38:
212:
are able to benefit from consolidated hosting infrastructure costs, access to a large existing user base when new communities are formed, and user familiarity with an existing website interface shared between multiple communities. In contrast, the benefits of creating and maintaining a fansite without help from these modern services include: greater freedom over website functionality, more flexibility to style webpages without conforming to a unified appearance, and independence from centralized services not directly controlled by fan communities. However, these benefits come at the cost of designing and hosting a website on a
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176:. As the internet matured, many of the previously fragmented communities consolidated under new fledgling tech giants. New website offerings did not require users to understand the technical hurdles required to format and build custom webpages as was previously necessary to have a presence online. In the mid-to-late 2000s, fan communities started to migrate to platforms such as
211:
Fansites operated and hosted by individuals are still created and persist today, but have become less common. Most traditional needs of fansites are able to be met by the social media platforms and services that replaced them. Additionally, because these services host many different communities, they
106:
In the late 1990s, it was a lot more common for an individual to host their own website than it is today. It was not an option at the time to simply use one of the well-developed large-scale general-purpose social media platforms that exist now. Creating a permanent space dedicated to many aspects of
239:
Research on interpersonal attraction indicates that people generally prefer to socialize with those who are similar to them. For example, sports fans fulfill this need by attending sporting events in person. In the online world, fans fulfill this need by building or participating in online fansites.
224:
A study suggests that unofficial fansites are often built as an alternative to the "hard sell" approach of official fansites that carry commercial messages. A classification system developed by Wann breaks down eight motives of fandom. These motives, particularly those related to group affiliation
97:
are another common type of unofficial fansite, though they are much simpler than general fansites, and are designed simply to list fans of a certain subject who have chosen to submit their names (and sometimes links to their home pages). Many do not contain much information on the subject at all,
86:
Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, biographies, storyline plots), pictures taken from various sources, the latest news related to their subject, media downloads, links to other, similar fansites, and the chance to talk to other fans via discussion
107:
a specific fandom often necessitated hosting a fansite, so as to allow room for numerous subtopics and to create dedicated website features which were not possible by using generic forums or chatrooms contemporary to the time.
98:
aside from a small introduction. They are generally made with the thought that visitors will already have knowledge of the subject. However, several are a part of a bigger fansite, used to amplify the fanbase's experience.
243:
Many fans prefer to visit unofficial fansites for fan-related services, but still prefer an official fansite as the primary source for accurate information since it affords the closest affiliation with the target itself.
367:
Wann, D. L. Schrader, M. P. Wilson, A. M (1999) Sports fan motivation: questionnaire validation, comparisons by sport, and relationship to athletic motivation
Journal of Sport Behavior (JSB), 22(1), 114–139.
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153:
Hobbyist webmasters launched and built fansites around many topics, such as videogame franchises and entertainment brands (TV series, movies, bands, actors). Nearly all fansites had some type of
91:, highlighting the latest news regarding the fansite subject. They often include galleries of photos or videos of the subject and are often "affiliates" with other fansites.
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to upload site contents into, then typically later, popular sites would migrate to an independent domain name rather than keep the name of their free host in the
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Although many people did host fansites on their own web servers, it was easier and more common to use free website hosting services such as
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Satisfying the social psychology needs of group affiliation and self-esteem by visiting fansites, and, in particular, participating in the
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196:(launched in 2015). Short public discussions between fans additionally migrated away from fansite forums to places such as
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126:. These free website hosts were the home of tens of thousands of fan sites and fan pages. They would offer a
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that is far more complex and competitive than in decades past, when fansites more commonly thrived.
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so that it was possible for readers of the fansite to engage with each other and communicate.
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and self-esteem, are a driving factor in the creation of unofficial fan sites.
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150:, and sometimes other backend web technologies, was generally still required.
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Rubin, Z. (1973). Liking and loving. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
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Independently run fansites peaked in relative popularity around the year
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334:"Fan Psychology: Designing Effective Fans Services Online (Whitepaper)"
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31:
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122:, or a smaller consolidated web hosting service offered through an
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Website created and maintained by a fan of something or someone
959:
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180:(launched in 2004 under the names Wikicities, later Wikia),
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88:
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to make it easier to start a website, but knowledge of
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232:aspects of fansites, appear to serve to increase
30:"Fanpage" redirects here. For the newspaper, see
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41:A family tree of fictional characters, from a
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138:. Sometimes these free hosts would offer a
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1177:
405:
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1527:Websites with country access restrictions
321:
36:
14:
1540:
1522:Websites blocked in the United Kingdom
341:Amberlight Human Computer Interactions
87:boards. They often take the form of a
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858:Organization for Transformative Works
386:
24:
1512:Websites blocked in mainland China
1198:
25:
1574:
1280:
300:
286:
79:, thing, or particular cultural
1486:Professional wrestling websites
370:
361:
219:
13:
1:
841:Live action role-playing game
314:
1365:Microcredit lending websites
71:created and maintained by a
7:
1395:Social bookmarking websites
412:
247:
10:
1579:
1517:Websites blocked in Russia
1400:Social networking services
670:Celebrity worship syndrome
101:
29:
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1207:
1130:
1037:
876:
762:Amateur press association
752:
652:
514:
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427:
420:
124:internet service provider
1267:Personal wedding website
1120:by date of establishment
192:(launched in 2010), and
1471:Food and drink websites
1385:Satirical news websites
1481:Image-sharing websites
1466:Environmental websites
1451:Biodiversity databases
1375:Online video platforms
1350:Image-sharing websites
1105:Professional wrestling
836:Historical reenactment
528:A Song of Ice and Fire
489:Disneyland social club
466:Anime and manga fandom
445:Science fiction fandom
48:
1507:Most popular websites
204:(launched 2006), and
40:
1461:Educational websites
891:Autograph collecting
188:(launched in 2007),
184:(launched in 2005),
167:Invision Power Board
1502:Founded before 1995
1476:Video game websites
1412:Tor hidden services
1330:Employment websites
1019:Real person fiction
851:Harley Owners Group
515:Production-specific
350:on January 25, 2007
140:web template system
75:or devotee about a
1446:Astronomy websites
1340:Fake news websites
1300:Academic databases
1158:Shipping discourse
49:
1535:
1534:
1166:
1165:
886:Anime music video
648:
647:
208:(launched 2010).
