Kink Meme Etiquette?

[cruiscin_lan]

I was going to make another massive kink meme rec post, but when I jumped back into it I found a few things popping up that kept bugging me.

What is the proper etiquette on a kink meme? I mean, is it one fic per prompt? What about claiming - is claiming okay? And if there's a claim on a prompt, can you post a fic you wrote even though it's been claimed? If there's multiple fics allowed per prompt, then what is the point of claiming in the first place?

To me, claiming is just as annoying as seconding a prompt.

I may be showing off my newbishness here (yeah, I still have fandom baby-fat), but whatevs.

Comments

[omnipresentdmat.livejournal.com]

It's definitely okay to write something that someone else has. Yours isn't going to be the same as theirs, so it's really about interpretation. I think it's silly when people claim prompts.

[etoile-dunord.livejournal.com]

The way I've always thought of it, "claiming" a prompt was more about letting the OP know that they were going to get something--giving them something to look forward to. It's totally ok to have more than one fic per prompt, though, just to be polite, I might refrain from posting my version until the "claimer" had posted theirs (but that's just me being Canadian).

[ladyanne525.livejournal.com]

(but that's just me being Canadian)

I literally spat water at my screen when I read this. ;)

[cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com]

I'm going to see how that looks in capslock.

BUT THAT'S JUST ME BEING CANADIAN.

Nah, doesn't work. Too American, I guess.

[psycho-llama.livejournal.com]

The way I've always thought of it, "claiming" a prompt was more about letting the OP know that they were going to get something

Yeah that's what I thought as well. Not "I'm writing this so everyone else fuck off!" It's more of a reassurance than a possessive mine.

[cruiscin-lan.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of it depends on how the claimant words the claim. "Mine mine mine mine mine" is certainly a lot more possessive and immature than "Just FYI, I'm working on something for this, don't dismay!"

[faded-facade.livejournal.com]

I don't see why someone can't answer a prompt that's already been answered. Authors can have different interpretations.

I think it takes the fun out when people get all possessive over claiming prompts and getting huffy if someone else answered it first.

It's a kink meme, it's supposed to be for fun!

[speccygeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

As many fics per prompt as writers can think of from it, for god's sake. Anybody who "claims" just to be the only one who writes it is a whine-ass. Like Etoile said, the only reason to mark 'claimed' is to let the OP know something is coming and to have hope. xD

It is fucking annoying, though. I'd rather not have someone let me know I'm going to get a fic... I'll find out when you post the damn thing.

I have to make a rec post too... later. Now I need a shower.

[ladyanne525.livejournal.com]

I think you should write whatever prompts inspire you; if it's already been answered, then chances are your's is going to be totally different, and that way the requester gets two different fics. Everybody wins! As for claiming, I don't like it. I think it's weird and unnecessary. But that's just me...

[aurilly.livejournal.com]

People should feel free to write whatever they're inspired to write. That can be a lonely prompt, an already filled prompt, or even just a plot-bunny you get that you prompt yourself and then write. The ONLY purpose of the meme is to generate lots of porn for public consumption. There is no etiquette. People are currently pissing me off.

I would PM the mod and ask her to please delete the dibs bullshit stuff and make a new rule, but I already PM'ed her about something else a few days ago when I posted something incorrectly and needed to ask her to delete it for me. Maybe someone else (or a group of someone's) can PM her? I'm sure she'll make a new rule.

Claiming is MORE annoying than seconding, because at least seconding is just showing support and excitement about the idea and makes it seem more pressing to write the story. The claiming thing makes people who might have written shy about writing. And honestly, if I leave a prompt, I don't care to know that you're working on it. Either write and post the story or don't. *angry*

[perdiccas.livejournal.com]

Ditto to all of this. The dibs thing makes the meme less fun because it'll put people off who might happily write a second fic for that prompt and then there's less porn for *me* to read and when people stand between me and my porn, I tend towards cutting a bitch.

Plus, I dislike how people have gone through a claimed dibs on stuff mere minutes after the prompts have been posted, promising a fic "later that afternoon" and then not delivering. Way to make an ass of yourself, dibs caller.

And if I may highjack your etiquette question, what's the etiquette on people posting unfinished fics and leaving them languishing for days? I've always been of the "write the whole thing and then post it" persuasion because there are fics still unfinished from the memes I hosted, and it's annoying to think "YAY! My prompt has been filled!" but when you get there you've only got 500 word and it stops mid sex scene. BUUUT! if it wasn't allowed, we'd never have gotten the awesomeness of things like 'Leap of Faith' by roo2. Tis a quandry...

[aurilly.livejournal.com]

There are unfinished fics? Wow. That's so odd to me, because I feel like fics for the meme aren't usually longer than 3000words MAX. It's like an exercise in forced brevity. :)

I like what you did yesterday, where you started something, and then it kind of got out of control, so you just posted it as a regular fic.

[superkappa.livejournal.com]

Claiming is definitely annoying. Especially when people get possessive over it.

And as far as fic per prompt goes? The more the merrier. To me it's always interesting to see how several different people can take one prompt.

I need to do a rec post, but I think that shall come after my nap.

[dragynflies.livejournal.com]

I write for the prompts I like. If there is already a fic, I just make sure the tagline indicates it's different.

I have not claimed any because honestly, when you start acting a three year old during a kink meme I start to think your porn isn't any good. I did leave a post to an OP that I was working on their fic, since it was early in the post and I know they've asked for the same prompt the past several memes, but I did not "claim" it LOL.

[candlewaxdreams.livejournal.com]

Claiming on something like this is dumb. Everyone will have a different spin on the prompt, so I think it's great when different people answer the same prompt. And it's supposed to be fun after all. What's more fun than multiple fics from one idea?