labels

[pensnest]

I love metafandom, but sometimes my meanderings along its byways leave me bewildered. All this fuss about labelling a story... So many people demanding 'warnings' for such things as background pairings and mpreg. Such delicate souls. Why, I have achieved squick by means of teddybear abuse and unexpected Kevin, not to mention lava lamps, but my friends do not, I think, desert me. However, it does seem to be a topic that arouses unexpected passions in the mildest fannish breast, so I wonder.

My personal habit is to post fics in my own LJ pretty much randomly. If I've written a story, you'll usually get a sentence indicating that it was written for such-and-such a reason. If you are wise in the ways of LiveJournal, you may notice that an occasional story is tagged 'wtf', and you will approach with caution (or glee). I don't in general announce the pairing (anyway, sometimes the pairing is a surprise, and the surprise is part of the story) or the rating. I write with the expectation that if you've friended me, you will have figured out that I perpetrate popslash, including Lampfic, and will treat any LJ-cut entries with appropriate caution.

I don't think the lack of a label on popslash has ever deterred me from at leat *opening* the story. Would you, personally, be *more* inclined to read if I went the whole labelling route, and headed up stories with appropriate categorisation? Do you do that yourself? Do you care, either way?

Incidentally, I run a double index on my website, with pairings and degree-of-sex announcements on the Alternative Index, for those who are looking for something specific and don't care to be startled by, say, Kevin. I'm contemplating revising this to present the stories by pairing, given the startling *quantity* of the things. How do you like stories to be presented, if you're reading on a website? Any advice would be welcome.

Comments

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

I like SOME labeling. I don't like the story spelled out for me. BUT - I like to know if it's a death fic (unless it's intended to have a MASSIVE surprise impact, but if that's the crux of the story? Yeah, I wanna know). I also like to know if it's going to have non-con and how graphic it is. Pairings are nice, since there's some I don't care for, but not necessary.

Usually, my entire label consists of Fandom, pairing, rating sometimes and a word count. Pretty basic. if it's part of a series, I'll link to either the other parts or a post that contains a list of links or the tag if they're all there.

Does that help any?

[pensnest]

I figure when if I write deathfic and rapefic, I will include a warning. Incest doesn't strike me as very likely, though if I did write it, I'd warn for that, too. Otherwise, well, caveat lector.

Word count is looking useful. Hmm.

[runzu.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, I like labels.

I like to go by pairing mostly, secondly by length (because I love novel/epic stories lol) and then, thirdly by type (angst, AU, crack, whatever).

But mostly, I don't care. I like being surprised by characters in fics. I actually squee at itand it's always fun being surprised by Kevin. lol

I'm very adventurous in reading fan fiction. It is sort of fun discovering what kind of fic you're reading as you're reading it. :)

[pensnest]

When I started reading popslash, I had no idea who any of the boys were, so it made no difference to me what pairing I was reading. Gradually I came to figure out which of them I loved most... it can be fun, I think, to find out what you're reading as you're reading, rather than know in advance to expect the Trickyfish (or whatever), which is why I set up my website index as I did. I dunno, though, it may be time to change that.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Popslash is very very laid-back when it comes to labels and headers. Just toss it on out there and we're good with it. But I have old fic, from other fandoms where there were all these *rules* about what you had to say before you could post on people's precious lists...it's pretty laughable now.

[pensnest]

I suppose, too, there's a difference between posting in your own journal and posting to a community with a defined raison d'etre. *pouts - I want a circumflex* I seldom know how to define stuff, which means I don't if I can help it. Having to set a story rating for my [Unknown site tag] entries bugs me dreadfully.

[learn-me.livejournal.com]

When I go to a website, I definitely look for pairing first, mainly because there are certain ones I just don't like. Next, I'll check to see if there is a warning, because I'm just not into death fic, incest, and a few other things, so again, it's nice to know that before you start.

For my stuff, I generally put it on the website by pairing, and put warnings on it when it's really sexually explicit (which they rarely are). Other than that I don't do descriptions.

If a story doesn't have anything on it at all, I won't necessarily go by it for that reason. I have skimmed stuff or asked people if they've read it and go from there.

