Cloudplane is a directory dedicated to collective websites focused on anime, manga, and video games. It was launched in January 2021. The name combines cloud, an abstract symbol of emotion, imagination, and artistic expression, with plane, representing a realm of existence, thought, or development. Together, they reflect the idea that every webmaster is an artist, using the web as a medium for creative expression. The directory features both active and archived collectives. While many are no longer maintained, they are preserved as part of the community's history, celebrating the creativity and individuality that defined the collective web.
Collectives have long been a cornerstone of personal fandom websites, bringing together years of creativity under a single home. Following the closure of Yummy.nu, Cloudplane was created as an independent project with a stronger focus on personal collectives while carrying forward the spirit of preserving and celebrating the collective web. As many of these sites have disappeared or become increasingly difficult to find, Cloudplane helps preserve that part of the web's history, celebrates the passion and dedication of independent webmasters, and makes it easier to discover both active collectives and those that live on through archives.
What is a collective?
An online collective is a website that brings together multiple independent creative works under a shared home. Rather than focusing on a single project, it curates a variety of distinct creations—such as shrines, tributes, cliques, trading card game collections, graphic sites, fanfiction, fansites, art galleries, writing, music, photography, coding experiments, and other personal projects—united by a common creator, group, or creative vision.
Think of it as a digital bookshelf or art gallery. Each book, painting, or sculpture stands on its own, yet together they tell a larger story about the person who assembled them. The collection reflects the curator's interests, passions, and creative vision, making it feel like more than a random assortment of works. In much the same way, an online collective is more than a directory of links—it is a thoughtfully curated home for projects that belong together because of the individual or community behind them.