Medium Rulesets

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Medium Rulesets

The mediums are all organized into rulesets that will tell you what the minimums and equivalents are for that subset of medium tags. Every medium tag is prefixed with the ruleset that you need to check! For example if a tag says "Medium Opt In: Art - [tag]" then you should head down to the Art section!

Most rulesets have multiple options for minimums and equivalents. Your work only needs to meet one of the options.

It is possible that one tag may fit into multiple mediums. If that's the case then it may have multiple tags. To account for this, during signups this year you will be able to add as many Opt-In tags as you want to the "Optional Tags" field.

While anon rules are important, they aren't reasonable in all cases so exceptions have been built into the rulesets. During the anon period it's expected that everyone should still act as though the works are anon even if the name is visible (this means no naming the creator and no claiming the work in namespace until after creator reveals).

If posting a work that requires the use of an outside account, please follow the anon rules above. In addition, if possible you must embed your work on AO3. If embedding is impossible, you must put something besides a link into your AO3 work: a screenshot, an example, instructions, and/or similar -- think of this like giftwrapping. It doesn't need to be complex, it just needs to be enough to count as a fanwork per the Archive Terms of Service [link].

You can find the mediums:

• In the tagset (link)
• In the medium tag checklist (link) which will generate comma separated lists to use in signups.

If you want a medium added, or think that we've missed a medium option for one of the existing mediums, please head over to the medium nomination page and request it here (link)!

Illustrated Text (Visual Medium & Text Medium)

Illustrated Text is a combined medium tag. To fill this tag you must have some element of both text and image, the balance of which should make sense for the filled medium. Since this is a combined tag, the work as a whole must fill the requested tags but every element does not have to do so individually. Individual elements should be an appropriate level of relevant to the tag for the filled medium.
Minimum

• 1k total when the equivalents of the two mediums are added together (e.g. Art worth 334 and 666 words of text)

Equivalents

• Check the rulesets in the parentheses of the specific medium tag, each part will be calculated based on the equivalent within the relevant ruleset.

Writing

Minimum

• 1k Written
• 1 clean finished filled out css/html or graphical template created by the gifter and coded or embedded into the work on AO3 (for opt-in mediums where applicable)

Equivalents

• Wordcount
• Works which use a unique custom template are 1k + wordcount if the template is created by the gifter. Templates must be coded or embedded into the work on AO3. Using the same template on subsequent works will not result in additional credit.
• If a work include quotes from other sources, that quote must be clearly indicated, sourced, and will not count towards wordcount.

Art

This category has four subformats:

• Drawn, whether with a pen, brush, tablet, mouse, etc.
• Point, all form of pixel work
• CG 3D, art made by modifying 3D shapes in a cyber space
• Papercraft, art made by using layered paper cut into the necessary shapes to create an image

When requesting a tag that's just "Medium: Art - [Tag]" it should be assumed that any of the above four formats are acceptable. Some mediums (e.g. "Medium: Art - Point - Voxel") will be nominated under only one subformat, others will only be added as specific subformat tags upon request. Since the umbrella format is built in, subformat tags or umbrella tags we missed can be nominated through the end of signups.

Photos, manips, etc, are not allowed in this category. Minor supplemental images such as images from the canon or CC licensed images may be used but must be credited in the author's notes.

It must be reasonably clear from the art which of your recip's requested tags you are filling.

Minimums

• 1 (drawn, point, cg 3d, or papercraft) finished image
• 3 (drawn, point, cg 3d, or papercraft) finished panels or 1 (drawn, point, cg 3d, or papercraft) finished page

Equivalents

• Each image will count for 1k
• Mediums with panels will be counted by panel or by page. 1 page = 1k, 1 panel = ~334. (There will be a bit of judgement calling on this, but I'll try to err on the side of higher equivalencies.)

Anon Rule Exception

• Art may include signatures or non-intrusive watermarks

Audio

Minimums

• 1k words of spoken/mixed audio based on a written work
• 10 minutes of spoken/mixed audio
• 20 seconds for compositions of musical audio
• 10 linked tracks for curated selections of songs
• The applicable poetry minimums apply to the lyrics of songs

Equivalents

• Audio of a written work will be the wordcount of that work
• Calculation for time-based: length-in-seconds*(1000/minimum-length-in-s)
• (The minimum for each type of work is worth 1k, the above equation allows for converting exact lengths to wordcount)
• 1 track = 100 words
• Songs count for twice the applicable poetry minimums. Lyrics must also be written and posted.

Anon Rule Exception

• Audio may include identification within the audio recording in the fashion usually done for that type of work. In cases where it is difficult or impossible to host anonymously you may post it to a non-anonymous account but it must be kept accessible only to those with the link or a link to somewhere it is embedded (e.g. not public on your page) if that is possible.

