Your picks for everything fannish

Today wraps up Top 5's 2023 session. This will also be buffyversetop5's final session. Petzi and I have discussed it and, while we appreciate everyone who has contributed posts to the community, particularly in the last 5 years as the fandoms have gotten quieter, we feel that there isn't sufficient interest to keep it going.

Top 5 has just completed its 19th year and there is a wealth of recs that have been shared during that time, which will remain accessible here through tags, and browsing the Library year by year. There is also the collection at AO3, which has seen changes this year. ( Read more... )

Thanks to everyone who shared in the fun of exploring the Buffyverse, and the various other Whedon fandoms with us. We hope you'll keep Top 5 in mind as a resource to share with others in the years to come.

yourlibrarian and petzipellepingo

This is the month for recs! Fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms will be on offer. We'll be reopening on October 20 at midnight UTC (what time is that for me?) and running through midnight November 2.

We'll be starting out with a Classic Recs weekend, and then from October 23 - October 28 feel free to post any mix of recs you'd like. Then on October 29 - November 1 we'll be closing things out with our Flash Forward weekend -- several days of focusing on content from 2023. So no matter what assortment of fan-created content recs you have, they will be welcome!

For anyone who has questions about how things will go, please comment here or you can check out information on what to post during a Buffyverse Top 5 session. And don't forget to signal boost this reminder so that we'll have a lots of treats!

Join your co-mods petzipellepingo and yourlibrarian in celebrating Halloween through all the time zones until midnight UTC on November 5 (check that in your time zone). Share your all-time favorite recs of fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms -- and, as always, crossover content is most welcome!

Classic Recs is running on both LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, with the option to copy posts onto Pillowfort. Top 5 is also open for recs tagged with #buffyversetop5 at Twitter. Post at whichever you wish. And if you like the treats someone has shared, let them know by commenting!

One request is that if you happen to know that the work being recced is available at AO3, please use that link for it as it will make it easier to invite creators to include their work in our AO3 Collection. But works are welcome wherever they can be found. (Please alert readers if the work requires a login to view.)

Today kicks off our Classic Recs weekend for pre-2021 content. Recs for all time periods will be welcome starting Monday the 25th. Then next Saturday, October 30 will begin our Flashforward 2021 session to highlight current works until we close.

Do let us know if you have questions or need any help understanding what/how to post -- we'll be glad to hear from you!

seasonal_spuffy, Truth or Dare, will run from Monday, May 10th through Tuesday, May 23, on Dreamwidth and LiveJournal . Links to all new entries will be available during the round on both of these sites and also on tumblr and Facebook, the Elysian Fields Discussion Group on Facebook, and in the General Discussions section of BuffyForums.

If you didn't sign up, you're still welcome to post any new Spuffy work on the 2 free-for-all days:

Monday, May 24th and
Tuesday, May 15th.

And if you would like to participate in another way, remember that anyone can currently comment on any Seasonal Spuffy post with or without logging in.

Just a reminder that they are also looking for anyone who might be interested in becoming a Seasonal Spuffy mod.

Our friends at Seasonal Spuffy have announced sign ups for Round 30.

The Spring 2021 round of Seasonal Spuffy starts on Monday, May 10, and runs through Tuesday, May 25, on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. The theme for this round is Truth or Dare. The theme exists to inspire, not limit. You are free to interpret the theme however you wish or do your own thing instead.

Sign up for a posting day by choosing a day in the schedule and leaving a comment on that post.

I am happy to note that while this 15th session coincided with the potential loss of a very longstanding fannish resource, it appears now as if it's going to find a new home. I will take any hopeful sign in 2020 that I can!

If you haven't been on both sites or using our fandom's wonderful resource, the su_herald, to keep up with recs in all places, Top 5's LJ community will be backed up to Dreamwidth in a few days, so all recs will be together there. ( Read more... )

The LJ and Dreamwidth accounts will be running as usual next year. We'll be reopening on October 22 and running until November 3. with the same format as this year, beginning with Classic Recs, having open recs, and then focusing on 2021 recs.

Thanks to everyone, and petzipellepingo and I hope to see you next year!

As we all await your rec lists, I'd like to share a few statistics with readers (and do feel free to share this post).

This happens to be Top 5's 15th anniversary. This is particularly fitting because I have spent several months since our session last year, going through every post in the community (1,846 of them!) as part of an effort to locate recced content on AO3.

This gave me a unique perspective on patterns in the fandom as well as a good bit of nostalgia about participants and creators over the years. So I thought I'd share those observations as we kick off this year's celebration of works old and new. ( Read more... )

On a personal note, it was heartening when I found a fan long absent from the fandom on the archive. I would often be quite excited to find that a work I didn't expect would be there -- actually was! It was also sad as I came across many other references to names once frequently seen, but who have since left the fandom. There was even, in 2010, a post made at Top 5 with 71 comments which was a tribute to one of them.