I have no idea if this rambling helps or not, but that's my two cents for what it's worth.

[pensnest]

I tend to look for a story which sounds interesting, where 'interesting' is hard to define, but just happens to appeal to me at that moment, so I don't generally even care about the rating. I haven't so far been traumatised by deathfic, though I'm not greatly interested in reading incest, so mostly I'll just plunge in. But we all differ. Thanks for the two cents' worth!

[vaudevilles.livejournal.com]

When I'm first starting out in a fandom I tend to read for pairing cos that's what's dragged me in there in the first place.

After that if I want to play in the fandom it's author, pure and simple. And people's recs. Sometimes I'll go out looking for porn, or I'm in a mood for a particular type of snark. Having length in there is good so I can see if I'm better to print it out rather than read onscreen.

And warnings for death-fic and non-con are very much appreciated (though I have a much looser trigger for non-con than a few people I know).

Strangely if I'm re-reading I sort through stories by pairing because that's how I tend to remember them.

[pensnest]

Indeed - I'll also read any pairings by excellent authors, though I do start with the Trickyfish, if it's available. And I think the need for warnings on death and non-con are pretty much agreed on in most parts of fandom, which seems reasonable enough.

[nikibee.livejournal.com]

I find that I tend to prefer the pairing/summary/warnings thing. It especially helps if I'm busy and see a lot of storys on my friends page and only have time to read a few - obviously I'll read the ones that look like I'll like them. But that could just be me, I'm the type who likes to read the last page of the book before I start and look up the ending to the movie before I watch it.

Regarding your site, I use the pairings index and THANK YOU SO MUCH for it. I know you don't care about reading all that stuff before the story, so I know you're doing it just for us.

But at the end of all of that - it's your lj and you're the writer, so do whatever you think is best and you like.

[nikibee.livejournal.com]

Having read other comments, I'd say that I tend to go by pairing (although there aren't any pairings I DON'T read, it's just nice to know what's coming up), length, and short summary/genre (this could even be a few words - "high school AU" or "The boys on the bus" or "epic Lance/Justin" are good for me - just something so I have a general idea of what the story will be.)

[sidra]

On an individual's journal I don't care as much about labels, because I probably wouldn't have friended them if I didn't like their fics. If they're into a number of different fandoms, it helps to know which one, though, because I might not open a fic if I don't know the canon at all.

In a community, however, I like labels, because I'm not as likely to read everything, and the header, including pairings and warnings help me decide if I want to risk an unknown author.

On a website, I prefer chronological to by pairings. But I'm not an OTP kind of person, and many people are.

And you can surprise me with Kevin any time! :)

[pensnest]

I don't usually open stories in fandoms I'm not into, either, so yes, a note about which fandom is useful, when the author is into several.

When you say chronological, do you mean in order of writing (so that you can have some idea where the stories fit in terms of canon-so-far) or in the chronology of the boys' lives?

Personally, I think unexpected Kevin is kinda fun. ;-)

[zillahseye.livejournal.com]

I'm always pissed when someone doesn't label deathfic, or het. That doesn't mean my eyes'll fall out, I just get really pissed. *grin*

[pensnest]

Funnily enough, a 'death!' warning on a story can mean it gets taken seriously, if the author wants to make sure the readers believe the jeopardy is *real*. But I dare say most fannish deathfic does not involve action-adventure...

But yes, I think it's good to be advised of these things!

[glendaglamazon.livejournal.com]

I've always kind of loved that Popslash doesn't, for the most part, rate or header our stories. I want a warning for character death or non-con (not that I necessarily won't know, but I like to be aware that I'm getting myself into that), but beyond that, I don't really like headers. I find, when I'm reading in fandoms that use headers (SPN, HP), I only read NC-17, and often only kinks that I like, since they so often spell out every act that takes place. I know I miss a lot of good fic that way, but I can't help it. In pop, I just read things by authors I liked, or based on the story type.

[glendaglamazon.livejournal.com]

Oh, der. I do read by pairing, absolutely. But I don't even really think of that as warning info. I don't care if one of the guys was with someone else before or after or whatever. I think pairing labeling is good, and death or non-con labeling. Other than that, it's all good. *g*

[withdiamonds.livejournal.com]

I tend to roll my eyes at people who require warnings and labels, and especially, ratings. The only concession I would make is to label deathfic, if I ever wrote it. I label pairings on my website, just so people can find what they're looking for, though.

