Calling for more panel moderators!
The panel votes are tallied and the schedule is coming together, but we are still looking for a few more people to join our cohort of nearly forty panel moderators. We have two popular panels with no moderators at all and nine with only one moderator who'd like to work with a co-mod or two.
At CON.TXT, a panel moderator leads (or co-leads) a discussion among the attendees. Generally mods prepare leading questions to keep the conversation moving; some panels include a lengthier presentation by the moderator. We can work with you ahead of the con if you'd like some guidance and there will be optional moderator training the first morning of the con.
Interested? Email us through the website. to volunteer as a moderator.
The following two panels currently have no moderators, so if you take them on you're welcome to update the descriptions to your satisfaction -- but remember that they were voted in based on the current descriptions, so you might want to keep that in mind.
The Spies We Love (Multi-fandom)
A panel for classic, new, and rebooted spy fandoms. Come talk about Agent Carter, Bond, Kingsman, Person of Interest, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, Archer, The Americans, Turn, and others. What do we love, who do we ship, what should we be watching, what do we want more of, and what do we never want to see again?ETA:
Everything Doctor Who (Single Fandom)
Featuring past companions in Doctor Who and who should be the new companion. And can we get a female Doctor or Doctor of Color (DOC)?
The following panels have one moderator already, so if you join them you can decide amongst yourselves whether anything should be updated. We'll put you in touch if you're not familiar with each other already.
Is It Different for Girls? (Meta)
Current mod: zvi
Looking for: Anyone
Many popular tropes from m/m fic (mpreg, ABO, bdsm-verse, Rule 63) are plays on sex, gender, and power. How do they play out differently in femslash?
Sufficiently Advanced Pornography (Is Indistiguishable From Magic) (Meta)
Current mod: zvi
Looking for: Anyone
We read and write a lot of sex set in science fiction or fantasy settings, and yet a lot of it still uses the same old sexual positions and sex toys. Let's go beyond convenient nanoprophylactics and lube spells and talk about how everything from antigravity to magic wands to the Force can be brought into the bedroom as well as the plot.
Be an AO3 Power User (How-to)
Current mod: melannen
Looking for: Anyone
How do you tag on AO3? How do you filter results? How do you run an exchange, or use collections, or bookmarks? What are the best ways to get help or offer suggestions? How do things work behind the scenes? How do AO3's technical limitations affect the Archive's features? Tips, tricks, toys, links, and so on.
Celebrating Femslash: The Continuing Saga (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: Lily (enviropony)
Looking for: Anyone
Canon f/f pairings have really taken off. Is fandom keeping up? Or is "Oh femslash, where art thou?" still your first thought every morning? Share your favorite pairings and fics, and tells us why you love them so! Share the love, the passion, the lust, the cuddles, the hate-sex. Share the bonding, the pain, the struggle, the partnership, the against-all-odds, soul-searing awesomeness of it all. Let's talk canon, fanon, characterization, style, tropes. No topic is off limits, no fandom too small. Show us yours, and we'll show you ours! ;-)
All I Wanna Be Is Someone Who Gets to See a Giant Woman (Single Fandom)
Current mod: Holli
Looking for: Anyone
So why do the people of this world believe in Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (and Steven)? How do the underlying themes of decency and growing up support the overarching plot of intergalactic war?
Due South Revival Hour (Single Fandom)
Current mod: Aimee Fleck/brofisting
Looking for: Someone who was in Due South when it was airing
Who wants to get together and reminisce about our favorite episodes, scenes, and fanworks, share recs for old favorites, and tips for new ones?? Anyone watched the show recently and want to talk about how it holds up? Anyone keeping up with Paul Gross and CKR's careers? Let's chat!
Harry Potter: After All This Time? Always. (Single Fandom)
Current mod: cinco
Looking for: Anyone
Harry Potter: forever girl of fandom, little black dress, persistent happy place. Many of us still love Harry Potter after all this time! What about this fandom keeps us coming back? Why is there never enough worldbuilding, 8th year, lost-the-war, and one billion other HP-specific trope fic? Even Astolat's still shipping Harry and Draco. Let's discuss all those stories we always wanted and never got, and rec the stories that we've joyfully found!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Stormpilot FTW! (Single Fandom)
Current mod: ktnb
Looking for: Anyone
Let's have a Poe/Finn lovefest and celebrate all the things that made their chemistry so delicious! And if we are so moved: bonus discussion of the hot, adorkable weirdos named Oscar Isaac and John Boyega!