200:(launched 2005),
16:(Redirected from
1570:
1558:Internet culture
1456:Biology websites
1370:Online databases
1305:BitTorrent sites
1284:
1220:Cashback website
1215:Audition website
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343:. Archived from
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1417:Web directories
1355:Internet forums
1320:Dating websites
1285:
1276:
1252:Library website
1203:
1197:
1167:
1162:
1126:
1110:Science fiction
1033:
955:Fan translation
878:
872:
846:Motorcycle club
804:Supercar Season
754:
748:
644:
598:Sherlock Holmes
510:
459:Medium-specific
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294:Internet portal
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190:Facebook groups
104:
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28:
23:
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15:
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5:
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1390:Search engines
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1153:Odagiri effect
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879:and activities
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821:Fan convention
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480:Disney fandom
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435:Fantasy fandom
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308:Society portal
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214:World Wide Web
155:forum software
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2:
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1380:Q&A sites
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1335:Encyclopedias
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799:Lowrider Club
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753:Organizations
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484:Disney adults
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19:
1360:Marketplaces
1325:Dictionaries
1224:
1071:
984:
970:
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903:
895:
877:Publications
868:Stan Twitter
826:Fandom names
782:Import scene
689:
653:Demographics
637:
610:
603:
596:
579:
557:
550:
543:
526:
471:Bibliophilia
440:Furry fandom
372:
363:
352:. Retrieved
345:the original
242:
238:
227:
223:
210:
171:
152:
132:subdirectory
109:
105:
94:
93:
85:
64:
60:
56:
52:
50:
42:
1262:Mirror site
1247:Lab website
1148:Fan service
1143:Fan loyalty
1039:Conventions
930:Fan fiction
787:Hot rodding
534:Beatlemania
450:Yaoi fandom
269:Fan fiction
220:Motivations
95:Fanlistings
1542:Categories
1439:by subject
1237:Gripe site
1100:Multigenre
1059:Comic book
1014:Filk music
755:and events
592:Parrothead
575:Moonwalker
559:James Bond
552:EarthBound
545:Doctor Who
506:Sports fan
476:Cinephilia
354:2008-09-18
315:References
236:behavior.
157:, such as
81:phenomenon
32:Fanpage.it
1422:Webcomics
1345:Fan wikis
1257:Microsite
1138:Autograph
1072:Doujinshi
940:Fan labor
912:Doujinshi
831:Game club
772:Boy racer
605:Star Wars
494:Donaldism
230:community
206:Pinterest
159:vBulletin
128:subdomain
120:Angelfire
112:GeoCities
77:celebrity
1553:Websites
1230:Fan wiki
1004:Fanspeak
990:Fan wiki
965:Fan game
950:Fan rice
945:Fan mail
935:Fan film
925:Fan edit
816:Fan club
777:Cruising
767:Car club
665:Anti-fan
639:Twilight
612:Stargate
581:MLP: FIM
539:Deadhead
279:Fan wiki
274:Fan mail
259:Fan club
248:See also
65:fan page
61:fan blog
57:fan site
18:Fansites
1563:Web 1.0
1405:defunct
1293:by type
1225:Fansite
1208:By type
1200:Website
1024:Vidding
1009:Fanzine
985:Fansite
920:Fan art
863:Railfan
811:Cosplay
724:Shipper
719:Sasaeng
704:Groupie
633:Trekkie
628:Tolkien
623:Swiftie
570:Juggalo
565:Janeite
421:By type
414:Fandoms
254:Fan art
202:Twitter
198:YouTube
194:Discord
102:History
69:website
53:fansite
47:fansite
1548:Fandom
1202:topics
1131:Topics
1095:Horror
1083:Gaming
971:Doujin
904:Doujin
897:Doujin
739:Ultras
734:Tifosi
691:Kemonā
660:Anorak
264:Fandom
186:Tumblr
182:Reddit
178:Fandom
116:Tripod
1495:Other
1437:Lists
1427:Wikis
1310:Blogs
1291:Lists
1078:Furry
1047:Anime
960:Fanac
906:music
744:Waifu
714:Otaku
685:Furry
618:Shrek
587:MST3K
501:Gamer
428:Genre
348:(PDF)
337:(PDF)
165:, or
163:phpBB
130:or a
67:is a
44:Catan
1115:list
1088:list
1064:list
1052:list
1029:Zine
995:list
973:soft
729:Stan
709:Nerd
699:Geek
522:AFOL
174:2005
144:HTML
89:blog
978:Mod
680:Fan
234:fan
148:CSS
136:URL
73:fan
63:or
1544::
339:.
323:^
161:,
146:,
118:,
114:,
83:.
59:,
55:,
51:A
1192:e
1185:t
1178:v
406:e
399:t
392:v
357:.
34:.
20:)
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