The Here And Now

elf posted: Quis impeditur: Who is hindered?

Recently, Fanlore committee, volunteers, and the public have been discussing a photography policy; one of the issues is how to address privacy concerns when uploading photos. Blurring faces was suggested in the public discussions, and several people pointed out that there are free apps for smartphones and computers that can be used, and these are so easy to use that there's no reason not to require blurring. I disagree.

I'm going to use this example to touch on the wider topic of Fanlore accessibility and fannish accessibility in general.

The following info may be of interest to those writers and artists who are posting - or want to post – their Supernatural Big Bang fic and art to A03. Posting fan fic and artwork to A03 is not a requirement for the Supernatural and J2 Big Bang Challenges and neither Amalthia or I are part of the Supernatural and J2 Big Bang nor the A03. We’re just two very very eager and helpful readers with an organizing gene.

Tagging Your Fic On A03
We have set up a tag collection on A03 to help authors who are posting their Big Bang fiction to A03. Only authors can add their stories to the collection. Instructions and more info are here. Note: Big Bang stories are tagged by year. We’ve set up collections for all 5 years (2007-2011) and you can add your story to the collection even if it has already been uploaded to A03.  You can add your story to the collection when you first post it or add it afterwards (no need to reupload).

Readers looking for SPN J2 Big Bang stories on A03 – go to here to read stories that are part of the Collection.

We are not very knowledgeable about A03 so if anyone has problems with uploading or tagging, your best bet is to contact A03 support or check their FAQ.  Ditto on questions about how Collections or the A03 works, its features or how to get an invite.

Artwork on A03
We also want highlight two issues that may benefit SPN J2 Big Bang artists. First, authors can include Big Bang art in their stories on AO3– they have to host the images elsewhere (like LJ, PhotoBucket or Flickr). Here is an example of a SPN J2 Big Bang story that includes artwork. (scroll down to see the art).

Secondly, artists can also upload their artwork separately (again hosted elsewhere) and tag it as part of the SPN J2 Big Bang collection. Here is an example of artwork from the SGA Big Bang. When posting to AO3 artists add “Artwork” to the title of their work to help it stand out. The artists are then including their artwork in the Big Bang Collections as stand-alone works. If we get enough stand-alone artwork, we may be able to set up a separate SubCollection for them among the AO3 SPN Big Bangs.

Regards,
Morgan Dawn and Amalthia

PS. Accessibility Tips For Writers Not Using AO3
If you’re interested in improving accessibility for your fiction to help fans with disabilities (and even fans without) here are few tips:
*Design tips for your website/blog (basic stuff about color and fonts). These tips are actually helpful for everyone, but if you post your fic to A03, some of the design issues have been addressed.
*For fans who need to read offline, consider offering both a PDF and an ePub (include an ePub because not all readers can handle letter sized PDFs). If your fic is posted to AO3, PDFs, ePubs and Mobi files are automatically offered.
*If you don’t have time/knowledge to create a PDF and an ePub file, there are fans who will help (you can include a request for help in your Master post on your LJ). Even better if you offer your fic on a single webpage or a Word doc, fans can make their own PDFs/ePubs by using halcyon shift’s Squeebook – simply load the webpage URL or the .doc file and it is converted automatically.

Updated: 7/4/2011