hutch)
Us by Lim (multi-fandom, meta)

Podfics

Written by the Victors (podfic) – organised and edited by lim; narrated by zoetrope and 35 others

Meta Essays

How Fanfiction Makes Us Poor by cupidsbow (multi-fandom)
Another Addict Raves About K/S by Joanna Russ (Star Trek: TOS)
Open Letter to Star Wars Fans by the Duncans by Tracy Duncan & Nancy Duncan (Star Wars)
The good old days before google were dark and involved horses by seperis (multi-fandom)

Meta and Further Reading

What Makes a "Fandom Classic"?, Paper Droids, Published October 16, 2014. (Article discussing what defines a "fandom classic", with some examples of fandom classics from major fandoms including Sherlock, Star Trek and Supernatural).

Synonyms:
See also:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
Contents 1 How Are Classics Defined? 2 Some Examples of Fandom Classics 2.1 Fiction 2.1.1 All for the Game 2.1.2 Blake's 7 2.1.3 Captain America 2.1.4 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2.1.5 due South 2.1.6 Haikyuu 2.1.7 Hanson 2.1.8 Harry Potter 2.1.9 Les Misérables 2.1.10 My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 2.1.11 One Direction 2.1.12 The Professionals 2.1.13 Sherlock Holmes 2.1.14 Stargate Atlantis 2.1.15 Star Trek 2.1.16 Starsky & Hutch 2.1.17 Supernatural 2.1.18 Team Fortress 2 2.1.19 Total Drama 2.1.20 Transformers 2.1.21 The Walking Dead 2.1.22 X-Files 2.1.23 X-Men 2.1.24 Yuri on Ice 2.2 Art 2.3 Vids 2.4 Podfics 2.5 Meta Essays 3 Meta and Further Reading