FAQ: How to become a reccer
This FAQ is for fans that wish to sign up to rec their favorite Stargate stories.
I want to rec my favorite stories! What do I do?
I want to rec a story, but it's been recced here in the past.
Okay, I've chosen my recs and I've signed up for a category! What do I do now?
What's the rec template, and how do I fill it in?
I don't understand the new tagging system.
I'm confused about something you haven't explained here.
What's this about a copy-and-paste template I can use for my reccing?
I want to rec my favorite stories on stargateficrec! What do I do?
Thanks for your interest in spreading fannish squee and sharing your favorites!
First of all, make sure you have updated links to the fics you want to rec. Authors might change websites or take stories offline. Make sure you can actually point readers to the fic. You should have a minimum of two stories to rec over the course of the month, although we'll be happier with four (and there is no maximum limit).
Next, choose a category that you want to rec. This might be a specific genre (Drama, Humor, Crossover, Team), a specific pairing (Jack/Sam, John/Rodney) or friendship (Cameron and Teal'c, Elizabeth and Laura), or a specific character (Vala Mal Doran, Ronon Dex). SGU, which is a smaller fandom than SG-1 or SGA, is a catch-all category of its own.
Finally, sign up! There is a monthly volunteer post that is posted towards the end of each month. It is usually open for about five days. During that time, anyone who wishes to rec may comment at that entry. It's first come, first claimed. back to top
I want to rec a story, but it's been recced here in the past.
We are no longer asking reccers to check their chosen recs against the memories. If you know a good story that you think others will enjoy, go ahead and rec it. If you just recced the same story last month, however, you might want to wait a bit before reccing it again. back to top
Okay, I've chosen my recs and I've signed up for a category! What do I do now?
The mods will post an entry to announce the current month's reccers. At the same time, you'll be granted access to post.
If you've signed up to rec and you find that you don't have access, this may be because you haven't joined stargateficrec yet! If you need help doing that, comment at the monthly reccers entry and a mod will happily assist you.
Once you've been granted posting access, you may post your recs at any time during the course of the month. Remember that you have committed yourself to a minimum of two recs. Use the updated template below. back to top
What's the rec template, and how do I fill it in?
The template has been occasionally tweaked over the years. This is the current template and the only one that should be used.
LJ Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Author's Journal: [AUTHOR'S NICK]
Author's Website: [AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, MASTER FIC ENTRY, PAGE ON AO3/FF.NET, ETC.]
Link: [LINK TO FIC]
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC]
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC BELOW CUT]
At the bottom of this entry, there is a text box from which you can copy-and-paste the template, for your convenience.
Let's take the template line-by-line:
LJ Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
The subject line is the title of your entry. For example: The Shroud, by Writers (PG-13)
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Specify if your rec is based on SG-1, SGA, or SGU. If the story crosses from one fandom to another, include both.
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
This is the category for which you've signed up. If you chose an "other" category such as a relatively rare pairing or a more minor character, you do not have to include the word "other" in your category.
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
This line should include all characters that are a major feature in the story, even if those characters aren't your official rec category. If the fic has prominent OCs, include "original character" here. Teamfics can include "team" as well as individual character names, depending on the reccer's discretion.
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Again, this is pretty self-explanatory. Include all pairings in the story, whether or not that pairing is part of your rec category. If there are no pairings at all in the fic, you may skip this line.
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
stargateficrec has returned to the original tagging system to make it easier to find a specific type of rec. If you want your rec to be tagged by a genre or friendship that is not part of your rec category or the list of pairings, include those tags here.
Available tags are: action/adventure; alternate universe/timeline; angst; apocafic; crackfic; crossover, both general and SG-1/SGA specific; drama; episode related; five things; friendship, both generic and specific; gen; het; humor; hurt/comfort; kidfic; slash; and team.
IMPORTANT! You must use either gen, het, or slash as one of your categories. Stargate fans tend to be highly sensitive to pairing labels. Any other category you choose to use is entirely at your discretion.
