Categories of Fan Sites

I’ve been thinking recently about what categories fan sites fit into and I’ve come up with a few. Granted, there are probable more.. so if you can think of any then let me know. If you take a quick look at my list of Innovative RuneScape Fan Sites below, you’ll see that I chose fan sites that specialise in a certain service or feature. This is the first category that I am going to introduce:

• Service-oriented sites: Sites who are integral to the RS community by offering high-quality services that are unmatchable by larger sites. These smaller sites have a very specific plan of action when it comes to what they offer. RSBANDB’s “claim to fame” came about from the introduction of services that no one else had. It started with quality calculators, then spread to goal and stats signatures. Sites that offer services are often able to stay successful because there’s a smaller group of committed and/or talented people to keep things running. In order to stay a unique and savvy service-oriented fan site, the site needs to offer things that are either a) Not currently offered by any other site or b) Not offered in as high of quality or diversity.
• All-encompassing RS sites: I call these ones “Wal-Mart” fan sites because you can literally go to them for anything. Quest guides, item databases, dungeon maps, etc etc. The list goes on. They’re great sources of obtaining general information about the game. Their communities are often huge, as well as a little impersonal. Because Wal-Mart fan sites are so huge, they have a tendency to lack in providing a consistency in quality of their services. This isn’t unusual since running a fan site of this magnitude is a lot of hard work.
• Advice sites: These sites deal in the realms of giving advice, suggestions, and predictions regarding the game itself (or the community of RS). These sites probably don’t do as well as the above two, but they’re there to help anyone and everyone who needs guidance. I often think that some of these sites should be converted into blogs if the site owner can’t think of a way to expand the site to make it more interactive. There are a few, however, who do an amazing job of bringing functionality to their sites.
• Forums: Now, you might say “Wait a minute, that’s not a site!” but it technically is. Lots of clans represent themselves on forums rather than a full-blown site. Many people decide to develop a community rather than an actual site. In a way, this is good and bad. It’s good in a sense that people who visit these communities get individual help from other members. It’s bad in a sense that getting people to join is the hardest part. An example of a site like this is RSC.
• Illegal/Shady Sites: These sites deal in the “darker” side of Runescape. A dark side of Runescape. Sorry, that made me laugh XD. These sites are more able to monetise their content by selling macros and/or RS Gold.

All of these sites work together in supplying RS players with what they need, legal or not. We all do our part, no matter how small or large we are, in creating a supply to everyone here.