The Site

 In: F.A.Q.

Why doesn't SpiderFan include comics after 2015?

This is explained in the news item SpiderFan.org is now "Spider-Man 1962-2015".

You can read our new rules for what gets included in the SpiderFan.org Database.

This means of course that we no longer maintain our weekly look through the newest comics releases based on NCRL. We have also dropped our monthly Upcoming Comics advance review of the Marvel previews.

Is your site Commercial?

No. We receive no payment and we host no advertisements. Our reviews and ratings are entirely independent and are based on our own dubious judgement.

Can we place an advertisement on your site?

No. Absolutely not. Not even if you call it a "placed article" or "sponsored content" or "targeted material" or "affiliate content exchange" or even "collaborative commercially-driven resource". We're not interested.

Would SpiderFan like to be our affiliate site?

Thanks, but no. We don't want to be your affiliate, we don't want to swap banners.

We no longer have a Links Page. It just got out of date and we ended up with a heap of dead links, or links to gambling sites (or worse).

Do similar sites exist for other characters?

Probably. Try Google and see what you find.

Why don't you review comic X, add villain Y, costume Z, etc.?

Would love to. But if we haven't done it, it's because we're too busy.

If you want to see a specific thing added to the site, then you'll just to join the staff and do it yourself.

Why don't you do more SpiderFun comic strips?

Quite simply, I lost my artist, muse, and friend, Heather. She just disappeared off the face of the earth, and I haven't been able to find a way to get back in contact with her. Heather, if you're out there... come back to me! Forgive me!

You can still read the old Fans : Spider-Fun comic strips from 2004-2008, but there won't be any new ones until I can find a replacement artist.

How and when did you create this web site?

The site started in 1993. I had Internet access at work, and I saw that this cool new technology might have a bit of a future. I created a website, mostly so I could teach myself about CGI, HTML, and all those brand new things.

The web-site started as "The Marvel On-Line Quiz Site", but gradually became Spidey-Specific, and much broader in content than just a few on-line quizzes.

After a year or two, I started getting offers of help, most of which I accepted. I now have a small team of contributors and friends that create much of the content.

All the site text content is now stored in a PostgreSQL database. A web-based application allows staff to create and edit the reviews, items, articles held within that database.

Whenever a change is made to the HTML content, or a new image is uploaded, then a custom Perl script performs a rebuild of any affected pages, automatically generating the cross-references and layout. This produces static HTML content which can be served very efficiently indeed, which means the production server has very low CPU requirements for hosting the site.

The database and working "development" copy of the site is held on the development/build machine which resides in New Zealand. Every 24 hours, the development copy of the site is synchronized to the production U.S. server which is hosted courtesy of ComicBoards.

 In: F.A.Q.