I’ve been on the internet for 19 years, since I was 15 years old. I find it HILARIOUS that the teenagers think they discovered the net and it’s only for them and that it’s weird that adults use it too. I mean, when i first got on the net there were grown ass men…
Thank you to everyone who participated in June Bloom thus far! Your dedication is truly inspiring. We’re going into the second week of the June Bloom, and this week, why not remind yourself of your
first fandom love
Dig out all those memories of the fandom that first enthralled you and share them! Here are some ideas to get you started:
What is your first fandom?
Have exciting memories about the beginnings of a megafandom? Start a page: younger fans will adore reading them!
Have any funny stories or unknown details about fanzines, ships and such? Come and fill the other fans in: there’s never enough details!
Feeling nostalgic about the fandom you started with, but hadn’t thought of in awhile? Create a page, and revive your interest!
What is the fanwork that got stuck in your mind?
What fic, what fanzine or vid, or fan art holds that special place in your heart as your first favorite? Come and gush about it: don’t let it be forgotten!
Maybe you have funny anecdote about searching for Spike/Xander fics, or seemingly unimportant details about famous fans and their work: this week’s all about them, so don’t hesitate to write about it!
Finally, it’s good to remember Fanlore is a wiki, so you don’t need to write out an in-depth article: someone else will come along to polish things up and flesh things out. By simply creating a stub you will contribute in nurturing of fandom flower!
In the era before for-profit media fandom conventions, Star Trek fans organized their own events and, in one case, even produced their own TV ad. This is for the 1975 Equicon, a convention held in Southern California. (links go to Fanlore, the fan run wiki about media fandom).
“The
members of S.T.A.R. San Diego ran Equicon 75 at the El Cortez Hotel,
with most of the STAR TREK cast attending as guests. The “Captain” in
the ad is now-famous science fiction author Greg Bear. (We knew him
when!) Yes, it’s blurry. (Sorry.) It’s been pieced back together from a
34-year-old silent 8mm film, converted to vhs, then to dvd (with the
sound dubbed back in from an ancient cassette tape), then converted
again to an mp4 file! “
very rare pic of the legendary Joan Winston (1931-2008), organizer of the first Star Trek conventions, with “Mr. Spock” (Leonard Nimoy) and “Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy” (DeForest Kelley) [ X ]
I’ve seen a couple posts & discussions lately that boil down to the idea that fandom/being a fan/being a giant geek is something it’s inappropriate to engage in after a certain age. (What age? Who knows, it depends on who you ask: 18, 25, 30, I’ve seen it all.)
Actual footage of me every time I see this idea:
COME WITH ME, MY DARLINGS. Let us explore the many wonderful, varied reasons why this idea is a steaming pile of horsecrap.
“My favorite fandom story is about how when my dad found out I was super into Kirk/Spock, his eyes lit up as though Christmas had come early. “Hold on just a second,” he said, and hustled down to the basement. He eventually emerged triumphant with a limited-edition fanzine from the ‘70s that was nothing but vintage Kirk/Spock fic, complete with epic illustrations and poetry. “One of my friends submitted a piece to this anthology,” he said. “She gave me a copy.“
People don’t stop being nerds when they get older. See also: the creators of "House, M.D.” and “Wicked” and every other “adaptation” of beloved stories that is just another word for “sanctioned official fanfic au.” Who do think writes that? Fans do. Fans who grew up loving their favorite stories and wanted to keep playing with them. And I guarantee so many more Fans Of A Certain Age are lurking on tumblr or twitter or the AO3 or deviantart than you think.
Let’s put this idea to rest, shall we? Fandom is for lovers. That’s the only rule for entry, that you WANT to be here. “
Visitors is a 30-page V* digest-sized zine* by Gordon Carleton.* It is musical parody, a crossover* zine that is a puppet opera based on ‘Cats’. It is the con skit* that was intended to be performed at More Eastly Con.“*
“Visitors” page on Fanlore proving the awesomeness of the human imagination and our equally awesome desire to capture its history
In 2012, Fortune City, a popular fandom webhost like Geocities, went down with little notice. Losing this artist’s website was one of the saddest days.
The image at the top is one of my favorite fan arts. The artist, who lives in Malaysia, fell in love with Harrison Ford when she was little. She then went on to illustrate Star Wars fanzines. Her Fanlore page is here
The second is a screencap of the Google cache of some of her artwork shortly after FortuneCity went down. I was later able to help retrieve some of her artwork.
Have you ever searched for something on Fanlore only to come up empty? Have the words “How does this not have a Fanlore page yet?!” ever crossed your mind? Have you ever wanted to share something fandom related with your fellow fans?
If you answer YES to at least one of these questions then this month’s challenge is for you!
Use June Bloom to start the pages you always wanted to see on Fanlore! Spread the love of your fandoms to others.
The pages you create don’t have to be complex! They can be as small as this Elijah/Elena page, or as big as this Derek Hale one. We want you to simply sow the seeds and watch these pages bloom as other editors add their own knowledge and perspective. With your help we will be able to turn Fanlore into a beautiful garden full of different pages everybody will be able to enjoy.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry! Every week we will be posting a theme to help inspire you. Stay tuned for the very first theme, coming later today!
If you don’t like editing on your own, the editing party will take place June 13th. (We plan on starting at 4pm UTC, but who knows how long the party will last?) For those who can’t make it, there will be a staffer ready to help you every weekend in June. Simply stop by the Fanlore chatroom. If you find the Fanlore room empty, leave your your question (along with your Fanlore username) and we will get in touch with you on your Talk page. Plus you can always send an email to the Fanlore Gardeners.
Remember: As an anti-spam preventative measure, brand new accounts are not allowed to create pages for the first four hours. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help by editing existing pages first! It will be great practice for those unfamiliar with wiki editing.
Start by checking out the New Visitor Portal then start searching for things connected to your fandom! You can also check out the Fanlore Wish List for inspiration.
