Signups End Today!

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

We have about 12 hours remaining for signups! (countdown) As of last night there are over 150 people signed up!

Assume there will be some time between signups closing and assignments assigning! There will be some handmatching going on and there will be unmatchable participants who will have 24 hours to add offers, both of which will take time. Please be patient with us :)

Things to remember as we count down!

Requests spreadsheet!

• We'll be trying to update this frequently today (every couple hours or so, most likely)! Keep in mind that each update will briefly disrupt the sheet, so if everything seems to disappear for a moment please don't panic.
• Spreadsheet of requests
• HTML version of spreadsheet

Make sure you have someone to create for!

• You'll need to have your offers matching at least one request (you're "OR" matching on fandom and relationship, which means you only need to match one fandom/relationship combo that they are requesting) before we can send out assignments!
• We'll be emailing anyone who doesn't have at least one person they can create for after signups close, but you can help us now by checking your signups and making sure you're matchable. (The spreadsheets above have the requests and are an easy way to find things you can create for)

Make sure your requests fit the requirements!

• Remember that you must be requesting at least three distinct fandoms (subfandoms of the same fandoms or adaptations that share lore are not considered distinct).
• You must have some form of likes/prompts or an unlocked letter with those before signups close.
• Make sure anything you Do Not Want is in your AO3 signup labeled with "DNW:"
• If you requested an unspecific tag (e.g. "Any character" or "Vampire/Werewolf"), please remember that the details will be your creator's choice. If you have preferences for the gender of that character or some other broad category, that needs to be within the tag you match on.
• If you need fandoms/pairings added please let us know asap, we'll need:
  • The fandom exactly as it appears (or should appear) in the tagset
  • Your pairings, properly disambiguated, in a comma separated format
  • Example: Fandom, Character A/Character B (Fandom), Character A & Character C (Fandom), Solo: Any Male Character (Fandom)

Other mediums!

• If you want to match on mediums other than fic please contact us (ficinaboxmod@gmail.com) before signups close with:
  • What mediums you want to match on
  • Who you are currently matchable to that is opting into those mediums
  • What fandoms and ships you're matchable to them on (in case they change their requests at the last minute)
• We'll be handmatching anyone who contacts us this way!
• Please make sure that your offers match at least one fandom/relationship of each of the options you send us!
• If you want to offer mediums in more than 10 fandoms, try to be matchable on whatever selection of 10 fandoms makes sense to you and you can tell us the others for us to potentially manually adjust your offers with, depending on how matching goes.

Requests not to match

• If there is another participant you want to avoid matching, please email us (ficinaboxmod@gmail.com) before signups close with:
  • The AO3 name(s) of those participants
  • Whether you want to avoid matching either way, or just as a recipient/creator
  • If you do not want them to know you're avoiding them, how you'd like us to handle it if you're the only person they can create for (we've got a few options here that we can discuss if you aren't sure).
• You don't have to tell us any details of why you don't want to match and you do not have to justify it. If you think the details are important you're welcome to share, but it's absolutely not required.
• This can be (and often is) for serious reasons, but please also feel free to reach out if you'd like to avoid matching your sock or a friend you've already written for ten times this summer or something. It is absolutely no issue to accommodate that sort of thing!

- FIAB Mods

Comments

[gloss]

I am SO psyched for this! <3

You must have some form of likes/prompts or an unlocked letter with those before signups close.
Does this also mean that the letter needs to be filled out, not just a placeholder? (I assume so, I'm just confirming out of worrywartness.)

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Yes! We will consider placeholder letters the same as locked letters. At minimum letters need some amount of likes/prompts for each request when sign ups close — a general likes list is fine if the rest of your letter isn't complete, though!

Also we're so excited that *you're* so excited, gosh. :DDD

- Mod 2

[(Anonymous)]

How will "Requests not to match" work with pinch hitters or treaters who aren't signed up for the exchange?

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

It depends on what you tell us when you ask us not to match you. For instance, if you don't care if the person knows that you don't want fic from them, then we can simply not let them pick up your PH or not approve their treat for the collection. But some people would be fine with getting a treat from someone they don't want to match to, which is why we would like you to tell us in your email how you want it handled. We are very flexible and would like to do whatever makes our participants feel safe and comfortable!

- Mod 2

[cirque]

What happens to those letters that are not filled out? I've been eyeing up a treat but so far the letter remains blank.

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

Participants with blank or locked letters at close of sign ups who do not have likes in their AO3 sign ups will unfortunately be deleted. We're doing our best to find and remind those people of this rule before sign ups close, but you can email or DM us the participant's name to make sure we catch it if you would like!

[cirque]

Thanks for the reply, but it seems the participant has edited their sign up and removed the prompt I was going to write for. Ah well...

[(Anonymous)]

"not approve their treat for the collection"

So then anyone not signed up who plans to write a treat should tell you ahead of time they're doing so?

I can only speak for myself, but if I finished a 10K story and then had the door of the collection closed in my face, I'd be pretty upset.

[fic_in_a_box_mod]

This is a standard part of moderating an exchange. As moderators, we have a responsibility to our participants to not just get them a gift and call it a day, but to make sure everyone can participate as comfortably as possible — especially given the anonymity of gifts. I hope you can understand why we would prioritize the safety and peace-of-mind of anyone who feels strongly enough to reach out to us.

We will only be not approving treats in situations where the participant has directly requested it. If you are aware of a participant who has asked you not to contact them, please do not write them treats in the exchange. If you're uncomfortable with the (very small) possibility that you may write for someone who has requested not to get treats from you without you being aware, then we understand if you'd rather not write treats for this exchange. On a case-by-case basis, we may let treats created for someone who's requested the creator not treat them into the collection once the recip is removed from the gift, contingent on the gift meeting exchange requirements and not being obviously spiteful.

[(Anonymous)]

"I hope you can understand why we would prioritize the safety and peace-of-mind of anyone who feels strongly enough to reach out to us."

Of course.

I do appreciate the case-by-case basis thing, as otherwise someone who might be writing a treat in order to qualify for the Triple Crown would be shut out.