Amy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
such_heights) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
white_lotus2012-12-02 08:43 pm
such_heights) wrote in white_lotus2012-12-02 08:43 pm
Lunar New Year Exchange 2013: Rules & Schedule
Hello, all! We're going to be kicking off the third round of the White Lotus Lunar New Year Exchange next week.
If you're a veteran player, the rules are the same as last year.
If you defaulted after our penalty-free deadline last year, we ask that you post a fanwork to the community before signing up this year in order to be eligible. If you defaulted after the penalty-free deadline two years ago, you can now sign up for the exchange again.
The schedule:
December 3rd: signups open
December 14th: signups close
December 21st (at the latest): assignments go out
February 3rd: submissions due
February 10th: posting starts
Full rules:
1. The basics: This is a gift exchange that will include Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra fanworks such as fic, vids, art, podfic, graphics and crafts. Gift posting will start on the first day of the Lunar New Year and will be anonymous for the fifteen days of some Lunar New Year celebrations, after which they'll be un-anonymized. Anyone can sign up; you don't need a dreamwidth account to play.
2. The schedule: signups will open Monday December 3rd and will close Friday 14th December at midnight GMT. Assignments will be emailed out a few days after sigups close. Main fanworks will be due to the mods at whitelotusmods@gmail.com by midnight GMT February 3rd and will be posted daily from February 10th. Information on dropping out and treats scheduling, see below.)
3. How matching will work: You can make three requests with different (or overlapping) fanwork types, characters, genres, and ships (or gen/no ship), each with its own free-text request. We'll try to match as many of those things, and as many of your requests, as possible, but we only promise to match one request on characters, types of fanworks, and maximum ratings. You might ask for art for a ship and receive gen or friendshippy art instead. If your signup doesn’t have any possible matches, we may contact you and ask you to expand your offers.
4. Request language: Requests are (optional) longer free-text details about the kinds of things you would like. As you're writing your requests, please consider that you might be assigned to someone who typically writes/vids/draws different characters, ships, or sex acts than you do, and please try not to shame or bash anyone's fanwork preferences. It's fine to list the things you don't want (e.g. "I don't like Yue/Katara fic" or "I prefer gen fic to het or slash"), but please don't say things like "because it's gross" or "everyone who writes X is a loser." If your request includes shaming or bashing language, we might screen your comment to the treats post and ask you to reword it, or contact you about your signup and ask you to reword a request.
4a. If you need more information about your assigned person/their requests: If you have questions about your assigned person, contact a mod at whitelotusmods@gmail.com and we'll act as intermediaries to maintain your anonymity.
5. Types of fanworks: You can make or request any combination of art, vids, fic, graphics, podfic, and crafts. We'll also have a write-in space to request or offer other types of fanworks; you could list things like food, costumes, recs sets, or anything else that we haven't listed. If you like your gifts to really be a mystery, you can check the "surprise me!" category -- you might get anything on the list plus anything that anyone writes in.
5a. Crafts and non-digital artwork: If you make or ask for things like costumes, knit items, or paintings, your part of the exchange might be a little more complicated! For people who plan to create physical objects: please contact the mods for our addresses, and send us your fanwork in the mail; we'll send it on anonymously. (One of us is in the USA and one in the UK, if that makes a difference to your signup plans.) We'll also ask you to make something that can be posted to the community: a digital photo of your work, the pattern for your embroidered element symbols, etc. If you request crafts: be aware that you might get a physical gift, which will involve one of the mods contacting you for your snail mail address. If you're not comfortable with one of the mods knowing your address, please don't request this category.
6. Minimum fanwork size: fic and podfic must be at least a thousand words, vids must be at least one minute, iconsets must include at least twenty icons, and fanart, other graphics and crafts must be completed pieces (not initial brainstorming or preliminary sketches). Fanart can be figurative, surrealist, abstract, cubist, black and white, full-color, scratchboard, silkscreen, charcoal, photomanip, or anything that you call “fanart.” Anything you make for the "other" category should be equivalently sized.
7. Posting:
For posting you have two options. You can a) either send us a copy of your completed fanwork, or b) use our AO3 collection to post it yourself, where it will be anonymous and moderated until after reveals.
