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tolkien_slashy_swaps2007-02-01 01:18 pm
ex-fimbreth.livejournal.com) wrote in tolkien_slashy_swaps2007-02-01 01:18 pm
Entry tags:
ADMIN: Looking for input
Hello, authors, readers, and betas! Though the 2006 Slashy Santa exchange is barely behind us, it's already time to think ahead to the next exchange. As we did last year with the Mistletoe in May swap, we are again planning a mid-season exchange for 2007. It may occur in May, June, or July, but as the lifecycle of an exchange is around four months, it's not too early to start planning.
Most of you are probably aware of the challenges that occurred during the Slashy Santa exchange, as well as the Mistletoe in May swap. The Slashy Santa team took every measure possible to ensure that this didn't happen - we asked participants to confirm their signups, confirm the receipt of their assignments, and sent three separate reminders, yet at the end, there were still a considerable number of dropouts and MIAs. To clarify, this has nothing to do with the people who asked for extensions - those people remained in communication with us and ultimately delivered the finished product. Our concerns are with the people we simply never heard from again, after they received the assignment.
As one person so aptly stated, sending multiple reminders isn't the solution, because the problem isn't about forgetting. The issue is responsibility and accountability, namely the lack of, that sadly, some people have, as proven by the mad scramble we faced during both the MiM and 2006 SS.
Clearly, something has to change.
We're actively soliciting your input. You, the swap participants, fiction readers, lurkers, betas, and fellow swap owners, have the dedication and creativity we need to help us come up with a solution.
What we will do now is communicate some of the suggestions and comments we've received and open the forum to discussion. In a couple weeks, once we've had the opportunity to hash over all the options, we'd like to put the future of the swap up to vote. We'll open up a poll and let the participants help us decide how to proceed.
Everything at this point is open for discussion - nothing has been decided except that the Slashy Santa exchanges WILL continue!
The suggestions are, in no particular order, and with no bias:
Fiction assignments:
- Keep things the way they are (admins match request to recipient)
- 'draw straws' - throw all the requests in a virtual hat, assign a number to each participant, and let each author pick in order, 1 through xx. Negotiations could be allowed - if you pick something you don't like, you can swap with someone who has a higher number, e.g. someone who has NOT drawn their assignment yet. (There is a name for a secret santa exchange similar to this, something like White Elephant or Progressive, but exactly how it works escapes me.)
- Same idea as drawing straws, but authors are free to negotiate among themselves if they wish to change assignments.
- Solicit fiction requests and the admins post them anonymously at a predetermined date and time. Then, "if you want them, come and claim them." *grin* First come, first served to grab what you want to write.
- Randomly assign a number, 1-x, to each author and send each in turn two or three requests that the admins have determined would fit their requirements.
Participation:
- Contact a reserve group of writers whose sole purpose is to come up with emergency stories, in exchange offering an incentive such as an LJ gift certificate or artwork.
- Make the swap "by invitation only". Inviting only 'proven' participants and active members of the fandom will hopefully eliminate the no-shows.
- For new participants, institute a 'trial swap' in which the unknown participant must successfully fulfill a drabble exchange before being allowed to sign up for a full-length story exchange.
- Open registration, but require new participants (someone unknown to the admins) to be 'sponsored' or vouched for by a known affiliate of the exchange (a mod/admin, current participant, or active fandom member). Point of clarification - "new participant" in this case means someone whose name is completely unknown to anyone affiliated with the exchange, not someone who reads and participates in a group or LJ as a reader/commenter, but has never actually participated in a swap before. Sorry for the confusion.
- Publish a chart of authors on the forum rather than keeping the participants secret, on the theory that people will be less likely to non-perform if everyone is aware of who the players are. Post progress reports as assignments are received, and mark those requests still outstanding.
- Post a "Wall of Shame" of past participants who did not turn in a story.
- Set milestones by which time a rough plot/theme must be submitted, and then thirty days (or another interval) before the deadline, a progress report received, or the story is reassigned to a standby group
Forum:
- Continue to use the Slashy Santa website http://www.geocities.com/slashysanta/
- Move to LiveJournal
- Create a Yahoo! Group for Slashy Santa. Participants will be required to join the group in order to play.
- Participants self-load their fiction to the LiveJournal or Yahoo! group on the release day. It's then up to the recipients to claim their own stories.
- Participants send their work to the admins, who will upload to the LiveJournal or Yahoo! group on the release day.
- Fiction is submitted to and posted by moderator on website/LJ/Yahoo! Group, and authors' identities are revealed a week later.
