27:
201:
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
277:
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165:. 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
200:
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
95:
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
228:
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.
213:
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
86:
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,
75:
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
96:
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.
87:
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.
232:
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.
356:
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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142:
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
80:, 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.
123:
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
322:
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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
217:
Satisfying the social psychology needs of group affiliation and self-esteem by visiting fansites, and, in particular, participating in the
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185:(launched in 2015). Short public discussions between fans additionally migrated away from fansite forums to places such as
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115:. 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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139:, 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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323:"Fan Psychology: Designing Effective Fans Services Online (Whitepaper)"
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111:, 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
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169:(launched in 2004 under the names Wikicities, later Wikia),
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to make it easier to start a website, but knowledge of
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221:aspects of fansites, appear to serve to increase
19:"Fanpage" redirects here. For the newspaper, see
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30:A family tree of fictional characters, from a
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127:. Sometimes these free hosts would offer a
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1516:Websites with country access restrictions
310:
25:
1529:
1511:Websites blocked in the United Kingdom
330:Amberlight Human Computer Interactions
76:boards. They often take the form of a
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847:Organization for Transformative Works
375:
13:
1501:Websites blocked in mainland China
1187:
14:
1563:
1269:
289:
275:
68:, thing, or particular cultural
1475:Professional wrestling websites
359:
350:
208:
1:
830:Live action role-playing game
303:
1354:Microcredit lending websites
60:created and maintained by a
7:
1384:Social bookmarking websites
401:
236:
10:
1568:
1506:Websites blocked in Russia
1389:Social networking services
659:Celebrity worship syndrome
90:
18:
1483:
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1267:
1196:
1119:
1026:
865:
751:Amateur press association
741:
641:
503:
447:
416:
409:
113:internet service provider
1256:Personal wedding website
1109:by date of establishment
181:(launched in 2010), and
1460:Food and drink websites
1374:Satirical news websites
1470:Image-sharing websites
1455:Environmental websites
1440:Biodiversity databases
1364:Online video platforms
1339:Image-sharing websites
1094:Professional wrestling
825:Historical reenactment
517:A Song of Ice and Fire
478:Disneyland social club
455:Anime and manga fandom
434:Science fiction fandom
37:
1496:Most popular websites
193:(launched 2006), and
29:
1450:Educational websites
880:Autograph collecting
177:(launched in 2007),
173:(launched in 2005),
156:Invision Power Board
1491:Founded before 1995
1465:Video game websites
1401:Tor hidden services
1319:Employment websites
1008:Real person fiction
840:Harley Owners Group
504:Production-specific
339:on January 25, 2007
129:web template system
64:or devotee about a
1435:Astronomy websites
1329:Fake news websites
1289:Academic databases
1147:Shipping discourse
38:
1524:
1523:
1155:
1154:
875:Anime music video
637:
636:
197:(launched 2010).
189:(launched 2005),
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1547:Internet culture
1445:Biology websites
1359:Online databases
1294:BitTorrent sites
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1209:Cashback website
1204:Audition website
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332:. Archived from
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1406:Web directories
1344:Internet forums
1309:Dating websites
1274:
1265:
1241:Library website
1192:
1186:
1156:
1151:
1115:
1099:Science fiction
1022:
944:Fan translation
867:
861:
835:Motorcycle club
793:Supercar Season
743:
737:
633:
587:Sherlock Holmes
499:
448:Medium-specific
443:
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364:
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283:Internet portal
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179:Facebook groups
93:
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12:
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5:
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1231:Health website
1228:
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1142:Odagiri effect
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868:and activities
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810:Fan convention
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781:Kustom Kulture
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664:Cult following
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469:Disney fandom
467:
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457:
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424:Fantasy fandom
420:
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297:Society portal
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210:
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203:World Wide Web
144:forum software
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1369:Q&A sites
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1324:Encyclopedias
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1304:Chat websites
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788:Lowrider Club
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742:Organizations
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473:Disney adults
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28:
22:
1349:Marketplaces
1314:Dictionaries
1213:
1060:
973:
959:
899:
892:
884:
866:Publications
857:Stan Twitter
815:Fandom names
771:Import scene
678:
642:Demographics
626:
599:
592:
585:
568:
546:
539:
532:
515:
460:Bibliophilia
429:Furry fandom
361:
352:
341:. Retrieved
334:the original
231:
227:
216:
212:
199:
160:
141:
121:subdirectory
98:
94:
83:
82:
74:
53:
49:
45:
41:
39:
31:
1251:Mirror site
1236:Lab website
1137:Fan service
1132:Fan loyalty
1028:Conventions
919:Fan fiction
776:Hot rodding
523:Beatlemania
439:Yaoi fandom
258:Fan fiction
209:Motivations
84:Fanlistings
1531:Categories
1428:by subject
1226:Gripe site
1089:Multigenre
1048:Comic book
1003:Filk music
744:and events
581:Parrothead
564:Moonwalker
548:James Bond
541:EarthBound
534:Doctor Who
495:Sports fan
465:Cinephilia
343:2008-09-18
304:References
225:behavior.
146:, such as
70:phenomenon
21:Fanpage.it
1411:Webcomics
1334:Fan wikis
1246:Microsite
1127:Autograph
1061:Doujinshi
929:Fan labor
901:Doujinshi
820:Game club
761:Boy racer
594:Star Wars
483:Donaldism
219:community
195:Pinterest
148:vBulletin
117:subdomain
109:Angelfire
101:GeoCities
66:celebrity
1542:Websites
1219:Fan wiki
993:Fanspeak
979:Fan wiki
954:Fan game
939:Fan rice
934:Fan mail
924:Fan film
914:Fan edit
805:Fan club
766:Cruising
756:Car club
654:Anti-fan
628:Twilight
601:Stargate
570:MLP: FIM
528:Deadhead
268:Fan wiki
263:Fan mail
248:Fan club
237:See also
54:fan page
50:fan blog
46:fan site
1552:Web 1.0
1394:defunct
1282:by type
1214:Fansite
1197:By type
1189:Website
1013:Vidding
998:Fanzine
974:Fansite
909:Fan art
852:Railfan
800:Cosplay
713:Shipper
708:Sasaeng
693:Groupie
622:Trekkie
617:Tolkien
612:Swiftie
559:Juggalo
554:Janeite
410:By type
403:Fandoms
243:Fan art
191:Twitter
187:YouTube
183:Discord
91:History
58:website
42:fansite
36:fansite
1537:Fandom
1191:topics
1120:Topics
1084:Horror
1072:Gaming
960:Doujin
893:Doujin
886:Doujin
728:Ultras
723:Tifosi
680:Kemonā
649:Anorak
253:Fandom
175:Tumblr
171:Reddit
167:Fandom
105:Tripod
1484:Other
1426:Lists
1416:Wikis
1299:Blogs
1280:Lists
1067:Furry
1036:Anime
949:Fanac
895:music
733:Waifu
703:Otaku
674:Furry
607:Shrek
576:MST3K
490:Gamer
417:Genre
337:(PDF)
326:(PDF)
154:, or
152:phpBB
119:or a
56:is a
33:Catan
1104:list
1077:list
1053:list
1041:list
1018:Zine
984:list
962:soft
718:Stan
698:Nerd
688:Geek
511:AFOL
163:2005
133:HTML
78:blog
967:Mod
669:Fan
223:fan
137:CSS
125:URL
62:fan
52:or
1533::
328:.
312:^
150:,
135:,
107:,
103:,
72:.
48:,
44:,
40:A
1181:e
1174:t
1167:v
395:e
388:t
381:v
346:.
23:.
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