amanuensis1 | How do you like recs lists to be arranged?

Especially in my current fandom (Avengers) I'll read anything, so I don't really mind any which way a rec site is organized. I picked genre because that's really the only thing I need to know going into a fic -- if I'm expecting dark and end up with crackfic, I'd be a lot less open to it.

I'm trying to remember the distant past, HP fandom. I suspect I might have liked it by pairing then, because there were only a few I liked...

Especially in my current fandom (Avengers) I'll read anything,
Yeah, I tend to be a "I'll read anything if it's good" reader, too, even if certain characters/pairings suck me into a fic quickly. And especially in Avengers fandom I find that there's a lot of delightful Team fic out there, where there may be pairings but they're not the focus, and all the characters get their moments to shine.

I like reading anything my flist recs, so order doesn't really matter. If y'all think it's good, I'm pretty much inclined to read it. :D

That's me too! "Tell me what's good." I've got my character preferences, sure, but I just like to see recs from people I trust.

It varies. I think to me pairing and genre are most important but I like length too so I know what I'm getting into. On the other hand I adore your old HP recs list because it's like an adventure (and I love everything on it I think)
Eh, just rec stuff and I'll read it :) Especially in Avengers now that you've hooked me. I want more!

I adore your old HP recs list because it's like an adventure

:D See, I like doing that, because I like to mix everything up assuming that everyone will be open to reading anything! Though I try to put all the identifying stuff in: pairing, genre, description, reasons to praise it, excerpt. That's kind of what I'm doing this time and I'll probably stick to it.

I tend to favour very few pairings. So, when I go rec hunting, I tend to find people who are solely reccing that pairing to begin with and then prefer when it's further organized by genre.

*nods* I would feel the same for fandoms where I only like to read things for particular pairings. I suppose since I'm feeling love for everything in my shiny new fandom my inclination is to mix it all up. Thanks for that perspective!

Also, if it's a set of multi-fandom recs, I like to have them segregated by fandom so I can skip over the ones in fandoms I'm not interested in.

Oh, cripes, yeah, that would be UGLY. I don't think I would ever want to look at a recs list that wasn't at least organized by fandom; that's probably why I didn't even think of it for the poll!

*envisions Winnie-the-Pooh fandom next to Story of O fandom, giggles*

Her lover one day takes Kanga for a walk in a section of the Wood where they never go. . .

By fandom would be my most-preferred. Even though I tend to enjoy variety, I ticked by pairing because it tells you at a glance who's going to be on the spotlight the most and whose mindset to be prepared for. For me, length is also a definite factor. I love to immerse myself, so I generally skip over anything under 15k and really appreciate it when authors give the word count in the header.

For me, length is also a definite factor.
I'm glad you mentioned that--I may not get specific on word count on my list but I'll go back and see if I can at least give "teensy" "medium" "long" notes in the headers!

Yeah, most people probably don't care for specifics but it's good to know even in general what you're getting yourself into. Like if you're itching for a fic but leaving for a holiday tomorrow, you'll probably be happier with a one-shot than starting a novel-length epic.

I picked length, because I very rarely read anything under 10k (I know, I'm missing out of a lot of amazing fic, bit I'm always vaguely dissatisfied after finishing something short, and that's really kinda not the point.)
Otherwise I like stuff sorted by primary pairing, or at least primary character.

Organization-wise, I'd say by pairing and a gen section (if applicable). I figure reccers are going to provide further information about all the other things - rating, genre, approximate length, author's name and probably the summary, and usually warnings for the 'big' stuff. (Non-con, the more extreme kinks. Then again, it's you, so when I see you rec stuff, I tend to expect those things regardless! Hee!) - within their rec.

This way, it's easier to browse. If I'm in the mood for some Clint fic, I can see where you've recced Clint/Coulson, Clint/Loki, Clint/Natasha, etc. and choose from there. Avengers is different for a lot of us in that, at least in my circles, few of us are very OTPish and are reading a multitude of pairings and a lot more gen than I've seen in other fandoms in a long time. But I think it's still easiest to separate by primary pairing or gen, and let people choose what looks good within that section.

But that's really if you're reccing a lot of things at once. If you've only got 3 or 4 stories and none are the same pairing, I'd just list them without much thought to arrangement. And even if a couple are the same pairing, I'd just put those sequentially.

Other: By fandom, plz! :-)

Pairing is the main thing, and then within that I'm not too fussed -- length is fine, genre is fine, alphabetical/pub date/author = all fine. As long as it makes sense! The clustered for variety is a no go. :-P

Everyone's already mentioned everything I would have except for 1 thing: if this is a list that gets updated, I like it if newer recs are at the top or bottom. Or at least marked with "new" so I can use "find" to get the latest recs (though sometimes "new" is in the summaries or titles, making it a bit laborious)

Everything else I can go either way on. What usually sells me isn't length/pairing so much as the reccer's description.

Edited 2012-06-28 00:23 (UTC)

I'd say fandom, then genre, then main characters and length. When I'm hot on a fandom, I will read almost anything, but I have moods on length and genre.

I put pairing, because when I want a pairing I WANT IT NOW. Once I've finished the reccs of the pairing I like, I'll often go back and then read my secondary choices, or summaries that sound good.

I do like the length of the fic to be in the header, because I'll save longer stuff for when I have time. I HATE having to put something down because I need to go to work, or whatever. I like to read it in one long sitting if I can.

For me, length is the most important factor. The only time this wasn't true for me was when I was first getting into fandom and would spend hours and hours every day, so it didn't matter how long anything was. Ever since then, length has been huge. Cuddling up with a six-hour fic is nothing like munching a 20-minute vignette or a 2-minute drabble. Now that I only occasionally dip a toe into fandom anymore, I definitely wouldn't want to get slammed with a 10-hour epic when I'm in the mood for a couple drabbles, and on the rare occasions when I do want something long, I do want to be able to find something. For me now, genre is the next most important thing: "humor" or "porn" says a lot more about what the fic is than "Harry/Ron" or "Harry/Draco" does. Any of the other factors besides those 3 are interesting but not so important.

Beyond the two that I mentioned (pairing and length) I read by rating! I'm a shameless lover of porn, so I pretty much only read NC-17 or R.

How do you like recs lists to be arranged?

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