If you choose, you may include additional categories, such as time travel, mystery, or slavefic. These are tags that have been used in the past but are no longer being applied. Such tags will not be added to your rec, although they will show up in a comm search.
The "categories" section is explained in greater detail below. You can jump straight to that explanation here.
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Include any warnings that you feel are appropriate. If the author gives specific warnings, it's wise to include them here. If you choose, you may black out the warnings so that readers must highlight the warnings in order to see them. To do so, use this HTML coding: WARNING GOES HERE
Please note that if the story is unfinished, the reccer must include the label WIP in the warnings.
Author's Journal: [AUTHOR'S NICK]
Self-explanatory. You can link to the nick at LJ, DW, or AO3, or simply type "unknown."
Author's Website: [AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, MASTER FIC ENTRY, PAGE ON AO3/FF.NET, ETC.]
In this line, you'll want to include a link where readers can find other fics by the same author. This can be a website, the author's page on a fic site like AO3 or FF.net, or a post on their journal that includes links to all their stories. If no such link exists, simply type "unknown."
Link: [LINK TO FIC]
You've gone to all the trouble of reccing the story; make sure the reader can find it!
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC HERE]
Include a few sentences about the story and why you enjoyed reading it yourself. Don't give away any surprise twists or endings here! You're not summarizing the fic; you're just explaining why it's worth reading.
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC HERE]
If you wish, you may include a few lines of the story under an LJ-cut. Again, don't give away too much! You only want to pique the reader's interest. back to top
I don't understand the tagging system.
Over the years, the tagging system on stargateficrec has changed. Approaches have ranged from all warnings and categories being tagged (which grew incredibly unwieldy) to using tags only for reccing categories and characters (which made searching for fics more difficult). Currently, we are trying to strike a balance between searchability and a reasonable amount of tagging.
All fics will now be tagged by the first five lines of the rec:
Show. Your fic will be tagged as SG-1, SGA, or SGU.
Rec Category. Your fic will be tagged with your rec category, whether it's a genre, pairing, friendship, or character.
Characters. Any character listed here (including "team") will be tagged.
Pairings. Any pairings listed in this line will be included in the tags.
Categories. Define whether the fic is gen, het, or slash (or any combination). This is also where you put any other current tag that you feel applies to your rec. These can be genre tags (action/adventure, humor, kidfic) or friendship tags (Jack and Daniel friendship, Vala and Teyla friendship, or even just friendship).
The current tags in use have been cited earlier. To list them again in alphabetical order, they are: action/adventure; alternate universe/timeline; angst; apocafic; crackfic; crossover, both general and SG-1/SGA specific; drama; episode related; five things; friendship, both generic and specific; gen; het; humor; hurt/comfort; kidfic; slash; and team.
Individual reccers might choose to list additional categories of their own, such as slavefic, genderbender, timefic, etc. There is nothing wrong with doing so. However, these categories will not be included in the tags. back to top
I'm confused about something you haven't explained here.
Comment with your question at this entry, or email sg1[dot]fig[at]gmail[dot]com for a more private discussion. back to top
What's this about a copy-and-paste template I can use for my reccing?
You may copy the template directly from the text box below to use for your recs. Use the HTML editor rather than the visual editor. HTML codes are DW-specific.
Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Author's Journal:
Author's Website: [NAME OF WEBSITE, ETC.]
Link: [TITLE OF FIC HERE]
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC HERE]
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC HERE]
back to top
I want to rec my favorite stories! What do I do?
I want to rec a story, but it's been recced here in the past.
Okay, I've chosen my recs and I've signed up for a category! What do I do now?
What's the rec template, and how do I fill it in?
I don't understand the new tagging system.
I'm confused about something you haven't explained here.
What's this about a copy-and-paste template I can use for my reccing?
