Feedback Post #2

[fgemods]

(Reminder that while we now have two, new mods are welcome! Just email fgemods@gmail.com if interested.)

Based on the previous feedback post, there are some things we'll probably keep and some things we'll probably change.

First of all, we will be keeping the 2000 word minimum. People seemed to like it last round, and it seems in keeping with the spirit of the exchange.

Things we are considering, which we need your thoughts on:

1. Merging treats into the main collection this year.
2. Consequences for no-show defaulters (perhaps a make-up treat before next round). There could also be consequences for people who don't default by a certain deadline.
3. Moving the exchange earlier in the year so that it has less overlap with Yuletide. Because of our late start, it isn't possible this round, but perhaps next round we can start around late June/early July.
4. We are planning on extending the time between the assignment deadline and work reveals. How many more days do you think are needed? We were considering two weeks.

We are definitely going to adjust the art requirements. Here's what we have so far (much thanks to hm_f , who gave us many helpful suggestions last feedback post!):

You must submit complete art—sketches are not permitted. Art must be a minimum of lineart with basic colors/tones as well as background OR two lineart drawings. Lineart may not stand alone as a gift without colors/tones/background. Art may be traditional or digital, but cannot be drawn on lined paper. Manips and other graphics are not permitted.

Thoughts?

Comments

[muccamukk]

What about a 12-day period for 4? If you had the due date Sunday night, and reveals Friday night a week and a bit later?

[(Anonymous)]

Yay! \o/ I'm so happy that Fandom Growth is back! Thank you all new mods. :D

About your feedback request, everything sounds great to me, except that I don't feel that to move the exchange at a earlier time in the year is a good idea. There are just so many old and new gift exchanges already during these months. :/ But it's up to you of course. I understand it being the only time in the year you can mod it, or other reasons that you have.

[shopfront]

I wasn't around for your first round but have heard good things and am excited to try it out in the future!

2. I think sitting out a year or doing a make up gift is a common and okay baseline for no-shows/post-deadline defaulters for many exchanges.

3. I wouldn't recommend pushing earlier than June/July off the top of my head. The first half of the year has been more hectic for me with exchanges than the last half is likely to be, so the schedule for these things is getting more packed by the year. Although other people might have different ideas of busy times they can weigh in on for you depending on their fandom choices too, of course. Having said that, it makes a lot of sense for you to shift earlier to avoid Yuletide burnout/people preparing to pick one or the other, and increase participation. The fandom_stocking/fandomgiftbox six months apart thing makes a lot of sense to me for that reason, so I can see a mid-year exchange working the same way here.

[refu]

"perhaps next round we can start around late June/early July"
There are already more exchanges running during the summer than I can manage without adding another to the time slot. Yuletide may be the biggest exchange, but there are plenty more, and too many squeeze into the summer months already, forcing me to decide which ones I want to spend my limited time on. So from my pov that'd be a bad move.

[(Anonymous)]

I keep trying to figure out what I'd want to say.

1. I loved this exchange and doing really tiny fandoms. To be honest, I found the relationship angle constricting last year because in its first iteration, this was for 10-fic fandoms and I was excited about the characters I wanted to ask for. I didn't really mind doing pairings, but it felt weird for gen fic that it had to be a relationship. It would be awesome if we could nominate characters with only 10 fics or fewer on AO3 as well.

2. Would there be any exceptions for when one author wrote all the fic or its all in a non-English language or it's all crossovers only? Or if we can present evidence that the relationship never shows up as the primary pairing but is only background?

3. Will there be discovery posts to promote our tiny fandoms?

4. Oh, and please don't bucket up all the big fandoms. It'd be great if we could nominate a bucket or a subfandom so MCU wouldn't be the same thing as Guardians of the Galaxy, for example.

[fgemods]

1. We've considered including rare characters. We thought it might be a change best left to next round, but we will be discussing it further.

2. We will be keeping last round's rules, which state: A relationship qualifies for the exchange if it has no more than 10 complete, English-language fics or no more than 5 contributing authors on AO3. A fic only counts against the relationship if it's the main relationship of the fic. You may nominate a fandom without nominating a relationship for it. However, that fandom must meet the same requirements as a relationship: fewer than 10 complete fics or fewer than 5 contributing authors. As long as you can prove the relationship/fandom fulfills these requirements, it will be permitted. A rules post will go up soon, which should make the requirements clearer to participants.

3. Last round had a promotion post, and we'll do one this round as well.

4. Last round related fandoms and subfandoms were kept separate, and we'll do the same this round, for the reasons you stated.

Hope that was helpful!

ETA: Regarding #4, this is the exact wording from the rules: You can nominate a relationship under a general fandom (e.g. Marvel Cinematic Universe) or subfandom (e.g. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), but the relationship must qualify under the fandom you nominate it.

[(Anonymous)]

I thought that was the situation for the second one but couldn't quite remember and couldn't find it.

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm going to leave some questions here since I can't respond to the FAQ post.

-The link for the Rules/FAQ/Dates from the main page doesn't work.

-What sort of fandoms are allowed? The question for that on the FAQ I found doesn't really answer, just talks about the number of fics. Is RPF allowed? Five minute fandoms, like music videos/commercials, ect?

-What do you mean by 'implied characters'? As in, will there be a strict definition of whether a character is implied or an actual character? (does a character have to be mentioned x amount of times, shown on 'screen' for a certain portion of the canon)

[fgemods]

We are currently revamping the rules/FAQ for the upcoming round. The FAQ from last round is here, while the rules from last round are here, but since we are making some small adjustments, we didn't want to link people to potentially inaccurate information.

Last round did not limit fandom types, and this round won't either. RPF, 5-minute fandoms, etc. will all be permitted.

One of the larger changes we plan on making for this round, actually, is to allow implied characters. Our definition (with examples) will also be in the Rules/FAQ/Dates post, but basically, implied characters are characters that exist, but are not individually named/seen/referenced. Please let us know if you have further thoughts on implied characters - we appreciate you bringing it up, and we're always looking for ideas!

Hopefully that answered your questions! We appreciate everyone's patience as we get things sorted.

[(Anonymous)]

Are canons never translated or fan-scanlated in English allowed? I'm asking because it would make it hard for people who aren't familiar with the non-English language to review these canons for the exchange, especially if the canon is a book.

[fgemods]

It's doubtful that people unfamiliar with that non-English language would request or offer that canon, since that implies unfamiliarity with the canon itself. All in all, we don't think that the issue you describe will arise in this exchange.

However, those fandoms are still allowed, and if someone happens to request one and then receive a gift in it, good for them!