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So, I received my CB assignment and...we matched on one thing.
One thing that I can write with ease and comfort, and could quite probably put way more than the minimum 300 words into.
However, that one thing stuck out from all the other things that my CB recip had chosen in her sign-up. It was basically the scarlet poppy in a field of daisies. So I've mailed the organiser to check that the recip actually chose it and didn't make a slip of the mouse when they selected the pairings.
Still waiting; must remember to mail them again tonight to follow up.
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Things that have been bothering me in the last year of exchanges:
In other news, has it become common to require people to fill all the requests in an assignment they're given? I had someone do this in the Pacific Rim Secret Santa, and I just got a query from someone who was concerned that they'd been assigned two fanart requests and one fanfic request when they'd offered fanfic only.
You are given multiple requests, you only have to fill one.
Also, OPTIONAL PAIRINGS ARE OPTIONAL. This cannot be said often enough in general exchanges.
Finally, can we stop reading Dear Author letters as passive-aggressive? Please? They're not rules, as such, as said the crew of the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Carribean; They're more...guidelines. It would be nice we didn't treat the requests in them like someone is going to FIRE ZE MISSILES if we aren't precisely on point with that story, and assume the worst of people who are saying, "If you can do this, it would be nice," in a non-threatening, non-assumptive manner.
One thing that I can write with ease and comfort, and could quite probably put way more than the minimum 300 words into.
However, that one thing stuck out from all the other things that my CB recip had chosen in her sign-up. It was basically the scarlet poppy in a field of daisies. So I've mailed the organiser to check that the recip actually chose it and didn't make a slip of the mouse when they selected the pairings.
Still waiting; must remember to mail them again tonight to follow up.
--
Things that have been bothering me in the last year of exchanges:
In other news, has it become common to require people to fill all the requests in an assignment they're given? I had someone do this in the Pacific Rim Secret Santa, and I just got a query from someone who was concerned that they'd been assigned two fanart requests and one fanfic request when they'd offered fanfic only.
You are given multiple requests, you only have to fill one.
Also, OPTIONAL PAIRINGS ARE OPTIONAL. This cannot be said often enough in general exchanges.
Finally, can we stop reading Dear Author letters as passive-aggressive? Please? They're not rules, as such, as said the crew of the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Carribean; They're more...guidelines. It would be nice we didn't treat the requests in them like someone is going to FIRE ZE MISSILES if we aren't precisely on point with that story, and assume the worst of people who are saying, "If you can do this, it would be nice," in a non-threatening, non-assumptive manner.
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I can't tell you how happy I am that haven't seen that claim anywhere on or near my lists on the journals, tumblr, or twitter. I figure folks complaining about recipients with desires and opinions must hang out in other fannish circles, and that's great -- DAL are the best! I generally rock the more specific requests -- the more detailed, the better.
(To be fair, I once wrote a passive-aggressive letter, locked it, and then wrote a much more amiable open one. ;)
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And I'm like "it's suggestions, not rules; write on what you matched on and it will be okay."
As
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Like a lot of trends in fandom, I feel there are clusters of folks influencing one another, and I'm not exposed to them in my home venues. Thankfully so --
because that's it, and nothing more.
Unlike Havoc and you, though, I've not had any bad experiences in fic exchanges. The more of those exchanges you participate in, or the more you run even...well, there goes your chance of not hitting one of the angry/anxious clusters.
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I find it interesting that people think they have to fill all their requests. When I was running ficathons, I got complaints from people who could only fill one request and they didn't have as much choice as they wanted. Which! Sometimes you don't match on everything. That's just how it is!
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Exactly!
And your phrase "assumption of bad faith" is perfect to describe this phenomenon.
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This. It's weird. Unless you have a known troll on your hands, the best route is to simply assume that people are giving exactly the optional details that are so purely optional, and you may ignore.
And to be frank -- especially with a known troll I would blithely stick to the same assumption.
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Good Lord, people.
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