That's very helpful about what Wayback does well and doesn't.
I think that Fanlore ends up being a good storage spot for things like intros to characters, pairings and fandoms but it's far from comprehensive and is meant more for pointing to things than hosting them. Since some of the original locations are gone, so having those original items archived is valuable, but it doesn't really create a means of having conversations about the topic.
I agree that having a location for meta that is easily searchable would be ideal, because more structural formats like bulletin boards or wikis are likely to be too broad, especially for a multifandom site.
Just like SquidgeWorld, other groups could use AO3's code to create a site exclusively for fandom meta. However I do feel there's a lot of benefit to have them woven together (as they used to be in places like LJ or DW) with creative works since that means you can have a fanwork and its attached commentary, a fandom resource alongside fanworks that use it, or episode reviews along with fanworks they've inspired.
Re: Thoughts
I think that Fanlore ends up being a good storage spot for things like intros to characters, pairings and fandoms but it's far from comprehensive and is meant more for pointing to things than hosting them. Since some of the original locations are gone, so having those original items archived is valuable, but it doesn't really create a means of having conversations about the topic.
I agree that having a location for meta that is easily searchable would be ideal, because more structural formats like bulletin boards or wikis are likely to be too broad, especially for a multifandom site.
Just like SquidgeWorld, other groups could use AO3's code to create a site exclusively for fandom meta. However I do feel there's a lot of benefit to have them woven together (as they used to be in places like LJ or DW) with creative works since that means you can have a fanwork and its attached commentary, a fandom resource alongside fanworks that use it, or episode reviews along with fanworks they've inspired.