25 January 2021 @ 12:41 pm
Fandom Snowflake 2021 #13  
Snowflake Challenge promotional banner featuring a wrapped giftbox with a snowflake on the gift tag. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31

Today's challenge is to list fandom resources that I use.

First off has to be Wikipedia. No, I know it's not a specifically fandom resource (and I know everyone is familiar with it already); but I use it a lot, especially when I'm writing any story with an historical setting. I may well use other sources, too: when I need a lot of specific information about a particular period, Wikipedia is likely to be inadequate. But it's told me about the US TV schedule for 1968, described Roman glassware, and given me an alternative Hastings with its own Battle. Among so many other verisimilitudinous details.

Second on the list have to be other wikis (collectively!) since they're utterly invaluable for checking canon details. I trust we all know Fanlore? Here are four fandom-specific wikis that I use:
  • Arthur Ransome Wiki (558 pages) - Ransome himself, and the "Swallows and Amazons" series, including adaptations
  • Arrowverse Wiki (10,487 pages) - all series in the CW Arrowverse
  • Forever Knight Wiki (5548 pages) - Forever Knight, both the series and fannish activities - especially dear to my heart, since I'm an editor there
  • Monster M*A*S*H Wiki (1111 pages) - all versions of MASH, including the TV sequel series
Third has to be the Forkni-L Archives, which comprise the major part of Knightwind's Nook. Alas, it only covers digests from 2000 to the present, plus a few months from 1996. Nor is it searchable, save those pages currently scanned by Google. Nevertheless, it has told me a lot about FK fandom in its latter heyday; and a lot of what I have learned there has found itself into those portions of the FK Wiki that deal with fan activities, and some thence to Fanlore.

Fourth is the Forever Knight Website Archive. Sadly incomplete, it nevertheless has over a hundred old sites. These include the main fanfic archive, faction sites, several war archives, the Kickstart the Knight campaign, the NATPE Seven History, and sundry else from the fandom's history. In addition, there are a lot of ancient personal sites (and my own, which is still active). Those old sites vary enormously in content and in quality; looking through them is a lesson in fannish history in itself.
 
 
 
 
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goddess47: snowflake[personal profile] goddess47 on January 25th, 2021 07:56 pm (UTC)
Forever Knight! I remember watching that as I could catch the episodes when they were on... it was before I really knew what fandom was and I would have signed up, if I knew what to sign up to!

Many thanks to you and others that keep up sites for older shows with closed canon.

Thanks for joining us in Snowflake today!
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immortalje[personal profile] immortalje on January 26th, 2021 06:04 pm (UTC)
I didn't realise there is a fandom wiki for MASH or even to think there might be. I really should have. This is brilliant :)
greerwatson[personal profile] greerwatson on January 26th, 2021 07:11 pm (UTC)
Monster M*A*S*H really is a very useful wiki. Not a hundred per cent complete (what wiki is?) but utterly invaluable when you want to track down the details of a particular episode or add minor characters to the background of a story.
why_me_why_not[personal profile] why_me_why_not on February 5th, 2021 03:35 am (UTC)
Forever Knight! I haven't thought about that in AGES.
greerwatson[personal profile] greerwatson on February 5th, 2021 04:28 am (UTC)
Fan of yesteryear?

Come back, come back! All is forgiven!
why_me_why_not[personal profile] why_me_why_not on February 5th, 2021 05:52 am (UTC)
Haha! One of my friends - from HP fandom, I think? Not sure. But she pressured me into watching it so I could beta stuff for her. This was like 2006, 2007? Now I wanna hunt down the series and rewatch it.
greerwatson[personal profile] greerwatson on February 5th, 2021 07:55 pm (UTC)
Not impossible, you know. Just google "forever knight episodes online free". At least some of them are out there.

Edited 2021-02-05 07:56 pm (UTC)