Video

Minimum

• 30 second finished video
• Only make machinima for its own video game fandom or related fandoms (e.g. machinima for minecraft, MCYT)

Equivalent

• Will be converted to wordcount via this equation: length-in-seconds*(1000/30)
• (30 seconds is worth 1k, the above equation allows for converting amounts like 1:20 to wordcount)

Anon Rule Exception

• Video may include creator identification within the video in the fashion usually done for that type of work. In cases where it is difficult or impossible to host anonymously you may post it to a non-anonymous account but it must be kept accessible only to those with the link or a link to somewhere it is embedded (e.g. not public on your page) if that is possible.

Instructions

Minimums

• 1k written
• 2 sets of instructions under 1k
• 1 set of instructions under 1k + an illustration
• 1 set of instructions under 1k + a photo of a finished item made according to the instructions

Equivalents

• Sets of instructions of over 1k: wordcount
• Sets of instructions of under 1k each will count for 500 each or overall wordcount (whichever is higher).
• Illustrated instructions will count for 1k for each set of instructions plus wordcount. Illustrations will not be counted independently of the instructions unless the image also matches another requested medium.
• Instructions with a photo of the finished item will count for 1k for each set of instructions plus wordcount. Photos will not be counted independently of the instructions. Photos must not contain any part of the creator themselves or any identifying information, and should feature a finished item made according to the instructions.

Anon Rule Exception

• Illustrations may include signatures or non-intrusive watermarks

Poetry

Minimums

• 1 Poem (Cascade, Ghazal, Pantoum, Rondeau, Sonnet, Villanelle)
• 1 Poem equivalent to 2k (Sestina)
• 2 Poems (Alliterisen, Tanka Series, Bredlik)
• Series of 5 (Haiku)
• 3 Stanzas (Ballad, Sapphic Verse, Elegy)
• 12 lines (Ode, Golden Shovel)
• Free Verse and other types of poetry tags not previously stated are a minimum of 15 lines

Equivalents

• Poetry equivalents will be calculated based on the minimums. For example if a poem has a minimum of 15 lines, the wordcount equivalent will be number-of-lines*(1000/15).

Typographic Design

Typographic Design is meant for mediums that use visual hierarchy and page layout techniques to arrange text pleasingly. Document or poster style pages; newspapers; menus; and other kinds of graphically designed mediums would fit into this category. They may have supplemental images, but if the images are not created by the person submitting it to the exchange they must follow the standard requirements for outside images (either from the canon or CC licensed images).

Minimums

• One finished page.

Equivalents

• One finished page is equivalent to 1k.
• If the text within a page goes over 1k, instead of the base 1k credit you will get the text credit (please note in the author's note how much this is).
• Supplementary images drawn by you are 3=1k (~334 each). (Please indicate in your author's note if these are included.)

Unique Rules

A Softer World style
Minimum

• 3 comics/9 panels

Equivalents

• 1 comic is ~334 wordcount

Other Notes

• This version of this tag is for the common version of A Softer World style art where images from canon or CC licensed images are used. Any images must be credited in the author's notes.

Emojis and Square User Icons
Minimum

• 3 emojis drawn from scratch.
• 3 square user icons drawn from scratch with a minimum size of 100x100.
• If recip is requesting both icons and emoji, you may mix and match to hit the required minimum but the same drawing will not count twice.

Equivalent

• Each emoji or user icon counts for ~334 wordcount.

Horoscope
Minimum

• 1k written
• 500 written and at minimum 1 chart

Equivalents

• Wordcount
• 500 equivalent will be added if any charts are included

Interactive Fiction - AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure
Interactive Fiction - Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3
Interactive Fiction - Illustrated AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure
Interactive Fiction - Illustrated Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3
Minimum

• 1k written
• For Illustrated IF, 1k total when the equivalents of the two mediums are added together (e.g. Art worth 334 and 666 words of text)

Equivalents

• Wordcount (please provide an estimated wordcount in author's notes)
• For works between 1k and 5k, a 500 word credit for coding work is added. For works of over 5k, a 1k credit for coding work is added.
• For Illustrated IF, art equivalents will be evaluated according to the art ruleset

In-Universe AO3 Based Fanfic Exchange & Related Posts/Messages
Minimums & Equivalents

• 1k written or equivalent. This is potentially very multimedia.
• The following always count towards wordcount: Social media that is typical for organizing exchanges (DW, discord, tumblr, forums, ect) and posts/comments from in-universe participants/mods about the exchange. Rules/instructions within an AO3 exchange. Signups within an AO3 exchange.
• Other mediums may or may not count for normal equivalent depending on what the recipient has requested

Other Notes

• Fills for the in-universe exchange will only count towards your minimum if they would fill a request.
• For example, say the Fic In A Box recipient is requesting this tag for Star Wars Original Trilogy as well as "In-Universe RPF", with "Solo: Leia Organa" as their relationship tag. In this case it would presumably be a Leia Organa themed In-Universe exchange, so because In-Universe RPF encompasses many mediums most of the fills would probably also count towards your minimum as long as they remained focused on Leia Organa!
• For another example, say the Fic In A Box recipient has requested this tag for Scum Villain as well as "Fanart", with "Solo: Shen Yuan" as their relationship tag. In this case you might do an In-Universe exchange where the In-Universe webnovel is treated like a work of fiction. In this case, because Shen Yuan will not feature in the works gifted in the In-Universe exchange, the fills for the In-Universe exchange most likely will not count towards your minimum.

