A fan wiki is a wiki[a] that is created by fans, primarily to document an object of popular culture. Fan wikis cover television shows, film franchises, video games, comic books, sports, and other topics.[1] They are a part of fandoms, which are subcultures dedicated to a common popular culture interest. The digital humanities scholar Jason Mittell stated in 2013 that fan wikis were "[o]ne of the most popular and widespread uses of wikis".[2]
Fan wikis usually operate according to internal policies. Editors reach decisions through discussion and consensus decision-making. Some wikis are more hierarchical, while others operate more collectively. They usually appoint a small group of editors to serve as system operators (sysops) or administrators, who have additional powers to enforce rules.[3] Many fan wikis have rules that require editors to provide citations to reliable sources to verify their claims.Fan wikis were first published in the early 2000s. Many fan wikis formed out of Wikipedia over disputes among editors about the level of detail that should be provided in articles.[4] These included fans of the television show Battlestar Galactica[5] and the Star Wars franchise, who founded Wookieepedia after facing complaints about the "overabundance of minutiae related to Star Wars appearing on Wikipedia".[4]
In 2004, the Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and the former Wikipedia board chair Angela Beesley founded Fandom under the name WikiCities, a for-profit wiki hosting service that hosted regional wikis for cities. In 2006, the company attracted venture capital funding and changed its name to Wikia.[6] Wikia then began to assimilate independent fan wikis, such as Memory Alpha (a Star Trek fan wiki) and Wowpedia (a World of Warcraft fan wiki).[7] In the late 2010s—after Fandom and Gamepedia were acquired and consolidated by the private equity firm TPG Inc.—several wikis began to leave the service, including the RuneScape, Zelda, and Minecraft wikis. Those wiki communities cited Fandom's advertising methods, issues with security and outdated software, and corporate control as reasons for migrating.[8]The following list summarizes fan wikis with articles on Wikipedia.
Fan wikis
edit| Wiki | Date launched | Status[i] | Founder(s) | Most recent wiki hosting service | Subject | Notes | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heroes Wiki | October 2006 | Defunct (2020) | Fan community | Independent | Heroes (American science fiction television series) | [9] | |
| Lostpedia | 2005 | Live | Kevin Croy | Fandom | Lost (American drama television series) | [10] | |
| Memory Alpha | 2003 | Live | Dan Carlson and Harry Doddema | Fandom | Star Trek (American science fiction franchise) | [11] | |
| Nukapedia (a.k.a. Fallout Wiki) | 2005 | Live | Paweł Dembowski | Fandom | Fallout (American video game franchise) | Moved to Fandom in 2007; forked to The Vault by Dembowski in 2011 after he joined Curse LLC as an employee | [12] |
| Supernatural Wiki | 2006 | Live | Fan community | Independent | Supernatural (American horror television series) | [13] | |
| The Vault | 2011 | Archived | Paweł Dembowski | Fandom | Fallout (American video game franchise) | Forked from Nukapedia in 2011 after Dembowski joined Curse LLC as an employee; hosted by Curse LLC to early 2019, when Curse's Gamepedia wiki hosting service was acquired by Fandom; archived by Fandom | [14] |
| Wookieepedia | March 2005 | Live | Chad Barbry and Steven Greenwood | Fandom | Star Wars (American science fiction franchise) | [15] | |
| Warcraft Wiki | October 2023 | Live | Fan community | Wiki.gg | World of Warcraft (American massively multiplayer online role-playing game) | Forked from Wowpedia (hosted by Fandom) in October 2023 following community vote | [16] |
| Wowpedia | October 2010 | Live | Fan community | Fandom | World of Warcraft (American massively multiplayer online role-playing game) | Forked from WoWWiki (then hosted by Fandom) in October 2010 following community vote; hosted by Curse LLC from founding to early 2019, when Curse's Gamepedia wiki hosting service was acquired by Fandom; forked to Warcraft Wiki following community vote in October 2023 | [17] |
| WoWWiki | 2004 | Archived | Fan community | Fandom | World of Warcraft (American massively multiplayer online role-playing game) | Forked to Wowpedia in October 2010 following community vote; archived by Fandom in May 2020 | [18] |
Notes
edit- ^ A wiki is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or limited to use within an organization for maintaining its internal knowledge base.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Jones 2021; Mittell 2013, p. 38.
- ^ Mittell 2013, p. 38.
- ^ Mittell 2013, pp. 39–40.
- ^ a b Jones 2021.
- ^ Jones 2021; Toton 2008.