I want to rec my favorite stories on stargateficrec! What do I do?
Thanks for your interest in spreading fannish squee and sharing your favorites!
First of all, make sure you have updated links to the fics you want to rec. Authors might change websites or take stories offline. Make sure you can actually point readers to the fic. You should have a minimum of two stories to rec over the course of the month, although we'll be happier with four (and there is no maximum limit).
Next, choose a category that you want to rec. This might be a specific genre (Drama, Humor, Crossover, Team), a specific pairing (Jack/Sam, John/Rodney) or friendship (Cameron and Teal'c, Elizabeth and Laura), or a specific character (Vala Mal Doran, Ronon Dex). SGU, which is a smaller fandom than SG-1 or SGA, is a catch-all category of its own.
Finally, sign up! There is a monthly volunteer post that is posted towards the end of each month. It is usually open for about five days. During that time, anyone who wishes to rec may comment at that entry. It's first come, first claimed. back to top
I want to rec a story, but it's been recced here in the past.
We are no longer asking reccers to check their chosen recs against the memories. If you know a good story that you think others will enjoy, go ahead and rec it. If you just recced the same story last month, however, you might want to wait a bit before reccing it again. back to top
Okay, I've chosen my recs and I've signed up for a category! What do I do now?
The mods will post an entry to announce the current month's reccers. At the same time, you'll be granted access to post.
If you've signed up to rec and you find that you don't have access, this may be because you haven't joined stargateficrec yet! If you need help doing that, comment at the monthly reccers entry and a mod will happily assist you.
Once you've been granted posting access, you may post your recs at any time during the course of the month. Remember that you have committed yourself to a minimum of two recs. Use the updated template below. back to top
What's the rec template, and how do I fill it in?
The template has been occasionally tweaked over the years. This is the current template and the only one that should be used.
LJ Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Author's Journal: [AUTHOR'S NICK]
Author's Website: [AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, MASTER FIC ENTRY, PAGE ON AO3/FF.NET, ETC.]
Link: [LINK TO FIC]
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC]
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC BELOW CUT]
At the bottom of this entry, there is a text box from which you can copy-and-paste the template, for your convenience.
Let's take the template line-by-line:
LJ Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
The subject line is the title of your entry. For example: The Shroud, by Writers (PG-13)
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Specify if your rec is based on SG-1, SGA, or SGU. If the story crosses from one fandom to another, include both.
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
This is the category for which you've signed up. If you chose an "other" category such as a relatively rare pairing or a more minor character, you do not have to include the word "other" in your category.
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
This line should include all characters that are a major feature in the story, even if those characters aren't your official rec category. If the fic has prominent OCs, include "original character" here. Teamfics can include "team" as well as individual character names, depending on the reccer's discretion.
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Again, this is pretty self-explanatory. Include all pairings in the story, whether or not that pairing is part of your rec category. If there are no pairings at all in the fic, you may skip this line.
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
stargateficrec has returned to the original tagging system to make it easier to find a specific type of rec. If you want your rec to be tagged by a genre or friendship that is not part of your rec category or the list of pairings, include those tags here.
Available tags are: action/adventure; alternate universe/timeline; angst; apocafic; crackfic; crossover, both general and SG-1/SGA specific; drama; episode related; five things; friendship, both generic and specific; gen; het; humor; hurt/comfort; kidfic; slash; and team.
IMPORTANT! You must use either gen, het, or slash as one of your categories. Stargate fans tend to be highly sensitive to pairing labels. Any other category you choose to use is entirely at your discretion.
If you choose, you may include additional categories, such as time travel, mystery, or slavefic. These are tags that have been used in the past but are no longer being applied. Such tags will not be added to your rec, although they will show up in a comm search.
The "categories" section is explained in greater detail below. You can jump straight to that explanation here.
