Hub talk:Fan Fiction

"Write your own stories set in your favorite fictional worlds"...
...that's called "Fanfic", not "Fanon". While it is up to individual communities what to call themselves, the hub on Central should strive to be accurate instead of encouraging the mix-up. I propose renaming the hub "Fanfic wikis" or "Fandom wikis" (to be more generic). -Afker 19:15, 14 September 2007 (UTC)


 * For whatever reason, the name "Fanon" seems to have caught on as a synonym for "Fanfic" -- at least, on Wikia. Almost all of the wikis listed here use the name "Fanon". I agree with you that it may not be the most accurate name, but I think the communities here have made their preference pretty clear. -- Danny (talk ) 00:16, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I would like to respectively disagree with the implication of your statement that the name of the hub on central should be decided by the preferences of the perceived preference of the communities. Now, I'm not proposing to rename the existing wikis against the wish of the communities, but in my humble opinion I think the hub on Central Wikia should strive for accuracy.
 * Additionally, I challenge the conjecture/claim that the "preference" are made by the community. As far as I can tell, none of the communities ever took a vote on whether they prefer their respective wikis to be known as "Fanon" vs "Fanfic".  Generalization: A few founders may have deliberately chosen "Fanon", and other founders were just sheep naming their own wikis "fanons" cuz that's what the other kids did, and the rest of the communities just followed.  No disrespect meant towards any of the communities that actually made an educated decision to prefer "fanon" over "fanfic", I'm just generalizing.  Also, a preference to not change the name set by their founder does not equal a preference to consider fanon as a better name over fanfic for their wiki.  The cost of changing a bad name to a good name may be too great, and by the time someone with initiative gets around to it, the community may have just grown used to the bad name even though they might've preferred the other name if they had a say in the very beginning when the wiki was founded.
 * To refer to fanfic as fanon gives off an impression of either ignorance or hubris, at least to any non-Wikians who know the difference (a Wikian may be more forgiving to his fellows). Considering the hub is one of the main ways Wikia is presenting itself to the outside world (humans who are not-yet Wikians), it's probably bad marketing to give the impression of being preposterous (or ignorant).
 * Again, I'll respect the individual communities' preference on what to call themselves and what impression they want to give to others. I just think using the correct terminology for the Central Wikia hub is a tiny step in the right direction, and may help shield future founders of new wikis for fanfics from the sheep mentality.
 * My 4 cents. -Afker 09:29, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Yeah, those are good points, and I'm glad you brought this up. I have a few cents of my own to throw in:
 * My assumption is that founders are calling their wikis "fanon" because that's what they want them to be called. Yours is that founders are calling their wikis "fanon" because they're ignorant sheep. I think, out of respect for our Wikian colleagues, we should probably give them the benefit of the doubt.
 * A case could be made that, because the fanfic is being presented in encyclopedia form, it becomes a different thing. This isn't "fan fiction" as we typically think of it, posted in stories or chapters. Therefore, a new name may be appropriate.
 * Language changes. It's possible that what we're seeing is a new generation of fan writers -- my impression is that most of the contributors to the "fanon" wikis are in their teens. They're using a different format, and therefore, they want a different term for it.
 * If we're interested in the intentions of the founders and the future of these communities, then we should probably get some of them involved in this conversation. Do you want to ask some of the founders to check out this discussion and add their comments? -- Danny (talk )