Kevin Croy is the founder of LostPedia, a worldwide Wiki that details the ever-expanding minutiae of the tv show Lost. Recently, Kevin spoke at the Paley Center for Media in New York, as part of a panel (along with Jenny from OfficeTally) about the growing impact of fan sites on how fans interact with their favorite shows — and how the network producers keep their eye on the communities that follow their shows. As the season comes to a close, the LostPedia site has become a must-visit destination for the obsessive fan, the curious newbie…and interested bloggers like us.

Q: What was your inspiration to start LostPedia?
I have always been a big fan of Wikipedia and I’ve always wanted to start my own wiki. After the 1st episode of the second season, my mind was just a mess with all of the stories lines in LOST. It just occurred to me that a wiki would be the perfect format to keep track of all this stuff. After searching and not finding one, I decided to create one and the rest is history.

Q: Are there any drawbacks to running a community site about your favorite television show?
Sometimes my focus has to shift away from the show itself in order to help with issues the community is facing. A good example of this is during season Finales. Sometimes I have to pause the Finale in order to handle server issues related to high traffic loads.

Q: Do you participate in the Lost ARG (alternate reality game)? What do you think of melding a storyline to a television show with an online and real-life game?
I follow along with the ARG, but don’t do a lot of original research for it. I think the ARG is really a great way to keep an audience entertained and involved in the series during the off season. I hope LOST continues to develop their ARG.

Q: What can you tell us about the people who visit and comment on Lostpedia? Why do you think so many people are drawn to Lost?
Lostpedia users are a really diverse crowd. University Students, Business men and women, stay at home moms. You name it!

I think people are drawn to Lost because it’s constantly making them think and re-evaluate ideas that they have about characters and the story. The fact that every episode builds on the one before is a key to their success. Fans have invested a lot of time in the series at this point and no one wants to miss an episode and fall behind.

Q: We’ve noticed that you’ve suspended registration until Lost’s Season 4 is over because spoilers were being posted. How do you balance people’s desire to know more about the show with a spoiler policy?
We give users an area to discuss spoilers in the forum that is clearly marked as such. I think there are a few different levels of spoilers. Sometimes people who live on the west coast that visit Lostpedia after it’s aired on the east coast, but before it airs on the west coast can get spoiled. I think that’s the nature of the beast. However, spoiling the finale weeks before it airs is totally unacceptable and I don’t think serves anyone’s best interest (except for maybe competing networks!) So we try to draw the line there and we do our best to prevent the spread of “unaired spoilers.”

Q: What are your favorite characters and storylines in the series?
Ben Linus, John Locke and Sayid are my favorite characters. They keep the audience guessing about Ben. Is he a crazed mad man or a genius that really has everyone’s best interests in mind? My favorite storyline of this season was when Desmond was traveling through time and I also liked the concept of him needing to find a “constant.”

Q: If you could write one episode of Lost, what would happen?
I would write an entire episode on the numbers and I would explain where they came from, why they’re so special! I’d also like to see Hurley get over his fear of his Lottery money and do some cool things as a multi-millionaire.

Q: What are your other favorite shows?
I’ve recently gotten into Dexter. I watched all the episodes back to back over a 3 day period (gotta love Comcast On Demand!). I still love watching Seinfeld, even though I’ve seen every episode at least 10 times.

Q: Imagine you’re a studio head. Program the ultimate Thursday night lineup from 8-11… you can use any current show on any network.

8:00-8:30: Seinfeld (Rerun if necessary, but if I’m a studio head then I’d bring the crew back together and make some new episodes!)
8:30-9:00: Rob & Big
9:00-10:00 LOST
10:00-11:00 Dexter

Q: No matter how Lost ends, do you imagine fans being upset and trash talking it a la The Sopranos backlash?
I really hope not. I was really disappointed with The Sopranos ending. I’m sure no matter how it ends some fans will feel they were let down. My gut feeling is that most fans will be pleased with the ending. The writers of LOST definitely aren’t dummies. I think they definitely are going to try to avoid a Sopranos type ending. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Q: If we offered you a book with all of the secrets, explanations, and plot twists in the remaining seasons of Lost, would you read it? Or, would you rather watch the show every week to find out what happens? Note: We don’t have said book… or do we?
I wouldn’t want to read it. I think the twists and turns are an exciting element of the show. Even though the cliffhangers at the end of each episode can be pretty rough of fans sometimes, I’m glad I don’t know how it’s going to end. I think if you had a book like that you could make a lot of money selling copies of it, because a lot of people definitely would want to read it.