When I read, I like pairings and summaries, (which I myself suck at writing) not to avoid things, (because I have very few squicks, and there's not much that's going to scar me if I catch a glimpse of it, even if it's not my cuppa), but to find stuff that looks interesting.

One of the things I love about popslash is that most of the time, people don't get worked up about that stuff. There's not a lot that annoys me more than a header with all sorts of info in it. That's just so rigid.

[pensnest]

Exactly and absolutely so! Good. Yes, the summaries part is another interesting question - how to write something brief yet tantalising, something that will entice a new reader and remind a repeat reader which story this is, and yet not give away anything crucial... argh.

And we popslashers are a good crowd. Really, when we have a culture in which a lava lamp has (almost) acquired character status, little things like the exact nature of the sex, or details of any and all background pairings, will not worry us!

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

I'm like the majority of commenters - the only thing I really want is pairing and a summary that indicates what kind of story it is. I do however also appreciate word count/indication of story length and a warning for death fic.

I'm a bit nonplussed about wanting warnings for incest - if pairing is given isn't that a bit unnecessary?

I think a lot of the furor about labeling could be avoided if people learned to put proper summaries on their stories. Okey, I know a lot of people say the suck at writing summaries, but why not ask your betas for help in that case? Also, all summaries don't have to look the same - I think different kinds of stories demands different kinds of summaries. Sometimes something synopsis-like is most appropriate, sometimes it's better to talk about the mood of the story.

[pensnest]

Word count is coming up often enough for me to think that'd be a good thing to add - indeed, I quite appreciate an indication of story length, myself, as if it is a Mighty Epic with thirty-four 10,000 word chapters I'll... probably pass. (With a few rare and sacred exceptions.)

Yes. Summaries are good. They are, or ought to be, far better indicators of whether or not I want to read this story than anything else, really. I was thinking of asking people to look over my summaries - but given the *quantity* of them, it's a bit much to ask! I shall apply Thought to them instead.

[patchworkdragon.livejournal.com]

I get a little tired of the mandatory pairing label, unlike most of the people who commented here. Some stories lose a lot of tension when you know who's going to end up together. And then some people tag every possible pairing, even if someone has a passing sexy thought about someone else.

I wish more people with multiple fandoms would tag by fandom, I can't keep track of everything each person is into and I get confused easily :)

About the only thing I can't stand if there's no warning is death and non-con. I appreciate a label like "crack" or "au" but I'm perfectly capable if hitting the back button if I don't like a story, so it's not required. I've never refused to click a story because of lack of labeling. I can remember screaming that a death fic should have been labeled as such, causing my husband to be concerned for my sanity.

[patchworkdragon.livejournal.com]

oh, I forgot: there must always be a label for WIP. I hate getting to the end and seeing "to be continued" unexpectedly.

[nopseud]

I'm not really bothered about pairings. I like summaries, especially if it's a writer where I'm going to save their whole webpage and I'll want to find things again later. And I like to be able to pick out the porn and avoid the angst.

If there isn't a summary, then I'll just scroll down to the end of the story and look to see if it seems like the kind of thing I want to read or not. Often, I'll do that anyway, and read a few points a random on the way down if it's a long story, to see what's what. I don't read WIPs, because it's really hard to read the end of a story which hasn't been written yet :-)

But I don't read anything like 100% of the stories posted, so an interesting-sounding summary definitely helps in getting me to look in the first place. Otherwise, I'll generally read or not by who wrote it.

On my webpage, I stick all my pairings and warning on a separate page, so that people can look or not as they like. I guess the ultimate would be to have an 'index generator' where people can specify what stories and info they want to appear in their own personalised version of the index ('All Chris pairings' 'All JC pairings' 'No Joey Pairings' 'Explicit only' 'Pairings Listed' 'Full Summary' click).

