By Michael Torrice
The main purpose of Fandom.com is to allow people, who have a devotion
to specific media characters or stories, the ability to discuss and
to share their experiences with these characters and stories. The
site itself contains about twenty fan domains, each devoted to a specific
television show, movie, or book series. From Buffy to Batman, these
domains allow the fans to access the latest information about these
media properties. Each site has information about places where people
can join fan clubs or enter in fan auctions. The domains also contain
sections devoted to developing a community for fans to share their
thoughts on these characters and stories. Discussions revolve around
poll questions (like who was your favorite Star Trek captain?)
and also more in-depth questions about the direction of current stories
and characters. Finally, there are places on each domain for fan created
fiction and multi-media content. Users can create Simpson's
screen savers and fonts and let others download them from their respective
fan domain. Other domains have scripts or drawings created by fans
and posted for other fans to critique and discuss.
Fandom.com's most impressive feat is the ability to respect the intellectual
property of the creators of the different media contents while also
creating an environment for fans to explore these different characters
and stories. When registering for a login to Fandom.com, the terms
and conditions of a Fandom.com login are stated clearly. The content
on each site are meant for individuals to enjoy and share but should
not be distributed for profit. Such a stipulation is the appropriate
limit for intellectual property rights. A fan may discuss their favorite
Star Trek characters and even design new stories or characters
for them to encounter, but they cannot profit off of or do something
that harms the Star Trek property without the consent of its
owners. Unfortunately, as is discussed on parts of Fandom.com, companies
have used copyright laws to stop fans from entering into harmless
swapping of fan fiction without the intent to profit. Fan fiction,
as is found on Fandom.com, should be encouraged by the owners of these
intellectual properties as a means to further the information about
their media content.