Logic Puzzle Grid
Minimum

• A solvable puzzle with grid provided, with 3 categories and a category size of 4.

Equivalent

• A minimum sized puzzle is worth 2k.
• Each additional category adds 1k up to a maximum of 5k.

Murdle
Minimum

• A solvable puzzle with grid provided with three categories and a category size of 3, a Murdle should have at minimum 300 words of story and/or other text (excluding logic puzzle style clues).

Equivalent

• A minimum size Murdle is worth 2k.
• A 4 category Murdle adds 1k
• Wordcount of everything except for logic puzzle style clues counts for wordcount
• Any supplementary images drawn (such as suspects, weapons, and location cards) will be 3=1k (~333 each)

Maps
Minimum

• 1 drawn finished map

Equivalent

• Each drawn map will count for 2k
• Annotations/notes included with the maps will count count for wordcount in addition to the 2k for the map. These must be on or directly related to the map in-universe.

Anon Rule Exception

• Art may include signatures or non-intrusive watermarks

Map: Drawn or CC-Licensed Map + Annotations or Map Related Notes
Minimum

• 1 drawn finished map
• 1k written words of annotations or map related notes

Equivalent

• Each drawn map will count for 2k
• If using a CC-Licensed map as the base, it will not count towards wordcount.
• Annotations/notes included with the maps will count count for wordcount. These must be on or directly related to the map in-universe.

Anon Rule Exception

• Art may include signatures or non-intrusive watermarks

Card Game Reskin

A card game reskin takes a card from a game that already exists and reskins it to fit a fandom/OW prompt. Cards should have complexity similar to what you would post for a single image art fill. "Card" in these rules could refer to the game cards or other card size/style game pieces that fit the spirit of the mediums such as a card sized game board.

Tags for reskins of specific games should follow these rules.

Photos, manips, ect, are not allowed in this category. Minor supplemental images such as images from the canon, the original game, or CC licensed images may be used but must be credited in the author's notes.

Minimum

• One finished reskinned card.

Equivalent

• Each reskinned card is equivalent to 1k.
• One reskin for the back of a card supplemental to reskinned card(s) is equivalent to 1k.

Online Dress-up Game

Online Dress-up Games should be playable games uploaded to a site or coded in html/css/javascript. You may include a download option but that cannot be the only option.

Minimum

• A minimum of 8 unique dress up items and one base mannequin

Equivalents

• Base mannequin: 500 each
• Unique dress up item (not recolors): 250 each
• Detailed background: 500 each
• For Dress-up games otherwise equivalent to between 1k and 5k, a 500 word credit is added. For Dress-up games otherwise equivalent to over 5k, a 1k credit is added. (This is for the work of getting it up onto a site or utilizing a coded template)

Printable Sticker Layout

A themed art layout of requested character(s) and their related "items" drawn and overlaid on a single-colored (usually white) background that can be printed out on standard Letter Size or A4 sticker paper and cut out into stickers.

Minimum

• Five unique stickers per sheet
• Tagged character(s) or ship should appear at least once on the sticker sheet
• Stickers can include characters, symbolic representations, or objects
• Recolored items do not count as unique stickers

Equivalents

• Each finished sticker sheet is equivalent to 2k.

Typeset

Designing a layout of a pre-existing fic to make it look like a real book. An ebook or a file easy to print and bind by hand as a book or booklet. May include custom illustration. It must be visible from the internet in a continuous form, we'd suggest a .pdf either embedded on a page or uploaded to drive/dropbox/etc. You can also provide downloadable formats. You'll need something displayed on AO3 which can be screenshots, mockups, images on their own, etc.

Minimum

• A minimum of 1k combined equivalents.
• A minimum cover that credits the work title(s) and author on a single-color background.

Equivalents

Typeset:
• Typesets of works are assessed at 300 word credit per 1k of original fic, capped at 2k credit.
Illustrated elements:
• Illustrated elements are assessed below, with no cap for credit. Credit is per unique illustrated element.
• Illustrated Cover: 1k
• Full-page illustrations: 1k each
• Half-page illustrations: 500 each
• Custom illustrated elements 3 = 1k (~333 each)
• Custom chapter headers
• Scene dividers
• Other small ornaments

Typeface Design

Typeface designs must be posted both a type specimen visible within the work on AO3 and with a linked installable form (.otf, .ttf). (Installable formats will need to be posted on an off-site page, and not linked in a way where the install will start when you click the link on AO3)

Minimum

• 26 glyphs

Equivalent

• 26 glyphs are equal to 1k.
• Additional glyphs are equal to ~38 words each up to a maximum of 3k per typeface design.

