Blast From the Past

[rusty_armour]

I read an article on AO3 this morning about the New Visitor Portal on Fanlore and thought I'd check it out. Out of curiosity, I typed "Robin of Sherwood" in the search engine and came up with all kinds of stuff, including a screenshot of the index page for the Robin of Sherwood Fanfic Archive! I thought all traces of the Archive had been lost, so this was a very exciting discovery.

Comments

[rusty_armour]

It's kind of startling and humbling to be able to get that kind of glimpse into the past. Yes, this is a Robin of Sherwood website that I ran. It was long before AO3 or even Live Journal and Dreamwidth -- back when fanfic archives were a lot more common. Unfortunately, I had to let the website go because the website host was insisting that all users upgrade to a paid account. As barely any new fic was coming in at this point, and I didn't think that I could justify the expense, I shut the site down. I might have considered the option of moving to a new web host, but I'd already had to move the site twice and it had been a lot of work both times. Anywaaaaaaay, some of the fic from the RoS Fanfic Archive made it onto AO3, while other stories were already archived at fanfiction.net. Sadly, there are RoS stories that are no longer online because the writers didn't want to do the work involved with posting their own stories. With the RoS Fanfic Archive, they just sent me their Word files and I did most of the work from there.

[scfrankles]

It was long before AO3 or even Live Journal and Dreamwidth -- back when fanfic archives were a lot more common. I kind of regret having missed out on this period of fandom being online altogether - I'm always rather intrigued when people talk about it ^_^

With the RoS Fanfic Archive, they just sent me their Word files and I did most of the work from there. I had been smiling at your New Editorial Policy on the screenshot ^__^ It seems so strange now, when it's so quick and easy to post a fic.

I'm so impressed by how much work you must have put into the site. It looks like it was so complex. It's a real shame you had to let it go, but I'm glad at least some of the fics were archived elsewhere ^_^ Btw, it's a long time since I was a fan, but I did watch RoS when I was a teenager ^___^

[rusty_armour]

I kind of regret having missed out on this period of fandom being online altogether - I'm always rather intrigued when people talk about it ^_^

I'm not really sure how to describe it. I suppose there was a kind of community spirit because website owners would be communicating with fic contributors. There might have been a bit more creativity as well in terms of websites and their features. Of course, you do see that with some LJ and Dreamwidth fanfic communities, so I would say that this creativity has just taken on another form. And I do love and very much appreciate AO3. I will happily acknowledge that it has features I never dreamed of, such as being able to bookmark stories or mark them for later. And you can pretty much go to one place to meet all of your fanfic needs.

I had been smiling at your New Editorial Policy on the screenshot ^__^ It seems so strange now, when it's so quick and easy to post a fic.

I have to confess that I did more work than I needed to. I mean, yes, I needed to add HTML coding to the stories, but I insisted on editing them as well (when necessary). There are a lot of RoS fans who don't speak English as a first language, so some writers did need help with editing. Oh, and then there were the anachronisms (e.g. suits of armour on display in Huntingdon Castle), which were a lot of fun as well. *g* Anyway, it is a lot easier to post things now, whether it's a place like AO3 or Dreamwidth.

I'm so impressed by how much work you must have put into the site. It looks like it was so complex. It's a real shame you had to let it go, but I'm glad at least some of the fics were archived elsewhere ^_^

Well, what you're seeing in that screenshot is ten years' worth of work, so I had time to create the different sections, etc. Saying that, it was a lot of work -- work that I honestly don't miss. I was a lot younger when I started the website, and I don't think I could manage it now. I just don't have the same time or energy anymore. In any case, it is comforting to know that some of the stories are archived at AO3 and/or Fanfiction.net. I do have the files of all of the stories, but I obviously can't post them.

Btw, it's a long time since I was a fan, but I did watch RoS when I was a teenager ^___^

Oh, that's cool! I'm happy that you watched the show! :-) I got into it when I was 13 and just didn't manage to grow out of it. *g*