[pensnest]

It's a cool idea to put all pairings and warnings on a separate page, so people can seek them out or not as they choose. I've just poked around at my Alt Index, though for the present, notice of porn is no longer present - mainly because I'm never really sure how to categorise it. I mean, there's sex and sex, there's 'this is what they're doing but not in detail' and there's 'this goes here and that goes there'. Oh well.

[rikes]

I think posting on LJ and putting a story on your website are a bit different. On LJ I need little or no information about the story, but when I go to somebody's website I'm usually looking for a particular story and that's when the pairings can help.

brighton_girl insisted on people writing summaries for their JuC swap stories, which has been pretty useful I think. But few authors do that on their own sites.

In either case I find ratings completely unnecessary. And background pairings, too. There could be a loooong list of them, and sometimes it's much more fun to figure out yourself what the other characters are doing somewhere.

[pensnest]

Summaries are definitely the most useful information that can be supplied - I suppose people don't always provide them because it's a surprisingly difficult art. But I don't usually care if a story is mild and fluffy, dark and kinky, purest gen or slashiest slash, so long as it sounds entertaining, so - summaries!

[ephemera-pop.livejournal.com]

*reads comments with interest*

When I'm posting to my LJ, people get a title, most of the time a pairing or main character, and the first para.

When I'm posting to a community, I either use their format (and grind my teath about the 'ratings' line) or go with title, pairing, and either a snippet or a blurb - possibly I should be adding a length indicator.

I'd *love* to have a blurb, even a one liner, for each story on my index page, becuase that's awsome and tempting for a reader, but I doubt I'll ever be that organised seeing as I hate writing blurbs ...

I organise that by pairings because that just seemed easy. If I had some sort of magic database at my fingertip, I'd index by characters, and let people search for character x and chatracter y to find pairings, or just 'character x' etc etc.

I quite NoPseud's method of saying 'you might want to check the warnings for this one *link*' because I mostly *don't* want to check for warnings (the warning I'dd care about it 'this is badly written melodrmatic crap ion which people with names like the names of the people you care about act like badly programmed robots', but, funilly enough, I've never seen that warning).

I don't do warnings, but feel faintly guilty about it. If I had good blurbs, or could pick extracts for the index page I wouldn't feel guilty as that should give readers a good idea if they're getting into something ouchy or not.

(and I do forgive you for the plushy thing. Really.)

[pensnest]

Hee - I was browsing through past metafandom posts and discovered a list of 'The Ten Warnings I *do* want to see on stories', which incorporated such things as "I've never watched this show". Yes, indeed. I think summaries can serve as such warnings, quite often - anything with mis-spelled character names, or 'plz r&r', for instance, I will skip.

It would be cool to have a 'search for character(s) here' option, wouldn't it! In replying to turps33's recent questions, I realised that when I'm reading a previously undiscovered page (sadly rare, these days) I do look for my favourite pairing first, then all stories featuring Lance. But, in fact, those newly discovered pages have usually remained obscure for a reason - if I were to discover, say, a Torch or a Merry website, I'd probably just read the lot from top to bottom, because they'd all be good.

(hee. good)

[ninjetti75.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.

As in most things, I'm generally of two minds here.

I don't find labeling to be "necessary"... ..but I must admit I do find it convenient. Basically, for me, I like to have some idea of what a story is about, more or less to see if said story is something I think I would enjoy reading and thus be worth my time. I have to say, I =DO= find it annoying when a site has a bunch of titles, and no other information. Unless I'm REALLY bored and looking to kill lots of time, I'll surf elsewhere. But on the other hand, I certainly don't expect or require a clear format of pairing, rating, genre, category, sub-category, warning, disclaimer, author's notes, and whatever else can be come up with. I just want some sort of info to base a decision on. Ratings are often convenient for that, because if you're looking for PWP or smut, skipping over anything that's not R/NC-17/adult is easy. Same thing with pairings; if you're looking for your OTP, a label is your friend. But I don't think such is needed, just a one line description of the story, "___ is feeling ____" or whatever is enough to let one decide if that's the story one feels like reading at that particular time, right?

[pensnest]

I like the distinction you draw between 'necessary' and 'convenient', because I think that's how it works for me. If I come across a site which has no labels, I'll try a couple of stories at random. These days, any popslash collections I haven't already come across are likely to be, um, not that good, and usually also JuC, so I don't spend vast amounts of time with them. But I'd go for the Lance stories first, given the labels.