Gifset

Gifsets should tell a story or AU, make an argument, highlight a theme, highlight a parallel, or otherwise be transformative and non-ephemeral. Gifsets which are meant to display a scene from canon without otherwise doing one of the prior are not allowed to make sure that we stay within AO3's TOS [link]

Minimum

• Gifsets with simple/minimal editing (color/sharpening only, simple text, etc): minimum of 10 gifs
• Gifsets with obvious/complex editing (text with timing or placement, gifs with transitions, collages, etc): minimum of 6 gifs

Equivalent

• Gifsets with simple/minimal editing: 100 words per gif
• Gifsets with obvious/complex editing: ~167 words per gif

Infographic

An Infographic should tell a story, explain a topic, provide extra information, or offer a visual path through a decision-making process.

Photos, manips, ect, are not allowed in this category. Minor supplemental images such as images from the canon or CC licensed images may be used but must be credited in the author's notes.

Minimum

• One Page

Equivalent

• One page of infographic is 1k words

Cross Stitch Pattern

Patterns can be submitted as pictures on Ao3 or as links to the pattern. If submitting as a link, please embed a screenshot on AO3. Linked patterns must be accessible without making an account.

Minimum

• One 200 square pattern (20x10 squares, 25x8 squares, etc)

Equivalent

• One square is 5 words (200 squares is 1k words)
• Large expanses of single color background (such as for backing color) do not count towards the equivalent.
• You cannot auto-generate a cross stitch pattern from pre-existing art.

Crochet or Knitting Chart/Instructions

Charts can be submitted as pictures on Ao3 or as links to the chart. If submitting as a link to the chart, please embed a screenshot on AO3. Linked charts must be accessible without making an account.

Minimum

• One 200 symbol/square chart
• One set of written instructions for a 200 stitch work

Equivalent

• One symbol/square/stitch is 5 words (200 stitches is 1k words). Symbol/square/stitch count should be indicated in the top author's note.
• For patterns doing fair isle/intarsia, large expanses of single color background do not count towards the equivalent.
• For patterns not doing fair isle/intarsia, large repeats of a single stitch and rows which only repeat a previous row do not count towards the equivalent.

In-Universe Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet created by a character. You'll need something displayed on AO3 which can be the spreadsheet itself (coded in or via screenshot) or non-spreadsheet works connected to the spreadsheet such as fic or art depending on the recipients other opt-ins. The spreadsheet must be visible online if linked.

Minimum

• One spreadsheet. The spreadsheet must contain information, formulas, commentary, or similar input by or about one of the requested characters from an in-universe perspective. The spreadsheet is permitted to be unfinished or broken for in-character/narrative reasons.

Equivalent

• One spreadsheet is worth 1k words.

Web Weave

Web weaves are an art form often seen on Tumblr where disparate quotes, canon references, and art pieces are placed in juxtaposition to highlight a theme, tell an AU, bring a parallel to life, or otherwise reflect on canon.

Minimum

• Web weaves with simple/minimal editing in the "photo set" style: minimum of 10 elements, appropriately sourced and with appropriate permission.
• Web Weaves with obvious/complex editing in the "collage" style: minimum of 6 elements, appropriately sourced and with appropriate permission.


Equivalent

• Web weave with simple/minimal editing: 100 words per element 

• Web weave with obvious/complex editing: ~167 words per element

Notes About Allowable Elements

• Elements used in a web weave must be creative commons, professionally published and available online, permission obtained, or drawn directly from canon.
• Elements available under creative commons are free to use
• Elements that are considered to be professionally published and available online are free to use. If a piece of text or art piece is hosted on a website run by an editorial or curatorial board (moma.org, poetry.com), for the purposes of easy access to art forms otherwise available for sale (excerpts from genius.com, concept art from artstation.com), on a site intended for news or commentary publication (substack, medium.com, NYTimes), or as a web comic intended for consumption (xkcd, a softer world), it is considered to be published and can be remixed into a web weave. Note that use of published work in a web weave should be transformative and you should not be simply reproducing a previously published work in its entirety: excerpts, cropping and editing are keystones of the art form. Availability on social media sites, fannish sale sites such as redbubble, a personal portfolio or a blog by itself does not constitute publication, and such work should not be used without permission.
• Elements that you have a permission statement for are free to use. Fan art and fan commentary— most things posted on social media and in artist portfolios— would fall in this category. A permission statement from the artist must be publicly available online and linked to in your sources.
• Elements drawn from canon free to use.


