Dragonriders of Pern

Dragonriders of Pern is a book series by Anne McCaffrey set in a lost colony on the planet Pern.
The series began as a novella called 'Weyr Search' published in the October 1967 issue of Analog, a professionally published science fiction magazine of considerable prestige, edited by John W. Campbell. A second novella, 'Dragonflight', was published in the December issue that same year. 'Weyr Search' won the Hugo for Best Novella, and 'Dragonflight' the Nebula in the same category. Anne McCaffrey is the first woman to win either award, breaking a science fiction glass ceiling.
The two novellas were collected for publication as one novel, Dragonflight. The Pern series continues to this day, with new novels being published by her son, Todd McCaffrey. Fandom is widely derisive of these new novels as being 'non-canonical' and full of unrealistic Mary Sue characters.
Having an organized existence since the late 1960s, Pern fandom is contemporaneous with many older First Fandoms, including Star Trek and remains active. The lure of dragons which cause mindless sex, canonical implied slash, and powerful female characters with archetypal roles help to explain this series' enduring lure to some fans.
Like many science fiction authors of her time, McCaffrey was uncomfortable with fanworks, and the battle over fanwork has shaped fannish practices. Due to pressure from Anne McCaffrey and her heirs, most fannish expression in this fandom involves the creation of original characters using the setting.
==Canon==
Pern was colonized by Earth people who then lost touch with the home planet. A deadly space rain called 'Thread' falls from the sky every two hundred years, devouring what it touches. In response, a race of genetically engineered, telepathic dragons were uplifted from native animals. These dragons soulbond to young humans and together they train to protect Pern by flaming Thread out of the sky. The dragons not only fly, but can also teleport (called "going between") to any place that their rider can clearly visualize.
A Weyr (rhymes with 'here') is a colony of dragons, riders and their support staff organized around the raising and training of dragons to fight Thread. Leadership is decided by mating flight of the senior gold dragon and the bronze dragon fast enough to catch her. The rider of the gold dragon is always a woman and gains the title of Weyrwoman, and the rider of the bronze becomes the Weyrleader. Weyrwomen are responsible for the domestic leadership of the Weyr - keeping tithes coming in, the health and welfare of dragons and riders, and some diplomacy.
Hatching dragons require a human to bond to; otherwise they die. From time to time, the Weyr rides out on 'Search' - a hunt led by experienced dragonriders for teenagers and young adults around Pern with the mental abilities to 'Impress' a dragon.
See Wikipedia for the list of novels in the series.
===Adaptation Attempts===
The handling of the screen rights to the series was a constant process.
The attempts by McCaffrey to sell her franchise to television, movie, and video game producers was a relentless one, beginning in 1978 or before."There are film options against DRAGONFLIGHT, SHIP WHO SANG, and DECISION AT DOONA. Of course, there’s a long way between the option and the making. Lots of very good s-f stories have been optioned for years, and no movies forthcoming. DECISION AT DOONA, though, looks to be an exceedingly good proposition. It would be filmed here in Ireland as I have been able to keep my paws on the script writing and consultancy for that film. You’re perfectly right that modern screen technology makes the possibility of dragons, good Pernese dragons, feasible, but for Dragons, one has to think the neighborhood of $15-$20 MILLIONS. Not easy to raise, whereas DECISION could be brought in at about $2-3 millions… much easier to film with the right sort of make-up for the Hrrubans and Jim Danforth is one of the men the producer is trying to interest in the movie. (Ray Harryhausen has been approached several times about doing the dragons of Pern but has not snapped at the bait. Too bad: his creatures in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad were impressive.) There is one disadvantage about filming the Dragons of Pern: too many people have imagined them privately and I don’t see any way (since I’ve already received a startling number of ‘dragon’ sketches and sculptures) that the variety of notions as to what Pern dragons really look like can meet in a compromise. The man who bought the film rights, for instance, insists that Pern dragons have ears! I have argued that they don’t need ears, don’t have ears, and forget the illustrations he’s seen! His wife, who is as interested in the project as he is, feels that they should have fangs and the longer, reptilian neck. One can’t please even two people, much less the new s-f audiences." -- Remembering Anne McCaffrey
The fact that the books were in a nearly-constant legal bargaining process had to have been an influence in how McCaffrey viewed her creation's sale-ability, and the relationships to her fans.
