Posting Guidelines - The Unabridged Version

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thank you for signing up to play in crack_van! You'll be granted posting access to the community on the 1st of the month after being notified your turn behind the wheel has arrived, and you can start making recs then. PLEASE NOTE: If you have not joined the community as a member, you must do so before we can give you posting access. If you find you don't have access on the 1st because you didn't join the comm, check your Manage Invites page, and you'll be all set.

Getting started…

Check out what's already been recced in your fandom to avoid duplicating recs if possible.

If you are reccing a Monthly Featured Fandom, does your fandom already have a fandom overview completed? If not, you are encouraged but not required to provide one. Your overview should include, at minimum:

Pics & Bios - thumbnails and a brief introduction to the main characters
Overview - including major plot points/story arcs
Fandom Resources - major archives, recs lists, live journal communities, etc. People are always welcome to leave links for additional archives or personal recs pages in the comments of your overview.

Picture hosting is available through the comm's moderators, and is preferred if you cannot provide permanent hosting of your overview pics.

Posting to the community…

Post a minimum of 1 rec per week, and no more than 12 recs during the month. 2-3 recs per week is ideal. Note that the 12 rec limit applies only to our full-time fandoms; it does not apply to Monthly Featured Fandoms, or to December's Small Fandom Month.

Recs should be posted in the following format (in HTML for your cut-and-paste convenience!):

Title by Author (Rating) <-- This goes in the subject line, and there is no need to include the same info in the body of the post.

<b>Fandom:</b> YOUR FANDOM IN ALL CAPS
<b>Pairing:</b> (no abbreviations, please)
<b>Length:</b> (10k, 20k, drabble, one-shot, novel-length; any indication of approximate length is great)
<b>Author on LJ:</b>
<b>Author Website:</b> (or a link to where more of their fic is archived)
<b>Why this <i>must</i> be read:</b>

If your review is longer than a few paragraphs, or if you're including excerpts from the fic, please consider using cut-tags for the sake of friends-list spammage. Instructions on using cut-tags are found here.

Link the fic at the bottom of your recommendation, outside of any cut-tags:

<a href="http://www.fanfic-url.com">Name of Fic</a>

Emphasis should be on fics that you feel are especially outstanding and accessible examples of your fandom, e.g. it plays on a repeated theme in the show, it's a fandom or a personal favourite, it was a controversial fic, it's good smut. Whatever.

Only one fic rec per post. Exceptions to this rule: fic series, or collections meant to be read together.

WiP's and self-reccing are things not allowed.

Rating info in the subject line is important. If you are unsure of the author's assigned rating, use your best judgement.

Warnings for content are not required beyond what the author has posted on their own stories.

Podfic recs are welcome, but please include a text link along with your podfic link for those who prefer to read.

The 15th of every month is Crack Van Collisions, a.k.a Cross-over day, and the last Friday of every month is Friday Night Drive-In, a.k.a. Fanvid day. These recs do not count towards the 12-rec limit. Watch for mod posts in advance of these days with the required posting formats.

Don't save your final rec to the very last minute or you might find that your posting access has already been blocked. We cannot accommodate every timezone in the world and you will not be allowed back in to post "just one more". We try to switch users at midnight CST, but if it's midnight anywhere in the U.S., it's fair game.

Tagging entries…
Members of the community have tagging privileges; however, only moderators can create new tags or edit mis-tagged entries. All entries should be tagged by category (fanfic, fanvid, crossover, or fandom overview) and fandom(s). If you are reccing in a fandom without an existing tag, a mod will tag your first post for you.


Let us know if you have any questions! Thanks for playing!!

Comments

[zgirl714.livejournal.com]

Hi! I'm suppose to the driver for the Angel fandom this month. I was wondering when I get posting access. Thanks.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

You've got access now! Sorry for missing you.

cross-over rec

[dm24.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if you could add information and format for the cross-over post in the posting guidance. It can be confusing if you don't follow crack van closely. I appreciate the effort that you put into keeping this resource available.

Thanks

Re: cross-over rec

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion, but IMO adding crossover and vid rec day posting info to these general guidelines would result in lt;dr reactions in a lot of people. In our 2+ years it's never really been a problem to post the info the day before so I'm inclined to keep handling it that way.

[rynne.livejournal.com]

About the "one rec per post" rule...I want to rec a trilogy of fics. I was going to describe the trilogy as a whole, rather than each of the three fics separately--is that all right, or should I just rec the first of the trilogy, or something?

[twigged.livejournal.com]

In the case of a trilogy you can post together. Just list the title as The "Whatever" Trilogy in your subject line since there's not enough character space to individually list titles. Thanks!

[creedcascade.livejournal.com]

Hey there! I'm driving Firefly for July 2006. I don't have posting access yet and was wondering if I could be granted that access. I am a member of the community. Thanks!

[ninurta.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to let you know that the Highlander vid I rec'd this month ended up in the Master and Commander memories section.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Fixed, thank you!

[morganlogan.livejournal.com]

hi, I think I'm the Starsky and Hutch driver for August...can I get access? I didn't join the community until late last night, sorry.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Please read the post above. It includes instructions on how to gain posting access late.

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

I'm not due to rec for a few months, but a couple of us 'due to rec for the first time' people were wondering if there was a limit on the number of stories by the same author that could be recc'd in one month.

I see from a quick look at the memories that there have certainly been two stories by the same author recommended in the same month by the same reccer, so I was wondering what (if any) the limit was.

Thank you very much.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

We do not have any policy or limit on the number of times an author can be recced.

[lj_stowaway]

"At the end of the month please take a look in the Memories again and make sure all your recs have been archived."

I think you may have missed this one, since you've memoried a rec I made since posting it: http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2169765.html

thanks!

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Ah, it was archived under Pop Slash. Thanks for double checking!

