- The return of The X-Files prompted a number of media sites to reminisce about changes in fandom since the original series. Flavorwire wrote about the tools and companions of old. "The AOL-hosted Cabin X site is still available via the Wayback Machine, in all its late-millennium glory. Hand-coded HTML tables. Lovingly crafted Photoshop collages of Mulder and Scully (along with B’Elanna Torres and Tom Paris of Star Trek: Voyager). A 'dreambook.' Links to a chat room and a message board, and to the other sites in a 'webring' of Cabin X members’ pages, all of which were hosted on AOL or Geocities or Angelfire...I decided to track down the people who were a part of my little corner of the fandom universe – and see if I could recapture some of that teenage feeling.”
At New Statesmanthe focus was on Pokemon's 20th anniversary. "This was the start of a pop culture phenomenon that hasn’t quite been emulated to the same level of success since. Think about how much this colourful world had infiltrated our world at its peak: games on numerous platforms, a TV series, trading cards, multiple (successful) cinematic films and the plethora of branded merchandise. The only thing that comes close as a modern equivalent is Minecraft, the digital block-building game."
- Geek and Sundry instead wrote about some of the modern ur-fandoms such as Blake's 7 and Man from U.N.C.L.E."[H]ow did fandoms function in the early days of the internet? How did they function before online communication? I decided to ask someone who knew all about this stuff because she’s lived it: My mom. Yep, my lavender-haired mom. The O.G. geek. She’s been going to conventions and knitting 4th Doctor scarves long before I ever knew what a tribble was. She’s the reason why I started going conventions. And if I hadn’t been raised by a geeky mom, I wouldn’t be a writer at Geek & Sundry."
- Redbull.com wrote about fans remaking and remastering old games. "Some of these have found favour with the original creators – Half Life studio Value nurtured the fan-made remake Black Mesa and even published it – but a higher proportion sadly fall by the wayside. Super Mario 64 HD and Resident Evil 2 HD are two recent examples which have been forced to close due to legal pressure from the IP holders." The site highlights some fanworks they consider the best to try.
What fandoms do you know of that are enjoying renewed fan activity? Write about their old and new days in Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.
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