This year, we’re changing the way we advertise pinch hits.
What are pinch hits?
Pinch hits are a system for ensuring everyone gets a gift. When an assignment isn’t matched to an author, or when an author has to default on an assignment, mods send that assignment out to pinch hit for anyone to claim.
See more at our FAQ.Previously, mods would advertise pinch hits via a Google group, and pinch hitters would claim them by responding to those advertisements over email. However, in 2022 and 2023, we had difficulties sending out pinch hits because Google groups throttled our messages when we sent too many too quickly - and wouldn’t tell us the actual thresholds for “too many” and “too quickly”. Because of this, we are trying something new this year.
How will pinch hits be advertised in 2024?
This year, full details of the pinch hits will be posted to the
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yuletide_pinch_hits Dreamwidth community. This is a public community, so you can see new pinch hits posted there even if you are not signed in.
Whether or not you have a Dreamwidth account, there are a few ways you can watch for pinch hits. Mods will continue to post alerts at the
Yuletide and Fandom Exchanges Discord and to the
pinch hit Google group. If you set .role yulephs in the #testing-and-bot channel of the Discord, you will get a ping when a pinch hit alert is posted. These alerts won’t include the full text of each pinch hit request but will link back to the associated Dreamwidth post.
If you want to see pinch hit posts in your feed reader, the RSS and Atom feeds for this community are:
How can I claim a pinch hit in 2024?
Comments are disabled at the
yuletide_pinch_hits Dreamwidth community. To claim a pinch hit, please
email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com and:
- Include the pinch hit number in the subject line
- Include the recipient’s AO3 name in the subject line
- Include your AO3 username in the body of the email
For example, if your AO3 username is
yuletidehippo and you want to claim Pinch Hit #42 for
AwsomRecip, you might email us with the subject line “PH 42 for AwsomRecip” and “I’m yuletidehippo on AO3” in the body of the email. As was the case previously, if you don’t receive a reply you did not get the pinch hit.
You do not need to be signed up for Yuletide or have a Dreamwidth account to claim a pinch hit. You do need an AO3 account.
Last year, we experimented with posting pinch hits to Dreamwidth and allowing pinch hitters to claim them either by email or by commenting on the Dreamwidth post. Dreamwidth is a good way to post details of pinch hit requests, but managing claims in both locations was inefficient for us. After discussion, we determined it will be easiest for us to manage claims over email, which is why comments are turned off at the Dreamwidth posts.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Sign-up notes
If your sign-up includes a letter link,
please make sure that link works for all viewers! In particular, if your letter is on tumblr, please set it up to be viewable for people who do NOT have tumblr. If you're using Google docs, we recommend linking a web-published version of your letter.
We also have notes on additional tags.
Please
don't choose the additional tag that says "My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)" if you're requesting a pairing, or if you're asking for 3-4 characters and you want at least 2 characters to show up. The "giver's choice" tag means you are giving your author explicit permission to write a story about ONE character you selected. If that isn't what you mean, please choose a different tag. Shippy content isn't guaranteed in Yuletide, but if you want both halves of your ship to show up in the same fic, please select both characters and also select "My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)".
If you’re asking for 3-4 characters and you want at least 2 characters to show up, please choose "My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form" - and then explain your exceptions. For example: “Any 2 of these characters” or “only A and B, or C and D”.
Please
don't choose the additional tag that says "My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)" if you have selected one character. That tag is designed to work with multiple characters. If you chose that tag and you're not sure why we're advising against it, please reach out (comments here or yuletideadmin@gmail.com).
Please
don't choose the additional tag that says "My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form" unless you immediately write your exceptions into the form. Please make sure those exceptions are in the signup form itself, not just in your letter.
Please
do check with us if you aren't sure which additional tag to use, or just want to confirm you understand things the same way that mods do. Thank you, we're happy to hear from you!
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