In 1992, McCaffrey said: "The rules are that my characters may be referred to but not used. BUT there can be no adventure/stories set on Pern at all!!!!! That's infringing on my copyright and can bear heavy penalties - particularly right now when there's a film deal (yet another) which has bought and paid for the right to use the material - which, I fear, e-mail users have not.
* Remembering Anne McCaffrey (mentions 1978)
* 10 Stalled Film & TV Adaptations That We Want To See Made (mentions 1983, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011)
* (mentions 1992)
* SO WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN MOVIE? (mentions 2002 and earlier attempts)
* The Dragonriders of Pern. The Best Series We May Never See Filmed. by WinterRose (June 13, 2014) (mentions 1996, 2002, 2006, 2014, also video game rights in 1983)
==Fandom==
===Tropes, Trends, and Fanon===
===Fannish Names===
In the novels, Pernese children are given names which combine the mother and father's name. Dragonriding men are given an 'honorific' upon impression. The rider's original name is elided with an apostrophe. For example, Fallarnon (son of F'lor and Larna) becomes F'lar. Famanoran (son of F'lor and Manora) became F'nor.In the first Pern books, F'lor was called F'lon. There is no reason given for the change. Dragons always have names that end in -th.
Some weyr members take fannish names. These could be the names of their favorite self-created character, or in some cases, a Pernese version of their own names.
See some examples of this in the zines Harper Beat and Fortfolio, and on Pern forums.
A related practice is Star Trek fans using Vulcan-related names, usually female, and adding a "T'." These names echo T'Pring and T'Pau, two canon Trek characters.
=== Roleplaying===
Fandom RPG clubs have featured heavily in Pern fandom. Originally published in printed fanzines, they moved to online/e-mail format and expanded. The roleplay was usually subject to certain rules, based on Anne McCaffery's own requests regarding fanfic and in the mid 1990s stringent rules were placed on the creation of new clubs and the governance of existing clubs, resulting in legal action against some fansWikipedia - Dragonriders of Pern - Fandom.
Pern fandom has a long and storied history in the text-based MUD/MU* roleplaying community. The first Pern Weyr built on a text-based game was TinyTIM, a social game which opened circa 1990 and is still up and running. As the community developed a stricter RP policy than was considered acceptable for TinyTIM, it branched out into its own game: PernMUSH, also known as NorCon. Famously, a second game called SouCon (representing Pern's other continent) opened up and joined in-game canon with PernMUSH to run concurrent timelines until a split in August 2004.
PernMUSH has two historical importance: as the first 'real' Pern MU*, and because Ambyrl was one of the wizards. (A wizard being a gamemaster with the power to change the code that the game is running on.) For many years, PernMUSH was the testbed of a fork of TinyMUSH mushcode known as PernMUSH. When PernMUSH switched over to TinyMUSH, Ambyrl renamed the codebase PennMUSH, which remains in active development to this day.
By 1999 or so, there were roughly a dozen games that could be considered active.
Throughout much of the late 90s and early 2000s, the McCaffrey family had placed a ban on the opening of new games due to the development of a Pern video game. (This ultimately came out for Dreamcast in 2001.) It should be noted that Anne McCaffrey and her family had a long history of meddling with the fandom - see the infamous tentpeg statement and Pern's Renewable Resources documents, which can still be found with a quick google as well as the ban on fanfiction. Previously opened games were grandfathered through the ban by use of a 'permissions letter' from McCaffrey. Much fudging of the truth, splitting and fighting over the letters became involved.
The ban on new games was finally lifted along with the ban on fanfiction. There was a brief explosion of new games, many of which quickly faded away. Although the community of PernMU*ers no longer numbers in the hundreds of logins each night, development and activity continues. PernMU* maintains a forum for wank, rants and discussion at pernmu.com, and also the historical database of dragon genealogy which also serves as a history for the fandom. Previously run for many years by Neva, it is now maintained by Aya.
