Talk:Fandom.com

Move proposal

Since the move to the "Fandom" name from Wikia happened years ago at this point and Wikia is gradually declining from wider use, I'd like to propose this page be moved to Fandom (wiki farm). Pinky G Rocket (talk) 03:02, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

I feel like I still see people using "wikia" when describing the software (in contrast with Mediawiki), but idk if that's worth having it's own page. And as long as we keep the redirect and address the name change on the page itself, I think people will figure it out. -- Quaelegit (talk)

Can confirm. I still have to stop myself writing 'Wikia' whenever I have to find a FANDOM wiki. That being said I think there's a discussion to be had about whether it might be best to rename the page FANDOM (currently a redirect for fandom rather than the website) or FANDOM.com, and have Wikia be the redirect -- OfMonstersAndWerewolves (talk) 16:19, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

I have to say that I still think of it as Wikia (as in "Forever Knight has a Wikia wiki"), and would find FANDOM rather confusing, since it's really just "fandom" in caps. I think, if a name change is advisable, that FANDOM.com would be the better choice for the new name. I mean, if I were to click on a link to FANDOM, I'd expect to find myself redirected to an article on fans and their activities, i.e. fandom itself. Ditto if I were to put "fandom" in the search box. -- Greer Watson (talk) 18:13, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Agree with Greer Watson and OMAW above. Even now when I search for FANDOM wiki and talk about FANDOM wiki with my friends, it's easier to use Wikia than FANDOM all caps lol. Worst comes to worst we can create a disambiguation, but I'm personally with Quaelegit that as long as we have redirect and address the namechange people would figure it out. -- Aerlko (talk) 22:11, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

I don't like using Fandom all caps standalone, but I don't think Fandom.com is very clear what the page is either; I think a disambig such as (wiki farm) would be the most clear.

As an aside, maybe we should consider making a Fandom (disambiguation) page? (side note- we really need guidelines for when to use (disambiguation) for disambig page names. Pinky G Rocket (talk) 01:16, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Agree on keeping a redirect if we decide to move this page. Should be noted that Fandom wikis run on a modified version of Mediawiki. Pinky G Rocket (talk) 01:16, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

I agree that the article should be retitled to account for the change in Wikia's name. I would prefer the new title include a disambig marker both for practical reasons and on principle. Fandom is the subject of this wiki. This gives the Fandom article a special importance. I believe possible search queries (including uppercase and plural forms) should redirect to that article for convenience and clarity. At the same time, I feel that the Wikia rebrand is a classic example of a big, profit-driven corporate entity trying to co-opt and monopolize a generic noun. I feel it would do a disservice to place corporate branding on par with the long, rich, amazing history of fandom as a community. Night Rain (talk) 08:44, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

Splits between Fandom fan wikis and other fan wikis

As Fanlore doesn't have a general discussion area or village pump, this is the closest applicable page to post this discussion.

In recent months, a lot of high-profile fan wikis have been moving/splitting off from Fandom, with often the majority of a fan wiki's userbase migrating to another wikifarm, such as Mirahaze and Wiki.gg. Examples include the Minecraft and Pizza Tower wikis. There have also been instances of fans creating new fan wikis from the ground up on the previously listed wikifarms, such as the Psychonauts Wiki. This leaves a couple of questions for Fanlore to consider, as we often link to fan wikis in external links sections, including Fandom fan wikis:

1. If two separate fan wikis that share a name and subject matter started as a single Fandom fan wiki and then split, do we have one article covering the history of both, or two separate articles covering the history of each one?

In my opinion, the first one should be decided on a case-by-case basis, favoring a single merged page until the two wikis significantly diverge (whether that be in history, userbase, practices, or whatever else). Two articles on two wikis with the same subject matter, overall history, and not much to talk on after the split will largely be two identical articles.

2. In the event that there is both a Fandom fan wiki and a non-Fandom fan wiki for a given topic, do we link the Fandom fan wiki, the non-Fandom fan wiki, or both?

In my opinion, I believe that Fanlore should link both; Fanlore is not an arbitrator of the legitimacy of fan wikis, even if they are competing or split due to burned bridges/takeovers/etc. A deliberate omission may also confuse editors, who may interpret such an omission as a mistake or missing information. Pinky G Rocket (talk) 00:17, 29 September 2023 (UTC)