Content:
- Keep the story length (1,200 word minimum) and restrictions the same (no change)
- Add a genre (Real Person Slash, Mary Sue, songfic, drabbles, etc.). (Note: Het will NOT will be considered, as the charming Ms. Zhie already runs an affiliate het swap, and there's no sense in being redundant)
- Add a fandom (Wraeththu? Queer as Folk? any others?)
- Eliminate a fandom (There is a good possibility that Anita Blake will be dropped from future swaps due to lack of interest, but if you feel strongly otherwise, please make your feelings known)
- Refine signup form to separate "what I will/will not read" from the "what I will/will not write"
- Ask requester to specify XXX (three or four) words the fic needs to be based around, or a scenario, or a theme
Please feel free to comment on anything and everything. Like an idea? Hate one? Think we're on to something, but have a different slant? TELL US! Let's brainstorm and secure the future of Slashy Santa, and ensure that everyone has fun, with a minimum of stress. Any and all suggestions will be considered. The only stupid ideas are the ones that remain unspoken. The idea you think will *never* work might just spur a new idea from someone else, and will be the perfect solution.
Thank you in advance!
EDIT: As suggestions are made in the threads, I'll add them to this main post so I don't forget any. I'd like to keep all the possibilities in once place to later simplify the polling process. Any points added after the original post will be marked in bold blue text and should not be construed as being any more or less likely for consideration than the others. I just think the blue is pretty. *grin*
Fim~
Most of you are probably aware of the challenges that occurred during the Slashy Santa exchange, as well as the Mistletoe in May swap. The Slashy Santa team took every measure possible to ensure that this didn't happen - we asked participants to confirm their signups, confirm the receipt of their assignments, and sent three separate reminders, yet at the end, there were still a considerable number of dropouts and MIAs. To clarify, this has nothing to do with the people who asked for extensions - those people remained in communication with us and ultimately delivered the finished product. Our concerns are with the people we simply never heard from again, after they received the assignment.
As one person so aptly stated, sending multiple reminders isn't the solution, because the problem isn't about forgetting. The issue is responsibility and accountability, namely the lack of, that sadly, some people have, as proven by the mad scramble we faced during both the MiM and 2006 SS.
Clearly, something has to change.
We're actively soliciting your input. You, the swap participants, fiction readers, lurkers, betas, and fellow swap owners, have the dedication and creativity we need to help us come up with a solution.
What we will do now is communicate some of the suggestions and comments we've received and open the forum to discussion. In a couple weeks, once we've had the opportunity to hash over all the options, we'd like to put the future of the swap up to vote. We'll open up a poll and let the participants help us decide how to proceed.
Everything at this point is open for discussion - nothing has been decided except that the Slashy Santa exchanges WILL continue!
The suggestions are, in no particular order, and with no bias:
Fiction assignments:
- Keep things the way they are (admins match request to recipient)
- 'draw straws' - throw all the requests in a virtual hat, assign a number to each participant, and let each author pick in order, 1 through xx. Negotiations could be allowed - if you pick something you don't like, you can swap with someone who has a higher number, e.g. someone who has NOT drawn their assignment yet. (There is a name for a secret santa exchange similar to this, something like White Elephant or Progressive, but exactly how it works escapes me.)
- Same idea as drawing straws, but authors are free to negotiate among themselves if they wish to change assignments.
- Solicit fiction requests and the admins post them anonymously at a predetermined date and time. Then, "if you want them, come and claim them." *grin* First come, first served to grab what you want to write.
- Randomly assign a number, 1-x, to each author and send each in turn two or three requests that the admins have determined would fit their requirements.
Participation:
- Contact a reserve group of writers whose sole purpose is to come up with emergency stories, in exchange offering an incentive such as an LJ gift certificate or artwork.
- Make the swap "by invitation only". Inviting only 'proven' participants and active members of the fandom will hopefully eliminate the no-shows.
- For new participants, institute a 'trial swap' in which the unknown participant must successfully fulfill a drabble exchange before being allowed to sign up for a full-length story exchange.
- Open registration, but require new participants (someone unknown to the admins) to be 'sponsored' or vouched for by a known affiliate of the exchange (a mod/admin, current participant, or active fandom member). Point of clarification - "new participant" in this case means someone whose name is completely unknown to anyone affiliated with the exchange, not someone who reads and participates in a group or LJ as a reader/commenter, but has never actually participated in a swap before. Sorry for the confusion.