McCaffrey's estate currently has a set of fan fiction rules which state "Fan Fiction, Fan Art, and online RPGs based on any of my literary works will now be permitted so long as they occur on a non-commercial basis."The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey - Fan Fiction Rules. Accessed October 1, 2008. The final rule is "Pornographic sites, based on any of my literary works, are expressly forbidden."
=== Weyrs ===
Weyrs are a combination of fan club and roleplaying club and began during the zine era. With the advent of the internet, the Weyrs moved online, with PbEM (Play by Email) and forum roleplay. An undated list of weyrs can be found here: DragonWeb is another listing of fan clubs - both online and in print, while for the online-only clubs, there was the Pern Weyr Webring. 
With the increase of Pern based forum RPs throughout the 2010s, many forum directories created their own Pern specific sections (such as RPG-D) or Pern specific directories appeared such as Pernese Online, Pern Life, or Pern Connect. 
====Fan Clubs====
* Argon of Cantee - SF/F fan club with special interest groups covering Anne McCafferey's Pern, Star Trek, Elfquest and others.
* Darriel Council - combined Darkover and Pern fan club.
* DragonWeb - Welcommittee.
* Fort Weyr
* International Fizzbin Society - fan club for Star Trek, Pern, Star Wars, Tolkien, and Darkover.
* Ista Weyr
* Kieres Weyr
*Middle Plains Hold - Pern Fan Club
*Western Weyr Fan Club
==== Roleplaying Clubs ====
* Aasulia Weyr
* Alcor Weyr
* Andromeda Weyr
* Crescent Weyr
* Crystal Weyr
* Haven Weyr
* High Reaches Weyr (10th Pass)
* High Reaches Weyr (9th Pass)
* Janus Weyr
* Kadanzer Weyr
* The Lost Weyr
* NorthWind Weyr
* Rocky Weyr
* Segel Weyr
* Shadow Ridge Weyr
* StarStorm Weyr
* Talkon Weyr
* Telgar Weyr
* Twin Peaks Weyr
* Visia Weyr
====Roleplaying: Examples====
* On-line Simulations of Pern ("Some people have gone to the extent of attempting to duplicate Pern with a multi-user program designed to allow people to assume the roles of dragonriders, harpers, holders, etc." alt.fan.pern newsgroup FAQs (early 1990s)
====Roleplaying: Fan Comments: 2000s====
From a 2000 interview, in which McCaffrey appears to tolerate gaming based on her books: 
From a 2002 post by a fan that illustrates the opposite: 
==== Roleplaying: Fan Comments: 2010s====
 
 
 
 
==Discussions & Controversy==
===Dragons, Sexuality, and Gender===
In the original Dragonriders stories, published as Dragonflight by Ballantine in July 1968 after having run as Weyr Search in Analog October 1967 and Dragonflight in December 1967/January 1968, dragons chose their riders based on telepathic affinity. When baby dragons hatch, young candidates are standing by, and the babies "Impress" upon whichever child they are able to connect with mentally.
There was no indication that women were allowed to Impress fighting dragons of any color. The only women on the hatchery floor were there to Impress with a newly hatched queen. All the green and blue riders in those stories were men. It is possible that McCaffery had intended to establish that they were gay, but the mores of the times (the late 1960s) would not yet permit this, particularly considering the fact that Analog was edited by John W. Campbell Jr., a political and social conservative.Putting it mildly.
There was nothing about sexual orientation added to these stories when they were published in the book Dragonflight. However, Dragonquest, the second volume (published in 1971), includes a subplot involving male riders whose dragons, a brown and a green, are described as "together". Readers could draw their own conclusions as to why these men were "in no condition" to attend a meeting after their dragons got back from a mating flight.
Nonetheless, the same book described considerable controversy over the suggestion that Mirrim, a young woman, could Impress a fighting dragon, clearly stating that women did not usually do this. In fact, Mirrim only Impresses (in the later book Dragondrums) because a green hatchling rejects all the male candidates and attempts to climb up into the witnesses' area to reach her.
