Random Pairing Generator

A random pairing generator is a webpage that uses a script to supply two random characters (drawn from a list the webpage creator supplies), and sometimes a random prompt, each time it's reloaded. Because the script is so simple and easy to modify, the idea spread to many fandoms. A great producer of crack pairings.

Most random generators are variations on an html-based script which was originally coded by a fan named Glowstick Chick. Fans who adapt the random generator for their own purposes generally leave Glowstick Chick's self-attribution on the page, in order to credit the coder for her work.

One of the earliest examples of the Random Generator was found at the Library of Moria.

One example is the The Doctor Who Random Pairing Generator at Settiai which provides two characters and a prompt. This pairing generator uses characters from the main Doctor Who television show as well as all of the various spin-offs, regardless of canon.

(AESTHETIC/CULTURAL: relation to three-word improv and other short spontaneous works like commentfic and drabbles, also rise of a less OTP-focused fandom culture?)

See Generator.