Ask the Mods and FAQ

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Your friendly neighbourhood mod is back!

This is eventually going to be an FAQ post. Only, as of right now, there aren't any FAQs. So go ahead and ask questions, and we will do our best to answer them. We will then compile the likely-looking questions into an FAQ, and continue answering the others as they crop up.

Have at it!

Comments

[phx69.livejournal.com]

How does the site stop from becoming all hurtDean fics then? Sam is going to worry and angst if Dean is hurt so wouldn't that really turn it into another hurtDean site? I am asking because I've been seeing stories lately that are hurtDean but posted here because Sam is angsting. And maybe that is okay because that is what the site is supposed to be about... but if so, then I'll probably remove it from my alerts and just check every now and then because, really, that's not my cup of tea. I like Sam being the one everyone is all worried about. But that is only my preference as I know other people will probably inhale it :)

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

It's a tricky balance, is the short answer. I don't read all the fics posted, I will confess, trusting to members to use their judgement when posting. If the fic has hurt!Dean, then for it to count here I would expect the story to focus mainly on Sam and his emotional turmoil rather than on Dean's injuries/illness. I'm not at home now so you're getting a brief response, but I'll be happy to discuss this at greater length with you a little later.

Re: *mod hat*

[phx69.livejournal.com]

Thanks for replying. Yeah that is a tricky balance. Unfortunately, I don't think some of the writers get it. If a fic is written specifically for a Dean h/c challenge, I am just not sure how it would satisfy a OhSam reader - but I could be wrong and everyone reads for different reasons :) Again, thanks for the response! I just get a bit protective of Sam in light of all the hurtDean out there. Poor kiddo :)

[pizzapixie.livejournal.com]

Is this community allowing Hurt!Dean from Hoodie_Time prompts now? I like Sam angst as much as the next person, but aren't there WWAAYY enough Hurt!Dean sites out there? I'm concerned that maybe this is a trend starting that I am very unhappy with.

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

The official version? The comm is not taking hurt!Dean stories, no. We do, however, accept stories in which Sam *and* other characters are hurt/ill/what have you, so long as the focal point is Sam.

For the record, one story posted does not a trend make. I've read the fic since you're the second person to point it out to me, and it's borderline. There's enough Sam whump in there that I think the posting is justified in this instance. The author has mentioned that it may become a 'verse, though, and since it seems that focus would be on Dean's injuries, then those stories would not have a place at ohsam.

Does that answer your question to your satisfaction?

Re: *mod hat*

[pizzapixie.livejournal.com]

I wasn't trying to whine, lol. Just expect a lot more spotlight on Sam than this particular story gives. I am sorry if my concern is inappropriate, but this is one of the very few sites I rely on for Hurt!Sam and this story is, to me, extremely Deancentric.

Re: *mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't take it as whining. You're not the only one to express concern over the story, and the OP volunteered to take it down of her own accord just now.

When I get home from work I'll be making a post to remind people of the posting/content guidelines for the comm, just to make sure everyone is still on the same page as the mods.

We are definitely keeping this a Sam-centric comm, have no fear. :)

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

You may have seen something on LJ recently about a new hurt!Sam community being rolled out later this month. It's simply an archive community - to solicit and log hurt!Sam (or hurt!Jared) fic recs! We're beta-testing the comm now, but would like your permission to pimp it here at ohsam when we're ready.

(If you'd like to take a sneak peak, it's spn_littlebro.) Hope you'll agree to let us reach out to your members. Who knows hurt!Sam fic better than them?

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Of course. We definitely need to spread the love around a little. :)

[silverblaze85.livejournal.com]

Um...*raises a hand* This may have already been answered somewhere else, and if so, I am so sorry, but:

1)Self-recs? Yes/no?

2)WIPs? Yes/no?

Thanks!

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi!

1- We're kind of behind on the rec thing, but basically you can make all recs EXCEPT self-recs at the main rec post. Then once we make a new post with recent recs, if you have something similar to the theme of what's being posted, then absolutely self-rec. :)

2- WIPs = absolutely. The one exception is fic challenges, where we ask that posted works be complete. (And yes, I'm aware one slipped through the cracks last time, but that particular pitcher of milk has been spilled, alas.)

