Follow Friday! 5 Dreamwidth communities that Buffy fans might enjoy

[thenewbuzwuzz]

Yikes, this turned out pedantic.

jjhunter  clued me in that followfriday is a thing, and I think it's a great idea at this time. Granted, my circle is fairly small, but it probably beats the circle of someone who just joined Dreamwidth, so. Carpeing the diem.

 

The prompt:

5 Dreamwidth users and/or communities you'd recommend following

• Bonus if you post this rec post on a Friday, tag it 'followfriday', and link it at the followfriday roundup post!

I went for some obvious, mainstream choices. :) Well, at least I can vouch that these comms have good content and regularly, even if the "regularly" is 'once a year' in some cases. Sorted in order of how soon one can expect new posts. 4 of them are Buffy or mostly Buffy, and one isn't.

Name: su_herald 
Type: newsletter (only technically a community)
Scope: Buffyverse (BtVS and AtS)
What gets posted there: links to new fanworks (fic, art, meta, episode reviews...) and news items, collected from a bunch of different sites
When it's active: 6 days a week, currently (1 post on each of those days)
What you can do with it:
- subscribe/read in order to keep up with fandom news
- comment on a post to recommend links to new stuff you created or noticed
- join only if you want to help compile posts every week, and you'd have to get in touch with rahirah instead of attempting to join directly
What you can't do with it:
- post to it, unless you're one of the editors
- get it to definitely link any specific thing
How much of it is on Dreamwidth: everything the Herald posts is available on DW.
Link to what a newsletter post looks like


Name: getyourwordsout 
Type: writing challenge + writing support group
Scope: any writing - fic, original, nonfiction
What gets posted there: writing tips, conversation starters for authors, mod posts about tracking the word count and habit challenges that they offer
When it's active: year round, but you can only sign up for a pledge once a year (in December)
What you can do with it:
- sign up for a pledge (to write on a certain number of days in a year or to reach a certain word count)
- get a fancy spreadsheet for tracking your writing progress
- get ironclad accountability, because you're expected to report your progress every month or you might be kicked out of the comm
- subscribe to read writing tips and stuff
- chat with other authors in comments
What you can't do with it:
- it's not for posting things you've written, except for small excerpts on special occasions
How much of it is on Dreamwidth: all of this is available on DW or via DW
Link to explanation about choosing a pledge


Name: seasonal_spuffy 
Type: seasonal community for fanworks
Scope: Spuffy 
What gets posted there: depending on the round, it might be mod posts and links only on Dreamwidth, or it might be open for posting here. Generally, the comm is for new fanworks of practically any format, including fic and art etc.
When it's active: each year, it has one round sometime in the spring and one round sometime in the fall (roughly a couple of weeks each), and sometimes smaller events. The closest event is on December 21st.
What you can do with it:
- post your new, previously unposted Spuffy fanworks, depending on whether posting is open on Dreamwidth for that round,
- read and look at art and stuff,
What you can't do with it:
- post all-human AUs
- post when it's not your posting day or a free-for-all day
- share older work
How much of it is on Dreamwidth: depends. Lately, the site is determined by a poll before each round. In some past rounds, fic and art has been posted here. For the past few rounds, there are mod announcements and daily link posts on DW during the round even if the actual entries are posted mostly or entirely on LiveJournal.
Link to list of works posted in Fall 2018


Name: summer_of_giles 
Type: seasonal community for fanworks
Scope: Rupert Giles has to make an appearance
What gets posted there: fic, art, and other fanworks
When it's active: June through July
What you can do with it:
- sign up for a posting day to share your new Giles work
- subscribe to read and enjoy art
- participate in occasional comment games like Haiku Day
What you can't do with it:
- post on days other than your posting day
- share older work
How much of it is on Dreamwidth: it's based mainly on DW for the past few rounds.
Link to list of works posted in 2018


Name: buffyversetop5 
Type: seasonal community for recs
Scope: Whedonverse
What gets posted there: fanwork rec lists
When it's active: in late October
What you can do with it:
- post rec lists
- find recs of new (and old) stuff during each year's session
- browse their archive to find older recs
What you can't do with it:
- post during the rest of the year
- put more than 5 recs in one post
How much of it is on Dreamwidth: for the past couple of rounds, it runs on Dreamwidth and some other sites.
Link to their tag page, which gives an idea about the breadth of their archive

Comments

[jjhunter]

This is comprehensive and intriguing - thank you for sharing!

[thenewbuzwuzz]

Good to hear! Thank you. :)

[yourlibrarian]

At the risk of sounding self-serving I not only don't think this is pedantic, I think it is an excellent idea for fans in every fandom to do their own sets. We all know that every platform is rife with dead communities -- some could be revived and others were dead from the getgo. It's helpful to have pointers from locals about which ones could become (or already are) regularly active.

[thenewbuzwuzz]

Thanks! :)

Yeah, just now I saw a bunch of DW community masterlists being passed around on tumblr, and on the one hand, fabulous idea! On the other hand, the list of Jossverse comms was made in 2011 :/

[yourlibrarian]

:(

All the more reason for the invaluable su_herald, given that one can scan it for 6 months or a year to get a good idea of where things are still going on.

[thenewbuzwuzz]

aw c: It IS really useful!
*may or may not have a Herald post-in-progress open right now*

[gracenm]

Thanks for this! You are truly the fandom's best resource!

[thenewbuzwuzz]

And a hug to you, too <3 - but please take that back, I couldn't live up to it