Regardless of how you choose to post, please send the mods the html for the headers for your fanwork (whitelotusmods@gmail.com or a PM to such_heights, eruthros, or whitelotusmods) as ready-to-go html that fits the white_lotus posting template, including content notes section. Please indicate your username and your recipient’s username in your email or PM.
a) To have the mods post your fanwork, send the headers plus the text/image/vid to the mods by the due date. You can send your submission either in the body of the email or as an attachment - if you send us a vid or fanart, we'll host it on our own vimeo or picasa accounts. (If you'd like to, you can also upload your vid/fanart to an anon account yourself, and send us that link.)
b) To use the AO3 collection, you'll need an AO3 account. (If you don't have an account, you can request an invite at the AO3; invites usually take less than a week to arrive.) To post to the collection, you can click on this link to post new works to the collection, or you can search for the White Lotus Lunar New Year Exchange 2013 collection. If your recipient is also on the AO3, you can indicate their name in your gift headers. Podfic, fanart, and vids can be embedded in fanwork posts at the AO3. After you post, your fanwork will be anonymous and unrevealed - no one will be able to read/watch/listen to it until the moderators reveal it.
8. Dropping out: If you sign up to make a fanwork for the exchange and are unable to do so for any reason, please let the mods know. Dropping out before midnight GMT on January 10th can be done without penalty. If you drop out after December 16th , we'll ask you to post a fanwork to the community before the next round of the exchange if you would like to play again. To drop out, send an email to whitelotusmods@gmail.com with the following information: "I signed up for the white_lotus lunar new year exchange under [username] and will not finish my fanwork before the deadline." You don't need to give us any additional information (but you can if you want to). And regardless of whether you default before or after the penalty deadline, we still would like you to play if you would like to do so, no matter how long it takes you.
9. Pinch hits: Pinch hits are requests that don't go through the matching process; they'll happen if we have difficulty matching someone or if someone drops out. Pinch hit information will be sent to an email list; people subscribed to the list can ask to be assigned a request if they see one they like. (To sign up for the pinch hit list, email whitelotusmods@gmail.com and tell us you’d like to subscribe, or click the ticky box on the signup form.)
10. Treats: Extra presents are always fun! If you're signing up, a post is forthcoming where you can link to your requests or talk more about what kinds of things you like; posting a comment to that post might get you a treat! Or it might not; it's a mystery. Treats will be due by midnight GMT February 10th, but the sooner we get them the easier they'll be to slot into our posting schedule. Treats don't have to meet the minimum wordcount/vid length/art size/number of icons for main fanworks.
11. I don't want to sign up; what can I do? If you'd like to participate without signing up, you're welcome to make treats for any requests that catch your eye and also to leave prompts at the treats post, or to follow the pinch hit list if you'd like to be assigned a recipient. If you don't want to make anything for the challenge, you can offer to beta people's fanworks in a post that we'll put up at a later date. And of course you can comment on, discuss, or rec fanworks!
Do let us know if you have any further questions or need clarification.
If you're a veteran player, the rules are the same as last year.
If you defaulted after our penalty-free deadline last year, we ask that you post a fanwork to the community before signing up this year in order to be eligible. If you defaulted after the penalty-free deadline two years ago, you can now sign up for the exchange again.
The schedule:
December 3rd: signups open
December 14th: signups close
December 21st (at the latest): assignments go out
February 3rd: submissions due
February 10th: posting starts
Full rules:
1. The basics: This is a gift exchange that will include Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra fanworks such as fic, vids, art, podfic, graphics and crafts. Gift posting will start on the first day of the Lunar New Year and will be anonymous for the fifteen days of some Lunar New Year celebrations, after which they'll be un-anonymized. Anyone can sign up; you don't need a dreamwidth account to play.
2. The schedule: signups will open Monday December 3rd and will close Friday 14th December at midnight GMT. Assignments will be emailed out a few days after sigups close. Main fanworks will be due to the mods at whitelotusmods@gmail.com by midnight GMT February 3rd and will be posted daily from February 10th. Information on dropping out and treats scheduling, see below.)
3. How matching will work: You can make three requests with different (or overlapping) fanwork types, characters, genres, and ships (or gen/no ship), each with its own free-text request. We'll try to match as many of those things, and as many of your requests, as possible, but we only promise to match one request on characters, types of fanworks, and maximum ratings. You might ask for art for a ship and receive gen or friendshippy art instead. If your signup doesn’t have any possible matches, we may contact you and ask you to expand your offers.
4. Request language: Requests are (optional) longer free-text details about the kinds of things you would like. As you're writing your requests, please consider that you might be assigned to someone who typically writes/vids/draws different characters, ships, or sex acts than you do, and please try not to shame or bash anyone's fanwork preferences. It's fine to list the things you don't want (e.g. "I don't like Yue/Katara fic" or "I prefer gen fic to het or slash"), but please don't say things like "because it's gross" or "everyone who writes X is a loser." If your request includes shaming or bashing language, we might screen your comment to the treats post and ask you to reword it, or contact you about your signup and ask you to reword a request.
4a. If you need more information about your assigned person/their requests: If you have questions about your assigned person, contact a mod at whitelotusmods@gmail.com and we'll act as intermediaries to maintain your anonymity.