Re: *mod hat*

[silverblaze85.livejournal.com]

Cool cool. *is insanely new to communities and rather overwhelmed* Awesome opossum to know, and I'll have to keep poking around.

Are the main rec postings still being updated?

Re: *mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Like I said, we're way behind on the rec stuff. I'll be chatting about this with mimblexwimble, maybe seeing if we can get some people to help us out with that. But please leave as many recs as you'd like! Having a good long list is always good. :)

[vail-kagami.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know if it's allowed to post stories here that link to f-locked entries.
(Not that I plan to, but it's happened a couple of times, which I find terribly frustrating.)

I suppose it is, righ? I didn't find anything against it in the rules.

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Huh. No, it's not against the rules, mostly because I don't think it occurred to either of the mods that someone would post about a locked entry in a public community. Frustrating, but not against the rules. Next time I catch my fellow mod online I'll have a chat with her about it. :)

Re: *mod hat*

[vail-kagami.livejournal.com]

That's awesome, thanks!

[pizzapixie.livejournal.com]

I love this comm, it fulfills such a hole in the fandom. I am wondering about the big bang story $97 short. The tag says Hurt!Dean, not at all what I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean by suggestions. While I will ask the author to amend the tags (it's only Dean with broken bones), the story is Sam-centric and appears at a glance to involve enough h/c centered around Sam for it to be posted in this community.

[twilightshours.livejournal.com]

I really need to get to writing more, I miss posting to this place!

Anyway, this may be an odd question, but it's something specific I've been curious about with tagging. Let's say Sam's got a broken wrist, but he thinks it's fractured, or vice versa. Do you tag the story as what he thinks the injury is, what it really is, or both? It seems like a pretty unimportant question now that I'm thinking of it, but I'd like to avoid any future screw-ups.

Also, I'm pretty sure of the answer to this, but-- the injury tags are only for Sam, right? Or are they for any injury in the fic, regardless of what character? (Because as of late, I've been noticing some fics are tagged with an injury Sam doesn't have, although I don't read all of them so I could just be mistaken!)

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Yes, the injury/illness tags are only for Sam. I have asked the authors in question to edit their tags as necessary, but it's possible (probable, even) that I've missed some. I unfortunately don't have time to read every single story that's posted to the comm in order to make sure it's content-appropriate.

As for tagging your own story, use your best judgment. For instance, if Sam thinks he has bad heartburn but it's appendicitis, then I would go with the latter, but you could, for instance, use both. It's your story, so the decision is yours, so long as it's within reason (i.e., no using the "broken bones" tag for a fic in which Sam has the 'flu. ;) ).

Does that make sense?

Re: *mod hat*

[twilightshours.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay! Both answers are understandable and reasonable. :) Thank you very much!

Anon posts

[(Anonymous)]

Hi! Sorry, I tried to send an email but it wouldn't go through. Basically, I don't have a livejournal (work mostly through fanfiction.net) but would LOVE to post to ohsam. I don't get on the computer particularly often, but I always check this website. It's an illness, I know. ;D

Anyway, is there a way to post without setting up an lj account?

Thanks!

Re: Anon posts

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, LJ doesn't currently have a way of posting anonymously. You have a couple of choices open to you.

1- Create a LJ "sock" account, become a member of ohsam with it, and post that way.

2- Find yourself a benevolent friend with a LiveJournal and ask them to post for you.

Does that answer your question?

[enginestarsgo.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is technically not a question, but I wanted to apologize for the madness earlier with my journal. LJ and I aren't getting along very well, lol...as soon as I had an account I could login to, it started doing strange things with formatting/freezing my screen/shutting down my computer. My computer is pretty much a POS, so I assume it was mostly its fault and it got overwhelmed, but I wanted to apologize for the crazy unformatted post that was up for a while. I Deleted the journal temporarily until I could see what was what.

Anyway! It was a bad start, and I wanted to apologize, and that is all. I'm sorry! And thank you. :)

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hey, no worries. I track the comm and was a little perplexed by the mysterious disappearing/reappearing entries, but I figured it was a formatting glitch. Happens all the time. :)

Looking forward to your posts when you manage to get them up online! :)