Art with Small Animated Elements

Drawn art with moving objects within the art (e.g. sparkling stars, moving hearts, sleeping ZZZ's, blinking eyes, etc).

Minimum

• 1k total after the addition of 333 per animated page.
• In practice most submediums for this category will equate to a minimum of 1333.

Equivalent

• 333 per animated page (either standalone or comic page, regardless of number of panels or number of animated elements) in addition what they would have been equivalent to without the animation.
• For example a single image fill for the "Fanart" tag is equivalent to 1k, with animated elements it is equivalent to 1333.

Craftwork

This medium is for small physical handmade objects. The recipient will recieve a photo of these, not the object itself.

Minimum

• 1 finished item

Equivalent

• Each finished item/work (to be sent to the recip as a photo embedded in a work on AO3) is equivalent to 2k.

Comments

Poetry rules question

[commaeleon]

For poems that have repeating lines/stanzas, how (if at all) does that affect the word count equivalency?

Re: Poetry rules question

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

I'll still count them normally as separate lines/stanzas.

(The fairest answer would probably be that it should be a case by case thing, but I want to have very clear equivalents that you can calculate without going to me! I'll revisit it in November and if it turns out there was an issue I'll change it up for next year.)

[binary_sunset]

Are we allowed to make manips and they just don't count for the word count? Or should we not maje manips at all?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

You're allowed to make them and they just don't count for wordcount (except for cases like Unique Rules - A Soft World where an exception is built in)! Obviously make your best judgement on what your recip will want, but I know there's several mediums where it's the norm to include manips as cover art or other supplemental ways. The only time I'd not accept a gift due to a manip is if it's the only content of the gift, since all gifts need to include fanfiction or an opted into medium.

[sen]

Hi! An artist friend had a few questions about art equivalences, if you don't mind?

- What's meant by "finished image"? For instance, is it a lined black & white picture without shadows? Or a full-colour picture?
- Is it any image? It seems perhaps a bit unbalanced to consider a lined portrait and a full-body couple picture with a background as equal, or a portrait and a comic page containing a few full pictures (since panels are complete image too!) as equals? For instance, a coloured couple picture (without background!) will take her about two weeks if she fully devotes herself to it, which isn't really equivalent to writing 1k.

Thank you very much in advance!

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

-Finished means that you (the artist) would consider it finished, and not a preparatory work like a thumbnail. This can be a pretty shaky line depending on style and intention, but for example all of the characters should be identifiable as those characters and should have their canonical body parts if they would be visible such as heads and hands. This is meant more as a low bar to ensure something is a proper gift than a quality based bar.
-Yes, it's any image. Because I need to quickly calculate equivalents I need everything to be strictly numerical and objective in nature (such as counting the panels on a comic page). This definitely means that there's a wide variety of images that will be worth the same, but that applies to every medium in the collection including fanfic.

[(Anonymous)]

For knitting, cross stitch, and crochet, does creating the physical object contribute to word count at all? Or is there no reason to do so and we should stick to just the instructions?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

At this point there isn't any credit for making the physical objects! There's such a big gulf between the effort to make a fibercraft and the credit for a picture that it isn't something we've figured out a fair way to handle (it might just be a case of "out of scope for the exchange")

"Ship Manifesto"

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I just saw the medium tag "In-Universe Ship Manifesto (the transit kind)"

This would be called a "Ship Manifest" (although it would probably still be wise to clarify in the brackets.)

Re: "Ship Manifesto"

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Oh whoops.

Too late for this year, but I'll try to remember to fix that for next year! Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

Would something like the "list of things character is not allowed to do" or other paperwork options be covered under the 1000 word requirement?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Unless your recip opts into lower every work is required to be 1k or equivalent. With some mediums this may mean doing a multi-media work.

Art equivalences for character sketchbook / journal medium

[(Anonymous)]

Your art rules say the minimum is a finished piece but I'm looking at the medium "excerpts from a characters journal/sketchbook" and thinking about in-character sketches or marginalia.

Would these not count at all for word count equivalent, count as the full 1k each, or be more like comic panels and count for 334 words?

Thanks

Re: Art equivalences for character sketchbook / journal medium

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Finished just means that the sketchbook/journal page itself should should be finished, but the in-universe sketches and marginalia don't have to be finished if the character is just dashing off a quick doodle.

For the tag "Illustrated Text (Art & Writing) - Excerpts from a Journal/Notebook/Sketchbook", we'll count large/finished art by the art rules and the text by text rules. Margin sketches and small doodles would count like comic panels. Depending on how unfinished these sketches are, some may or may not count, but I'm generally going to lean towards counting things since it's an in-universe sketch.

If you're unsure, please feel free to reach out via email! For some edge cases it might be easier to figure things out if we're looking at a specific page you've made!

Illustrated Text- Magazine Spread

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, just so I understand correctly- any art for these would have to be drawn also? Or, would use of photos, etc, be permissable and just not count towards the word count?