Also a pleasant surprise is that, despite the devastation across older accounts caused by image hosts closing or changing their terms in the last 5 years, many images shared in Top 5 posts are still intact. To be sure, many aren't or show up watermarked now, but the number is not as lopsided as I expected.

One last factoid? The first Eurovision Contest crossover recced was in 2007.

Our affiliates over at seasonal_spuffy have 4 posting days more than takers so far for their current session. The open days are in the second and third week of the round, ranging from November 10 to November 17.

If you weren't sure about committing to a posting day before and you now see that you'll be able to take one after all, do let them know at their
signup post with the schedule.

(Also, buffyversetop5 opens for its annual session in 5 days!)

Just a reminder that our affiliate seasonal_spuffy is kicking off their latest round. The Spring 2020 round of Seasonal Spuffy runs from today (Sunday, May 10) through Monday, May 25, on LiveJournal and right here on Dreamwidth. The theme for this round is Enemies with Benefits. As always, creators are free to interpret the theme however they like or do something else altogether.

If you didn't sign up, you're still welcome to post on the free-for-all days: today (May 10), May 24, and May 25 (plus, occasionally, an extra free-for-all day appears in the middle of the round, so you might want to keep an eye out for news).

Our affiliate Seasonal Spuffy has announced that the Spring 2020 round will run from Sunday, May 10, through Monday, May 25, on LiveJournal and on Dreamwidth.

The theme for this round is Enemies With Benefits. Creators are free to interpret the theme however they wish or do their own thing instead. Original, never-before-posted Spike/Buffy fanworks of any format: fic, art, and beyond are welcome.

You may sign up for a posting day by leaving a comment on the Signup Post on LiveJournal. (LJ login is not necessary for that.)

There will also be free-for-all days on May 10, May 24, and May 25. On those days, anybody may post without signup.

Also, just a reminder that the March Meta Matters Challenge has begun! Anyone can join in anytime this month so dig up some of your old meta!

Dates: March 1 to April 1

Hello Top 5 Participants!

I would like to let everyone know of a new challenge I am running in March. This challenge was actually inspired by my experience with Top 5 and adding recced works to our new AO3 Collection.

While creators have often used multiple sites to host their works, one type of work has generally been left out of fans' efforts at archiving and preserving fanworks -- meta. In many cases, meta posts have not been copied anywhere else other than the location where they were first posted, leaving them particularly vulnerable to loss. I found, while searching AO3 for content recced at Top 5, that I was finding a good bit of it. But none of it was meta, even though meta has been recced at every session we've held.

So what if we can make a small dent in getting it saved? The March Meta Matters Challenge is focused on not just new meta, but making sure older meta gets a chance to be read and remain a part of fandom history. That's also why the challenge will be using the Archive of Our Own as a destination site.

The MMM Challenge will be a low stress event that provides you reminders and company as you locate and copy over your content. The challenge will also give you an opportunity to promote the meta you're preserving as well as some prompts to write new meta!

Find out more at our introductory post and get some detailed how-to's in our FAQ. The challenge is open to fans at any online location.

I have also attempted to start a feed for the community here on LJ but it seems like there's some sort of error with adding feeds. Would anyone be willing to try adding one? It requires a paid account.

That groaning squeak you hear is the door being closed on this 2019 session. Although you'll have to put away the pumpkins and trick or treat bags until next year, don't forget to let the creators know how much you've enjoyed the tasty goodies that have been shared.

There are also some new plans for next year! ( Read more... )

We want to remind anyone watching that the only reason membership has become moderated on our LJ account is due to spam accounts (we had one attempt membership just this past week). Actual people wanting to join and post are very welcome and they should get approval notices within 24 hours.

Also, by this time tomorrow all content posted on LJ will be backed up into the Dreamwidth account. petzipellepingo and I urge you to visit the community directly to find additional recs that got posted only on Dreamwidth as you'll find quite a few more works.

buffyversetop5 will reopen for its 2020 session on October 23 at midnight UTC (check when that is in your time zone) and run through November 3. Thank you to everyone who shared lists or stopped by to chime in about them!

Join your co-mods petzipellepingo and yourlibrarian in celebrating Halloween through all the time zones until midnight UTC on November 5 (check that in your time zone). Share your all-time favorite recs of fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms -- and, as always, crossover content is most welcome!

Classic Recs is running on both LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, with the option to copy posts onto Pillowfort and an interactive event at Tumblr. Post at whichever you wish. And if you like the treats someone has shared, let them know by commenting!