Dragon and rider gender and sexuality was often a topic of discussion among fans, something McCaffrey herself weigh in on in this 1992 comment to a fan: 
In later tales, McCaffery did establish that part of the connection depends on the candidates' gender and sexual orientation. Green dragons (the most numerous) choose gay men and, later, women; blues choose gay men; browns and bronzes choose exclusively heterosexual men. A gold dragon can only impress a heterosexual woman. 
This was changed by 2009 to include Lesbians, in Todd McCaffrey's "Dragongirl". Previously, McCaffrey had attempted to establish that there were no lesbians or bisexuals at all on Pern.
Due to the telepathic bond between rider and dragon, when dragons rise for a mating flight their soulbonded partners are compelled to have sex. Allowing for gays and Lesbians among the dragonriders was a bold step for McCaffery to take. It canonically established positions of importance for gays (and possible slash pairings in fan fiction) on Pern.
As gay civil rights have taken hold, Pern's gender policy has been increasingly seen by fans as a relic of outdated 1960s gender and sexual orientation theories, because the way things are set up, gays cannot obtain positions of power within the Weyr structure. The Weyrleader and Weyrwoman are always a heterosexual couple.
McCaffrey has also made controversial statements about gay men.
Some clubs and games allow women to Impress greens, blues, browns and gold. Others are more strict with their interpretation of gender and canon policies. Although Anne McCaffrey has allowed rules that bend the canon for women to become blue and brown riders for many years, a canonical lesbian blue rider only first appeared in "Dragongirl" (2009).
In addition to the five colors, Ruth, a white dragon, appears within the books. Ruth identifies as male, but is apparently asexual. He is also extremely intelligent and has special time travel powers.All dragons can go "between times", but Ruth always knows exactly where and "when" he is without help from his rider. However, he is a sport, a mutation produced by chance from an otherwise normal clutch of eggs, and was meant by the author to be one of a kind. For many years, clubs were not allowed to create their own white dragons and this has been upheld by the more canon strict groups.
Many clubs and games run by younger fans will have white dragons and also create their own colors with different 'powers' - though this is much derided as immature teenage behavior by fandom oldbies.
====Dragons, Sexuality, and Gender: Fan Comments====
[2010]: 
[2017]: 
=== McCaffrey's Fanwork Policies ===
McCaffrey adopted several positions regarding fan fiction, some of which have softened over time.
Initially, McCaffrey set out the following guidelines:
* Fanworks are strongly discouraged outside the approved "fan Weyr" clubs.
* McCaffrey's characters are off-limits without prior approval, as main characters, minor characters, or even as background.
* McCaffrey's primary setting, Benden Weyr, is also off-limits, as a story location, or even as a point of origin for original characters.
A good outline regarding her earlier policies can be found at the the Writers University .Writers University Anne McCaffrey - Fan Fiction Rules. Accessed May 15, 2010. Among some of these early rules were: "no crossovers, no canon characters and no white dragons may appear in fan fiction based on the Dragons of Pern." In addition, fan fiction and fanzines had to be approved by Anne McCaffrey: "The 'zines cannot be published on the Internet on publicly accessible sites. Distributing a limited number of copies of the 'zine to a special group via regular -snail- mail is the norm." (ca 1992). In 2001, Anne McCaffrey's son went after Yahoo Geocities websites in an effort to eliminate fan fiction based on Anne's novels. (Ibid).
Until 2007,Internet Archive snapshot of http://annemccaffrey.net/fan-fiction-rules.html taken December 5, 2006) that final rule was phrased "Pornographic or slasher" sites"http://lostweyrs.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=therules&action=display&thread=856 Accessed October 1, 2008.
Another historical look is posted at FanWorks.org: 
====1991====
From Southern Enclave in 1991: 
====1992====
In autumn 1992, there were several pro writers that clarified or tightened up their rules about fanworks based on their books. Mercedes Lackey, P.N. Elrod, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and Marion Zimmer Bradley were four of them. This closer attention to perceived legalisms was due to The Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy.