- Publish a chart of authors on the forum rather than keeping the participants secret, on the theory that people will be less likely to non-perform if everyone is aware of who the players are. Post progress reports as assignments are received, and mark those requests still outstanding.
- Post a "Wall of Shame" of past participants who did not turn in a story.
- Set milestones by which time a rough plot/theme must be submitted, and then thirty days (or another interval) before the deadline, a progress report received, or the story is reassigned to a standby group
Forum:
- Continue to use the Slashy Santa website http://www.geocities.com/slashysanta/
- Move to LiveJournal
- Create a Yahoo! Group for Slashy Santa. Participants will be required to join the group in order to play.
- Participants self-load their fiction to the LiveJournal or Yahoo! group on the release day. It's then up to the recipients to claim their own stories.
- Participants send their work to the admins, who will upload to the LiveJournal or Yahoo! group on the release day.
- Fiction is submitted to and posted by moderator on website/LJ/Yahoo! Group, and authors' identities are revealed a week later.
Content:
- Keep the story length (1,200 word minimum) and restrictions the same (no change)
- Add a genre (Real Person Slash, Mary Sue, songfic, drabbles, etc.). (Note: Het will NOT will be considered, as the charming Ms. Zhie already runs an affiliate het swap, and there's no sense in being redundant)
- Add a fandom (Wraeththu? Queer as Folk? any others?)
- Eliminate a fandom (There is a good possibility that Anita Blake will be dropped from future swaps due to lack of interest, but if you feel strongly otherwise, please make your feelings known)
- Refine signup form to separate "what I will/will not read" from the "what I will/will not write"
- Ask requester to specify XXX (three or four) words the fic needs to be based around, or a scenario, or a theme
Please feel free to comment on anything and everything. Like an idea? Hate one? Think we're on to something, but have a different slant? TELL US! Let's brainstorm and secure the future of Slashy Santa, and ensure that everyone has fun, with a minimum of stress. Any and all suggestions will be considered. The only stupid ideas are the ones that remain unspoken. The idea you think will *never* work might just spur a new idea from someone else, and will be the perfect solution.
Thank you in advance!
EDIT: As suggestions are made in the threads, I'll add them to this main post so I don't forget any. I'd like to keep all the possibilities in once place to later simplify the polling process. Any points added after the original post will be marked in bold blue text and should not be construed as being any more or less likely for consideration than the others. I just think the blue is pretty. *grin*
Fim~
no subject
Assignments
I like having a request assigned to me as opposed to picking one for myself - it seems to work better that way as it's actually a challenge that requires thinking and planning, and contributes to the quality of the fic. It is complicated for you, I know, but overall I think it is the better way to organise things, when compared to a publicly random method, or asking authors to select from requests. It also doesn't rely on authors all being online at the same/similar time, and so someone who only has weekly access or something won't hold up the queue or be stuck with a request they can't write.
Participation
I suspect that adding barriers to registration may discourage new participants, and might get you a reputation as 'elitist'.
What might work is having a group of proven authors on standby, and if someone defaults and doesn't request an extension, requests get automatically passed on to someone in that group, rather than chasing the author for a progress report. It would mean having a diverse group of authors, so that all the requests could be covered - not everyone is willing to try out a new character on short notice.
Forum
A Yahoo!Group would need to be active all year round and/or monitored in case of spam - I've been noticing that after a couple of months of inactivity in ones I am/was a part of, the spambots seem to appear. I like the idea of having it all on the site, but again, it's a lot of work for you.
Another thing I thought of is that LJ and it's comment system generally makes it easier for a reader to leave a comment/feedback, and means that author's email addresses don't have to be posted with the fic, as they can track the entry or visit regularly to read their feedback.
Content
Story length and restrictions are fine the way they are, I think, but requests could be done in a different format - perhaps separating the "what i will/will not read" from the "what i will/will not write" to make the differences clearer for the person who is assigned that request, or asking the requester to specify three words the fic needs to be based around, or a scenario, or a theme.
I don't think adding RPS will help much - there are many many RPS exchanges around, both general and pairing-specific, and because RPS seems to attract more people the exchange may well end up too large to handle. Perhaps adding art as a possibility might work, although there would possibly be an imbalance of people asking for/requesting art.
no subject
I still think that the matches might be better. So how about sending the requests (anonymously) to each writer and they have to pick two or three, so that it isn't dependend to be online? There still might be some requests which don't get a claim, but then it seems that those are difficult for everyone to write, no matter whether being assigned to or not.
It's not that I'm uncomfortable with the system as it is, but I think it might improve the stories if you think to have just some ideas for specific requests.