[elke-tanzer.livejournal.com]

All of the Labyrinth stories I rec'd this month have been memoried properly, but the overview at http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2148881.html doesn't seem to be linked in the sidebar yet.

Thanks so much for crack_van!!

[stopawhile.livejournal.com]

Hmm. As far as I can tell, it is linked. Right now it's under Sep's featured fandom. Does it not work for you?

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Hey, I've been skimming through the memories, because I am trying to recall if a certain fic I like has been previously recced, and I noticed that they haven't been updated for my fandom (Doctor Who) for several weeks - and possibly longer.

Is someone going to get onto that soon? Because I don't want to double up recs, but I haven't time to dig though the entire archive.

The Doctor Who recs page is here (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=crack_van&keyword=Doctor+Who+Fanfic+Recs&filter=all).

[twigged.livejournal.com]

One from the middle of the month was misfiled under DC Comics, and I just added 2 more from the end of the month. Thanks for the heads up!

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Just doing the end of the month check and one fic (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2217478.html) has been left off the Doctor Who memories. The rest are all there, though.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for catching that. It had been misfiled in the drive-in vid recs.

[wistfuljane.livejournal.com]

I believe that my rec for Friday Drive-In Vid Recs (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2263566.html) last month hasn't been archived in the memories yet.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thanks for double-checking - it had been filed under Firefly!

[gravi-girl123.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm supposed to do Supernatural for Feb, but I'm going to be on a trip for a week or so at the begining of February. I think it might be better if someone else is passed the torch for this month.

[all-you-wanted.livejournal.com]

When can you post crossovers? Is it the 10th or 15th?

[twigged.livejournal.com]

The 15th.

Help(?)

[gillyp.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm supposed to be reccing The Sentinel this month - have I got posting access yet, because I can't work out how to post (sorry if I'm being thick).

Re: Help(?)

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Act as if you're going to post in your own journal. At the top of the posting interface there is a drop down list. Your journal is default and any community you are a member of is included in the list. Hope that helps.

Help

[the-hobbet.livejournal.com]

I have been trying to post my first Mag 7 rec, but the html shows up on the screen. I posted it in my own journal (I only use it for Crack_Van reccing) so you can see what I mean at: http://the-hobbet.livejournal.com When I try preview it looks like this whether I use the HTML or the rich text editor. What am I doing wrong?

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Are reccers allowed to rec themselves? There's a self-rec up in Starksy & Hutch right now and it seems to me that that ought to be against the rules.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Reccers should not rec themselves, no.

Need some help here

[birggitt.livejournal.com]

Hi, birggitt here. I'm supposed to be reccing Sherlock Holmes this month but, have I got posting access yet?
I can't find how to post (sorry, I'm such a newby in reccs world).

Re: Need some help here

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Please read the post above for instructions on accepting your invite to the community. To post, you do exactly as you would to post in your own journal, except at the top of the post page you use the drop down to select the comm instead of your own journal.

Driver reccing her/himself?

[(Anonymous)]

Eeeeeee! Of what possible value is having a driver who reccs their own work? I don't see anything in the guidelines prohibiting, but something about it sits wrong.

http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/2638317.html

--AA

[sugargroupie.livejournal.com]

I'm supposed to be reccing for Farscape this month, and in addition to the extremely late start (my apologies) I don't seem to have posting access.

Thanks.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the oversight. You now have access.

[zincpiccalilli.livejournal.com]

Are drivers allowed to make only one crossover rec during their month? I'm asking on behalf of a small fandom that's trying for a first Van appearance. There isn't a lot of fic available to rec in my fandom, and a good percentage of the best, most widely read, and longest stories are crossovers. It'd be, uh, terribly inconvenient if I had to cut a third of my planned 21 recs, and us fans'll have to rally and wrangle spots for at least another four or so rounds to get the fandom's most outstanding fics up. If one crossover per fandom per month is the rule, um, could an exception maybe be made? I'll understand if that's not possible and will, in such case, try to conform. (However bloody difficult that may be... ^^;;)

[twigged.livejournal.com]

The regular rules don't really apply to small fandoms, since they have a limited run. You can post as many recs as you like this month.

[dustandroses.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for info on the day we can post vid recs - is it the last Friday of the month? Would it be possible to list both that and the date of the crossover recs day here in the Posting Guidelines to help those of us who are first time recers? Also, how many of each of those can you rec? Is it just one of each, or can you post more as long as you keep them to just that one day?


BTW - when looking up the posting guidelines in the memories, I discovered that you have mis-filed a "Benny and Joon" rec under "Posting Guidelines."

[twigged.livejournal.com]

I have added a bullet and will correct the Benny & Joon memory. THanks.

[sightsee.livejournal.com]

Stupid question I'm sure, but can we post crossovers on dates besides the 15th? Because Grey's does have a lot of really good crossovers and I'd like to be able to rec them all.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can post cross-overs during the month. Please just use the regular posting template rahter than the cross-over day template since those recs will be saved in your fandom's memories.

[joandarck.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's a question. I'm guessing the answer's no, which would make sense, since it would mess up your Memories system, but it seemed worth checking: can I rec a fic from yuletide while it's still anonymous? The authors' names won't be revealed until Jan 1, too late for me to use. (I assume we lose crack_van posting access after Dec. is over, so I wouldn't be able to go back in and add it.)

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Yes, in this case we'll allow it, and if you want to edit your rec after the authors are revealed just drop me an email and I'll give you temporary posting access at that time. THanks!

[lauramcewan.livejournal.com]

Quiok question - is it necessary that all the recced stories be stories that are online? I mean, yes, so folks can read, but would it be all right if I make an online rec, and add a zine only rec, with a link to where the zine can be acquired?

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Yes, we have allowed that in the past.