Gossamer Project FAQ (7/23/98)
Deirdre
Last Updated July 23, 1998
Part I: Using the Archives
1. What is the Gossamer Project?
2. Who do I contact for different things?
3. Where are the archives?
Part II: Submitting Your Fan Fiction
4. What do I need to know about archiving procedures?
5. How do I label my story?
6. How are the stories rated?
7. How are the stories classified?
8. What keywords should I use?
9. What about spoiler warnings?
10. How do I write the summary?
11. How do I format my story?
12. What if my story is listed incorrectly?
13. What is the Gossamer Help Desk?
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Part I: Using The Archives:
1. What is the Gossamer Project?
The Gossamer Project is a group of specialty archives which, combined,
contain all X-Files fan fiction which authors have given permission to
have archived in general and/or specifically on the Gossamer Project
sites.
Vincent Juodvalkis opened the original Gossamer Archive in the spring of
1995 and the Gossamer Project was born when he announced the closing of
his site in the spring of 1996.
The Gossamer Project has continued to grow, and has diverged from a single
site into several different specialty archives for different types of fan
fiction.
Presently, fan fiction posted to the alt.tv.x-files.creative news group,
XF Fanfic, eXtreme Possibilities, X-Angst and X-Over mailing lists is
*automatically* archived unless the author puts "DO NOT ARCHIVE" within
the first few lines of each and every post.
2. Who do I contact for different things?
Here is a list of permanent e-mail addresses. Please use these for archive
business, since they will route your message to the actual human who is
currently doing each job:
fanfic_...@akamail.com -
To automatically receive a complete listing of all the fanfic
archives on the net.
[Requests go to an auto-responder, not a person]
f...@x-philes.com -
To automatically receive a copy of this FAQ
[Requests go to an auto-responder, not a person]
goss...@x-philes.com -
General archive business
[All Gossamer archivists receive messages to this address.
If you're not sure who to write, you can write here and
the appropriate person will reply]
he...@x-philes.com -
The Gossamer Help Desk (questions)
[The archivist on duty will receive your message]
requ...@x-philes.com -
Requests relating to an already archived story OR a story sent via
the submissions addy.
[Gem or Lisa will respond to your request]
submi...@x-philes.com -
Story submissions
[Lisa will receive your submission]
3. Where are the archives?
COMPLETED STORIES MIRROR SITES:
Gossamer Project - USA
Maintained by Chael Hall
http://gossamer.x-philes.com/
E-mail <local...@x-philes.com>
Gossamer Project - USA
Maintained by Lisa Reeves
http://www.birdfeeder.com/
E-mail <goss...@birdfeeder.com>
Gossamer Project - Germany (www)
Maintained by Deirdre
http://germany.gossamer.org/
E-mail <dei...@x-philes.com>
Gossamer Project - Germany (FTP)
Maintained by Vera Heinau
ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/misc/sf/x-files/creative
E-mail <x-f...@fu-berlin.de>
Gossamer Project FTP - USA
Maintained by Lisa Reeves
ftp://birdfeeder.com/stories
E-mail <goss...@birdfeeder.com>
NEW STORIES ARCHIVE
The Gossamer Project Auxiliary
Maintained by Deirdre
http://www.jovian.net/~gossamer/xfiles/
E-mail <dei...@x-philes.com>
UNFINISHED STORIES AND SERIALS
Gossamer Project Unfinished and Serial Archive
Maintained by Michelle Henderson
http://gossamer.x-philes.com/unfinished/
E-mail <win...@chaos.taylored.com>
POEMS, SONGS, FILKS and NON-FICTION
Gossamer Project Specialty Archive - USA
Maintained by Amy Clayborn
http://www.busprod.com/aclaybor/gossamer/
E-mail <a...@chaos.taylored.com>
COMPREHENSIVE LINKS TO ALL OTHER FANFIC SITES
X-Files Fanfic Links Page
Maintained by Tina M.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/2220/index.html
E-Mail <Ti...@akamail.com>
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Part II: Submitting Your Fan Fiction:
