HP Fandom, a Harry Potter archive for gen and slash fanfiction, and The Hex Files, a Harry Potter archive for Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter fanfiction and fanart, are being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).
In this post:
- A bit of background explanation
- What this means for creators who have work on HP Fandom and The Hex Files
- And what to do if you still have questions
Background explanation
The Hex Files and HP Fandom are both popular Harry Potter archives. The Hex Files, created in 2005 by SeparatriX, holds over 3600 Harry/Draco fanworks. HP Fandom, created in 2004 by Ataraxis, and later moderated by SeparatriX, holds over 8500 gen and slash Harry Potter stories. Sadly, for financial and health reasons, SeparatriX has reluctantly decided to close the archives.
Open Doors will be working with SeparatriX to import the fanfiction on HP Fandom and The Hex Files into separate, searchable collections with their own identity. Also, as part of preserving the archives in their entirety, the fanart previously hosted in The Hex Files galleries will be hosted on the OTW’s servers, and embedded in their own AO3 work pages. Eventually the links going to the old sites will redirect to the collections on AO3 so the works can continue to be found with their old URLs. We will begin importing works from HP Fandom and The Hex Files to their AO3 collections in October 2016.
What does this mean for creators who have work on HP Fandom and the Hex Files?
This is the part where we ask for your help!
1. If you already have an AO3 account and have posted your HP Fandom and the Hex Files works there, please contact Open Doors with your HP Fandom or the Hex Files pseud(s) and e-mail address(es), so that we won’t import your works. (Please include “HP Fandom” or “The Hex Files” in the subject heading.)
Please visit the Open Doors website for instructions on mass-adding works to the HP Fandom collection on the AO3, or the Hex Files collection on the AO3.
2. If you don’t already have an AO3 account but would like one to import your works yourself, please contact Open Doors with your HP Fandom or The Hex Files pseud(s), and the preferred e-mail address to send the AO3 invite to. (Please include “HP Fandom” or “The Hex Files” in the subject heading.)
Please visit the Open Doors website for instructions on importing works to the HP Fandom collection on the AO3, or the Hex Files collection on the AO3.
3. If you don’t already have an AO3 account but would like one, as well as assistance importing your works, please contact Open Doors with your HP Fandom or the Hex Files pseud(s), and the preferred e-mail address to send the AO3 invite to. (Please include “HP Fandom” or “The Hex Files” in the subject heading.)
Once your account is set up, let us know your AO3 name, and we can transfer your works to you once imported.
4. If you would NOT like your works moved, please contact Open Doors with your HP Fandom or The Hex Files pseud(s) and e-mail address(es) so that we will not add them. (Please include “HP Fandom” or “The Hex Files” in the subject heading.)
If you would not mind your works being preserved but do not want your name attached to them any longer, please let us know that too–we can orphan your works instead of leaving them behind to be deleted.
All works archived on a creator’s behalf will be attributed with the creator’s name in the byline of the work. As we import works, we will e-mail notifications to the address associated with the work. When all works have been accounted for, the Open Doors committee will set up the URL redirects, and we will permanently close down the site.
All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. Once you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors.
If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your HP Fandom or The Hex Files account, please contact Open Doors and we’ll help you out. (If you’ve posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they’re yours, that’s fantastic; if not, we will work with the HP Fandom and The Hex Files mod to confirm your claims.)
If you still have questions…
If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ page, contact the Open Doors committee, or leave a comment on this post and we’ll respond as soon as we can.
We’d also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of both HP Fandom and The Hex Files on Fanlore. If you’re new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.
We’re excited to be able to help preserve HP Fandom and The Hex Files!
– The Open Doors team