I updated the FAQ on Tumblr and G+. We should probably stick that somewhere on this forum.
So you have a short story. Or a long story. Or a poem, or a work of art, or a comic, or an interpretive dance. Whatever. And you want it to go in the Magic: Expanded Multiverse archive, so it can be viewed by other users, preserved for posterity, and, most importantly, so it can be used and expanded upon by other authors.
Great.
But… how the heck do you get something into the archives?
Well, INSERT NAME HERE, this guide is for you!
How do I get a work into the archive?
All works go into the archive by way of the Voting Forum, where you will submit your work for approval from the Voting M:EMbers’ Council. These people will vote on whether or not they think your work should be included in the archive. If the majority votes yes, you’re in!
If you have a No Goblins Allowed (www.nogoblinsallowed.com/) account, to submit your work you can post it (or a link to it) in the big Vote Request Thread, (http://forum.nogoblinsallowed.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=241) and someone from the project will set up the poll for you. (Note for people who can vote: if you’re already a voting M:EMber you can just go ahead and create a thread yourself.) Alternately, if you see someone from the Expanded Multiverse poking around your thread, feel free to ask them to submit the work for you. If you want to make sure you get noticed, though, your best bet is to use the request thread.
If you do NOT have a NGA account, e-mail your submission to
[email protected] or contact us via our social media accounts.
What information should I provide for a vote request?
You just need to provide an easy way for us to see and read the original work, the name of all the authors involved, and whether the work is Open, Public, or Private.
Those terms might sound confusing but they’re very simple and flexible. Open means that you don’t care what people do with your work—anyone can expand on the events and characters, or play with the image, however they like—it’s totally open. Public means you’re ok with people expanding on your work but you would prefer to get a notification first. Private means you ONLY want people to expand on your work if they get your approval for any changes.
Most works go in as Open or Public, since that allows for the greatest collaboration.
How are the votes tallied?
A voting poll looks something like this:
Yes: 3
No: 1
Not As Is: 1
Abstain: 2
In this example tally, three people have voted yes, and two people have voted no—one voting a straight “No” and another voting “Not As Is.” As of now, this work, by simple majority, would gain entrance into the archive.
While No is a flat refusal, Not As Is functions a bit differently. This choice means that the voter thinks the work is great… except for one or two details that need to be changed. Those details will be listed, and if you change your work to reflect those desires, the Not As Is will change to a Yes!
Those changes, though, are optional. Currently, this hypothetical work has enough votes to get in even without the changes. If there were more No votes, though, you would want to consider making those changes, since the change from a Not As Is to a Yes could change an overall loss to an overall win.
Abstain simply means that there are two voting M:EMbers who contributed to the work, and have excused themselves from voting due to conflict of interest.
This voting thing sounds fun! How do you I become a voting M:EMber?
Get a work in the archive.
No, seriously, that’s all it takes. We feel that if your work is good enough to be included in the Expanded Multiverse, then you are worthy of judging other people’s works as well.
Once you get a work in the archive, you should make a habit of checking the voting forum (http://forum.nogoblinsallowed.com/viewforum.php?f=45) every once in a while to see if there are other works up for vote. You may also want to check in on the larger Expanded Multiverse subforum, (http://forum.nogoblinsallowed.com/viewforum.php?f=19) to see if you can help other people with world design projects, story and character editing, and so on.
Voting sounds like hard work. Do I have to do it?
Nope. You don’t have to give people critiques on their work, either, for that matter. We strongly encourage it, to be sure, because the project is stronger when we have lots of participation, but nothing forces you to become a M:EMber. Just let us know that you don’t want to be added to the roster. If you do not want to be a voting M:EMber, that will not affect whether or not your work is included in the archive. Think of voting as an added, optional perk that’s our way of showing that we want you to stick around and join the community.
Can I become a voting M:EMber if I don’t have a No Goblins Allowed account/don’t post?
We’re still working this one out. As of now, not yet—we simply don’t have a system in place to allow that to happen. But this may change in the future.
Can I submit works if I don’t have a No Goblins Allowed account/don’t post?
Absolutely. We already have some works in the archive that were submitted through contact with council M:EMbers. Just send your work to
[email protected] and we’ll put it up for review!
What Other Ways Can I Get Involved?
A lot of our work is archival, and we therefore always need people to lend a hand moving materials from the old Wizards site to our new home on the NGA boards. What's more, we periodically try to archive old and endangered canon materials--stuff that was once accessible publicly on the Web but which has disappeared for one reason or another. We want this project, and Magic's long and fascinating history, to remain publicly accessible, and we always need help making that happen.
What's more, we can always use people willing to join the community to contribute critiques and feedback. If you read our works, please leave feedback. The best way to improve is to get feedback, so even if you don't want to create yourself, a great way to get involved is to just speak up and become an active part of our community!
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