From alt.fan.pern: 
McCaffrey's statement reposted to he FAQ list of the newsgroup alt.fan.pern (dated October 8, 1992), called "InterNet Pern rules":
====2004: Relaxation of Rules====
McCaffrey relaxed some restrictions, and, as of November 10, 2004,A nearly identical version is here: -- the difference being that there is an additional link to registered, acceptable fan sites: see The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey: Fan Links had this statement:
====Results====
On one ocassion, relaxation of the rules led to forum closure. From a letter by Todd McCaffrey, Anne's son: 
An Official Register of Pern Fanworks:
Along with McCaffrey's 2004 relaxing of the rules regarding fanworks was the creation of an official register of fanworks. She mentioned it in her 2004 fanworks statement: "I will be creating an online database that will allow fans to register their Fan Fiction, Fan Art, and RPG sites with The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey, Ltd. This database will, in turn, be used to create web pages on the Worlds of Anne McCaffrey website to allow fans the opportunity to share or discover these online resources."
The site has this introduction: 
The undated list: .
===Fan Art===
====C&D Letters====
McCaffrey has had a extensive history of periods of her relative leniency with fanworks and then C&Ding her fans.
In the late 1990s, Anne McCaffrey attempted to license her Pern series movie and TV rights. One result of this was that her attorney/s sent many C&D letters against fan artists.
See:
* The Pern Plushie Incident
* The Pern Dispute (Austin Leather Works)
* Important!! Re Pern-Related Art
====Positive Remarks====
Regarding a fan-created birthday portrait in 2009 seen at , McCaffrey wrote: "The new painting by Eicher is marvelous and I would love to have her permission to use it on a bookplate. It's a softer 'me' and younger and one of the best I've seen. I'd love to have a full size copy. Not sure where I'd hang it but it would give me great pleasure to see it on a daily basis. I look gentler and kinder than my mirror says I am... and at 83 I do need flattery. But thank her profusely for me and if she wants to sell copies, she has my permission to do so. It's really very good." 
== Fanworks and Activities ==
===Websites and Resources===
* Sariel's Guide To Pern
=== Conventions===
Pern fandom has for many years had its own dedicated track at DragonCon known as WeyrFest. This dates back to McCaffrey's appearance as Guest of Honor in 1989 and continues to this date. Cavatica, a well-known persona in the Pern MU*ing community, helps to run this. The track usually features special guests - such as artists for the series, or the author herself. Zines and other fancrafted material can be purchased. There are panels dedicated to topics of concern within the fandom. Many fans dress up in Pernese garb with stuffed firelizards, and there are opportunities to LARP Pern hatchings and gathers.
More info: Weyrfest LJ
===Fanfiction===
* (Alemi/Elgion) by Merfilly
* Queen by Unwinded, 2011
===Filk===
Due to the power of Harper Hall in Pernese society, the inclusion of Harper lyrics in the books, and the many beloved Harper characters, Pern filk has always been a popular fan activity.
* Dragonsongs
* Many, many examples. (collection being uploaded here!)
===E-zines===
* Igen Weyr
* Dragonchoice I & II (online here)
* Dragon's Gate (Stargate SG-1/Pern crossover)
* Dragon's Pride - slash novel by Dan Kirk (online here)
* Lakesedge Weyr - Sixth Pass group
===Print Fanzines/Letterzines/Clubzines===
* The Atlas of Star Rise Territory - art and nonfiction published by the StarRise Weyr
* Between Flights, edited by Melanie Belviso
* Callaway Conspiracies - published by the StarRise Weyr
* Crossroads
* Crystal Singer - newsletter
* Crystal Singer Omnibus - newsletter
* Dragonchild - fan fiction published by members of the Berkshire Weyr
* Dragonfire - fan fiction published by members of the Berkshire Weyr
* Dragonhunt - Pern - fan fiction published by members of the Berkshire Weyr
* Dragonlore
* Dragonmusic - fan fiction published by members of the Berkshire Weyr
* First Flights - fan fiction published by the StarRise Weyr
* Flights of Fancy (Sable Weyr Newsletter) (Issue #2 - October 1985)
* Fort Drums (Issues #2-5, January 1990-January 1991)
* Fortfolio (Issues #1-4, 1984?-1989)
* From Hall and Hold - The Crafter/Holder zine
* Gar Hold - newsletter
* The Ghosts of Star Rise - fan fiction published by the StarRise Weyr.
