Before you read a Prosfic...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Somewhere along the way I've picked up the impression that Pros fans tend to be divided most strongly into either slash, gen or het (or various combinations thereof) readers, and that it is on this basis first that we decide whether or not to read a particular Prosfic story. Following an interesting discussion a few weeks ago about labels/categories/warnings etc on Prosfic, Circuit Archive is experimenting with including other information in their lj (and presumably other) updates, and this has got me thinking about it all again - in a rather needs-first-coffee-of-the-morning kind of way!

Basically, I know that I hate all warnings etc on a Prosfic story that I'm about to read, except that I'd like to know whether it's slash, gen or het, because I adore slash, I'll read gen if there's some reason to (or a chance of adding my own subtext!) and I don't want to touch het with a bargepole... a very long bargepole! During the discussion, I came across the idea that most people would view a label of slash, het or gen (or the story's pairings, which actually is a much smarter way of telling us whether it's slash, het or gen!) as the same kind of "spoiler" as, say a deathfic warning, which completely surprised me, took me aback, and got me thinking even more... *g*

And then I remembered that lj lets you do those poll-thingies, and wondered if I might try one of those... though I'd like to hear what people think as well as just seeing numbers, so please do comment as well! So - what kind of, if any, information do you look for before you read a Pros story? (And I'm not really going for the to-warn-about-deathfic/rape/non-consensual debate here, although I've included it in my question and I'm curious about numbers there too, it's more the broader sense of the question - and do we care about age ratings? Are there other things people consider that I've never even thought of?!) So, without further ado:

[Poll #1043269]
I've never tried doing a poll before, so here's hoping it works - do let me know if you have problems... Oh, it looks like you have to vote first, and hit submit, and then comment afterwards - you can't comment and vote at the same time (I just tried it...)! And non-lj members can't vote (says lj, not us), but you can still comment!

Comments

[paris7am.livejournal.com]

Excellent poll and discussion - very thought provoking. I've been bumping up against this question a little while posting fic for the Pros Newsletter, and it's made me very aware of my own lack of answers.

Is it okay to ask a question? I should probably head off into metafandom and do research, but asking here first - when deciding if something is slash, gen, or het, what are the criteria? Do the labels indicate a physical relationship, an emotional relationship, or how is it defined - in your minds? Or at the Circuit - I've always thought that if there is a pairing listed that it refers to a physical pairing, not an emotional one? :is obviously confused!:

I personally love being able to exercise options. I like to be able to pick and chose whether or not to know. I usually search for the category of slash, or b/d, as the primary category, and then carve it down from there. I love being able to utilize the search features at the Circuit - to be able to find *only* nc-17, for example - or the excellent categorization lists at the Hatstand - to be able to find a listing of stories based on episodes, or stories in a series, etc.

Other "labels" which I personally really value as options are "AU" and "cross-over" - both of which I think are essential in finding what you want or don't want to read.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

I personally love being able to exercise options. I like to be able to pick and chose whether or not to know. which is why I love that 'Random' button at the Circuit Archive. You just click it and a story pops up, sans descriptors, etc. I've stumbled across a few fics I might not have given a chance to otherwise, especially AUs.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes, but some of them might be het! *scrubs at eyes*

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

True. But that happens rarely, there are relatively few of them! I'm perfectly willing to simply back out and stop reading if it ends up a B/C story, a ridiculous amount of BDSM, etc. And like you said smwh, I like being put in a mood by a story. If it's a melancholy tale, dark, happy ever after, etc. All is good. If I actually want a certain mood, and we all do sometimes, then I can simply go find a favourite and reread.

But I *do* like the surprise of that Random button.*g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Good question! That's come up above in phantomas's response too, and I have to say that I like her definitions. To save you looking amongst the concertina-d posts, she said:

Gen (in my interpretation) is the closest to Pros canon, which generally means possible het relationships (but not terribly important, let's say the girl of the week), and fades to black. I've read Gen that I could interpret as pre-slash (Kate Nuerberg series comes to mind - Bodie does offer, and Doyle...well, refuses, but in such an awkward, unsure way that you have to wonder!), but only inasmuch as it was my interpretation. *G*

Slash: homosexual take on the Lads, from the holding hands and choosing curtains to the fuckbuddies with ulcers to anything in between (and yes, for me slash doesn't equal gay, but that's an entry I wrote sometime ago *G*) there can be uncertainty on the way to get there, or they can be together right from the start, whatever...slash means, to me, that the focus of the story is about B and D's relationship with each other, in whatever way it goes.

NC17: for me, equals to explicit naming of parts and insertion of parts in tabs, graphically explained ;) written equivalent of a hard core p0rn film, basically, only with the proviso that hopefully the writer is good enough to go beyond that and make it significant in the context of the story - which PWPs can do, really ;)

Het (again, for me) means the Lads involved in a m/f relationship that is paramount for them, that is, Doyle is not the love of Bodie's life, Doyle's little sister is, or a series of pretty pub female customers or hostesses or what have you *G* whether an OC or a female character from the series, one or both the Lads are heterosexually inclined and do not consider each other in that sense at all, even if their working relationship and their friendship is not in question.

What d'you think?!

Searching for specific categories is a great thing - although I have had some odd results at Circuit, upon occasion! The Hatstand and ProsLib lists are fabulous, aren't they...

And ooh, AU and cross-over, yes also good labels to pull up! I tend not to like cross-overs unless I know the shows being crossed, so that'll confuse me upon occasion, when randoming at Circuit! But you can usually see those pretty quickly (unlike whether a story is building up to be B/D or het, for example) so I don't mind closing the window on those and trying again!