ETA: Two more!
Your Ship Is Not My Ship, Your Kink Is Not My Kink, and That’s Okay. Really. (Multi Fandom)
Current Mod: DJ
Looking For: Anyone
Many of us have felt the need to defend our ships or our fandom kinks or reacted to those of others with “I could NEVER like THAT!" How I learned to never say never, stop cringing and going “EWWW,” and leveraged writers and artists I liked to discover new likes and interests in fandom.
I'm on Team Everybody Being Friends: Avengers Fandom Post-Civil War. (Single Fandom)
Current Mod: Fairestcat
Looking For: Anyone
Let's take stock of Avengers fandom post Captain America: Civil War. What's up with all our favorite characters? Where's the great fic and meta and fanart? This panel is for fans of all characters and pairings to squee, flail, cry, or otherwise emote together.
ETA:
Pick a Trope (How-to)
Current mod: DJ
Looking for: anyone
What are some of your favorite tropes in fanfic? Least favorites? Why do certain tropes work (or not work)? We will list tropes in different fandoms and discuss.
Book Fandoms (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: ambyr
Looking for: anyone
You've read the book, now see the movie...Wait, there is no movie. How do we handle fandoms with no visual source? How important is it that fanfiction match the writing voice to the canon? How do you find references and inspiration for fanart for an all-text canon? How do you promote your canon when you can't fall back on "they're pretty!"? And what do you do when there suddenly is a movie or TV show, and its fandom dwarfs that of the original work?
Small Fandom Speed Dating (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: Sanj
Looking for: anyone
Small Fandom Speed Dating is back! Looking for a Yuletide fling? Tired of being a fandom of one? Come play the fandom dating game, where we set fans up with the fandoms of their dreams.
Marvel MCU Women or; Why Hasn't Black Widow Gotten a Movie Yet? (Single Fandom)
Discussion about Black Widow, who should play Captain Marvel (or who has been cast as Captain Marvel), and can we get Monica Rambeau or Kamala Khan in a movie? Mods acquired! Thanks!
Death, Where Is Thy Sting? (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: cmshaw
Looking for: Anyone
When your canon has a revolving death door and the afterlife is more like a brief spa retreat, how do TPTB keep the stakes up? What can make us care about danger to our beloved characters? Which fandoms tug at YOUR heartstrings anyway, and why? Mods acquired! Thanks!
At CON.TXT, a panel moderator leads (or co-leads) a discussion among the attendees. Generally mods prepare leading questions to keep the conversation moving; some panels include a lengthier presentation by the moderator. We can work with you ahead of the con if you'd like some guidance and there will be optional moderator training the first morning of the con.
Interested? Email us through the website. to volunteer as a moderator.
The following two panels currently have no moderators, so if you take them on you're welcome to update the descriptions to your satisfaction -- but remember that they were voted in based on the current descriptions, so you might want to keep that in mind.
The Spies We Love (Multi-fandom)
A panel for classic, new, and rebooted spy fandoms. Come talk about Agent Carter, Bond, Kingsman, Person of Interest, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, Archer, The Americans, Turn, and others. What do we love, who do we ship, what should we be watching, what do we want more of, and what do we never want to see again?ETA:
Everything Doctor Who (Single Fandom)
Featuring past companions in Doctor Who and who should be the new companion. And can we get a female Doctor or Doctor of Color (DOC)?
The following panels have one moderator already, so if you join them you can decide amongst yourselves whether anything should be updated. We'll put you in touch if you're not familiar with each other already.
Is It Different for Girls? (Meta)
Current mod: zvi
Looking for: Anyone
Many popular tropes from m/m fic (mpreg, ABO, bdsm-verse, Rule 63) are plays on sex, gender, and power. How do they play out differently in femslash?
Sufficiently Advanced Pornography (Is Indistiguishable From Magic) (Meta)
Current mod: zvi
Looking for: Anyone
We read and write a lot of sex set in science fiction or fantasy settings, and yet a lot of it still uses the same old sexual positions and sex toys. Let's go beyond convenient nanoprophylactics and lube spells and talk about how everything from antigravity to magic wands to the Force can be brought into the bedroom as well as the plot.
Be an AO3 Power User (How-to)
Current mod: melannen
Looking for: Anyone
How do you tag on AO3? How do you filter results? How do you run an exchange, or use collections, or bookmarks? What are the best ways to get help or offer suggestions? How do things work behind the scenes? How do AO3's technical limitations affect the Archive's features? Tips, tricks, toys, links, and so on.