* A Guide to the Star Rise Weyr - published by the StarRise Weyr.
* Harper Beat (Issue #37 (February 1989); #39-44 (June 1989-April 1990); #45 (June 1990); #47 (October 1990); #49-50 (February/March – March/April 1991))
* Into the Long Night, edited by Perri Scott (a horror zine about the hatching of a deformed queen)
* Ista Images #1-2
* Legends of the Lost Weyr (Issues #1-3,April 1980-January 1981)
* Out of the Blue (Issue #3 (December 1989); #5/6 (September 1990)
* Pern Portfolio - Anne Zeek
* Recipes from Pern - a cookbook in zine form
* Sable Shadows, written by C.A.S. Kiser (about ex-silverrider B'rin, now Lord Holder Barin)
* The Spire - a quarterly newsletter of the High Reaches Weyr collecting stories, poems, hold and weyr reports. 
* StarRise Weyr Manual - fanzine published by the StarRise Weyr.
* Triptych - the fiction zine of Logres Weyr
* Weyr Fest
* Weyr Watch - (Western Weyr newsletter)
* Weyr Words - newsletter
* When Dragons Pay Tribute, edited by Doug Morrison
===Crossover and Fusion Fanworks===
Crossovers and fusions are a bit thin on the ground. This may be due to one of McCaffrey's earlier policies the Writers University which stated, among other things, "no crossovers, no canon characters and no white dragons may appear in fan fiction based on the Dragons of Pern." Writers University Anne McCaffrey - Fan Fiction Rules. Accessed May 15, 2010. 
Also see Dragon AU.
====Fanfiction====
* Caison Occurrence by Signe Jesson, Pern/Star Trek: TOS, from Alpha Continuum #1 (1976)
* The U.S.S. Dragon-prise by K.J. Barrett, Pern/Star Trek: TOS, from Beyond Antares #7 (1985)
* Solo Flight by Diane Hawley and Eileen Roy, Pern/Man from U.N.C.L.E., from The Paladin's Affair #1) (1986)
* Dark Dragon by Hindman, Pern/Man from U.N.C.L.E., from Karmic Concurrence #1) (1987)
* Flights by Linda Terrell, Pern/Blake's 7, from Southern Seven #4) (1988)
* Between Leaps by Jane Mailander, Pern/Quantum Leap, from Green Eggs and Ham #4 (1994)
* Between Battles by Teresa Sarick, Pern/Blake's 7, from Magnificent Seven #8) (1989)
* Dragon's Gate by Mitch, Pern/Stargate SG-1 (2008)
====Fanart====
File:Karmcon1-12.jpg|artists are Randie Cowen and Hindman, Pern/Man from U.N.C.L.E., from Karmic Concurrence #1 (1987)
File:Magsevennine8-8.jpg|Samantha Hayman is the artist, Pern/Blake's 7, from from Magnificent Seven #8 (1989) 
===Crossover and Fusion Fanworks===
===Mailing Lists===
* Dragon Riders Of Pern Chat And Fic Dragon Riders Of Pern Chat And Fic; [ archive link] Description: a place to chat about the series, or share a story, gen, het or slash, fiction archived at WWOMB, a multi-fandom, all genres fiction archive, unless there is a "No Archive" note in the story headers
* InfiniteFics Description: "A fic list for all of Angyl, Orithain, and Rina's original and fanfiction. Stories, except Pern fic, will also be available on our website www.infinitum4.com, usually the same day. Stories will run the gamut from gen to adult, so by joining this group you are agreeing that you are of legal age where you live." [Archive/other website: Infinitum]
* Arolos Weyr Description: "It's the beginning of the 8th Pass, and the Northern Weyrs of Pern are becoming overcrowded. To solve this problem a new Weyr is set up in the Southern Continent. This is Arolos Weyr. We need riders, Holders and Crafters. Email us at arolosooc-owner@yahoogroups.com for more information on what's available. A basic knowledge of the world of Pern is required (and we'll be happy to give you a crash course). Only roleplaying and moderator messages may go to this list. Out-of-character messages should go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arolosooc. For a smaller game in the same world as Arolos, try http://www.darkfort.co.uk. (A note for the curious: This is our second main list, hence the oddness of the old post counts. We switched over from the old one because the archives got full and we didn't want our old messages to get eaten.)"