Re: Illustrated Text- Magazine Spread

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Art doesn't have to be drawn (it can also be point or CG 3D) but it does have to meet the art rules. Since this is a multimedia tag both art and writing are required to fill the tag, but we can be a little more flexible about minimum as long as it hits over 1k combined between the art and the writing. Per the art ruleset above you can use canon or CC licensed images as minor supplements to the art, but they will not count for wordcount and cannot be the main part of the art.

Interactive fiction

[(Anonymous)]

Should interactive fiction (Twine, Ink, etc) also be uploaded on an anonymous account?

Re: Interactive fiction

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes, accounts should be kept as anonymous as possible until after creator reveals.

[(Anonymous)]

Equivalents
1 comic is ~334 wordcount

Does this actually mean that each panel of a comic is 334 wordcount, so a 10k work can be a 30 panels comic? Am I misinterpreting things?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

I think you got the right conclusion from the wrong section! Are you certain you're in the right ruleset? Each tag has a prefix that'll tell you which section of this page has the rules for that tag. The section the "1 comic is ~334 wordcount" equivalent is from only applies to the Unique Rules A Softer World tag. Comics like ones you would draw go under the art ruleset here https://ficinabox.dreamwidth.org/13582.html#cutid2


SHORT ANSWERS:
A softer world edit: No, it's ~334 per 3 panel ASW.
Comics that would go under the art ruleset: Yes, a 10k work can be a 30 panel comic.


LONG ANSWERS:
If you are meaning to ask about A Softer World Edits: No you'll need 30 completed ASW comics to hit 10k. Note that this only applies to the edits (e.g. canon images or CC images edited into an ASW format with text over them), not the art tag version.

If you were looking for the more general comics rules (including for the art version of the ASW tag): The equivalent you want is "Mediums with panels will be counted by panel or by page. 1 page = 1k, 1 panel = ~334.". This means that at maximum you need a 10 page or 30 panel comic to hit 10k. In practice you might need less since both equivalents are used while counting. If a page is one or two panels it will be counted by page, if a page is three or more panels they will be counted by panel. If there are no distinct pages then I'll count panels and sometimes go "That's probably page sized/half page sized" about really big ones.

Hope that helps!

[something_ignites]

Hi! Could you clarify the difference between "Medium Opt-In: Art - Fanart" and "Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Fanart"?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

"Medium Opt-In: Art - Fanart" can be filled by any of the three subformats in the Art ruleset ("Drawn", "Point" and "CG 3D"

"Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Fanart" can only be filled by the "Drawn" subformat in the Art ruleset

[knave_of_swords]

As written, the rules for audio as a medium seem to imply that all music must be entirely created by the creator, unless it's from the canon, in which case the sheet music for the piece must be originally transcribed or arranged by the creator. Would it be possible to have a medium for music performed where the sheet music already exists? Ie, the performance or cover would be original, but the transcription or arrangement of the music wouldn't be the person's original creation.

Edit: wait I think I might be on the wrong post. Should this go in medium nominations? I guess part of it is a question about the audio music medium to begin with, whether or not it covers covers.

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes, currently all audio mediums do require that the creator originally created, transcribed, or arranged them. I think mediums consisting of only covers are an area where I'd prefer to be cautious and not add the medium as a FIAB tag, since I don't know how AO3's transformative or original works requirement works for music covers and if that would be allowed.

[philomytha]

Can I just check, is 'recursive fic' (as in 'Medium Opt-In: Writing - Recursive Fic of Any of the Recip's Works In This Fandom') any fic that's based on a pre-existing fic (ie sequels, remixes, missing scenes, AUs of a fic, something set in the original fic's AU, really any kind of fic-of-fic) or does it mean something more specific?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Hello! You're almost correct about "fic that's based on a pre-existing fic (ie sequels, remixes, missing scenes, AUs of a fic, something set in the original fic's AU, really any kind of fic-of-fic" except that there are some kinds of remixes that probably wouldn't count — not all kinds of remixing takes the remixed fic as a new canon to work off of, whereas all recursing takes the recursed fic as the new canon even if it does write some kind of AU or canon divergence.

You may find the first section of Recursive Exchange's FAQ helpful: https://recursiveexchange.dreamwidth.org/6350.html#cutid7
Or you may find Fanlore's Recursive Fanfiction page helpful: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Recursive_Fanfiction

[hiddencait]

Hi I had a couple questions I wanted to doublecheck on since this is my first time signing up for this exchange (which I'm so excited for all the options!!)

1) Regarding anon rules for the "Medium Opt-In: Writing - Sequel To Previous Gift To Me By The Same Author" - obviously if it's a sequel, we'd probably need to add it to a series or link it to the previous one, so are we just sorta handwaving away the fact that the giftee will see our name on the previous fic? I have written before for several folks who've already signed up so I figured I would check to cover my bases just in case LOL

2) For the "Medium Opt-In: Any - Any Nominated Medium" - that really does mean ANYTHING in the tagset right? From poetry to dress up games to crochet to journal entry style, etc.? Just wanted to make sure since it seems REALLY broad but also gives so so many options even for someone like me who can mostly only write lol

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Hello, thank you for your questions!

