I Want Small Fanfic Websites to be Popular Again

I do not keep up with fandom or fanfiction discourse. That said, I have heard about Wattpad users migrating to AO3 after some policy change. It got me thinking about the state of fanfiction websites in general. When most people rely on major sites, what's stopping these people from eventually being shoved onto the same platform?

I was not on the Internet when the indie web was first booming. I did not know about Geocities and thought all .net domains were sketchy. I did not witness the plethora of niche, fandom-focused fanfiction sites.

Before AO3 and Wattpad became the standard fanfiction platforms, there were tiny websites scattered across the Web. They focused on one subject, like a specific franchise or trope. The people who posted there formed communities based on the common interest.

Obviously, this format had flaws. It is much easier to argue about headcanons, interpretations, and writing skills when you are lumped with the same few people. It becomes easy to form an exclusive clique. When these sites are run by random, sometimes amateur web developers, cybersecurity is an issue.

Even so, I want these sites to become popular again. I know sone still exist, but when do you hear about them? Now that Wattpad users are jumping ship, I predict AO3 will only become more prevalent.

Maybe it is wrong to call the site a monopoly. After all, it relies solely on donations to survive. I am sure the AO3 admin team support other fanfic sites existing. I hope they do. Either way, what other sites are there? Where else can people go?

As I mentioned, cybersecurity is a problem for these small sites. I am no specialist, but I know that you need a lot of skills to ensure user data cannot be leaked. If you have the password, structured SQL databases are eaay to read!

Then, if we cannot fully revive these sites, why not make individual ones for ourselves? Neocities and Nekoweb are free. You do not have to worry about databases or storing any client information. There is nothing stopping us from making site specifically to post our fanworks.

With CSS, we have complete control over the appearances of our sites. We can add whatever pages we want. Imagine someone's fanfiction site having a section for quizzes, trivia, and puzzle games! There is so much freedom on the indie web.

This is just me glazing the indie web scene, as usual. Seriously, though, I want this idea to become reality. We could even have webrings to connect our fanfiction sites! We can add links to fellow sites we like! Our sites do not have to exist in vacuums, even if our creations are not on the same site. Community can still thrive.

'Til next time,
Dolly ★