Snowflake day 5

[obstinatecondolement]

In your own space, tell us about 3 creative/fannish resources, spaces, or communities you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom or like many people at the moment, fannishly adrift right now) Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

—snowflake_challenge

I would like to rec DW-specific resources, but I'm not really on here frequently enough to have many unique insights in that sphere, sadly! However, here are a few resources that have been helpful for me in Trek fandom:

• TrekCore is, in its own words "The Web's largest and most frequently updated Star Trek multimedia resource" and it is an invaluable resource for screencaps, episode guides, sound effects and news about new merch, etc. I once planned out a whole DS9 vid using screencaps that I sourced from TrekCore as storyboards. It is resources like these that make me realise how lucky we Trekkies are when I feel the absense of them in other fandoms!
• Memory Alpha is the fan wiki for all things (canon) Trek! Again, a truly wonderful and comprehensive resource that makes other fan wikis pale in comparison (I certainly feel very wistful about Memory Alpha whenever I'm contending with the Karate Kid wiki, which literally just makes things up and editorialises constantly). Its sister site, Memory Beta, covers beta canon (i.e. novelisations etc.).

I'm listing these resources specifically because from time to time I have seen proponents of transformative fandom dismiss "curatorial" fandom that "simply" catalogues canon and is therefore "not creative" and, honestly, this makes me very uncomfortable. I understand that some people in more mainstream parts of fandom are often very rude about transformative fandom and that defensiveness in the face of this is probably natural, but I dislike the idea that we need to prop ourselves up by putting down another way of being fannish. And, as I've said, these resources that curate canon information have been invaluable to me for creating fanworks! I really don't think this is or should be a "us and them" issue and, besides, lots of people like both ways of particpating in fandom, so the binary is a false one in the first place.

Comments

[muccamukk]

Being in fandoms with wikis like your Karate Kid one REALLY makes me miss Star Trek/Star Wars. Like, for the LOVE OF GOD, please cite something! Anything! I don't care what!

Yes, I guess I AM going to have have watch 15 episodes to find one detail. Again.

[obstinatecondolement]

It's so frustrating! The Karate Kid wiki, among its many other sins, invents first names and surnames where none exist in canon, which sometimes then end up becoming the canonised character tag on ao3 (* ￣︿￣)

[shipperslist]

...excuse me WHAT

[obstinatecondolement]

It's truly the worst fan wiki I have ever used and a lot of fans pick up misinformation about what is and isn't canon from it unfortunately

[justanorthernlight]

Those seem like great resources! I remember in my early days of fandom (pre streaming, I used to check out individual Star Trek episodes on VHS from the local rental place), screencap and transcript sites were some of my only ways to review old episodes.

I definitely agree with you about the value of the curatorial side of fandom, each facet of fandom brings its own benefits.

[obstinatecondolement]

So true! We're so lucky to have the ability to rewatch things we have these days. I often think of those intrepid 60s fans who would furiously transcribe the episodes while watching them live so they could refer back to their notes when writing fic for zines.

Exactly, we are not enemies, we are friends! Perhaps lovers... Now I'm trying to make a joke that is halway between "there was only one fandom" and "oh my god, they were roommates" but it's not quite happening for me.

[justanorthernlight]

"In the fannish system, canon is engaged with by two separate connected and equally important groups, the curators who catalogue it and the creatives who transform it. These are their stories."

[obstinatecondolement]

Dun dun!

[pauraque]

Memory Alpha is amazing and I have likewise been completely spoiled by it. Most fandoms don't have resources anywhere near that good.

[obstinatecondolement]

It's so good! I guess maybe it's not fair to compare the resources that are maintained by a 50+ year old fandom with ones for a newer property, but it's hard not to sulk sometimes, haha.

I am obsessed with your Scotty icon! One of my favourite bits from The One With The Whales 🐋🐳

[pauraque]

It is a scene of pure delight in a film that has many!

[obstinatecondolement]

Easily my favourite Trek film, hands down.

[pauraque]

Same. A few years ago I was lucky enough to catch a screening at the Castro Theater in San Francisco (my hometown, but I don't get back very often anymore) with a sold-out and very enthusiastic crowd. The roar of approval at Sulu's comment "San Francisco... I was born there" is one of my dearest fannish memories. <3

[obstinatecondolement]

That sounds like an amazing experience!

[regshoe]

(Here from the snowflake_challenge post...) I totally agree about the different types of fandom—both collecting/curating information about canon and making transformative fanworks are important, valuable and fun! And often interact, in my experience—tracking down some obscure canon detail or connecting it up with something else in canon can be just what gives you an idea for a fic.

[obstinatecondolement]

Oh, hey, nice Discworld username! I love Reg, undead Enrolras of my heart ♥

Yeah, in my experience also there's a lot of overlap between transformative and curatorial fandom members, so if you bad mouth transformative fans in a curatorial fandom space you're probably insulting people who can hear you, and vice versa.

[regshoe]

I love Reg, undead Enrolras of my heart ♥

:D

[shipperslist]

Uh, the divide between curatorial and transformative fandoms is so, well, stupid! Curated sites are like libraries, they're needed just as they are because they store information for the future.

[obstinatecondolement]

Yes, it's important archival work! And also... if people like cataloguing things and knowing exhaustive amounts of information about canon as their primary way of engaging with fandom... that's fine?? I was a kid who often arranged my toys by size and shape instead of playing with them "properly" and I found it enormously fun, so I really don't like when people invalidate how other people have harmless fun.

[shipperslist]

And also... if people like cataloguing things

Oh yes, that too. I love filing things into their proper folders and organising stuff.

[kavyina]

As someone who is currently working on transcribing their fandom's media, your take on curatorial fandom warms my heart <3

[obstinatecondolement]

I'm glad!

[autodach]

Memory Alpha is awesome! I wish every fandom could have a wiki that good.

[obstinatecondolement]

Me too! We're so lucky

[byakkonomonogatari]

As someone who has only recently gotten into Star Trek, this is very helpful; tysm!

[obstinatecondolement]

You're very welcome! Welcome to the fandom 🖖