Subject: I think ...
Author:
Posted on: 2014-08-12 15:00:00 UTC

... we need some sort of agreed upon definition of what constitutes legendary.

The wiki page isn't being very helpful on the subject. All the fics on it were added back in 2008, most of them by the same editor. There's nothing about which criteria were used, except that they have to be nominated on the Board. (Digging through the Board archives for the nomination threads might give some more information.)

On the wikipage for Goodfic, it merely states that 'Certain goodfics that are very popular among the PPC are elevated to the status of Legendary Goodfic.' and doesn't even mention the actual fandoms involved.

Likewise, on the Legendary Badfic page it also says 'The Legendary Badfic is a collective name for the worst badfic encountered by the PPC, specifically those 'fics which most of the community have heard of and (in many cases) been traumatized by.' Again, it mentions the PPC, not the fandoms.

I think it's safe to say that the definition of 'Legendary' used to be looser and more based on what was well known in the PPC community, rather than in the fandoms in question. As such, both pages may need a clean-up, if we come up with a new, stricter definition.

Also, should we compare goodfics with badfics, when deciding what 'well known' means?
It strikes me as a bit unfair to the goodfics. Even people who never read fanfics might read 'legolas by Laura' or 'My Immortal' (which are both very short) simply to gawk at the horribleness in them and then spread the word, thus making them infamous in all the fandom. Goodfics, on the other hand, are mostly known among people who want to read fanfics and can have a much harder time catching the eye of the whole fandom. Especially considering that most people don't recommend fics that they haven't read themselves and something like OFUM or 'Don't Panic' are long and take a while to get through.

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