#tardis_library

[thisbluespirit]

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, reccing community tardis_library, over on Dreamwidth, set out to collectively rec at least one fanwork per year for all 60 years from 1963-2023 - and we made it!

If you'd love to celebrate the show and the creativity of its fandom, here's a perfect way to do so with a giant list of wonderful recs for fic, art and vids.

[fanwork-exchange-promos]

Doctor Who: Anniversary Reccing Challenge at TARDIS Library

Posted by: thisbluespirit Link: at our Challenge Post here. (Open until 30th November 2023). Description: TARDIS Library is running a special community challenge to celebrate the oncoming 60th anniversary! We're hoping that between us, all tardis_library members can rec a fanwork per year between now and the end of November. Come along and help us out or just enjoy the recs! Anyone can take part - you just need to join the comm in order to post. No sign-ups required. (Any recs for any Doctor Who related fanworks are always welcome on the comm at any time. All eras, pairings, ratings etc welcome.) Schedule: Open from now until 30th Nov 2023 comments via The Fandom Calendar https://ift.tt/j398byC

[thisbluespirit]

Rec lists are so useful! Also there are many reccing communities either still (more or less) active or still up for searching for older works in journalspace.

fancake and recthething are probably the two biggest multifandom reccing comms on Dreamwidth.

For Doctor Who specifically (relevant in these quarters), I run the current DW reccing comm (for all types of fanworks) here at tardis_library - and the previous one, calufrax, which covered Teaspoon is a great way to get into that archive (plus lots of the stuff recced can also be found on ao3 now.)

The "Top" fics in fandom are not the "Best"

I've seen a couple of posts here in there implying that the ways to find the best fics in fandoms are just to go to ao3, and sort by 'Most Kudoses', 'Most Bookmarks', 'Most Comments', etc. I've also seen some folks say they feel like their fics are failures if they don't make it to the front page(s), or at least near there.

But the simple fact: this is not true.

Now, I'm not saying that the top-rated fics in a fandom are bad.

Far from it! They're often very popular for a reason. Well written, fun dynamics, cool plots, etc. A lot of my own favourite fics have made it to the first page when you sort by "Most Kudos"-- but then, a lot of mine also haven't.

Why?

Because those selections are inherently biased.

What do I mean by that? Just that there are other factors influencing what stories accumulate the most comments/kudoses/etc in a fandom, meaning none of these serve as a neutral metric of quality.

I'm going to explain some of these biases briefly, just so folks get a sense of what I mean:

Age Bias This, I think, is the easiest to grasp. A fic that is three years old just has had more time to gain views than a fic that's three years old. Also, consider that pretty much any fandom needs time to grow. If you're in the first days/weeks/months of a fandom, there probably just isn't that much content being made. If there's only 10 fics on the archive, then 11th one stands out. It'll get a lot of attention. But if that same fic were to come out a couple years later, when there were 11 fics published in a single day, well, people are more likely to miss it. If you doubt me, take a look at the front page of 'Most Kudos' for a fandom of your choice. You'll probably see a lot of the stories there are on the older side- and this is exactly why.

Multi-Chapter Bias There are a lot of ways people find new fics to read, and one of the most basic is just: look at the front page of the most recent updates. Now, this way of sorting fics is exactly what it sounds like. Sa list of fics in order of when they were most recently posted/updated. But, obviously, if a fic has multiple chapters, it's going to appear on that front page way more often. A 50 chapter epic has 49 more chances to get seen this way than a one-shot. This issue becomes even more intense when you consider the Most Comments sort option. For a one shot, a person is probably likely to only comment once. Maybe if they really love the story and revisit, they'll leave a second or third. But multi-factor fics? By design, people come back every update. And that means a lot of people leave comments every single time. (Or at the very least, after big plot developments and twists!) This is what leads to long-running multi-chapter epics dominating the 'Most Comments' rankings in most fandoms.

Popular Pairing Bias Again, this is just obvious. Some pairings are more popular than others. A rare-pair fic can be just as soulful, hot, and well-written as a story featuring the fandom's powerhouse fic, but if only 30 people are interested, well... [shrug] Less people will click on it, kudos it, and leave a comment. To a lesser extent, you can expand this to any trope. 'Coffee Shop AUs' just seem to be more popular than, say, '1930s Mobster AUs'. That effects what tags people search, and what fics they find. But shipping is such an important element of many fandom cultures I thought it would be the most illustrative.

Positive Feedback Loop Bias And honestly, this is maybe the real clincher. Because I've established some of the things that can cause a story to start gathering lots of kudos, comments, and bookmarks in a first place. But once that starts, you get a positive feedback loop going. Because what's one of the first things a person does when they're looking for good stories in a fandom? They sort by 'Most Kudos'. And then they select the first story on the list, and they like it. So they leave a comment and kudos and... Yeaaaah.

So... What do we do about it?

Well. Nothing really. This isn't really a problem. It's just something to be aware of.

