We're trying to be as inclusive as possible, without straying entirely outside of the space theme. Our working definition of "in space" is:

Some sort of intelligent beings in space at some point (before, during, or after canon) in a way that's significant to some aspect of the narrative.

At the moment, we're leaving "significant to the narrative" up to participants and trusting people will keep it in mind. But we do want people (of some sort) in space (at some point), and not just objects. So aliens yes; missiles and satellites, no.

Under that definition, I think War of the Worlds would be eligible. I'm afraid I don't know enough about Sailor Moon to render an opinion on that.

We're going to do a poll closer to the date to see which media participants are receptive to making and receiving. I'll definitely put podfic on the list, and if the interest is there, we'll make it an option. So I guess we'll have to see?

:D

Coming tomorrow! :)


ETA: Recruitment is up!
http://space-swap.dreamwidth.org/1163.html

Edited 2013-09-14 03:05 pm (UTC)

Absolutely! When we do nominations, we'll ask people to specify media types in the tags.

We can certainly put it in the poll. Whether we include it will depend on how many people are interested in making and receiving crafts (or pictures of crafts).

You do not have to set things in space! As long as the fandom is space-related, you can keep the characters planet-bound the entire time.

I think we'll go with AO3's tagging system, which means Eccleston = Ninth Doctor, Tennant = Tenth Doctor, and Smith = Eleventh Doctor.

The canonical tag on AO3 for John Hurt's doctor is The Doctor (Hurt), so we'll use that for him.

ETA: Here's the list of all of the current canonical tags for different versions of The Doctor in case you want to nominate a different one.

Edited 2013-11-25 12:39 am (UTC)

We're matching on medium as well, so I think you're okay. If we run into problems getting enough matches, we'll drop character matching before media matching. I guess if it still fails, we'll have to rethink things, but in that case, we'll post to the comm about it. But hopefully it won't come to that!

You can write those things (likes, dislikes, prompts, etc.) in the description, in a Dear Spacer letter, or in both! It's up to you. Some people use one, some use the other, some copy and paste the same information in both, and some write shorter prompts in the sign-up form and use the letter to elaborate more, or to include general likes and dislikes that apply to all of their requests. :)

You can only officially request the characters in the tag set. You can definitely mention other characters in your description/letter as an option, but your creator isn't obligated to include them since we can't match on characters not in the tag set, so please don't make it sound like you won't be happy unless you receive those characters. But do mention them if want them!

For extras - absolutely go ahead and do whatever else you'd like for them.

For main assignments - I'm a little worried that recipients might feel like whatever they receive wasn't really created for them if it starts showing up in other challenges, so I'd kind of prefer if they could be kept just for space_swap. If it's just a matter of linking something for points, I think that's okay, but otherwise I'd rather not see these things re-used. Does that make sense?

Of course, you can repost your work wherever you like once everything's revealed!

Hi! I'm glad to hear you're thinking about signing up. I'm sorry to hear you missed nominations.

Because of the number of fandoms involved, we can't match on more than fandom, media, and (hopefully) character. And we can't run the matching on any characters who aren't in the tagset. What this means is that while you can definitely mention characters who weren't nominated and say that you'd love to see them included (or say that you're okay with works focusing on them instead of the nominated characters), we can't require your creator to focus on them. We'd also prefer that you not tell your creator that you won't be happy unless you receive someone who wasn't nominated.

Specific answers:

1. You can definitely mention a Hoshi/Mayweather/Reed ship as something you'd like to receive, but no, there's no guarantee that's what you'll receive. We're matching on 'or' not 'and,' so even if all three of those characters had been nominated, there's no guarantee you'd receive a creator who had offered all three. And even someone who offered all three might not have been thinking of shipping the three of them, so there'd still be no guarantee of Hoshi/Mayweather/Reed ship. If you do request Enterprise, I would strongly recommend not making that the only thing you ask for. It's generally better on both sides if the creator has a few options to choose from.

2. You can definitely ask for a first time fic, but optional details are optional, so there's no guarantee you'll get one.

3. Matching occurs by fandom, media (fic, art, etc.), and (hopefully) by character. I'm afraid that with the range of fandoms in the tag set, we can't use any more criteria than that without risking our ability to match people. So tags like 'romance' will not be used in matching.

4. We will be matching on 'or,' so yes, you could offer McCoy and Spock, and get matched on someone who wants Kirk and/or Spock. In that case, you'd be allowed to write a fic that focuses just on Spock (since you're only required to include one character). This is why it's important to provide your writer with options--you don't know what they may have offered when they get matched to you!

I completely understand being disappointed that we can't guarantee your favourites and I'm sorry. We'll probably run this again next year, so hopefully you'll get a chance to ask for your favourites then!

Absolutely! Tomorrow is fine. :)

Hi! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I'm not sure yet, but we're talking it over and I'll post something about it in the next couple of days.