My Woway English Paper

[WeirdAbbott]

Hey guys, for my English class, we have to write a paper on a website, and I chose WOWAY. We have to explain, whether its a good or bad website and then explain why in 3+ pages. This is only the rough draft, I but I hope everyone likes it.

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The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic

With the internet having millions of sites that users can go to at anytime, in my opinion, no website is nicer, well laid out or more fun than WeirdAlForum.com. Though, to fully appreciate the site and understand the subject matter, it helps if you are a fan of musical parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic. Even if you don’t know who he is, users can check up on his latest news, see how the new album is coming and chat with other Al fans to see their opinion of any given subject. This site may seem like any other forum, but it is really a lot more. WeirdAlForum.com, The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic, WOWAY or whatever you call it is a very good site and there are a few reasons why.

The website was created on October 31, 2001 by Bart van den Akker, who goes by the screen name “WhiZZi” on the site. In an interview with him, he says that The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum was created because “Weird Al” Yankovic is pretty unknown in his homeland of the Netherlands and he wanted to connect with Al fans, so he created the forum. For those who don’t know, a forum is an online site that has many topics that anyone can post a response to. As of this writing, there are 3,166 threads (individual topics users can reply to), there are 2,458 registered users to the site and over 216,947 posts (and that is just from the top 10 posters on the site). Akker says that the highlights for the forum are that Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (“Weird Al” Yankovic’s drummer for over 20 years) is a member of the site. Also, he says while it’s “kind of cruel”, when Al’s parents died in 2004 by carbon monoxide poisoning, the users on the forum were very helpful and supportive of Al and helping him with that tough time. The next paragraphs will explain why I think this site is a very good one.

The first reason I think The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum is a good site is because the site is very well laid out. The topics are all easy to find including “General Chat”, “Music”, “Touring and Live Appearances”, “TV and Media”, “Polls and Games”, “Fan Creativity” and “International”. Some of the threads in each of those topics are “Generic Al Blather” and “Drooling Over Al” in “General Chat”, “Song of the Day” and “Songs and Styles We Wish Al Would Parody” in “Music”, show recaps for each show on the tour in “Touring and Live Appearances”, “Al on Biography” and “Al and MAD” in “TV and Media”, “Best Song Tournament” and the “Favorite Album Poll” in “Polls and Games”, “Fan Art” and “Parodies You’ve Made” in “Fan Creativity”, and “The Big Non-English Topic” and “Bring Al Back To Australia” in “International”. Also, the forum is nice because of the colors and imagery really helps with the layout. At the top of each page is a banner with Al and “World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum all above a light blue layout, plus, users can pick their own avatar (picture to represent them when they post), which adds to the imagery.

The second reason I think that WOWAY is a good site is the users that are registered there. The forum is a very family friendly place online (how many sites can say that?) where everyone is respectful and helpful of each other. Also, there is no swearing, vulgar, racist, or sexist language at all allowed on the forum, so it is very family and child friendly (there are some fairly young members on there). The site is also good in terms with its members because, since everyone is so nice and respectful, I have met, as can anyone else, new friends that I can talk to about “Weird Al” and other things as well. Like I mentioned earlier, there are almost 2,500 members on the site, and I think they really help make the site what it is. I mean without them, there would be no WOWAY.

The last reason I think The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum is an excellent website is because is just so darn fun. It has its own “Polls and Games” topic where there are 458 games and polls that users can be a part of that are very fun. My personal favorites include “Make a Wish-Have It Corrupted: Al Edition” (Users make an Al related wish, and the person who posts after them has to corrupt the dream), “Dear Abby, Al Style” (just like the advice column “Dear Abby”, only it’s based on song lyrics), and “Best Al Song Tournament” (users pick the greatest “Weird Al” song of all time). As well as the “Polls and Games” topic, there is the “Fan Made Parodies” thread in the “Fan Creativity” topic, which has to be my favorite thread on the forum. There, users (like me) can post their own made parodies, just like “Weird Al” Yankovic does. Not only does that help with getting your songs out into the public, but it helps users become more familiar with comedy and parody musicians all over the world. But I think the biggest highlight of the forum, is that every year the “WOWAY Awards” are held on the site. These awards are given to users who have done the best in a number of given topics, including “Best Avatar”, “Best Signature”, “Best Fan Made Art”, “Best Topic”, and “Best Fan Made Parody” (which I have been nominated for four times, and won once). So as you can see, the World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum truly knows how to have fun.

Now I know that there are objections that this site is a very good one. Some people would say that it may be well laid out but it is only good if you are a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic; also that there might not be enough images on the site, that it’s mostly words. And while that may be true that it helps to be a “Weird Al” fan, fans of any size are welcome to come learn about Al, meet new people and have fun doing it. The “lack of imagery” may sound like a problem, but users can post pictures of themselves or anything else Al related in special threads on the forum. Plus, the subject matter in the text really makes up for the lack of pictures anyway.

So as you can see, The World of “Weird Al” Yankovic Forum (WeirdAlForum.com) is a very good site to go to. It is very nicely laid out, there are many nice people you can meet and talk to and you can have tons and tons of fun while learning and talking about Al and his band. Going back to my interview with Bart van den Akker, I asked him why people should come to WOWAY, his reply was

“Why not? It’s just a plain family friendly place to hang out on the internet. A great place for “Weird Al” fans from all over the world to meet each other and just be yourself. There are no trolls, no illegal things and above all, it’s free.”

And when asked for a closing statement about the site, he said-
“WOWAY: See, Internet isn’t all bad…it has some nice sites about a weird guy playing accordion!”

[Al's Homeboy]

Very nice Abbot! What did you make on it?! If not a A, then there has to be something wrong with your teacher!

You might have recruited some new members.

[WeirdAbbott]

Well, this is only the rough draft, and I haven't turned it in yet. It is due in a few hours. But i'll let you know how it turned out once I know.

[Big Spoon]

That was an awesome paper, Abbott! It should get you a great grade.

[The Doctor]

Awesome!
Would you put my name in your paper if I gave you $5?

WOWAY is an awesome place. It is my 'home' on the Internet, really. I've met the absolute best people in the world (literally) here.
I've met the weirdest people in the world here, too. Not to mention a few creeps.
But I'd be lost without WOWAY. It keeps me sane. (whether I'm actually sane or not is debatable) (Yay! Top 10!)

So.. great choice picking WOWAY, Abbott!

[anthontherun]

Very nice work!

[WHiZZi]

Nice

[TMBJon]

Cool paper, Abbott. It's fun to write about Weird Al in school, isn't it??
Good luck on the grade. Make sure to let us know how your teacher likes it.

[polkarama27]

Holy cow! That was the best English paper I've ever read! I hope you get an A (or better yet, an A+!). Please let us know what you make! If I wasn't apart of WOWAY and I read this, I would certainly want to join
I would have to agree with Stephen: WOWAY is my home planet too! And I have met with some of the best people on here and made lots of friends!

[Seva]

Oh, how lovely! It is absolutely great! Just what I thought.

Oh, and WOWAY is a great place to make some big money, Abbott! Just ask $5 from each member who wants to be mentioned in the paper...

Thanks!!

SEVA.