Help:Fandoms
This help page provides instructions for how to create, organize and develop articles about fandoms.
Many people like to begin editing Fanlore by starting with the fandom they are most familiar with. The following are some guidelines and resources. Use common sense to adapt them to your fandom's situation.
See also Help:RPF pages for help with RPF fandoms.
How do I name the page?
First, search for the fandom. If the fandom doesn't have a page on Fanlore yet, you can create the page.
The name of the page should be the most common name used by fans to describe their fandom. Generally, the full name of the fandom should be used, unless the standard name is actually an abbreviation (e.g. J2, Lotrips).
See also Help:Naming Conventions.
What templates should I use?
Template:FandombyText, Template:FandombyText-RPF, or Template:Fandom will allow you to easily create an info box, quickly summarizing the statistics and facts of the fandom.
No fandom templates include categories, so you will need to add those manually.
What categories should I use?
When there is only one general page about a fandom based around a source text, add the following categories to the page:
- [[Category:Fandoms by Source Text]]
- One or more format subcategories under Fandoms by Canon Type
- nothing else
When editors start creating more pages about the fandom, create a fandom category and add it to all the pages. On the main fandom overview page, replace [[Category:Fandoms by Source Text]] and the canon format category with the fandom category. (The fandom category should be categorized under Fandoms by Source Text and the canon format.)
See also Help:Categories.
Fandoms by Canon Type
Fandoms by Canon Type is a page for finding lists of fandoms sorted by canon type. Only the general overview pages or the fandom category (if any) belong here.
If the fandom source texts include more than one media format (television and film, television and radio, etc.), add all applicable categories to the fandom overview page/category.
Fandom category structure
Fandoms documented on Fanlore fall under one of two types: Fandoms by Source Text or Fandoms by Community. The vast majority of fandom articles are about "Fandoms by Source Text" (e.g. fan communities for individual canons/IPs/media properties such as Harry Potter, Star Trek, Naruto, Final Fantasy, or RPF fandoms focused on a group of actors like Lotrips or a band like BTS). "Fandoms by Community" include larger communities not focused on an individual IP in which fans share a common interest such as a genre like anime or science fiction or a particular fanactivity such as vidding, filking, podficcing, cosplay, etc. A Fandom by Community is often defined by different cultural practices (media fandom vs. science fiction fandom) rather than by the object of fannish interest (e.g. Star Trek). Different language communities are subcategories under Fandoms by Community; these are for fan communities speaking the same language, regardless of the original language of the Source Text/canon/IP/media property that the language community may be fans of.
What categories should I not use?
Do not add date categories to fandom overview pages (see talk page). Dating a fandom can be tricky as there is no firm end date, if any, and applying the release date of the canon is too canon-centric for this wiki (not to mention impossible for some long-running and convoluted canons like superhero comics).
What content should I include in a fandom page?
Remember that Fanlore is a wiki about fandom, not about canon: Wikipedia already has pages for most canon sources, including canon characters, but will not include material about how fans engage with or react to the canon. This is the material that interests Fanlore particularly. However, you will probably want to include a very short overview of canon to give the article some context. As a rule, avoid duplicating material that can already be found in wikipedia.
Some points you may (or may not) want to address:
- Introduction: A VERY BRIEF overview of the canon.
- History of the fandom: When and how did the fandom start? Did it explode onto the fannish scene or was it a slow burn? If the fandom has been around for a while, how has fan activity changed over time?
- Characters and Pairings: Who are the popular characters and pairings?
- Activities: What sorts of activities occur in your fandom? Have conventions been organized? Does your fandom have any unique or less common practices?
- Fanworks: What types of fanworks are popular? Where are they available? Is there a particular one that brought in new fans or that people outside of the fandom are aware of?
- Impact on other fandoms: Have tropes, fannish terms, or fanworks from your fandom traveled outside your fandom?
- Communities: Where do fans hang out (online or offline)? Lists of popular journal communities, web forums, mailing lists, newsgroups, Tumblrs, etc. would not go amiss.
- Resources: Include links to online resources relevant to your fandom — popular fanfic archives or discussion forums, fandom newbie guides, wikis, etc.
If the fandom page gets very long, and you still have more to add about a topic, you can create a separate page for that specific topic and link to it from the main fandom page. For example, The Lord of the Rings has pages just for fanfiction and fanzines.
You can also create pages about specific characters, pairings, fanworks, glossary terms, websites, conventions, and other fannish events.
Example Pages
- The article Yu-Gi-Oh! discusses the focuses and interests of that fandom, and although it gives an outline of the canon, the focus is on the fans.
- See also Iron Man and Stargate Atlantis.
- The article DC Comics includes a section on historical trends within the fandom.
- See also Highlander.
- The Star Trek articles are an example of how a franchise fandom could be organized.
For any other questions, you can use the Talk page or contact the Fanlore Committee.