Today kicks off our Classic Recs weekend for pre-2019 content. Mixed recs for all time periods will be welcome starting Monday. Then next Saturday November 2 will begin our Flashforward 2019 session to highlight current works until we close.

Do let us know if you have questions or need any help understanding what/how to post -- we'll be glad to hear from you!

It's time to pick out your costume, start carving those pumpkins, and decide on goodies to share. The bats are flying again on our pages and that means it's time for the 2019 session of Buffyverse Top 5!

That means recs for all fanworks in the Whedon fandoms. We are 8 days away from the kickoff of the second all-in-one session which will open on October 26, 2019 at midnight UTC (click here for your time zone). That is 6 PM EST on Thursday, October 25 in the U.S.

We'll be starting out with a Classic Recs weekend, and then from October 28 through November 1 feel free to post any mix of recs you'd like. Then on November 2-4 we'll be closing things out with our Flash Forward weekend, several days of focusing on content from 2019. So no matter what assortment of fan-created content recs you have, they will be welcome!

(We want to remind anyone watching that the only reason membership has become moderated on our LJ account is due to spam accounts. Actual people wanting to join and post are very welcome, so don't hesitate to click!)

So for these 10 days please share your all-time favorite recs of fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms. As always, crossover content is A-OK, so let's celebrate these fandoms' works!

We also want to alert anyone following us here that our Dreamwidth account is also open to posts during this session but there is no need to duplicate content there if you are already posting here. For anyone on Tumblr or Pillowfort, please check those accounts for more information about local participation.

For anyone who has questions about how things will go, please comment here or you can check out information on what to post during a Buffyverse Top 5 session. And don't forget to signal boost as that way we'll have a good holiday feast :)

Our new affiliate seasonal_spuffy has opened signups for its fall session on LJ and Dreamwidth.

The session will run from Monday, November 11, through Sunday, December 1 and the theme will be Love Letters.

Top 5 is also open to affiliating with other Buffyverse and Whedon-fandom communities so if you'd like to be added to our list, drop us a message or comment here.

(The buffyversetop5 community will reopen on October 26 and run through November 5, 2019. )

buffyversetop5's 2018 session has come to an end, but many thanks to the hardy souls who contributed and commented! For anyone who has missed posting a list, the community will reopen on October 26 and run through November 5, 2019

We had previously discussed opening Top 5 again in January for a short 2018 session. However given current activity it seems unlikely that we'll get many lists during those days with its smaller focus. Instead we'll be having a longer session in October encompassing two weekends. We will maintain our long-running feature on new content with a Flash Forward weekend for 2019 on November 2-3. However, we'll emphasize that people can post their lists during whatever time during the session works best for them and they can also mix up their recs if they can't get together a whole set of either 2019 works or Classic Recs for a list.

We really appreciate everyone who continues to support Top 5 and we'll keep opening the community as long as there are people who want to post to it and see its archive grow. Thanks to all of you for your support!

Join your co-mods petzipellepingo and yourlibrarian in celebrating Halloween through all the time zones until midnight UTC on November 2 (check that in your time zone). Share your all-time favorite recs of fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms -- and, as always, crossover content is most welcome!

Classic Recs is running on both LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, with the option to copy posts onto Pillowfort and an interactive event at Tumblr. Post at whichever you wish. And if you like the treats someone has shared, let them know by commenting!

Remember that Saturday and Sunday will be our Flashforward 2018 session to highlight current works, but we also have 7 full days this year to share pre-2018 content. Do let us know if you have questions or need any help understanding what/how to post -- we'll be glad to hear from you!

... of recs for all fanworks in the Whedon fandoms! We are 13 days away from the kickoff of the first annual all-in-one buffyversetop5 session which will open at Midnight GMT on October 24 and run until Midnight GMT on November 2. As in the past, this Halloween session will be open for Classic Recs. But we're also going to have a new event -- FlashForward Weekend, October 27 and 28, for your 2018 recs!

For more information see our earlier post discussing this year's events. Don't hesitate to drop us a comment there if you have any questions. We hope to see you and your recs soon!

As we discussed in January's closing post, Top 5 is going through some changes this year. We have expanded our Halloween session to a 10 day period which will run from October 24 to November 2.

As in the past, this Halloween session will be open for Classic Recs. So we hope you'll share your favorite fics, vids, graphics, anything and everything fandom has produced in all the Whedon fandoms. Content from all time periods before 2018 are eligible for posting and, as always, crossover content is A-OK.

But there's more! ( Read more... )

Do let petzipellepingo and me know here in comments if you have any questions.