Summaries are best, if they can give a reasonable hint as to what kind of story it may be. It's just hard to assess whether you've hit the right balance between intriguing and informative...

Perhaps we should all write summaries/blurbs for one another's stories?

[firefly-124.livejournal.com]

What I've done for my current WIP in my LJ is post minimal headers with a link to more extensive spoilery headers for those who really want them. Why? Because among other things it's a crossover, but it takes several chapters before I reveal *what* it's crossed with, and I think it's much more fun not to know ... but some people just don't want that much ambiguity going in, so they can go read the more spoilery headers if they really must.

As a reader, I like to know the rock bottom basics. You know, the stuff I could find when looking for a video: main characters/actors, basic genre, and rating. That way I can choose what I'm in the mood for. But if they're not there, well, then if I decide I don't like it, I'll stop reading, that's all. And unlike the video rental, I haven't actually paid money for it. Like the Angel/Xander mpreg I stumbled across last week. ::shudders:: I just surfed on to something else once I realized what I'd gotten myself into.

I actually hate when authors tell me too much up front. Don't warn me for character death, especially! You don't get that in the bookstore or the video store, because generally it spoils the whole thing. If I know *someone* is going to die, I'll spend half the time trying to figure out who instead of just enjoying the ride, and I hate that.

On the other hand, since we use NC-17 for absolutely everything that involves any kind of explicit sex, even the most vanilla, and there are no ratings (other than X or XXX which nobody seems to use) for super-kinky or likely-squicky stuff, I do appreciate basic warnings for that. For more specific warnings, though, I'd kind of prefer it if authors made a general "could be squicky" warning which I could, if I chose, click to find out more if I really needed to, or could just choose not to be spoiled and take my chances.

[pensnest]

Unusual not to require a warning for deathfic, but I do take your point - if it's a logical outcome to the story, I don't have a problem with it myself. It's not as though the characters cannot be alive again for the next story. And the kind of story which *is* the tragic lingering death of the main character is usually pretty obvious from early on. It's kinda nice not to know which pairing is coming up, too, occasionally...

I hate having to put ratings for sex... don't do it on my website, where I just have a general 'there may be SEX here' type warning; n or here, but I have to try to figure out ratings for fanfic100, which is difficult.

I'm someone who stays firmly within popslash when I'm producing stories, so I'm fairly confident my readers will be happy with, well, whatever turns up, and not worry about labels for kink. Not that I produce kink, except (perhaps) the lava lamp stuff. Ahem. In fact, I suspect that the need for labels is far greater for people who are more mobile across fandoms - I know what gives in my little corner of fandom, but if I were surfing farther, maybe I'd want more information before starting on a story.

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

*here from metafandom*

Personally, unless I'm already familiar with an author's work or am desperate to read something, anything in a fandom (in small fandoms, or during those first few days of manic new fandom glee), I'll almost always pass over an unlabelled fic in favor of one that's got some kind of content desciption (label, summary, warnings, etc.).

There are a few authors I known that I'll read even when they're not writing the characters or kinds of stories I prefer, but most of the time I'm not likely to read a fic solely on the strength of its title. It could be a brilliant fic I'd mourn missing, but just as likely to be something I'm not interested in, and without the equivalent of book-jacket information, I've got no way to tell.

Of course, that's when I'm reading on communities or archives. When you post fic to your own journal, it's going to be viewed mostly by your flist (unless it's recced somewhere), who all already know what your writing is like. I have to admit, I don't always put sufficient labels on fic I post to my own lj either (generally through laziness--I do make sure to label them before they go on websites, communities, or my fic index post).

[pensnest]

I only got into LiveJournal as a result of being lured into popslash, but I have an idea that the popslash fandom tends to work via personal journals a lot more than communities, when it comes to posting fic, and that most fandoms are balanced differently. Perhaps that gives us a habit of not worrying about precision labelling... because, as you say, those on the flist already have a fair idea what to expect.

I'm inclined to think that a well-done summary trumps everything else, though of course producing a good summary is an art in itself.

