Fandom Platform Migration: Fandom History and Why It Matters

writcraft:

I have been around in fandom for a decent length of time and have operated on multiple platforms. I also research platform migration, specifically in relation to Harry Potter fandom, one of the primary case studies for understanding how fandom movements across internet spaces have changed over the years. With the new content guidelines posted by Tumblr and the general panic stations around how this will impact fanart and potential future ramifications for fanfic, I wanted to set out a very cursory history and some thoughts.

THE (VERY) BASICS: SOME PIVOTAL MOMENTS

• FanLib (2007). A commercial enterprise designed to profit from fanfic, widely condemned within fandom spaces. Led to the original post by @astolat proposing ‘An Archive Of One’s Own’, recognising the need for a platform with no potentially conflicting commercial interest, which understood and supported fandom content. You can read the original post on Fanlore here x and you can read about what we now know (and love) as AO3 in their own words here x 
• Strikethrough/Boldthrough (2007). LiveJournal attempted to crack-down on journals which they deemed to be connected to child pornography, incest, paedophilia and rape. While the sentiment behind those deletions clearly come from a good place, fandom history has taught us that once the axe is wielded it falls with no rhyme or reason. Communities caught up in strikethrough/boldthrough included, for example, rape survival communities, book groups, and in a fandom context, hundreds of personal fannish blogs and fandom communities. You can read more about Strikethrough, and the later Boldthrough, on Fanlore here: x
• Fanlore (2007). An AO3 project and a must read for anyone interested in fandom history. Essentially a fandom wiki. Many of the links in this post originate from Fanlore.
• FanFiction.Net Purges (2002 and 2012). FanFiction.Net is an archive for hosting fanfiction which was mired by several issues over the course of fandom history, most notably in this context the banning of RPF and the purge of explicit content in 2002 and 2012 where explicit fanfic was deleted and removed without warning. You can read more about the purges on Fanlore here: x.
• Dreamwidth. A fan-friendly journal alternative to LiveJournal. Established 2009 and exited beta in 2011. You can read more about Dreamwidth on Fanlore here: x

PLATFORM MIGRATION: WHAT IS IT?

From the early days of Internet fandom, fandoms have moved across platforms from Yahoo Groups to journals, to Tumblr (to name just a pithy handful of examples). When platforms have been deemed ‘unsafe’ for fandom activity, there are trends around fandom communities seeking alternative platforms. During Strikethrough/Boldthrough, for example, the more fan-friendly InsaneJournal was a site many communities migrated to and people backed up personal LJ blogs on IJ. As the journals became increasingly unpalatable due to clunky interfaces and new, restrictive terms of service in the case of LiveJournal (2017) a number of journal originated fandom participants moved to Tumblr, which by that point has established itself as a place where fandom activity could thrive. You can read about platform migration in this 2018 Slate interview with Dr Casey Fiesler, who is currently undertaking some fantastic research in this field. 

FINE. WHAT CAN WE DO WITH TUMBLR’S UPDATED TERMS?

Continue to do your thing. LJ was alive and kicking for another decade after Strikethrough/Boldthrough before things really started to shift. It’s very difficult to know what impact the changes will have on fandom activity at this point. However, here are a few things I’m personally thinking about in the context of one more nail in the ‘Tumblr as a safe space for fandom’ coffin.

• SUPPORT SITES WHICH ARE FANDOM FRIENDLY. This includes AO3 and for more community oriented journaling, Dreamwidth. Please add other suggestions if you have them. If you’re not already using them in conjunction with your blog, find chat groups within your fandom like Discord which will help you connect with other fandom participants.
• SUPPORT YOUR FANARTISTS. The journals have not been aesthetically brilliant for fanart, so check where else your favourite artists post and follow them there, supporting their works where you can. At present, fanart seems to be the most at risk kind of fannish content (together with gif makers producing NSFW edits). Keep an eye out for fanartists posting about alternative platform options.
• INTERACT ON OTHER PLATFORMS. Tumblr took a long time to grow as a viable space for fandom activity. There are alternatives where you can find fandom communities that are lively, welcoming and approachable. Discord chats, Dreamwidth. Fandoms are increasingly fragmented, but your people are out there. Find them, and speak to them. I promise it works.
• SUPPORT YOUR FANDOM. One of the biggest shifts I’ve seen is that in the ‘old days’ fandom policing seemed to come from the heavy hand of corporations. In the context of the new Tumblr guidelines, seems like we’re back at it again, where fandom could well feel the impact of commercial interests vastly outweighing the needs and desires of fandom communities. However, intra-fandom policing has been on the uptick on Tumblr itself, and a large threat to the ‘freedom to fandom’ comes from within our own communities. Think about what fandom means to you and how to support content creators in a way which resists purity culture that seeks to silence and shame. Support your fandom, if it matters to you. Work with us, even those of us whose kinks/ships/opinions you might not like, as opposed to against us.