I think this part of the conversation has got away from how to improve a specific fic challenge and more about what one might think looking at the fic challenge world in general. By which I mean, yes, if Sarah knows her work schedule won't allow her to finish the fic she shouldn't sign up (although I don't think the difference between me and her is that clear, tbh - at this stage, I can guess from past experience that I will usually not be able to complete a fic challenge and also not be able to let the mod know before I even sign up for it - which is why I no longer do. That is to say, my difficulties are not under my control but at this point in time they're also not unexpected. :()
But if all the fic challenges Sarah is interested in participating in are such that she will not be able to complete them on account of her work, then she's just as effectively barred from participating as I am because of my various disability issues. In that case, we can go "hey, wouldn't it be cool if there were more challenges of an entirely different format, specifically geared at the Sarahs and Kazzes of this world?" (And, you know, striking the balance between not committing to things I probably can't do and still somehow managing to participate in things so that I'm not constantly stuck on the outskirts making sad faces is actually one of the main issues I face in my online life.)
So there are things people might consider when making a new challenge where they don't have a reason to have it in the same strict-exchange format, which are really quite different from the things someone who is currently running a challenge or who really wants theirs to adhere to the exchange format could implement. E.g. I totally understand that "let people drop out without notice" is completely unrealistic for a running exchange, and more something to ponder one when one is thinking of creating a challenge with the specific goal that people who wouldn't normally be able to participate could, but OTOH I don't see any reason why the form e-mail thing shouldn't be possible for all challenges. I should have probably divided that list up a bit better. >>
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Date: 2009-10-26 03:04 pm (UTC)But if all the fic challenges Sarah is interested in participating in are such that she will not be able to complete them on account of her work, then she's just as effectively barred from participating as I am because of my various disability issues. In that case, we can go "hey, wouldn't it be cool if there were more challenges of an entirely different format, specifically geared at the Sarahs and Kazzes of this world?" (And, you know, striking the balance between not committing to things I probably can't do and still somehow managing to participate in things so that I'm not constantly stuck on the outskirts making sad faces is actually one of the main issues I face in my online life.)
So there are things people might consider when making a new challenge where they don't have a reason to have it in the same strict-exchange format, which are really quite different from the things someone who is currently running a challenge or who really wants theirs to adhere to the exchange format could implement. E.g. I totally understand that "let people drop out without notice" is completely unrealistic for a running exchange, and more something to ponder one when one is thinking of creating a challenge with the specific goal that people who wouldn't normally be able to participate could, but OTOH I don't see any reason why the form e-mail thing shouldn't be possible for all challenges. I should have probably divided that list up a bit better. >>