Celebrating Femslash: The Continuing Saga (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: Lily (enviropony)
Looking for: Anyone
Canon f/f pairings have really taken off. Is fandom keeping up? Or is "Oh femslash, where art thou?" still your first thought every morning? Share your favorite pairings and fics, and tells us why you love them so! Share the love, the passion, the lust, the cuddles, the hate-sex. Share the bonding, the pain, the struggle, the partnership, the against-all-odds, soul-searing awesomeness of it all. Let's talk canon, fanon, characterization, style, tropes. No topic is off limits, no fandom too small. Show us yours, and we'll show you ours! ;-)
All I Wanna Be Is Someone Who Gets to See a Giant Woman (Single Fandom)
Current mod: Holli
Looking for: Anyone
So why do the people of this world believe in Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (and Steven)? How do the underlying themes of decency and growing up support the overarching plot of intergalactic war?
Due South Revival Hour (Single Fandom)
Current mod: Aimee Fleck/brofisting
Looking for: Someone who was in Due South when it was airing
Who wants to get together and reminisce about our favorite episodes, scenes, and fanworks, share recs for old favorites, and tips for new ones?? Anyone watched the show recently and want to talk about how it holds up? Anyone keeping up with Paul Gross and CKR's careers? Let's chat!
Harry Potter: After All This Time? Always. (Single Fandom)
Current mod: cinco
Looking for: Anyone
Harry Potter: forever girl of fandom, little black dress, persistent happy place. Many of us still love Harry Potter after all this time! What about this fandom keeps us coming back? Why is there never enough worldbuilding, 8th year, lost-the-war, and one billion other HP-specific trope fic? Even Astolat's still shipping Harry and Draco. Let's discuss all those stories we always wanted and never got, and rec the stories that we've joyfully found!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Stormpilot FTW! (Single Fandom)
Current mod: ktnb
Looking for: Anyone
Let's have a Poe/Finn lovefest and celebrate all the things that made their chemistry so delicious! And if we are so moved: bonus discussion of the hot, adorkable weirdos named Oscar Isaac and John Boyega!
ETA: Two more!
Your Ship Is Not My Ship, Your Kink Is Not My Kink, and That’s Okay. Really. (Multi Fandom)
Current Mod: DJ
Looking For: Anyone
Many of us have felt the need to defend our ships or our fandom kinks or reacted to those of others with “I could NEVER like THAT!" How I learned to never say never, stop cringing and going “EWWW,” and leveraged writers and artists I liked to discover new likes and interests in fandom.
I'm on Team Everybody Being Friends: Avengers Fandom Post-Civil War. (Single Fandom)
Current Mod: Fairestcat
Looking For: Anyone
Let's take stock of Avengers fandom post Captain America: Civil War. What's up with all our favorite characters? Where's the great fic and meta and fanart? This panel is for fans of all characters and pairings to squee, flail, cry, or otherwise emote together.
ETA:
Pick a Trope (How-to)
Current mod: DJ
Looking for: anyone
What are some of your favorite tropes in fanfic? Least favorites? Why do certain tropes work (or not work)? We will list tropes in different fandoms and discuss.
Book Fandoms (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: ambyr
Looking for: anyone
You've read the book, now see the movie...Wait, there is no movie. How do we handle fandoms with no visual source? How important is it that fanfiction match the writing voice to the canon? How do you find references and inspiration for fanart for an all-text canon? How do you promote your canon when you can't fall back on "they're pretty!"? And what do you do when there suddenly is a movie or TV show, and its fandom dwarfs that of the original work?
Small Fandom Speed Dating (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: Sanj
Looking for: anyone
Small Fandom Speed Dating is back! Looking for a Yuletide fling? Tired of being a fandom of one? Come play the fandom dating game, where we set fans up with the fandoms of their dreams.
Marvel MCU Women or; Why Hasn't Black Widow Gotten a Movie Yet? (Single Fandom)
Discussion about Black Widow, who should play Captain Marvel (or who has been cast as Captain Marvel), and can we get Monica Rambeau or Kamala Khan in a movie? Mods acquired! Thanks!
Death, Where Is Thy Sting? (Multi-fandom)
Current mod: cmshaw
Looking for: Anyone
When your canon has a revolving death door and the afterlife is more like a brief spa retreat, how do TPTB keep the stakes up? What can make us care about danger to our beloved characters? Which fandoms tug at YOUR heartstrings anyway, and why? Mods acquired! Thanks!