Upcoming Fandom Nominations
This is not quite the post you're looking for! That will follow almost immediately.
The following may not entirely match with what has been said previously. Since the process is changing, there has been some tinkering as we go along and consider new ideas and information. My apologies if I've given info to you that is contradicted in this post; this is the definitive information, however.
With the new nominations form, you will be able to select or name six fandoms total, in a manner very similar to the sign-up form, if you've used that before. Each slot has a pull-down menu of all the previously nominated fandoms (yes, all 1,991 of them!), which will then automatically load the existing character list after you submit your fandoms. Alternatively, you can enter a brand new fandom, and then enter the characters for that fandom on the follow-up page. Additionally, you can edit and add to existing character lists for the fandoms you submit. Corrections and additions to fandoms other than the ones you submit can be reported once we have the complete list of this year's nominated fandoms.
One of the major changes is that you will not be able to see what other fandoms have been nominated as you go along. Once nominations are closed, we will post the full list of nominated fandoms. What this means is that you need to make sure that fandoms you absolutely want to be able to request are on your personal list of nominations. With six fandoms to nominate, you can cover the minimum three fandoms to request and have three spares.
We understand that this is a big change, but consider that last year, of the nearly 2000 fandoms nominated, and the nearly 450 participants, we ended up with around 900 fandoms requested. That means that the pool for matching had an average of only two unique fandoms per participant, with a great deal of overlap. All we're doing this year is asking you to make your must-have choices a little earlier; you'll still have the opportunity to spread out a little and change your mind once the full list is up.
Another very important thing to note! the fandom nominations process will resemble the sign-up in another way: While you are free to change your mind at any point during the sign-up process, and resubmit your request, it will replace your original request. This is one reason the fandoms won't be available to see as you go along, and it would be risky if they were: the list will continually change as people change their minds.
About obscurity and whether your fandom will survive!
We know that there is discontent with the ways in which Yuletide has determined obscurity in the past; originally, we were trying to find a simple, concrete way to winnow through an unmanageable list, and every year it's become more and more difficult. We're trying to be more flexible about what's considered obscure, and what's not, and even in the past we've tried to come down on allowing fandoms over rejecting them -- hence the listing of nearly 2000 fandoms. We hope that one of the benefits of the new nomination process is making these decisions quicker and less troublesome. In that spirit, we're jettisoning any specific guidelines that have come to be perceived as "rules."
If you honestly think your fandom is obscure and/or dead, go ahead and nominate it. Just be aware that you may lose it in the clean-up, so make sure you have at least some "safe" nominations.
Regarding "dead" fandoms, we've decided to give some leeway to TV shows that have been off the air for at least ten years -- and by leeway, I do not mean they're guaranteed to pass. However, there are fandoms that have existing large archives, but which are no longer active.
Note: "obscure" still will not mean "isn't providing me with the kinds of stories I want" or "isn't being written by the kinds of authors I'd like." We've favored a roughly numeric definition of "not widely known" in the past, really more of a "not widely written." We're actually not too worried if some fandoms that aren't obscure by this "definition" slip through, but we do want you to be honest about the relative obscurity of the fandoms you submit. If it's an active fandom, and has a lot being written, the fact that the people writing aren't your kind of fans, and the stories being written aren't your kinds of stories doesn't translate to "So, really, it's obscure."
As always, the decision of the moderators concerning whether a fandom survives or not is final. Please do not try to argue why your fandom really is obscure; we already spend a great deal of time considering these things.
Participation by Non-Yuletiders
Another issue is that in the past, we've made no distinction about whether or not someone suggesting fandoms is planning on being a Yuletide participant, or not. This year, the nominations process really is intended just for those who expect to be making Yuletide requests. Part of the benefit of the new process is that it should make the lists of what is offered and what is requested more similar, aiding in the matching process; the more non-Yuletiders make suggestions that they aren't going to be offering to fulfill, the more variance in the final lists. This is entirely on the honor system, and we won't be checking, but we ask that non-Yuletiders participate by drumming up support for favorite fandoms in their own LJs or in the brainstorming post.
