Checkpoint 1: Kick-off

[nepenthee]

With slight delay, this DW community is now open!

As mentioned on the event site, the challenge will be accompanied by regular checkpoints where you can share your plans and progress, ask for help and discuss anything regarding site-making. These checkpoints will be posted in approximately biweekly intervals by me, your host, and sometimes by larissa. :)

Some questions to start with: What are you making and why, how long has the shrine been on your wishlist, and where are you starting from?

Feel free to chat about anything, no need to answer any of these questions!

Comments

[lexicalcrow]

Ahh, thank you! :D I've definitely not been much in touch with the greater shrine-making community, but just going from the examples that were offered, yeah, I can see the lack of live action stuff going on, and I'm happy to be contributing to that. Maybe I can coax some others into making more shrines too. :D I'm excited to start on mine, it's such an interesting idea that I don't think really gets as much coverage as other aspects of the show do.

Oh neat! :D I've written in many small fandoms and fandoms-of-one over the years, so I felt it was a nice idea to have a little page introducing my boys to people so they're not diving into the fic without knowing who they are. It feels like a more customised kind of archive. Not just a list of fics, but here are all the idiots I've written about and why I'm insane about them. I think it would add a nice touch to it. And hey, if it inspires you to do something similar, that's awesome!

[nepenthee]

This takes me back: Back when everything was new on the web, there was this huge German platform (Animexx) for all fandom needs where everyone had an account (with customized profiles that included blurbs, comment sections, fanwork overview, purchasable trinkets etc.), could post fanart, fanfic, comics and reviews and comment on other people's, participate in discussion boards etc. (I assume DeviantArt comes closest to it on an international scale?) Every single fic had its own "homepage" on the platform with a chapter overview, but also a summary/blurb AND the option to add a cover image and character profiles, images included. People could use that space to introduce the series to anyone not familiar with it or not familiar with the latest developments, or highlight their aesthetic/visuals for the characters (graphics! fanart by the writer or lifted from around the web!); more importantly, that space was used veryyyy creatively in the case of AUs, crossovers and OC involvements. (Any comments and fanart to the fic would be linked there too.) Here's an example (click on "Charaktere"; I linked the first thing I found so no judging).

I haven't seen anything similar on any platform since, so I love seeing you talk about how to design self-hosted fic archives or fic overviews to draw out their max potential!

On a related note, I only read fics of things I know, but am aware that others may check out fics of subjects they're unfamiliar with, for example if they like an author's works very much. Being devoted to shrines myself, I think of them also as starting points to familiarize oneself with the work in question – and/or to get to know someone, as a webmaster, writer, designer, fan or person; it follows that I dislike the thought of only checking out shrines to things one already knows. I'd say fics are slightly different (as they aren't specifically meant to introduce, which is an element of many shrines), but the kind of introduction you're planning for your fic archive can change that!

Do you guys know whether live action shrines were really that rare in the web of old or whether it's a case of communities not being aware of each other? I once stumbled upon someone's site in the past few year or so, and the webmaster expressed nostalgia for the stylish layouts of old that featured characters from live action series, musicians and other celebrities. Was that limited to journals, self-hosted blogs, personal sites, graphics sites and such?