1) Yes, for this medium the anonymity requirements are obviously relaxed. If your recip has also requested "Medium Opt-In: Writing - Recursive Fic of Any of the Recip's Gifts In This Fandom (W/ Permission!)" then you'd have some plausible deniability, but either way we'd just ask that you take basic anonymity measures: don't talk about your assignment publicly and don't post it elsewhere before creator reveals. Anonymity is often a sliding scale when it comes to people who write for each other often or in small fandoms, so we just want a good faith effort not to spoil the surprise!

2) "Medium Opt-In: Any - Any Nominated Medium" means anything in the tagset with the "Medium Opt-In:" preface. If you want to request everything in the tagset, you'd want to also request "Length Opt-In: Any Nominated Opt-In"! It is indeed super broad, so I'd suggest not going this route if you're uncertain, but it is definitely simpler than opting into things one by one.

Fanmix clarification

[(Anonymous)]

So much to make sure I'm reading the rules right, fanmixes would have to be a minumum of 10 songs to be the equivalent of a 1k fic, correct? And any additional songs would add 100 words a piece? And we'd need to host the mix on like Soundcloud or something.

Would a cover image for the fanmix count as words as well if we did like a photoshop type thing with a track list?

Re: Fanmix clarification

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes that's how the fanmix equivalents/minimums work! There's a few different ways that people handle the links to the lists, the most common ways in previous years were youtube and/or spotify. If you want to see how people have done fanmixes previously, we have lists in the reading lists here:
2022: https://ficinabox.dreamwidth.org/38436.html#cutid1
2021: https://ficinabox.dreamwidth.org/25827.html#cutid2

Covers will not count towards wordcount unless they're separately filling a different opted into medium. Manips/photoshop don't count towards wordcount except in specific cases (which will be outlined in the rules for those mediums).

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, how is backstitch counted in a cross-stitch pattern? One backstitch = 1 word? Thank you.

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

For now, we're just counting it as 5 words per square of the pattern that have instructions in them. So backstitches won't count if going over squares that already have stitches in them, but will count per square otherwise.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, question about Medium Opt-In: Typographic Design - Any Nominated Typographic Design. The only other "Medium Opt-In: Typographic Design" tag in the tagset is for restaurant menus. Does this mean that "Any Nominated Typographic Design" is functionally q request for restaurant menus only? Sorry if this is has been clarified elsewhere!

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes, this is the case this year!

[(Anonymous)]

Would writing new fandom relevant lyrics to an existing song be acceptable under one of the mediums? I'm not sure where that would fit exactly, but i'd assume poetry?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

It would! That would fall under "Medium Opt-In: Poetry - Song Lyrics - Filk/Parody"

[(Anonymous)]

Under Murdle, when it says "Wordcount of everything except for logic puzzle style clues counts for wordcount" does that mean we add our fic total wordcount minus logic clue wordcount to the murdle base wordcount of 2k+1k per category?

So for example if we had a 5k word murdle with 1k wordcount clues for a 4 cat murdle, it would be 5k-1k + 3k = 7k total count?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes! With the caveat that you have to make sure it's actual wordcount (e.g. from fic/narrative framing and/or object descriptions or something like that), since AO3 will include code/image links in it's own wordcounter.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello! I could be a little lost, so forgive for my question that could be answered elsewhere, but I can't seem to find it!

How are the equivalents of 'Medium Opt-In: Art - Storyboard' and 'Medium Opt-In: Art - Storyboard of Canon Scene(s)' getting calculated?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Anything under the Art ruleset gets calculated either based on page/image, or based on panels! In the case of storyboards they'd be counted by panel, same as something like comics.

Since the art rules also require it to be reasonably clear from the art which requested tag is being filled this'll likely end up being fair, but if not it'll be something we'll revisit next year!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello! Am I correct in assuming that for the tag "Medium Opt-In: Writing - Theatre Script - Play", 1K of script = 1K of regular word count? Thank you!

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes, that's how that one works!

[impala_chick]

I understand now that you might not have wanted to list all the subcategories under "art", but when I couldn't find "layout" in this post, I looked for the next closest thing in my mind - which is why I thought it would be considered a "map." Maybe for some of the categories that sound very similar, it would be helpful to list a few of them as examples under "art."

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

As stated at the top of this page (with an example of an Art tag), each medium tag is prefixed with the ruleset that it falls under. Please only check the ruleset labeled within a tag, as that ruleset will tell you exactly what is expected.

