Lauters, Amy

From Fans to FoLCs: Online Community and the Case of the Kerth Awards

Abstract

The evolving spaces of the Internet have allowed television fans to dissolve geographic boundaries and engage in rich communal and social experiences. Fanzines published online, global collaboration on fan fiction and complex award structures made possible through Internet Relay Chat make fandom an attractive and interactive choice for average viewers.

This paper focuses on the online fandom of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a television show that first aired in the United States on ABC from 1994 to 1997, and the sophisticated communal structure that allows the maintenance of a fan fiction archive of more than 1,700 stories, a listserv hosting more than 300 participants, and a well-attended annual awards ceremony on Internet Relay Chat for authors of favorite fan fiction.

The syndication of Lois and Clark globally has contributed to its popularity online, as new fans continue to join the FoLC community. But it's the community itself, with its wealth of activities and supportive members, that keeps the fans coming back for more. This fandom has become more than its beginnings.