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

[pkwench.livejournal.com]

I'm curious about the » adopt a plot bunny tag. Will there be a home for people to drop off bunnies in need of a home or how will that work?

BTW, brilliant comm idea and it looks great. You guys are awesome.

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Uh, that's an excellent question, except that mimblexwimble came up with that and I'm not sure what she was thinking. I'll go ask her to come address your comment.

I'm assuming that there will be a post or several posts with plot bunnies to be adopted, but I could be wrong.

Isn't it a great comm idea? I am SO EXCITED TO BE A PART OF IT!

Guh. Caps-locky again.

[roque-clasique.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous comm!!!! The layout is lovely! And so are you!!!! My daily ablutions will now be hoodie-time, hurt-dean, and oh Sam :)

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

mimblexwimble is responsible for the layout. I just squeed approval at her at applicable intervals. ;)

I'm so pleased you're here! *bounces excitedly*

[debbiel66.livejournal.com]

This whole comm has just made me so giddy happy. I want to write some hurt!Sam just so I can post it here.

Thank you!!!

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Yes, DO THAT! I highly encourage this train of thought. :)

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Yes!

All hurt!Sam and sick!Sam is welcome, regardless of age or AU or whatever. No RPS, but anything involving Sam is fair game. :)

And yes: "Ten Thousand Miles" takes my breath away.

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi there!

Yes, by all means post your fic. Just either stick it behind a cut-tag or link to your LJ, and please post all applicable warnings in the appropriate place in your header. :)

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Hello....please excuse my profound ignorance, but I'm fairly new to LJ and haven't posted to a community before so....do I just go to community info/general info/post....and then post in the box that comes up just as if I was posting in my journal? Or do I have to send stuff to someone to...approve for submission or something first? Sorry for the newbie questions, just don't want to screw up my first community post! :)

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi!

Sorry for not answering before, LJ was down.

Okay, posting is really easy: click on "post" on your LJ, and select the community from the drop-down menu in your entry at the top. Then post as you would to your own LiveJournal.

Don't forget to LJ-cut longer entries and spoilers! :)

I'd suggest checking out the LiveJournal FAQ as well: they have simple instructions on how to do most things.

[4thejourney.livejournal.com]

Hi
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this or not (I'm still trying to figure out lj, LOL :-p but I was wondering if there's a place to post prompts (plot bunnies? I'm not sure on the proper terms) at any time, as the deadline for the fic challenge is past. I hope this makes sence and was the right place to ask- Im so sorry if not. :-( If not, is there somewhere else? Thanks so much for any help to ignorant me! :-)

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi!

You can just post the prompt as a new entry to the comm, and tag it » adopt a plot bunny (http://community.livejournal.com/ohsam/tag/%C2%BB%20adopt%20a%20plot%20bunny). If it's a spoiler, or you think it might be triggery (i.e. rape, non/dub-con, extremely graphic violence, whatever) put it behind a cut tag. Otherwise, everything's fair game.

As far as I can tell there's no real difference between a prompt and a plot bunny: people seem to use them interchangeably a lot of the time.

[road-rhythm.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it is, but I just wanted to be sure before making unintentional spam: the comm's labeled as a hurt/comfort place, but hurt-sans-comfort is okay too, right? So long as there's hurtin'?

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's been plenty of hurt-sans-comfort too (guilty of it myself). So long as the focus of the hurt is Sam you're good. No RPS (we've had a few confused folk of late), but otherwise you're good.

And don't forget to post warnings. :)

[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?

[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.)

[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. :)

[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?

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! :)

[liliaeth]

I'm doing a 706 prompt meme dealing with law enforcement. Is it ok to post a link to it on the com?

*mod hat*

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Sure, as long as you think at least some of the prompts will focus on putting Sam in the receiving role of h/c. :)

[greeneyes-fan.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah, I just posted way too many fics to my journal today, all sick Sam. What is the proper way to put them here? One long post?

[mimblexwimble.livejournal.com]

Yup, one long post works. Just add all the relevant tags and you're good!

[vanaynay67.livejournal.com]

hey! I dont really know...can deathfic be posted in this community?

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

*mod hat*

Absolutely! Though we ask that you warn for it. If it spoils your plot, then you may grey out the text or put the warning behind a cut, or keep the warning on your own LJ if you'd prefer. :)

[doctorinchains.livejournal.com]

Hi there mods,
I have a quick question. I own all the SPN novels and have finished reading them. Given that I have no room to keep them, I wanted to make a post, offering them for free to whomever came forward. I thought of limiting people to just two, to keep things fair, and I would pay the postage (sort of my good karma towards the wonderful SPN fan community) Would you permit this post? Please let me know. Thank you!

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Whoops! Have been offline lately. What a nice idea. :) Let me discuss it with my co-mod, since your post isn't exactly a fanwork nor an ad for a new comm, which means it falls in a bit of a grey area, and we'll get back to you ASAP, if my co-mod hasn't already replied.

Sorry for the wait!

[27-jaredjensen.livejournal.com]

Hey, hope this is the right place to ask this question...
I was wondering about requesting tags to be added? The one I'm wanting to use doesn't seem to be on the list. Can tags be added?

[27-jaredjensen.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah- Lyme disease is the tag in question;)

[cosmic-medusa.livejournal.com]

Hi there! I opened a Q/A on my 3 Kings Universe, and I always post here first--this is my fave com--and it's not exactly fic but it kinda is because it's related to fic and will have fic answers...is it possible for me to post a notice that it's open here? The link is here: http://cosmic-medusa.livejournal.com/22584.html

Thank you!

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi!

Yeah, I think it could reasonably fall under the "meta" heading, so go right ahead. :)

[geckoholic]

Ladies, I have a story that miiiiight fit but might also be too both-are-not-in-the-best-condition to qualify... What's your system for that here? It's 10k, so if neither of you has the time rn to skim it I'd just bow out and simply not crosspost but I thought I'd ask. It got a mention on another Sam-centric comm and my own radar says that it falls more towards this comm than towards hoodie but I'm not sure. /o\

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

Hi!

I'm about to head off for the weekend, so I'd say go with your best judgment. Whumping multiple characters is allowed (and encouraged!), so if the story isn't about, say, Dean being mauled by a tiger while Sam gets a splinter, then I think you're safe. ;)

[de-nugis.livejournal.com]

Hi, good people! Can I put in a suggestion/wistful thought for the future? A year or so ago hoodie_time did a tags challenge, where people signed up and got three randomly selected tags from the list of hurts and had to write a fic that incorporated one or more of the hurts for which they got the tags. It was a fun format; I was just wondering (assuming maypoles wouldn't mind the idea being exported) if ohsam might be interested in using that format for some future challenge.

Hope you are both well in the holiday season.

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

I remember that challenge, it was lots of fun! I shall talk to mimblexwimble and if she's amenable, then I'll ask maypoles if she wouldn't mind our shamelessly stealing her ideas. :)

[ladyjane]

I was wondering if there's ever a deadline for filling claimed prompts. For example, if someone claimed a prompt in 2011 and hasn't filled it, can someone else take a shot at it? Also, once a fill has been posted, can another writer post another fill? I know r/l can interfere with timely posting, so I'm talking about prompts that are at least a year old.

[mimblexwimble.livejournal.com]

If we are talking about comment fics, mutiple fills by mutiple people are always welcome, no matter how old or new the prompt is! If you ever see any prompt you like, fill away!