[sola-fiamma.livejournal.com]

For me, a pairing label is all that's necessary. I love blurbs, especially the amusing ones that don't really give you any idea what a story's about, but they're AMUSING, and AMUSING=OMGYAY!

It would also make me giddy with delight if people would label for egregiously horrible grammar, non-existent punctuation and flagrant mis-characterization, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

[pensnest]

Hee, yes. I think I mentioned upthread seeing a post, I *think* from about a year ago, talking about those *really* necessary labels, like "I never watched the show". Ah, if only! Not that it usually takes long to figure out what the label should have been, but the eyballs can be scarred in the exploration. :-(

[embroiderama]

Here via metafandom. Aside from the major death/rape/etc labels that most people agree on, the label I find most useful is wordcount. I really, really, like to know whether a story is 1000 words or 5000 words or 20,000 words because I might have the time or the will or the attention span *g* to read a shorter story but not a longer one, at any particular moment. I'm definitely more likely to take a pass on reading stories that don't have wordcount labeled.

[pensnest]

This is something that didn't occur to me for a long time, but it's absolutely true - sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to dive into a long story, but I'm happy to sample something shortish. I've just added length categorisation to my own stuff (the popslash, anyway).

My thoughts on warnings/labels/categorizations

[klangley56.livejournal.com]

are summed up here, in an essay I posted to Fanfic Symposium a few years back. http://www.trickster.org/symposium/symp130.html

Re: My thoughts on warnings/labels/categorizations

[pensnest]

An excellent article, thanks for the link. And I most heartily second your final paragraph!

here via metafandom

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I need some information. I'm not sure there is any author whom I would read absolutely everything by. But what I need is pretty basic.

Fandom: Some people love reading fic for fandoms they don't know, but I really don't (though I do so occasionally). Usually it just leaves me confused. I have no idea who these people are, what they're doing, etc. I can't properly enjoy the story like that.

Summary: I need to know what the story is about to determine whether it sounds interesting to me. A list of kinks or a rating or a pairing will not tell me that. Sometimes a quote from the story will intrigue me enough to click if there's no summary, but really. I don't just pick random books off the shelf to read, so I'm certainly not going to do so with fanfic.

Word count is nice. I bookmark everything to read with a note as to the length so that I can choose a short fic if that's all I have time for, etc. but it's not anything that will determine whether I click or not.

I really, really hate warnings of any sort, listing of kinks, etc. I hate this idea that we should all be completely spoiled before we even start reading the story...

Re: here via metafandom

[indywind]

I'll just second all that, as kyuuketsukirui has just said basically all that I would say anyway.

And to those who bemoan "hating" or being "no good" at writing summaries or picking quotes... hey, it's a part of the craft too: it's useful if you want to please those readers who like it, it's going to feel awkward til you've practiced, and your beta can help.

[rachel-martin64.livejournal.com]

I think you are unusual if you regularly open unlabeled stories.

Most potential readers just sail right past an unlabeled story. That has been my observation.

If you are writing only for people on your friends list, then sure, no problem. Presumably a person can count on her buddies to read her stories no matter what. But if you are searching for a wider audience, people who have no clue who you are, what you like and what you write about, then a label is a good strategy.

I have seen a lot of unlabeled stories posted to large (2,000 members +) mailing lists and newsletters. I think a lot of writers hope that if they don't label their stories, readers will somehow be so overwhelmed with curiosity that they will click the link. I doubt this is the case. I don't think this is smart marketing. A BNF can get away with it; regular fan writers can't.

I think another reason authors don't label stories is the hope that maybe they can persuade people to read about pairings they don't care for, characters they don't care about, slash when they like gen, gen when they like slash, romance when they like adventure, etc. My observation -- doesn't work. You can't trick people into reading what they don't care to read.

You don't get more readers by failing to label. You get fewer. That has been my observation.

Yes, if you honestly label your story as, say, "Dean/Jo," you are not going to get the readers who dislike het, Dean or Jo. But you will get your readers, your audience.

A label is your own back-cover blurb.

[pensnest]

Thinking about it, I do give basic information when I post to our 'announcement' community. But popslash doesn't really work via story communities, except for specific challenges, and we've only had a newsletter for fourteen weeks, so it's a slightly different playground to the way most other fandoms seem to work on LJ.

