(no subject)
Using video to walk through the new Yuletide signup is a good idea. I'm very much less of a fan of the idea of being able to specify in searchable ways exactly what kind of story you're looking for. Like, specifying a character you're looking for is one thing; specifying "It must be this character in this sexual position in these permutations with this mood" is a bit much, you know? That's writing to recipe, and it's not much of a challenge or for that matter much of a surprise. It also tends to match like with like, so that people never have to (or particularly get the opportunity to) explore outside their own existing neighborhoods. And it makes it increasingly possible to choose so narrowly that you'll be matched intentionally, with someone you know and have planned it out with. In a challenge of 2000+ people, it should not be possible to game so narrowly.
(The gaming of the system is one of those things that is everpresent, and galling, and a topic almost completely verboten in official discourse. Of course people have been gaming Yuletide since it was born, and to admit that this is so is to admit that people use Yuletide cynically, to advance their own reputations or to suck up to people they admire. When people complain about "claimjumping," what they're really complaining is about cynical use of the Yuletide structure.)
But you know what, I'm not that obedient a writer, and would not let a reader's desires overwhelm or overrule the integrity of the story we share. Obviously, it's possible -- easy -- to avoid the narrow match, by refusing narrow specifications. But I'm disgruntled that the setup is moving steadily toward giving recipients exactly what they want, rather than providing the opportunity for writer and recipient to go someplace new together.
(It's actually the same beef I have with the freeform tags in AO3 conceptually -- I mean, aside from the ways they muck up the database. A huge number of tags tells you exactly what the story is about, which is fine if you need that, but there doesn't seem to be a way to turn that off if you don't need it or want it. Let me take the risk if I want to! Let me not have to see tags that are cheesy, misspelled, or outright wrong if I want not to see them.)
Between the late start this year, the crashy signup form, my irritation with the setup, and my surety of an infuriating usability experience, I think I'll be sitting out Yuletide for now. I still think it can be a worthwhile challenge, but it's got a lot of cleaning up to do to become functional again, and that's not even addressing the bad management or my disagreement with its developing philosophy. Maybe next year.
This entry was originally posted at http://vehemently.dreamwidth.org/20843.html. Comment wherever you like.
(The gaming of the system is one of those things that is everpresent, and galling, and a topic almost completely verboten in official discourse. Of course people have been gaming Yuletide since it was born, and to admit that this is so is to admit that people use Yuletide cynically, to advance their own reputations or to suck up to people they admire. When people complain about "claimjumping," what they're really complaining is about cynical use of the Yuletide structure.)
But you know what, I'm not that obedient a writer, and would not let a reader's desires overwhelm or overrule the integrity of the story we share. Obviously, it's possible -- easy -- to avoid the narrow match, by refusing narrow specifications. But I'm disgruntled that the setup is moving steadily toward giving recipients exactly what they want, rather than providing the opportunity for writer and recipient to go someplace new together.
(It's actually the same beef I have with the freeform tags in AO3 conceptually -- I mean, aside from the ways they muck up the database. A huge number of tags tells you exactly what the story is about, which is fine if you need that, but there doesn't seem to be a way to turn that off if you don't need it or want it. Let me take the risk if I want to! Let me not have to see tags that are cheesy, misspelled, or outright wrong if I want not to see them.)
Between the late start this year, the crashy signup form, my irritation with the setup, and my surety of an infuriating usability experience, I think I'll be sitting out Yuletide for now. I still think it can be a worthwhile challenge, but it's got a lot of cleaning up to do to become functional again, and that's not even addressing the bad management or my disagreement with its developing philosophy. Maybe next year.
This entry was originally posted at http://vehemently.dreamwidth.org/20843.html. Comment wherever you like.