- ^ Hinman 2006; Tossell 2007, p. R.20.
- ^ Stanton 2023; Tossell 2007, p. R.20.
- ^ Bailey 2022; Jackson 2018; Stanton 2023.
- ^ Heroes Wiki 2020.
- ^ Mittell 2009, ¶ 2.1.
- ^ Carlson 2016; Martinelli 2017.
- ^ Oshry 2012.
- ^ Kaplan 2010, ¶ 1.1.
- ^ D'Anastasio 2018; Oshry 2012.
- ^ McLean 2007; Steyer 2015, p. 131; Whitbrook 2021.
- ^ DiscordianKitty 2023.
- ^ D'Anastasio 2018; DiscordianKitty 2023; Hunter 2014, p. 19 n. 1.
- ^ Hunter 2011, pp. 41, 44; Hunter 2014, p. 19 n. 1; Laime 2020.
Sources
editBook chapters and reference work sections
edit- Jones, Henry (2021). "Wikis". In Baker, Mona; Blaagaard, Bolette B.; Jones, Henry; Pérez-González, Luis (eds.). The Routledge Encyclopedia of Citizen Media. Critical Perspectives in Citizen Media (ebook ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-61981-1.
- Mittell, Jason (2013). "Wikis and Participatory Fandom". In Delwiche, Aaron; Henderson, Jennifer Jacobs (eds.). The Participatory Cultures Handbook (ebook ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 35–42. ISBN 978-0-203-11792-7.
Journal articles
edit- Hunter, Rik (March 2011). "Erasing 'Property Lines': A Collaborative Notion of Authorship and Textual Ownership on a Fan Wiki". Computers and Composition. 28 (1): 40–56. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2010.12.004.
- Hunter, Rik (November 2014). "Hypersocial-Interactive Writing: An Audience of Readers-as-Writers". Literacy in Composition Studies. 2 (2): 17–43. doi:10.21623/1.2.2.3. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- Kaplan, Deborah (2010). "Interview with the Super-wiki Admin Team". Interview. Transformative Works and Cultures. 4. doi:10.3983/twc.2010.0200. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- Mittell, Jason (2009). "Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia". Praxis. Transformative Works and Cultures. 3. doi:10.3983/twc.2009.0118. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Toton, Sarah (January 17, 2008). "Cataloging Knowledge: Gender, Generative Fandom, and the Battlestar Wiki". Flow. University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
News and magazines
edit- Bailey, Dustin (October 21, 2022). "The Biggest Zelda Wiki Goes Independent to Fight 'Corporate Consolidation,' Urging Others to Follow Suit". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- D'Anastasio, Cecilia (December 13, 2018). "Twitch Sale Of Curse Media Will Combine Two Popular Gaming Wikis". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- Hinman, Michael (March 13, 2006). "Venture Capitalists Invest Wiki-millions". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- Jackson, Gita (September 28, 2018). "Video Game Wikis Abandon Their Platform After Year Of Problems". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- Martinelli, Marissa (September 21, 2017). "The Keepers of the Canon". Culturebox. Slate. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- McLean, Thomas J. (May 4, 2007). "Wookieepedia Tracks Star Wars". Variety. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- Oshry, Dave (January 14, 2012). "Fallout Wiki Banned from Wikia for Promoting Curse". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- Stanton, Rich (October 4, 2023). "Minecraft Wiki Completes Exit from Fandom, Gets Ready to Fight Its Own Zombified Corpse". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- Steyer, Jean-Sébastien (October 2015). "La Vie Dans Star Wars: Une Histoire (Sur)naturelle" [Life in Star Wars: A (Super)natural Story] (PDF). Revue des Deux Mondes (in French): 130–137. JSTOR 44435926. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- Tossell, Ivor (January 12, 2007). "It's a Wiki, Wiki World Out There". The Globe and Mail. p. R.20. ProQuest 383474262.
- Whitbrook, James (March 30, 2021). "How Star Wars' Biggest Fan Wiki Found Itself in a Fight Over Trans Identity". io9. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
Websites
edit- Brian / Admin (2020). "User:Admin/Goodbye". Heroes Wiki. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- Carlson, Dan (August 23, 2016). "How Memory Alpha Helped Star Trek Beyond". TrekCore. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- DiscordianKitty (November 1, 2023). "Wowpedia Has Moved – Now Warcraft Wiki". Wowhead. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- Laime, Mira (May 12, 2020). "This Wiki Has Been Archived. Please Contribute on Wowpedia From Now On". WoWWiki. Fandom. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2024.