OT - Poll

[leavethesky]

cheyne55's comment to my rec of her fic got me wondering...why the hell do you people read the fics I rec? Do you really or is it that just the perception? Why do you read fic at all? And what's important to you in a fic? Thus, my first ever, hastily put-together poll that probably won't tell me anything, but it's worth a shot. Feel free to expand in comments. Thanks.


[Poll #794031]

Comments

[jaybee65.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I fit into the poll options very neatly, but I use your recs as a way of dipping my toes into something beyond my usual fandom reading. I keep tabs on my own fandoms already so I don't need recs for that, but if I see a rec of yours that sounds intriguing for a fandom I'm less familiar with, sometimes I take a look.

[cabenson.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, I usually only read a fandom that I have been or am currently enchanted with. I do make an effort, sometimes by outside force, to look at at least one new fandom every year. Trouble is, when I fall into a fandom, I fall hard and won't come up for air til I have consumed everything there is for that particular fandom/pairing.

[ariestess]

I didn't answer the first two, because I haven't seen your recs up to this point, so don't have a point of reference yet. And the final question? Pretty much the first 4 options are good for me...

[mantaraggio.livejournal.com]

Hahah. Oh, man, I am currently the only person to admit claim to only read your recs for the pr0n, but that really isn't completely accurate. Basically, if you rec a fic from a fandom and pairing that I really enjoy, I'll most likely check it out. If you rec a fic from a fandom that I am vaguely familiar with and make great statements concerning the story's literary merit, then I will probably give it a shot. And, if you rec a fic with garbled exclamations concerning how hot and smutty and uhhhhhhh... you can't even speak, it was so steaming, and give it an NC-17, even if I have never seen the show, I will definitely give it a look. I fully admit that I came to femslash for the smut, and stayed for the genuine talent and storytelling.

[giantessmess.livejournal.com]

I don't really fit into any of the options in the first question, so I'm pretending to be a lit geek. But i'm tragically easy. If I find a character I like or an author I like, I'm pretty easily swayed when it comes to broadening my femslash reading. I'll follow a favourite author to almost any fandom.

So I do read your recs when they coincide with a fandom I'm interested in or one i'm curious about, or if I recognise the author. You have generally good taste, so I'm willing to make the leap. Unless it's South of Nowhere. That'll take more convincing. I'm too scarred by the actual show's quality. blech.

[trancer21.livejournal.com]

Aw, man, can I just skip the poll and use mantaraggio's answer? I tend to read more of the recs regarding fandom's I'm in, then possibly dipping my toes into unfamiliar waters.. depending on the pairing.. and potential smut quotient.

Oh, and on the fandoms list, Harry Potter isn't up there. Which is like my fandom kryptonite. No matter how many people read it, write it, rec it, I still won't go near it with a Chase/Krista covered ten-foot pole.

[ralst.livejournal.com]

I didn't submit the poll because I couldn't answer most of the questions. Or, more accurately, I had more than one answer and couldn't decide between the two.

I'm not really into the pron so will usually skip those recs unless it's for a fandom for which I'm currently obsessed. I will try out new fandoms and pairings, especially if they're by a writer I already like, so long as they don't hit any of my squick buttons - you always mention possible squick factors, which is one of the reasons I like your recs.

There aren't any fandoms on the list I wouldn't read (agree with trancer on HP though), and the list of ones I read is ever expanding and contracting depending on a number of factors - but Bad Girls and Xena are usually always on the 'yes' list.

As for length, I'm not really into drabbles, but anything over the 1000 word mark is usually good for me.

[lostingeekdom.livejournal.com]

I think manta's answer best fits my way of reading any of your recs. I don't read as much fic as I used to (been distracted with other stuff too much lately), and I never try the fandoms I'm not into. I think it depnds on the author, and probably your description of the story. If it piques my interest, then I'll check it out. I like smutfic too, but I don't go in purely fo the pr0n. I like a well developed story, with lots of interesting dialogues or something that is visually evocative.

[raginhoops.livejournal.com]

I look through the list and mainly read what is currently my slash obsession. time ,you know. Yet, sometimes,based on your comments, I'll venture out to other things that I wouldn't read otherwise: Unfamiliar with the show, not into the pairing, not into the porn. Well, your recs often surprise me. For example, I rather like trancer's porn- so I read her stuff even if I do not have a clue who the characters are based on having read one of her stories that you reced. There are plenty of things that ick me that I will not read--- Underage, incest, rape, BSM: Unless exceptionally approached by a skilled writer.
Why do I read femslash?
I read for words well handled and the structure of the story centered in lesbian content. It is not being published on a large scale outside of the net,at least , not high quality stuff. I don't know,a girl needs her romance,I guess.

[theholyinnocent.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of on the cusp with a couple of my answers, most notably the first and last one. If a strong enough case is made for a story outside my fandoms, particularly if it's a writer I really like, I may check it out. But since I'm pressed for time more these days, I get increasingly picky about what I read. At the same time I'm not too picky about length; hell, if it's something I really like, then yeah, I want it to be hyuge.

But dammit, who doesn't enjoy a good pr0n now and then?

[narcolepsy-slds.livejournal.com]

I read stories because of the author, because of the pairing (or one part of it), because I am totally bored and don't want to work (then I read almost everything, or at least start).
There are some themes I am not interested in (incest, rape, really dark fics), or I simply cannot stand the pairing, e.g. I have a strange disliking towards Buffy, but love the scoobies.

And I love to read cross-overs, because it is not canon and will never be, and my preconceived notions about background and story line within the fandom are totally irrelevant, and it is a playground for my fantasy. And often I have one fave character and want her to make out with my other fave character who happens to be on another show.