Why We Need Small Archives

I posted some data yesterday on my tumblr about commenting rates during the first two weeks of B2MeM versus on AO3 and the SWG. You can read the post for the full data and analysis, but the short version is that commenting on B2MeM is much better than on the other two sites (and commenting on the SWG is slightly better than on AO3). Based on my research on commenting behavior to this point, I believe this is due to community, namely that when there is a strong sense of community on a site, commenting is more frequent.

This opened a discussion on the value of large versus small archives. And I'm wearying of trying to have a conversation in the tiny comment boxes Tumblr allows us (although I'm grateful that comments are at least a universal option now! this is a major reason why I have been able to enjoy Tumblr more lately). Let me start by saying what my ideal fandom would look like.

I have supported AO3 since the idea was first proposed on LiveJournal all those years ago. I think that a large multifandom archive is an essential part of the fandom, and all the better if it is a nonprofit like AO3. However, I do not think that this should be the only option. In the Tolkien fandom especially, a big part of our culture has always been building independent sites and archives. At one point, there were more than sixty Tolkien-specific archives, and this does not count communities established on social media sites like LiveJournal and Yahoo! Groups, nor does it count sites for resources, author's personal websites, etc. And I continue to believe that Tolkien-specific sites run by Tolkien fans should be a part of our fandom.

So I suppose this post becomes my manifesto about why I think small archives are important to fandom, particularly the Tolkienfic fandom.

( Why We Need Small Archives )