FanWiki

Wikipedia is everywhere. Even the fan circuit gratefully uses its functions, but spins it in their own typical way.

Difference in platform

The Harry Potter wiki alone consists of more than 12,000 entries. Fan wikis are not included in the same place as the regular Wikipedia, they have their own platform. That makes sense, because Jemielnak shows that the English wikipedia has 4.1 million articles and it is still growing. The level of details that fan communities produce on their content would create an overload of information if it would not be posted separatly.

The benefits are clear. First, the information on the regular Wikipedia can therefore shift from content to contextual facts. Second, the content on the specialised Wikipedia can show its own style, graphics, etc. that complements the fan world.

Difference in the basic idea of interaction

The approach of the norm of concensus is different on most fan wikis. What the original stories, the canon says, is what -undisputedly- is the truth. The verifiability of that is of course absolute: it has been written, or not. Because it is the only reliable source, there is no place to discuss it, which is radically different than the idea of hypothetical unity.

I think that is because there is no need to do that in fan wikis. They just want to report, group and give a detailed analysis of what their favourite stories are about. Like in the "regular wikipedia" do not want to show orginal research. Although, like in Fanfiction or literary criticism/analysis, fans like to think beyond the verifiable story, because the author leaves gaps or suggestions. The place where interaction is very high is in separate sections like "Harry Potter: conspiracy theories".

This special use of Wikipedia creates an interesting knowledge-sharing platform for all fan communities.

#Fans #Jemielnak #Wikipedia #Week3 #Jenkins #HarryPotter