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Include any warnings that you feel are appropriate. If the author gives specific warnings, it's wise to include them here. If you choose, you may black out the warnings so that readers must highlight the warnings in order to see them. To do so, use this HTML coding: WARNING GOES HERE
Please note that if the story is unfinished, the reccer must include the label WIP in the warnings.
Author's Journal: [AUTHOR'S NICK]
Self-explanatory. You can link to the nick at LJ, DW, or AO3, or simply type "unknown."
Author's Website: [AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, MASTER FIC ENTRY, PAGE ON AO3/FF.NET, ETC.]
In this line, you'll want to include a link where readers can find other fics by the same author. This can be a website, the author's page on a fic site like AO3 or FF.net, or a post on their journal that includes links to all their stories. If no such link exists, simply type "unknown."
Link: [LINK TO FIC]
You've gone to all the trouble of reccing the story; make sure the reader can find it!
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC HERE]
Include a few sentences about the story and why you enjoyed reading it yourself. Don't give away any surprise twists or endings here! You're not summarizing the fic; you're just explaining why it's worth reading.
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC HERE]
If you wish, you may include a few lines of the story under an LJ-cut. Again, don't give away too much! You only want to pique the reader's interest. back to top
I don't understand the tagging system.
Over the years, the tagging system on stargateficrec has changed. Approaches have ranged from all warnings and categories being tagged (which grew incredibly unwieldy) to using tags only for reccing categories and characters (which made searching for fics more difficult). Currently, we are trying to strike a balance between searchability and a reasonable amount of tagging.
All fics will now be tagged by the first five lines of the rec:
Show. Your fic will be tagged as SG-1, SGA, or SGU.
Rec Category. Your fic will be tagged with your rec category, whether it's a genre, pairing, friendship, or character.
Characters. Any character listed here (including "team") will be tagged.
Pairings. Any pairings listed in this line will be included in the tags.
Categories. Define whether the fic is gen, het, or slash (or any combination). This is also where you put any other current tag that you feel applies to your rec. These can be genre tags (action/adventure, humor, kidfic) or friendship tags (Jack and Daniel friendship, Vala and Teyla friendship, or even just friendship).
The current tags in use have been cited earlier. To list them again in alphabetical order, they are: action/adventure; alternate universe/timeline; angst; apocafic; crackfic; crossover, both general and SG-1/SGA specific; drama; episode related; five things; friendship, both generic and specific; gen; het; humor; hurt/comfort; kidfic; slash; and team.
Individual reccers might choose to list additional categories of their own, such as slavefic, genderbender, timefic, etc. There is nothing wrong with doing so. However, these categories will not be included in the tags. back to top
I'm confused about something you haven't explained here.
Comment with your question at this entry, or email sg1[dot]fig[at]gmail[dot]com for a more private discussion. back to top
What's this about a copy-and-paste template I can use for my reccing?
You may copy the template directly from the text box below to use for your recs. Use the HTML editor rather than the visual editor. HTML codes are DW-specific.
Subject Line: [TITLE], by [AUTHOR] ([RATING])
Show: [INSERT SG-1/SGA/SGU HERE]
Rec Category: [CATEGORY THAT YOU ARE RECCING THIS MONTH]
Characters: [ALL CHARACTERS THAT ARE A MAJOR PART OF THE FIC, INCLUDING "TEAM"]
Pairings: [INCLUDE ALL PAIRINGS IN FIC. IF GEN, THIS LINE MAY BE SKIPPED.]
Categories: [MARK AS GEN, HET, OR SLASH; INCLUDE ANY OTHER TAGS THAT APPLY TO FIC]
Warnings: [EITHER "NONE" OR WHATEVER WARNING MIGHT APPLY.]
Author's Journal:
Author's Website: [NAME OF WEBSITE, ETC.]
Link: [TITLE OF FIC HERE]
Why This Must Be Read: [YOUR REASON FOR RECCING THIS FIC HERE]
[IF DESIRED, INCLUDE A FEW LINES OF FIC HERE]
back to top