gumworthexchange | Sign-Ups

Hello everyone! Sign-ups open tomorrow, so we thought we'd make a post about sign-up details, mostly answering questions that first time exchange participants might have.

How do sign-ups work?
Once sign-ups open, the only tags you will be able to use are from the tagset. Make sure to nominate as much as you can!
You can now use the tags you nominated to create requests and offers. Because this is a ship-centric exchange, you can request/offer only GumWorth, but you must also request 4 freeforms as a minimum per request and offer.

However, you must also offer to match to someone else's request in the collection. Your offers are what you are willing to create and you are free to put do not match notes, but you must be matchable to at least one other person. By matchable we mean that you must offer something that matches someone else's request. As an example, you could choose to offer anything, offer anything as long as it is for a certain pairing, or you could take a look through the requests and pick ships/tags to offer based on the requests you are interested in fulfilling.

If you are unmatchable, or do not have an offer that pairs with someone else's request, we will contact you through your AO3 email. Please keep tabs on your AO3 email once signups close. This is when we will be reaching out to unmatchable people. If we don't hear back from you by 11:59PM EST on the 24th, we will delete your sign up. So please keep in touch if you don't go out of your way to be matchable!

How does matching work? What are requirements for our assignments?

Matching is done based on one relationship and two additional tags. When you create your work for your recipient, it should include at least one relationship that they requested, and at least two of the additional tags. However, you can still do as many as relationships or additional tags as you like.

You also are not required to fulfill only the request or tags that you matched on. For example, you might have matched because you offered a relationship and tags that match your recipient's first request, but you might decide you are more inspired by their second request. As long as your work fulfills the same criteria, you are welcome to do any of their requests.

What do I put in the description? What's a letter?

The "description" category on sign-ups is your place to put any optional details you might have about your request, such as suggestions, ideas you had, or things you like. This is also where you should put any DNWs. If you do not put your DNWs in your sign-up, we cannot enforce them. You are not required to add any additional details or a letter. Additionally, if you would like to opt-in for treats, please mention it in your optional details.

A letter is an optional document that you post on another website, such as Tumblr, Dreamwidth, etc. These are good places to write more extensively about relationship dynamics you like, kinks, tropes, and anything else that might be helpful to your gifter.

Only DNWs and tags are enforceable. Your gifter is under no obligation to use the details from your description or letter. However, most people will generally try to make something you will like, and may take inspiration from these things.

What are DNWs?
DNWs are exactly what they say on the tin: things you Do Not Want. Some examples of reasonable DNWs might include: kinks, background ships, or certain ship dynamics. However, you cannot use these to box your creator into creating a very specific kind of work. For example, if you created a request with the tag "Medieval AU", it would be reasonable to DNW "realistic medieval politics", but it would be unreasonable to DNW "any medieval period besides 12th century England". Obviously this can be a fine line, so feel free to contact a mod if you're worried about being too specific, or take a look at what other people are writing in their DNWs.

Deadlines?
You must be finished with your gift, either 750 words of fic or a clean sketch if you draw, by February 22nd 2023, 11:59 PM EST. You have a whole month to create something. If you are not done by then, or think you won't be done by then, please contact the mods immediately via email to discuss an extension (gumworthexchange@gmail.com).

Defaulting?
If you must default, please press the Default button in your AO3 assignment tab. You do not need to contact us or ask permission to default. Just do it as soon as you can so we can get a pinch hit for your recipient.

Treating?
Treating is when you create something for a person you were not assigned to. Maybe you were really inspired by their prompt but only saw it after signups closed, and you didn't match to them! You are free to write/draw for them too. Treats have no minimums, and can be art or fic, regardless of what the recipient chose in their sign-up, but should still respect DNWs.

How do I post a treat?
Simply post your work as you usually would, but put it in the gumworth_exchange_2023 collection. Be sure to spell your recipients name correctly. You can also click the "Post to Collection" button at the top of the collection page.

Please make sure that gifting is enabled on your AO3 account if you wish to receive treats, and make mention of it in your optional details.

Oh no! I forgot to include something in my sign-up!
Don't worry! As long as it's before sign-ups close, you can go back and edit your sign-up! If you plan on signing up, it's a good idea to get a rough sketch of your requests down (many people write "Details/Letter TBA). That way if sign-ups do close, and you forget the deadline, you've at least signed up with some tags! But if you have any DNWs or optional details you want to include, make sure to do them before the deadline!

Feel free to leave any further questions in the comments, or send us an email at gumworthexchange@gmail.com.