* Triad Weyrs Description: "A Pern play-by-email game set in a post-AIVAS world with a female repression scenario and heavy emphasis on member plotting and writing. Dragonriders, crafters, holders, and even less savory types like bandits all welcomed."
===Forums and Bulletin Boards===
* alt.fan.pern (Usenet) "The group has been largely dead since the advent of Anne McCaffrey's own message board. With the upcoming closure of that board (Dec 15, 2004), alt.fan.pern may become active again." Sariel's Guide to Pern: A short introduction toalt.fan.pern 
* Kitchen Table Bulletin Board
===Live Journal===
* Greenriders - LJ roleplaying community
* Pern Fic - LJ community
* McCaffrey Fan Art LJ community
===Online Fanfiction Archives===
* Pern fanfiction at Fanfiction.Net (606 stories as of June 2014)
* Pern fanworks at AO3 (492 fanworks as of June 2014)
Fanfiction activity in Pern fandom remains low, and it is best considered a Yuletide fandom. A old trend seeing resurgence on AO3 is to write fusion fic with Pern setting from other fandoms, often as younger versions of themselves so that the characters can go through the process of Impressing and raising young dragons.
==McCaffrey's Fanwork Rules: Their Legacy ==
===2007 Fan Comments===
 
===2011 Fan Comments ===
===2015 Fan Comments ===
=== 2016 Fan Comments ===
===2017 Fan Comments===
 
 
 
 
==2019 Fan Comments==
In June 2019, two Pern fans discussed the rules and how they impacted them as fans:
==Other Licensed Material==
With 40 years of history and a small, but devoted fanbase, there have been various products and merchandise created for the series over the years. Often these licensed products were the creations of BNFs or other notable fandom people.
Books:
Three Pern reference books have been written over the years. The most important of these is the Dragonlover's Guide to Pern, written by Jody Lyn Nye. Summarizing Pern's history, it also contains an essay on Threadfighting tactics, a short story, and much background information about the cultures and history of various Holds and Weyrs in the series. In lieu of an actual Pern RPG manual, the DLG as it is known, is frequently consulted by roleplayers. There are two editions, with the second edition containing expanded material from the later novels.
The Atlas of Pern, by Karen Wynn Fostad, is also consulted for maps and locations. People of Pern, by Robyn Wood, is a collection of biographical portraits of various Pernese characters from the book series.
Television/Film:
Several different people have tried to adapt Pern for either film or television. The most notable attempt was by Ronald D. Moore of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. Attempting to create a series for the WB, it famously got as far as shooting before Moore walked from the project due to network meddling. The pilot script and some production art circulate in the fandom.
CDs:
With several important characters in the series being musicians and several songs written in the books, Pern has a long history of filk. Two licensed CDs of music, called 'The Masterharper of Pern' and 'Sunset's Gold', both by Tania Opland and Mike Freeman are available.
Games:
A board game was made in 1983 by Mayfair Games. It's notable for having portrait cards by Robyn Wood, and can fetch a high price on eBay or at con booths. The first Pern video game was made for the C64 - called Dragonriders of Pern, it was primarily a strategy game in which the player takes on the role of Benden Weyrleader and must maintain alliances with the rest of Pern. Brief sequences of fighting Thread are interspersed between rounds.
A second Pern video game, called Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern was released in 2001 for the Dreamcast.
Wikipedia's PernMUSH page
PernMU.com
==Meta/Further Reading==
* , archive page 2, archive page 3, archive page 4, survey and four pages of comments regarding opinion about pro-canon creators' and fanworks opinions about: Robin Hobb, Anne Rice, J. Michael Straczynski , Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, J.K. Rowling, and others (2007)
* Anne McCaffrey, Fanfiction, and Copyright, and its follow-up Anne McCaffrey and Fanfiction, cont’d (November 25, 2011)
* Anne McCaffrey, Fanfiction, and Copyright (November 25, 2011)
* Pern Dragons - Adults set, see comments (2013)
==References==
*