Admin Post: Welcome to Space Swap!

[skieswideopen]

space_swap is a multimedia exchange for space fandoms of all sorts, including television series, movies, and books. The only criterion for a fandom to be eligible is that it somehow be related to SPACE.

We'll be running this along typical exchange lines: participants will sign up with requests and offers, will be matched via AO3, and will receive an assignment. By signing up, participants agree to make a fannish creation for their assigned participant. In turn, someone will make a fannish creation for them.

We'll kick off the swap with a fandom recruitment phase in which everyone can wax poetic about their favourite space fandoms in the hopes of recruiting new fans. Following that we’ll hold nominations to get a set of fandoms and characters for our swap, and then we’ll have sign-ups and be off and running!

Requests, Offers, and Matching

When signing up, you will need to request at least 3 fandoms, and can request up to 6. You'll also need to offer at least 3 fandoms, and can offer up to 10.

For each fandom, you can request up to 4 nominated characters. If you select 0, the person assigned to you may make something with any nominated character or the fandom in general.

For each fandom, you must offer to write 2 to 8 of the nominated characters. You can also offer 'any.'

Requests and offers will also contain media type(s), which will be used in matching people.

There will be more information about prompts and matches when we open sign-ups.

Fannish Creation Requirements

The minimum requirements are:

Fic, podfic, or meta - 1,000 words
Vid - 2 minutes
Art - 1 original illustration or 2 graphic pieces
Other - Something of equivalent effort to the above

You are, of course, welcome to do more and longer.

Interested in making something else? Leave us a comment about it. We'll poll the community and if there's enough interest, we'll add it in.

Schedule & Contact Info

You can see the complete 2014/2015 schedule here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please comment on this post or PM the mods, skieswideopen and colls, and we'll do our best to address them.

Comments

[sirvalkyrie]

I would like a few examples for different ways a fandom can be space related and be eligible? Obviously things set in space would be. But for example would something like Sailor Moon be eligible? What about something like War of the Worlds with a threat coming from space? Or characters from another planet? Does just going into space make something eligible? Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to figure out the boundaries of what is eligible and what isn't.

[skieswideopen]

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.

[debirlfan]

So I'm going to assume that shows featuring aliens (The Neighbors, 3rd Rock from the Sun, etc) would be allowed, as would any of the Trek or Stargate series?

[colls]

That's correct. Both those sound like they contain characters as extraterrestrials that had been in space at some point before they arrived on Earth so they'd fit the working definition of 'in space'
And most certainly Trek and Stargate are applicable.

[sirvalkyrie]

Those were just examples, but for Sailor Moon it is about a group of girls who are reincarnations of warriors from various planets in the solar system until a war wiped out life on all planets but Earth. The reincarnations continue to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial threats and eventually leads to them discovering there are other warriors like them across the galaxy.

[skieswideopen]

Then it sounds like it should qualify. :)

Was the answer above clear enough?

[sirvalkyrie]

Yep. I think when nominations open up I will post info about the fandoms if they are less obvious fandoms.

[skieswideopen]

Awesome! We're really hoping the exposure-to-new-space-fandoms part will work well.

[nickelmountain]

This sounds like a fun swap! Would it be okay to make podfic for it?

[skieswideopen]

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?

[colls]

:D

[laisserais]

All fans are allowed to recommend their favorite space fandoms Is it time to do this yet? Do I do that in this comm? Also: yay! I like this idea.

[colls]

Coming tomorrow! :)


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

[laisserais]

whee!

[taichara]

Since we also specify media types, can/will we use these to differentiate between canons in a fandom? So someone doesn't get an animated canon of a series when they want novels or comics or manga or what-have version(s).

I know it's a fairly self-evident thing, I just want to reconfirm for my own benefit of mind.

[skieswideopen]

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

[taichara]

Awesome, thank you!

[kerravonsen]

In regard to media types, what about craft? I've seen this done in the sshg_exchange and its successor, the sshg_promptfest, and it's been very creative. I've seen people make amiguri/dolls, collage books, jewellery, even a decorated cake (including marzipan figures of the characters).
Obviously one couldn't put the actual object online, so people took photographs instead.

[skieswideopen]

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).

[paranoidangel]

Would the fic/vic/art you create for this have to also be set in space? Or is it just a case of as long as the fandom is a space fandom you can do anything within it, even if they spend the whole time on Earth/their home planet?

[skieswideopen]

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.

[sirvalkyrie]

What numbering are you using for the later Doctors in Doctor Who?

[skieswideopen]

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.

[sirvalkyrie]

Thanks. The whole renumbering things is going to make things interesting. Though I am surprised AO3 didn't use War Doctor like he was called in the credits of Night of the Doctor.

Edit: I mean interesting in the fandom discussion sense.

[sirvalkyrie]

Poor Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) got left out.