If I were in a brand-new fandom, I'd probably read everything, in order to find out what I liked. (When I got into popslash - very late! - I read everything I could find, though I did start out being directed by someone cunning and savvy enough to point me at the great stuff.) By contrast, when I dip a cautious toe into SGA fic, I pre-select by pairing, but I also follow rec lists otherwise I'd get lost. If I wander around loose in SGA, I do want labels, simply because there are *so* many stories and I sorta edged in via a particular pairing anyway. Size matters?

I've actually gone for two Index pages on my own website, and one of my respondents above has made the warnings/labellings optional by a different method on her website - thus we attempt to satisfy everyone. But I do like the idea of being able to read without any expectation other than 'something enjoyable', hence the label-free option.

[cardalia.livejournal.com]

You may be bored to death of the subject already, but when I saw your name at metafandom, I just had to come and see what I'd missed. ;) In general, I agree with what a lot of people have already said. A good summary is the key and pairing/length/other information are good to know especially in a larger fandom or with an unfamiliar writer, but not absolutely necessary.

Talking about your site in particular, I like that you've divided the stories by the year they were written and that you tell when they're written for a particular challenge. That way I can for instance go looking for more dragon challenge fic if the mood strikes. I like the alternative index too, since you've written quite a lot and that can make it easier to navigate. On WIPs such as Chronicles... I like to see when the story was last updated. When it's you I know you're still writing more parts but with unfamiliar writers it's a pain to get into a WIP and then realise later that it's been dead since 2002. I may choose to read dead WIPs anyway, but I want to know what I'm getting into.

Ok, that may have veered off topic. But it's been interesting reading everyone's thoughts!

[pensnest]

Good thought about update info on the Chronicles, I shall have to put that in. I do mention 'last updated' on my home page and my 'intro to my fanfic' page, but for anyone who has just bookmarked the index, that information would be missing.

I like the chronological-by-date-written aspect myself, because I can remind myself that stories which may have been well and truly Jossed by subsequent reality seemed perfectly valid at the time!

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

Here via metafandom.

Personally I like to know the:

Fandom.
Pairing
Genre (slash, het, gen)
And any really 'heavy' warnings, death, BDSM, partner rape, etc. That's pretty much the minimum I want to see.

As far as the kind of labelling I do, and also have as headers for the various Comms I own is as follows:

TITLE:
AUTHOR:
PAIRING:
GENRE: Slash. Het or Gen.
SUB-GENRE: Established Relationship. First time. Hurt/Comfort. Humour. Angst. Team fic that kind of thing.
SUMMARY:
SPOILERS:
WARNINGS: Major character death. Partner rape. Partner betrayal, that kind of thing.
DISCLAIMER:

To this, I personally, tend to add Word Count, Rating (purely because whatever I'm writing I'll be writing for a fiction challenge and although I don't care about ratings and don't get them, they are too varied, most (if not all) fanfic challenges insist on them, and if I label the story with a rating when posting it to a fandom specific Comm, then it's easier for me to transfer when I come to post the link to the relevant Comm. And to that end I also add what the Challenge is and the Prompt, again for the same reason.

But bear minimum for reading is Fandom, Pairing, Genre, Warning for major stuff. And I know that some folk might say that if a pairing is indicated then the genre is unnecessary. However, more and more I'm seeing the / being used to indicate a Gen story.

If a story doesn't have a pairing and genre, then unless I happen to know the author only writes a particular pairing and I know I can trust them, I wouldn't read it.

[pensnest]

Being in popslash frees me from the need for the slash/het/gen warnings, though occasionally we do go for incest... Also, no spoilers are involved, because of the nature of our canon. I wouldn't, myself, care a bit if there were no 'Sub-genre' label, as I should be able to figure it out from the writing.

I wonder if it depends on how much fresh fic is available in the fandoms a person wants to read. Within popslash, now, there's a compassable limit to the number of new stories, and it is possible to run out, whereas something like SGA is vast and busy, and it's possible to be a lot more picky. If a fan reads in more than one fandom, the same applies.