Writers University

Writers University was an online resource website that offered centralized discussions of fan fiction. It was the precursor to Fan History Wiki. Much of the information was copied from discussions on the FCA-L mailing list but the essays were mostly written by Laura Hale who was involved from June 2000 to May 2005.User:Laura/Resume
In addition to IRC chat, there was a forum/message board and mailing lists along with featured articles and essays about media fandom.
Some of the mailing lists listed on the websites front page in 2001: wuannounce (general announcements), wugeography (find out about conventions), Over 20 Club (For the mature discussion of all things fan fiction.), Slashers-Unite (Slash discussion list about handling flames) and sfsters (Science fiction discussion list for teens and college students).
"Writers University's" forum is Fan Fiction Ethical & Legal Discussion Board.
==FanFiction.Net and Writers University==
Announcement on the FanFiction.Net home page in late 1999:
A description of the site when it was still a part of FanFiction.Net:
"Writers University" and Fanfiction.net parted ways in early 2001 in a fractious manner. On January 8, 2001, Xing Li wrote: 
==Origins of the Site==
From the front page: 
On the About Page the site goes into greater detail about its origins: 
==A 2002 Description==
In 2002, Hale described the site in a paper she wrote about FanDomination.Net:
==A November 2000 Plug==
==Entwined with "FanDomination.Net==
"Writers University" was closely related and entwined with FanDomination.Net, Laura Hale's fiction archive.
In 2002, Hale explained:
==A Predecessor to Fan History Wiki==
From Fan History Wiki's blog: 
==Site Organization==
Laura Hale later made links to some of the essays below at , last updated in 2008.
In 2001, the site was organized in the following areas:
* Department of Communications - "Connect with other writers and readers of fan fiction. Discuss various aspects of fan fiction including flames and how to give feedback. Issues fan fiction challenges". This section also hosted articles by "Over 20 Club Readers". The Over 20 Club "was started about 6 months back on fanfiction.net and has since found a permanent home with Writers University. The Over 20 Club was started to allow for targetted (sic) intellectual discussion of fan fiction and issues that pertain to fan fiction. On a semi regular basis, question sets are posted and web site visitors are highly encouraged to post answers to those questions." The site also hosted the "Flame Hall of Shame" articles which offered essays such as:
** The Great Flame Theory by SoraMisty
** 10 Steps to Succesful Flaming by Silver
** Flaming for Dummies by Tracy Butler
** Why Males Flame Slash! by Joel Ayau
* Department of English - "Find a beta, learn how to critique and beta read, recommend a story, get grammar advice, find ways of working past writers block, use the fan fiction dictionary to find out what those words in fandom mean."
* Department of Foreign Languages - "Use one of Writers University's languages to learn basic words from several languages to include in your stories or to figure out what an author was saying."
* Department of Geography - "Find convention listings, read convention reports, get the skinny on attending conventions, find some one to go to a convention with."
* Department of History - "Read about the history of fan fiction and one of the most notorious figures to emerge from fan fiction: Mary Sue."
* Department of Law - "Learn about the legal issues surrounding fan fiction. Catch up on netiquette as it pertains to fan fiction."
** Netiquette of giving feedback!
** Netiquette of posting to a message board!
** Netiquette of badfic!
** Is Fan Fiction Legal? by Michela Ecks
** Guide to Author & Media Fan Fiction Policy! compiled by Michela Ecks
** Cyberstalking -- or the Ultimate Form of Feedback
** Michela's Fan Fiction Legal FAQ
** Fan Fiction, Books, Copyright and Ethics by Michela Ecks
** Fan Fiction is Protected by Copyright Law! by patchmonkey
** Anne Rice and fanfic hypocrisy by Static-Pulse
** Fan Fiction: Plagiarism or Tribute? by Lonely Gamine
** Valdron's Take on the Legality of Fan Fiction
** Plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is theft. by Michela Ecks
** An Exploration of Legal Concerns in Regards to Fan Fiction [DRAFT] by Michela Ecks
** The Quick and Dirty Guide to Avoid Plagiarism in Fan Fiction by bleh
** Depicting Minors in Sexual Acts in Fiction! by Writers University
** The Job of the Reader
** Writers University's Harry Potter Warner Brother Slash Position
* Department of Philosophy - Read academic papers that explore various aspects of fandom and fan fiction. Articles and essays include:
** http://web.archive.org/web/20030623072857/http://writersu.s5.com:80/phil/ally.html Does the media’s feminist interpretation of Ally McBeal mesh with the fan interpretation of Ally McBeal based on fan fiction?] by Michela Ecks
** KJ: Mamma, Mistress, Fearless Leader or Face in the Crowd? Let the Fan Decide... by Michela Ecks
** Filling in the Gaps: Fans and Fan Fiction on the Internet by Sue Hazlett
** In Defense of Slash—AC
* Department of Science - "Hone your research skills. Learn why research is important to the writing of fan fiction. Find sites to help you research for your next fan fiction."
* Extracurricular Activities - "Filk, the Student Paper, The Moda Moo Fan Club, Posting Codes and more."
* Student Services - "Press information, sign the Writers University Guest Book, learn how this information is applicable to the teaching of language arts in the class room, links to other sites, search Writers University and more."
* Writers University Staff - "Meet the staff of Writers University and the people who have contributed to making this site. Learn how you can contribute to Writers University by joining the staff. All open positions are listed."
==Other publications==
*Dealing With Negative Feedback, a 2001 essay
*Writers create own sequels, a 2002 newspaper article that references the site.
==Laura Hale and the Split from Fanfiction.Net==
Laura Hale and Writers University left fanfiction.net in January 2001 on bad terms, with Hale posting a long farewell letter to various ff.net forums detailing her reasons for leaving, including repeated mentions of the fact that she felt she had been lied to and that some of the people she'd been involved with had proved untrustworthy.Michela Ecks FF.net Resignation Statement, posted to Fanfiction.net Liberation Front. Accessed November 30, 2008.; WebCite
A January 8, 2001 public comment by Xing Li: "Writers University has left FanFiction.Net and I'm sad that it has left. However, FanFiction.Net will move on and so will the staffs of Writers University. You will not hear personal remarks from me or any other ff.net staff members regarding this issue as the matter was private to start with and private to end with. - Xing" Old News: January 10, 2000 (note: Xing gets the year wrong in the first few posts)
==Reactions and Reviews==
Writers University was regarded by some fans as a valuable resource: 
Other fans had issues with inaccuracies on the site, however. Discussing the article on Mary Sue Whipple, Alice Karvonen Allonway (MSW's creator), said: 
==References==
Category:2000s