2020 Schedule

[longficmod]

The 2020 round of Fandom5K will begin in a little over a month!

Because we want to give our post-deadline pinch hitters a little more time to work, we have added a week between the assignment deadline and reveals. That period is now nearly three weeks. We've also added a few days to the anonymous reading period, so you'll have closer to two full weekends to read and comment before author reveals.

2020 schedule:

Nominations: 18-27 March
Signups: 28 March-11 April
Assignments out by: 14 April
Default deadline: 8 May
Mandatory check-in: 9-16 May
Stories due: 6 June
Stories revealed: 26 June
Authors revealed: 5 July

If you failed to check in for our previous rounds or defaulted after the no-fault deadlines either of those years, but you want to participate this year, you'll need to fulfill your original assignment before signups start on 28 March. Please drop us an email at fandom5kmod AT gmail when you do. If you're not sure whether this applies to you, please email us to ask.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hi mods,

I was wondering if there's any chance you would be willing to revisit how ban-lifting works for this exchange. I am never going to be able to complete my initial assignment at this point. It's just not going to happen, due to my falling out of the fandom I matched on in the meantime. I enjoy writing treats and pinch hits and etc, but it makes me really sad that I will never, under the current system, be able to sign up again.

My suggestion is that you add an alternate track for lifting a ban. Maybe you could require that someone be banned for a minimum of two rounds UNLESS they complete their initial assignment. If they do not complete their original assignment, but complete x number of pinch hits and/or full-length treats (definitely multiple - I'd suggest 2 or 3, and it could just be pinch hits if treats seems too easy). I'd be okay with it being something that would be hard and take time to do; in fact, it SHOULD be something that's hard and time-consuming, given how inconvenient late defaults are for an exchange of this nature. I'd just like it to be possible to come back from an initial banning even if you hit the point where it's literally not possible for you to complete the original assignment.

Either way, thanks for hearing me out, whatever you decide.

[longficmod]

Hello, thank you for getting in touch!

As you've noted, pinch hits in this exchange are difficult to fill, and we have had people linger for weeks as well as the exchange revealing late. Our policy isn’t intended as a punishment, but to encourage people to realistically assess their ability to complete their assignment or to default with enough time for their recipient to receive a gift without placing too much pressure on pinch hitters.

We certainly understand that life happens and don’t blame anyone if they have to default after the deadline. We hope they’ll understand in turn that we need them to show they’re willing to meet their original commitment. This could include writing for any of the assignment’s four requests, not just the fandom that was matched on.

There may be circumstances where the requirement is too stringent. To date, we've never had a defaulter approach us to explain their situation, but we’re open to it! If you think your situation is one where we should consider a different solution, please email us with the details of your assignment. Our email is fandom5kmod@gmail.com

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for your response! It's a little disappointing to hear, but as thoughtful as usual with this exchange. I can't really argue with it. I don't think my situation warrants special treatment, which is why I asked about the policy as a whole rather than through email, so you will likely not hear from me. But it's good to know you're potentially open to special cases for the future, so thanks for that information as well. :)

[longficmod]

Thank you for understanding! I hope something about the original request will spark your interest again, or that you'll find yourself interested in one of the recip's other fandoms. If you ever have any concerns that the recipient themselves won't want the gift after a delay, you're welcome to get in touch with us about that, too.