For art specifically the only subcategories are Drawn, CG-3D, and Point. These will be labeled directly after the ruleset in the tag if required, and otherwise are there to describe the only three ways we'll accept art tags. Anything else within a tag is not a subcategory but rather a description of the individual requested medium.

The only mediums which can be considered maps will have "Unique Rules" in the tag as the ruleset, and wording within the tag to direct you specifically to the map unique rule.

Going forward, if you're confused about how a ruleset works or what you can or can't make for the exchange, you can just email us and we'll be happy to walk you through it before you ever make anything!

Re: knitting patterns

[(Anonymous)]

Question re: medium w/ knitting patterns

1) I see mediums for knitting instructions (text only) and knitting charts w/ separate equivalents. If people request both, can those two be combined and equivalents applied? (Many knitting patterns are text and charted, for instance.)

2) Knitting instructions is listed as word count equivalent essentially, but instructions for a garment/etc. are extremely time consuming and detailed, especially with tech editing and testing that goes way beyond word count (for instance, a sweater or lace shawl based on something a character wore in a live action show). Does fiab treat all instructions only via word count, or is the complexity of creating a full out garment pattern ever taken into account? (I do not know if that is something that has ever been done, and I imagine it would be hard to determine.)

Here are some examples of fandom garment knitting patterns of varying complexity:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jrr-tolkien-mittens
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/foliage-socks-2

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/insulate-hat

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elven-armor-pullover

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/evenstar-shawl

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/to-boldly-go-socks

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bigger-on-the-inside

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/doctor-its-the-daleks

Re: knitting patterns

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

1) Yes! If multiple mediums are in a work both equivalents will be applied and combined to get the work total.

2) It's not possible for us to accurately or fairly judge complexity or effort, because those things are subjective, personal, and impossible for us to measure for various reasons. Ideally everything in the equivalents will be something concrete and clear that's very easy for both participants and mods to count separately.


Looking at the fibercraft rules, I think it might be a good time to rework them. They've grown up organically as nominators asked for mediums and suggested equivalents for them based on existing rules, which sometimes leads to oddities. My thoughts are that we should:

A) Leave Cross Stitch as it is
B) Combine Knitting's unique rules with Crochet's unique rules, and add in an option for written instructions rather than charts to both. This would be a 5 words per stitch equivalent regardless of written or charted, which should scale for both the minimum 200 stitch squares and much larger and more complex works.

Since it looks like it's possible for some patterns to be written out completely and then only partially charted my instinct for works that are both written and charted is that they should still be equated separately and added together (so if a project is fully written and fully charted it'd be combined to 10 words per stitch). Let me know if my instincts seem off on this, they're borrowed from google so prone to mistakes!


(This is something that I want input on from anyone who hopes to create knit or crochet works for FIAB!)

[hekateras]

Asking properly now that noms have begun:

I would like to nominate Visual Novel as a unique ruleset opt-in medium.

Shadaras on the Discord suggested reusing these minimum guidelines:

https://unconventionalfanworkex.dreamwidth.org/ has the following category:
Audio and/or Visual - Visual Novel
Definition: A genre of interactive fiction that tells a story through a narrative accompanied with visual art, especially sprites or anime-style art.
Minimum: Three scenes from a more complex VN that includes art and/or music, or at least 1,000 words for a simpler version

What do you think of this medium suggestion and the proposed minimum?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

I think that could work, we're generally happy to let UFex figure out the minimums! I have some questions though, since FIAB needs not only a minimum but also an equivalent. Based on this it looks like we could have the equivalent be "3 scenes = 1k, wordcount of dialogue/narration = wordcount", but I want to be sure that makes sense.

1) Are 'Scenes' something that are easy to count objectively? That does seem like the best and simplest way to do it, but I'd need to be able to click through and quickly count them.
2) Are there places where someone could easily host these and make them accessible for their recip (without the recip needing to make an account)?

[feyscape]

Hi!

I'd like to ask about the appropriate medium for a point-and-click game, and if it doesn't have a medium, if I could nominate it.
The specific point-and-click game I would personally be interested in creating would be in a Google Slides presentation, with the use of both original art and creative commons images in use for the backgrounds, sprites, and other items, as well as the built-in things (shapes, fonts, etc.) that come with Google Slides.
Also in consideration is how close this would possibly be to the Interactive Fiction medium "Web-based choice-based IF not hosted on AO3" - would a split between those depend on how much art was original? How much coding is involved? As, to me, that medium seems the closest of any currently in the tagset. I'm also looking in interest at the former comment, about a nomination of the Visual Novel medium with rules from Unconventional Fanworks Exchange.

Thank you so much!

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

We've found that most types of games that aren't primarily composed of dialogue/narration (such as VNs and IF), or composed of a few entirely original art pieces (such as dressup games) are out of scope for FIAB. For example a full card game reskin or a board game reskin have both been previously proven to be too complicated for this format. Unfortunately a point and click game would fall into that out of scope category.