4. What do I need to know about your archiving procedures?
We don't judge the quality of your work, but we do ask you to work with us
to ensure that your formatting is readable. As we try to pick up
information about your story from the header, please include the following
items at the TOP of the story itself in the following format:
Title -
Author -
E-Mail address -
Rating -
Category -
Spoilers -
Keywords -
Summary -
Download statistics show that for most stories, the maximum number of
people will read and respond to your story the first day or so it is
archived. In order to maximize readers and any feedback you may receive,
it is important that your story be rated, classified and formatted
properly. In order to facilitate the maximum number of readers and
responses for you, and if the sumbissions volunteer cannot easily affect a
solution, we will direct your story to the Help Desk should it come
through badly formatted, and that volunteer will try to contact you in
order to see if we can help you to correct whatever may be amiss.
* Why is classification information added to stories?
Classification information is added to make it easier for a reader to find
your fanfiction on the Gossamer sites.
* Where does this classification information -come- from?
Your descriptions provide it. Classifications will be drawn from the
information you provide, either in the listing format suggested elsewhere
in the FAQ, or from your introduction/author's notes.
* How do you determine classifcation information?
Here's an example. ;-) If your intro says "If you're not a shipper, bail
now! Flames will NOT be accepted.", your story will be keyworded MSR, for
Mulder/Scully romance.
If you make reference to Scully's return from her abduction, your story
will have an ep spoiler of One Breath.
If you refer to blue and purple polka-dotted oranguatans..., well, you
won't be keyworded. But we -will- think you're strange. <Ever considered
becoming an archivist?>
* What are spoilers, and who are those people with torches?
Ah, spoilers. The people with the torches are our beloved X-Philes who
don't live in the United States. Or, who do live in the US and are behind
on episodes. They tell us they don't REALLY burn people. Not sure we
believe them, though.
If a reader would not understand the gist of your story without having
viewed an episode or if your story gives away any episode events (in any
season), PLEASE put the episode title in the "spoilers" section. This is
a consideration that is much appreciated by your readers and fans. If you
list more than one episode, only the most recent will be listed.
* What if I don't want some/any classification information
added to my story?
These stories are *yours*. Should you decide for whatever reason that you
do not wish to provide some or all of the classification information, all
you have to do is tell us somewhere at or near the beginning of your
story.
If you don't provide classification information and if you don't stipulate
that you decline to provide same, expect to be contacted by a Gossamer
volunteer who will beg charmingly for you to do so. Give them some
cookies if you can spare any, or a hug or a word of thanks; we can't
afford to pay them :-)
Your choices when contacted by a volunteer are the same as when you first
submit your story, with one delightful exception.
1. You can provide the missing information yourself;
2. You can decline to provide the missing information;
3. You can ask the volunteer to read your story and
provide the missing information for you.
You also may, at any time, request any changes you wish to any
classification information for your stories that may currently reside on
Gossamer.
If your story hasn't shown up by one update after your posting of the last
piece, you can re-send the complete story to Lisa at
<submi...@x-philes.com>. Or feel free to e-mail her at
<requ...@x-philes.com> at any point to check the status of a story.
We can accept e-mails up to half a meg in size and we can also accept .zip
files. Please write a little note to tell us what it is you are doing
(revision, never showed up, missing part, etc.)
If you can't send it like this, then just mail the completed story with an
explanatory note and the submissions volunteer will take the necessary
steps to archive it for you.
