Small Web September Kick-Off/Check-In 1: Goals!

[enchantedsleeper]

Somehow it's September already and the kick-off point for Small Web September has arrived! \o/

As a reminder, this is the first of five ‘check-in’/comment points that will be published during the event – you can check out the schedule and dates of these posts over on the event intro. There’s no cut-off point for commenting on these, so you can add something at any time – you also don’t need to comment on them all or do them in order! The themes are a loose guide, but all discussion is welcome.

This first post will be for introducing yourself and your project(s) and talking about what you’re planning to do during the month. Of course, there’s no obligation to stick to what you’ve set down and no-one will be checking up xD But it can be a nice thought exercise! You’re free to make the goal(s) as broad or as specific as you like – it’s totally up to you.

There’s no set format for this check-in, but here’s one you can use if you’d like (just copy-paste and replace the placeholders with your own answers in the comments):

<strong>Name:</strong> (Username, nickname, whatever you like to go by)
<strong>Project(s):</strong> (Share a link to your project(s) if you’d like to, and/or describe what you’re making or would like to make!)
<strong>What are you hoping to work on for SWS?</strong> (This can be as general as “add to my site”, or as specific as “archive X fanworks” or “implement a responsive layout”. You could even include ‘bonus goals’ – more ambitious things you’d like to get to if you have time!)

Also, if anyone would like to answer it, here’s a discussion starter: What interests you about the small/indie web, and how did you learn about or get into it?

Comments

How I got interested in the indie/small web

[enchantedsleeper]

I decided to stick my answer to the discussion starter in a separate comment, because the goals comment was already a bit long: I came online somewhere around 2001/2 depending on how you want to mark it, so the small/indie web is what I remember. I had a dumb personal site that I made with the site builder du jour, which I sadly can't remember the name of, and the URL is lost to my AOL bookmarks, but I wish I could see it again because I know it was gloriously tacky. I also, although I got into fandom via bigger sites (Quizilla and then Fanfiction.net) have really fond memories of when fics were published across a bunch of smaller sites and archives that had their own rules or a particular focus. I miss that! I used to get such a kick out of finding new ones to read on and cross-post to, and even enjoyed meeting the different uploading requirements like HTML tagging or different file upload formats.

So doing things like archiving to my own personal fanworks archive reminds me of my early days in fandom and how exciting everything seemed. As to how I got interested/involved in small web things in the 2020s, I remember one morning (maybe the year before last?) I woke up way too early and couldn't sleep and I wound up scrolling the "web 1.0" tag on Tumblr and admiring the wonderfully pixellated and old-skool designs. That was the first time I realised that "web 1.0" was a movement and something that people were doing in the present day. It set me thinking about whether I could make a site like that, but I couldn't think what it would be about, so I didn't really try to act on it.

Then, last year, melannen's How to Make Your Own Fanfiction Archive guide started circulating and my brain connected the web 1.0 stuff with fanworks and went "oh, I could do this!" I think at one time making my own archive seemed self-centered, sort of, "Why would you assume that anyone would be interested in that?" But I like to approach it as a project for me, and also as a digital preservation thing, a way to arrange and preserve my fanworks in the way that I prefer. The fact that it also brought me into contact with cool communities like this one is a bonus ^^

(Long anecdote is long xD)