Any attempt to put metrics on something as subjective as art is going to fall short. So don't go rating the quality of your own stories about how well it performs, and don't go chasing those coveted top spots. You'll have a lot more fun if you just write stuff that you enjoy, make some friends, and recognise a lot of factors influence fanfic statistics beyond just quality.

Searching via most comments/kudoses/bookmarks remains one of the easiest and quickest ways to start diving into a new fandom. It's often the first things I do, and found stories I love that way.

That said: I highly encourage you to search for fics beyond just that method. Here are some of my suggestions if you want to figure out ways to get started:

Search up Fanfic Rec Lists. Lots of people put them on their blogs, and websites like TVTropes even have that as a whole feature

Ask for fic recs! Seriously! Post about it in the fandom's tumblr tag, join Discord communities, etc, and just say, "Hey, I'd love to read a story where... [insert the general themes, characters, or plot points you like". People will be EXCITED to share.

Search by specific tags Like, do you really, really love time loops? Search the 'Time Loop' tag in your favourite fandoms. A lot of specific tropes, AUs, etc. are canonized, so you can find a lot of stuff up your alley that way

Browse the most recently updated fics Yeah, I know, it's old school. But seriously, you can find some awesome stuff there-- including stories from new authors just starting out, who could really use a boost!

And hey... if you find some stories you like... Consider writing some fic recommendation lists of your own. Spread the love!

[calufrax]

A new reccing comm is born!

Posted by: nonelvis Yes, we've been quiet over here at calufrax for quite some time, and unfortunately, that's probably going to continue. But the good news is that the lovely lost_spook, whose recs you've enjoyed (I hope!) many times, is launching a new reccing comm:

Reccing on tardis_library is open to all members, who may rec all types of fanworks posted on any (accessible) platform from any Doctor Who-related fandoms. Please consider joining and participating! I know I will be. comments via Calufrax https://ift.tt/2r08BHg

[who-contest]

LJ Entry: Announcement: Tardis_Library - A Doctor Who Reccing Community

Announcing a reccing community for Doctor Who in all its incarnations, spin-offs, Extended Universe etc. etc. Please join  tardis-library  at Dreamwidth. Comment? https://ift.tt/2qYIWxP

[thisbluespirit]

Special anniversary reccing challenge at TARDIS Library on Dreamwidth! Find out more at the community link above, but we're hoping for members to rec at least 60 recs (total between us), covering the years 1963-2023 in our choices to celebrate Doctor Who's 60th.

All welcome! If you want to post recs, you'll need a Dreamwidth account, but they're free to sign up for. If you just want to read the resulting recs, no accounts needed.

You can rec any type of fanwork, hosted on any site - but see the comm for further rules/guidelines etc.

[thisbluespirit]

New seasonal challenge up at TARDIS Library, the Dreamwidth Doctor Who reccing community!

Simply comment in the sign-up post, receive 5 random characters (we have lists for New Who, Classic Who & various spin-offs you can choose from), then rec 5+ fanworks for at least 1 of those characters at the comm to complete the challenge, receive a banner, and share the love for some excellent fannish creative endeavours!

You will need a Dreamwidth account to post recs to the community, but they're free to sign-up for, with no strings attached, if you'd like to take part. <3

[thisbluespirit]

The new seasonal challenge is up at TARDIS Library on Dreamwidth! Sign up and receive a bingo card, and rec at least five fanworks on the community to achieve a bingo, get a banner, and share the love on excellent Doctor Who works!

You will need a Dreamwidth account to post recs, but it's free and fairly simple to get one!

[thisbluespirit]

It’s time for our annual Reccer’s Bingo at TARDIS Library! 

To play, sign up at the link above, receive a bingo card, and make at least 1 rec per square at the comm until you have a bingo.  Fun and profit for all!  The event runs from 26th June-25th Sept 2022.

TARDIS Library is a Doctor Who fanwork reccing community over on Dreamwidth. For more info, we have a sticky post with rules, guidelines & posting template here.

Anon commenting etc. is on at the sign-up post, but reccers will need a Dreamwidth account to post to the community.  (Basic Dreamwidth accounts are free and will allow you to do everything you need to take part in a community like TARDIS Library.) 

If you have any questions about the Bingo or the comm, please ask, here or there, and I will do my best to answer.

[thisbluespirit]

TARDIS Library, the Doctor Who reccing community over at Dreamwidth has a new seasonal challenge open!  Help us highlight and fill some of our more neglected areas by reccing relevant goodies from all corners of the universe...

Our usual open reccing for anything good you want to share and monthly theme (Fifth Doctor and/or Angst) continues as usual.  Check the comm sticky for rules & guidelines.  You can contact me there or here if you have questions.  Anon commenting is on.

A Dreamwidth account is needed to post to the comm, but they’re free and we don’t bite, honest.  (You should also be able to make a RSS feed if you just want to follow along for the recs.)

[thisbluespirit]

I made a Seventh Doctor Era manifesto for the reccing comm TARDIS Library’s current seasonal challenge.  15 recs, but not enough to begin to express the awesome out there.

(ruuger also did an excellent Twelfth Doctor one too, so check out the comm and the regular recs. It’s great.)