PLEASE put "DO NOT ARCHIVE" at the top of *each and every* part of your
story if:
1. You don't want it archived at all;
2. You plan to submit it directly to the archives yourself;
3. It is a repost of a story which is already on the archive.
5. How do I label my story to make sure it gets archived automatically?
There is now a single person who collects the posts and submissions
and forwards them to the correct archive. Please make her job
easier by labeling your posts and submissions like this:
COMPLETED STORIES - If you are posting your story over a
long period of time and wish to have the parts of it archived while
it is being posted, we ask that you label it as an unfinished story
or serial. Finished stories are archived on the completed stories
sites as per the list above.
a) If it's a finished story which can stand alone, please
label it this way:
Trust Me (1/1)
or if this post were the first of four:
Trust Me (1/4)
b) If the story is a sequel to another story, please give the
series a name, use Roman numerals to designate the order in which
they should be read and label it this way:
Trust Me II (1/1)
or if it were the first of five parts:
Trust Me II (1/5)
UNFINISHED STORIES AND SERIALS - If it is necessary to have read another
story in order for your current story to be understood, OR if reading this
story will be necessary to understand subsequent stories, OR if your story
is not completely written yet, it will be archived on the Unfinished
Stories and Serial Archive. When it is done, it will automatically be
compiled and archived on the Completed Stories sites.
Some folks have told us that they have a hard time distinguishing between
unfinished stories and serials and we do too, to be honest. Pick
whichever one you feel is the best choice for your particular story. ;-)
c) If it's an UNFINISHED work, then label it this way:
Trust Me (1/?)
or if it's a sequel
Trust Me II (1/?)
d) A serial is a long story which is posted as a number of
smaller stories or installments, where each small story makes little
or no sense unless one has read the previous stories. If it's a
SERIAL, label the individual stories as chapters, like this:
Trust Me Ch 3 (1/1)
or, if you have to post it in say three parts:
Trust Me Ch 3 (1/3)
6. How are the stories rated?
We use the American movie rating system. Choose from one of
these four ratings:
G Suitable for young children to read.
PG Some curse words, some violence, some sex, but nothing
graphic.
R A lot of bad profanity, graphic sex, graphic gore and/or
explicit violence. Not suitable reading for anyone under
legal age.
NC-17 EXTREMELY graphic violence, gore, and/or sex. Not
suitable reading for anyone under legal age and
some adults! This replaced the old 'X' rating.
7. How are the stories categorized?
Categories tell us on which category page on the archive you would like to
see your story featured. If you choose not to pick a category designation,
the story will show up only on the title/author/date pages and, therefore,
will get less exposure. There is an interactive question-and-answer tool
at:
http://gossamer.x-philes.com/classifications/instructions.htm
which can help you fill in this information, and archivists at
he...@x-philes.com who is ready and waiting to answer questions and lead
you through all of this if you find the following instructions confusing.
* Step 1 - it must fit into *JUST ONE* of these 5 main categories.
C - Crossover - Features MAJOR CHARACTERS from other
shows, movies or books, regardless of what type of story it is.
Please be sure to tell us *which* show, book or movie is featured.
X - X-File - Plot-driven fiction centered around an investigation
and/or conspiracy. Plenty of action/adventure/plot. Typical of
something you might see on the X-Files television series itself.
T - Adventure - Plot-driven fiction *not* centered around
an investigation and/or conspiracy. Plenty of action/adventure/plot.
Unlikely to be something you would expect to see on the X-Files
television series itself.
S - Story - Character-driven fiction that focuses on character
interaction rather than on plot; any kind of interaction, not just
romance! Friendship, family and most romance stories fit into this
category, as well pure erotica. Not a great deal of
action/adventure/plot.
V - Vignette - Mood piece, or a character thinking about
something. There can be conversation, but there is *no*
action/adventure/plot and usually only one scene. Most vignettes
are very short, but there is no size limit imposed.
* Step 2 - In addition, the story might fit into one or more of these
subcategories
R - Romance - One or more main characters is romantically
involved with anyone. If it's just an implied romance, don't classify
it as a romance, use the UST keywords to alert readers to possible
future romance. Erotica doesn't have to be classified as romance
though it can be, depending on the relationship. This is the
author's call.
H - Humor - Overall, the story is clearly meant to be funny.
A - Angst - For most or all of the story, main character(s) are in
great emotional or physical pain.
