Help:Participating in April Showers

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This page details how to take part in the April Showers event. For more information regarding the event itself see: April Showers of Fannish History. As the event was discontinued after 2018, this page is kept for archive purposes.

Want to participate in April Showers but don't know how? Was your fandom featured but you're too intimidated to contribute? This page was created for the sole purpose of helping you!

Before you start

  • If you don't have a Fanlore account already, create one. Only logged in users can edit Fanlore (it's an anti-spam measure)
    • You will not be able to create new pages right off the bat, so don't worry, it's not an error, and there are ways around it, so read on.
  • Don't be afraid. You don't have to know everything there is to know about your fandom. You don't have to be an expert or spend hours upon hours crafting the perfect page.
    • Remember: You can contribute as little or as much as you want. Every contribution is welcomed and cherished.
  • Every fan perspective is valid. If you participated in the majority of fandom activities, if you were part of just a small circle of fandom friends, or if you held the sole Unpopular Opinion, we want to document it on Fanlore and we hope you will help us.
  • If you're completely new to wiki editing and Fanlore, please check out New Visitor Portal and Editing Cheatsheet for some initial help.
  • Remember: There's no such thing as Too Much Information. You can always add something to a page, no matter how big it is.

Basics

If you can't edit a page and you are logged in, it means another user is working on it at that moment. Don't worry and wait a little. Maybe edit another page in the meantime!
  • You can find your fandom's page using the Search bar in the top right corner.
  • Once you're on your fandom's page, if you scroll to the bottom you will see all the categories it's been placed in. If it has a fandom category you can click that link to see all the pages in that fandom that are already on Fanlore.
  • Sometimes you might see a Notice box at the top of the page or at the top of a section. Those notices help guide the editors or point out problems. Notice boxes are in no way a comment on the contributions made prior to the notice box being added. Fanlore is a collaboration.
    • The most common notices are:
      • Stubs - when a page has very little information on it. Everybody is welcome to add any information they think it could use.
      • ExpandArticle - when a page or a section has some information but it's very basic.
      • ExamplesWanted - Examples of fanworks are used on almost every page on Fanlore to illustrate tropes, fandom tendencies or how characters and pairings are portrayed in the fandom.
      • NeedsMoreFandom and LessCanon notices - are usually placed on pages that are focused on canon information. A short canon overview is appreciated on any page, but Fanlore is not Wikipedia and we want to learn about the fandom.
      • NeedMorePointsOfView - Fanlore wants to record all fandom perspectives, but sometimes only people from one camp put in the time and edit Fanlore. This may result in pages that favor a certain perspective (like a pairing page that only includes what fans of that ship were saying and nothing from the "antis"; or an opposite situation with a character page from the perspective of people who disliked the chatacter, and no opinions from the fans). This notice box is used to point out the sigular focus and hopefully encourage people to add their own experiences.
  • Talk pages are where you can communicate with other editors regarding specific pages. Don't be afraid to use them.

Simple edits - The little things

You don't have to go all-out. Every little drop makes April Showers as big as they are. Here are simple edits you can make, to participate in the event:

Copyediting:

  • Fix a typo
  • Make sure all the sentences are in the same tense.
  • Correct pronouns
  • Other copyediting fixes you can think of

Editing fandom pages:

  • Add a character or a pairing to the list
  • Add significant episodes/books in the series that had an impact on fandom
  • Add a fanwork (a fanfic, fanvid, fanart, meta, or something else). If it illustrated a common trope in the fandom, was created at a particular time (before or after something in fandom happened) note it down. If it's particularily popular, note that down as well.
    • If you don't know what fanwork to add, simply add a favorite of yours.
  • Add a link to a forum, LJ community, Tumblr blog, mailing list, webring that focused on the fandom.

Editing character and pairing pages:

  • Add names of side characters and side pairings that show up in fanworks for that character or pairing
  • Add a fanwork the character or pairing play a significant and lead role.
  • Add a fanwork where the character or pairing play a secondary/supportive role, but one that is commonly used for them in the fandom
    • For example: If Natasha often plays a matchmaker for other pairings (or a specific pairing), add a fanwork that illustrates that. If some fans often use Damon as an abusive ex Caroline breaks up/deals with in a variety of Caroline pairings; add a fanwork that illustrates that dynamic.
  • Add a community, forum, Tumblr tag or an other place focused on the character or pairing.

Keep in mind:

  • If you don't know if a link or your personal experience is "enough" or if a particular page is the "right" place for it, you can always leave a comment on a talk page and ask other editors for help and input.
  • If you know something is missing from the page, but you dont feel comfortable adding it, you don't have the time, or you don't know where or how to add it; please mention it in the talk page to give other editors a direction they can pursue.
  • If you think you're the only person with a particular opinion regarding canon/some aspect of fandom/a fanwork, leave that opinion in the talk page as well.
  • Nothing is insignificant and no information is too small!

A little bit more

If you have the time and willingness to add something more, but need a little guidance, try something from this list:

  • Add a significant canon moment
  • Add a common trope, or one you enjoy
  • Add an issue fandom cares (or cared) about
    • Was lack of people of color something fandom discussed? Did it change over time? Was there a plot point, an episode, a ship, a chapter, or a comment from a creator that got a reaction from fandom or parts of fandom? If yes, what kind of reaction? Did different parts of fandom reacted in different ways?
    • If you witnessed only some of that issue or if you're only vaguely aware of it, but you know it happened, consider mentioning it in the talk page for other editors to research. If you have links they could find useful, you can add them there too.
  • Create a Stub for a character, pairing, website, community or a fanwork
    • You don't have to fill it completely, add all the history or all the recs and reviews. Stubs are the first steps, you can always come back to flesh them out even more.
  • Incorporate a meta or a popular post (along with its comments) into appropariate pages on Fanlore
    • Did you run across a fan essay about a specific ship? Did a Tumblr post about an autistic interpretation of a character showed up in your tags or on your dash? Quote and reference those opinions and comments on relevant pages to flesh them out and allow people unfamiliar with them additional perspective.
    • When doing that, try to be mindful of Fanlore's Plural Point of View policy
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