5. Types of fanworks: You can make or request any combination of art, vids, fic, graphics, podfic, and crafts. We'll also have a write-in space to request or offer other types of fanworks; you could list things like food, costumes, recs sets, or anything else that we haven't listed. If you like your gifts to really be a mystery, you can check the "surprise me!" category -- you might get anything on the list plus anything that anyone writes in.
5a. Crafts and non-digital artwork: If you make or ask for things like costumes, knit items, or paintings, your part of the exchange might be a little more complicated! For people who plan to create physical objects: please contact the mods for our addresses, and send us your fanwork in the mail; we'll send it on anonymously. (One of us is in the USA and one in the UK, if that makes a difference to your signup plans.) We'll also ask you to make something that can be posted to the community: a digital photo of your work, the pattern for your embroidered element symbols, etc. If you request crafts: be aware that you might get a physical gift, which will involve one of the mods contacting you for your snail mail address. If you're not comfortable with one of the mods knowing your address, please don't request this category.
6. Minimum fanwork size: fic and podfic must be at least a thousand words, vids must be at least one minute, iconsets must include at least twenty icons, and fanart, other graphics and crafts must be completed pieces (not initial brainstorming or preliminary sketches). Fanart can be figurative, surrealist, abstract, cubist, black and white, full-color, scratchboard, silkscreen, charcoal, photomanip, or anything that you call “fanart.” Anything you make for the "other" category should be equivalently sized.
7. Posting:
For posting you have two options. You can a) either send us a copy of your completed fanwork, or b) use our AO3 collection to post it yourself, where it will be anonymous and moderated until after reveals.
Regardless of how you choose to post, please send the mods the html for the headers for your fanwork (whitelotusmods@gmail.com or a PM to such_heights, eruthros, or whitelotusmods) as ready-to-go html that fits the white_lotus posting template, including content notes section. Please indicate your username and your recipient’s username in your email or PM.
a) To have the mods post your fanwork, send the headers plus the text/image/vid to the mods by the due date. You can send your submission either in the body of the email or as an attachment - if you send us a vid or fanart, we'll host it on our own vimeo or picasa accounts. (If you'd like to, you can also upload your vid/fanart to an anon account yourself, and send us that link.)
b) To use the AO3 collection, you'll need an AO3 account. (If you don't have an account, you can request an invite at the AO3; invites usually take less than a week to arrive.) To post to the collection, you can click on this link to post new works to the collection, or you can search for the White Lotus Lunar New Year Exchange 2013 collection. If your recipient is also on the AO3, you can indicate their name in your gift headers. Podfic, fanart, and vids can be embedded in fanwork posts at the AO3. After you post, your fanwork will be anonymous and unrevealed - no one will be able to read/watch/listen to it until the moderators reveal it.
8. Dropping out: If you sign up to make a fanwork for the exchange and are unable to do so for any reason, please let the mods know. Dropping out before midnight GMT on January 10th can be done without penalty. If you drop out after December 16th , we'll ask you to post a fanwork to the community before the next round of the exchange if you would like to play again. To drop out, send an email to whitelotusmods@gmail.com with the following information: "I signed up for the white_lotus lunar new year exchange under [username] and will not finish my fanwork before the deadline." You don't need to give us any additional information (but you can if you want to). And regardless of whether you default before or after the penalty deadline, we still would like you to play if you would like to do so, no matter how long it takes you.
9. Pinch hits: Pinch hits are requests that don't go through the matching process; they'll happen if we have difficulty matching someone or if someone drops out. Pinch hit information will be sent to an email list; people subscribed to the list can ask to be assigned a request if they see one they like. (To sign up for the pinch hit list, email whitelotusmods@gmail.com and tell us you’d like to subscribe, or click the ticky box on the signup form.)
10. Treats: Extra presents are always fun! If you're signing up, a post is forthcoming where you can link to your requests or talk more about what kinds of things you like; posting a comment to that post might get you a treat! Or it might not; it's a mystery. Treats will be due by midnight GMT February 10th, but the sooner we get them the easier they'll be to slot into our posting schedule. Treats don't have to meet the minimum wordcount/vid length/art size/number of icons for main fanworks.
11. I don't want to sign up; what can I do? If you'd like to participate without signing up, you're welcome to make treats for any requests that catch your eye and also to leave prompts at the treats post, or to follow the pinch hit list if you'd like to be assigned a recipient. If you don't want to make anything for the challenge, you can offer to beta people's fanworks in a post that we'll put up at a later date. And of course you can comment on, discuss, or rec fanworks!
Do let us know if you have any further questions or need clarification.