8. What keywords should I use?
This is the 'official' list of keywords. Anything you would like to
mention about your story that is not included here would have to be
added to the story summary. Please choose as many of these as
are applicable to your story, or put 'none' in the Keywords section:
Slash: Same-sex characters romantically or sexually involved. Please
include this warning even if there is no explicit sex in the story!
Character dies: If a main character from the show dies.
Rape: Even if it only contains a non-graphic rape scene, the story should
carry this warning.
Pre-XF: Most or all of the story is set before the "Pilot" XF episode.
Alternate universe: Main XF characters traveling in time and/or
developing extraordinary 'powers', fantasy stories, sword and sorcery
stories, stories that place the characters in totally different 'worlds'
other than the standard XF universe. Mulder and Scully in the Highlander
'universe' would be an alternate universe story. However, if the
Highlander CHARACTERS were being used also, that would make it a crossover
instead.
Skinner/Scully romance.
Mulder/other romance.
Mulder/Skinner romance.
Scully/other romance.
Etc.
Scully/other. (Sex, no romance.)
Skinner/Scully.
Scully/Krycek.
Etc.
* The Mulder/Scully Relationship
This is the biggest 'sub-genre' on the archive and we're looking towards
breaking out the Mulder/Scully stories a bit more by adding different
keywords to show the different varieties of relationships they may have in
different stories.
You don't have to add any of the following; they are intended mainly for
the romance stories and the stories which authors specifically wish to
note are NOT romances. Please choose ONLY ONE of the following:
Mulder/Scully friendship: Bonding, no romance.
Mulder/Scully: Sex, no romance.
Mulder/Scully UST: Unresolved Sexual Tension
Mulder/Scully married: Probably a romance.
Mulder/Scully romance: Classify as a romance story as well.
9. What about spoiler warnings?
Please don't forget to list episodes where major plot details may be
'spoiled' in the story, even if it's a very old episode. Should you list
more than one episode name as a spoiler, please note that we will use
*only* the most recent episode on the assumption that if readers have seen
it, then they have probably either seen or know about any of the previous
episodes you may have listed.
10. How do I write the summary?
Vague summaries are fine, but there are a *lot* of stories on the archive
and it might help readers to find yours if you could tell them a little
about the story. Don't give away the ending, of course! ;-)
11. How do I format my story?
This is a general "how-to" list. For a more complete look at how to
properly format your story, SUe maintains a fabulous FAQ at her site at:
http://www.loop.com/~sue/
The Gossamer Project also maintains more indepth information at:
http://gossamer.x-philes.com/local/submit.html
Please keep your line lengths to 70 characters or less. Longer than this,
and the formatting becomes hard to read, with alternating long and short
lines.
Please don't use *smart quotes* (quotation marks that curve). Used in
ASCII, they do *not* appear as quotes, and make reading difficult.
Please watch for quotes turned into garbage if you choose to cut and paste
your story from a word processor. The *safest* thing to do is to save as
Text with Line Breaks from your word processor, then place your story in
your e-mail message.
Please don't use "high ASCII characters," which are those characters made
by using various key combinations, such as [ALT]/Number for PCs, or
[Option]/Letter for Macs. They, too, turn up as gibberish, sometimes
mutilating nearby text as well.
Please *name* your stories. It is difficult for the archivists to keep
track of multi-part stories when the subject line is "Untitled".
12. What if my story is listed incorrectly?
Send a message to the archivists at requ...@x-philes.com and please
mention which archive your story is on. We will do our best to work with
you and make sure you are happy with your listings. ;-)
13. What is the Gossamer Help Desk?
The Gossamer Help Desk is there to help authors in any way they can in
order to make sure your stories get posted.
Should your story come through with formatting problems which the
submissions volunteer cannot easily fix, it will automatically be
forwarded to the person manning the Help Desk. That person will contact
the author with a view towards helping provide whatever assistance may be
required to get your story online and looking the very best it can.
Email address: he...@x-philes.com