ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at applied linguistics research into two online writing spaces: Wikipedia and fan fiction, and at how their different social purposes, norms, regulations and technological affordances shape and are shaped by users' language practices. It shows how empirical applied linguistics research into two very different online writing communities highlights the potential benefits of the web as a space for writers and writing. Editors also drew on linguistic resources to hedge their authority claims and thus defuse potential conflict. Applied linguistics studies of young fan fiction writers reveal fan fiction sites to be a rewarding space for learning and personal development. This chapter provides a report on an ethnographic study of the anime section of the international fan fiction site, FanFiction.net (FFN). Fan fiction writing also offers opportunities for developing new digital literacy skills such as multimodal and technological literacies, and information literacies.