The following may not entirely match with what has been said previously. Since the process is changing, there has been some tinkering as we go along and consider new ideas and information. My apologies if I've given info to you that is contradicted in this post; this is the definitive information, however.
With the new nominations form, you will be able to select or name six fandoms total, in a manner very similar to the sign-up form, if you've used that before. Each slot has a pull-down menu of all the previously nominated fandoms (yes, all 1,991 of them!), which will then automatically load the existing character list after you submit your fandoms. Alternatively, you can enter a brand new fandom, and then enter the characters for that fandom on the follow-up page. Additionally, you can edit and add to existing character lists for the fandoms you submit. Corrections and additions to fandoms other than the ones you submit can be reported once we have the complete list of this year's nominated fandoms.
One of the major changes is that you will not be able to see what other fandoms have been nominated as you go along. Once nominations are closed, we will post the full list of nominated fandoms. What this means is that you need to make sure that fandoms you absolutely want to be able to request are on your personal list of nominations. With six fandoms to nominate, you can cover the minimum three fandoms to request and have three spares.
We understand that this is a big change, but consider that last year, of the nearly 2000 fandoms nominated, and the nearly 450 participants, we ended up with around 900 fandoms requested. That means that the pool for matching had an average of only two unique fandoms per participant, with a great deal of overlap. All we're doing this year is asking you to make your must-have choices a little earlier; you'll still have the opportunity to spread out a little and change your mind once the full list is up.
Another very important thing to note! the fandom nominations process will resemble the sign-up in another way: While you are free to change your mind at any point during the sign-up process, and resubmit your request, it will replace your original request. This is one reason the fandoms won't be available to see as you go along, and it would be risky if they were: the list will continually change as people change their minds.
About obscurity and whether your fandom will survive!
We know that there is discontent with the ways in which Yuletide has determined obscurity in the past; originally, we were trying to find a simple, concrete way to winnow through an unmanageable list, and every year it's become more and more difficult. We're trying to be more flexible about what's considered obscure, and what's not, and even in the past we've tried to come down on allowing fandoms over rejecting them -- hence the listing of nearly 2000 fandoms. We hope that one of the benefits of the new nomination process is making these decisions quicker and less troublesome. In that spirit, we're jettisoning any specific guidelines that have come to be perceived as "rules."
If you honestly think your fandom is obscure and/or dead, go ahead and nominate it. Just be aware that you may lose it in the clean-up, so make sure you have at least some "safe" nominations.
Regarding "dead" fandoms, we've decided to give some leeway to TV shows that have been off the air for at least ten years -- and by leeway, I do not mean they're guaranteed to pass. However, there are fandoms that have existing large archives, but which are no longer active.
Note: "obscure" still will not mean "isn't providing me with the kinds of stories I want" or "isn't being written by the kinds of authors I'd like." We've favored a roughly numeric definition of "not widely known" in the past, really more of a "not widely written." We're actually not too worried if some fandoms that aren't obscure by this "definition" slip through, but we do want you to be honest about the relative obscurity of the fandoms you submit. If it's an active fandom, and has a lot being written, the fact that the people writing aren't your kind of fans, and the stories being written aren't your kinds of stories doesn't translate to "So, really, it's obscure."
As always, the decision of the moderators concerning whether a fandom survives or not is final. Please do not try to argue why your fandom really is obscure; we already spend a great deal of time considering these things.
Participation by Non-Yuletiders
Another issue is that in the past, we've made no distinction about whether or not someone suggesting fandoms is planning on being a Yuletide participant, or not. This year, the nominations process really is intended just for those who expect to be making Yuletide requests. Part of the benefit of the new process is that it should make the lists of what is offered and what is requested more similar, aiding in the matching process; the more non-Yuletiders make suggestions that they aren't going to be offering to fulfill, the more variance in the final lists. This is entirely on the honor system, and we won't be checking, but we ask that non-Yuletiders participate by drumming up support for favorite fandoms in their own LJs or in the brainstorming post.