How can I make a useful rec list?
I have a good number of fics I'd like to rec ( here's what I've recced so far) and I'd like to make my recs as useful to people as possible.
Whatever level of detail you feel like answering is appreciated. I apologize for the lack of ticky boxes, but I really hate advertisements and thus only have a basic account.
The big question: What makes a good rec list?
Presentation: LJ versus delicious versus GoogleDocs
I've been making posts on LJ so far, are those useful to people? I like that for the ease of commenting, and also for my ability to talk about the recs, but I know a lot of people have delicious recs... Would a delicious account be easier for people to use? I do like the sound of many tags (because in my mind the fics are categorised by many things and it is nice to be able to sort them that way) but I am rather intimidated by the thought of importing my very long list of bookmarks into delicious. I have zero plans to make my own website, so I shan't make a recs page on that, although if people prefer recs all on one page (or even one page per fandom) I could make an open GoogleDocs with the recs on it.
Thematic lists, yes/no?
I've sort of been reccing things based off of categories and I have several more themed lists in mind. Are these sorts of lists useful for people? Or would folks prefer rec list that are not thematically linked? I'll definitely do the occasional lack-of-theme rec list simply because there are lovely fics that don't fall into a nice category. (Previously done recs: Fics which would make good podfics, Fics to make you cry, Fics that make me happy and fuzzy. In the works or otherwise planned: Happy fuzzy recs part 2 (multifandom), Bait & Switch (multifandom), sentient!Atlantis(or other inanimate objects) (SGA), Mills & Boon/Harlequin, Rewriting of Harry Potter Year 7 (and possibly earlier).)
Reviewer's Notes/Summary/Review
Are plot summaries good or bad? What about reviews? If reviews/critiques are good, what length-- a few sentences? a paragraph? longer? Especially with the happy fuzzy rec list, I included details of why I liked the story or what stuck with me or other random details. Does that add anything or am I just babbling to myself when I write that?
Details of the listing
I include story link, author, fandom, pairing, rating, author's warnings (if any), author's summary, my own 'notes' on the story, and links to podfics and DVD commentaries. Is this too much detail? Is there something else I should be including? Also, how's the actual formatting of the entry?