It is the author's responsibility and choice to provide appropriate information for any story which he or she submits. Gossamer encourages authors to provide correct categories, ratings, keywords and/or other content warnings to inform the reader about the story. Readers are warned that since this information is the author's responsibility, the information may be incomplete or inaccurate.
Because categories and keywords are not fully standard across the fan fiction community, Gossamer may be forced to infer these fields from the information given. For instance, if an author says "This story follows directly from the final scene of Requiem" in their author's notes, the database entry may include a category of story, a keyword of post-episode, and a spoiler of Requiem. Gossamer reserves the right to use any information provided by the author in the text prior to the beginning of the story in the database entry, and to fit that information into the Gossamer standards explained below. If you find that you dislike the information that Gossamer has gathered from your story, please write Gossamer and we will try to modify the entry to your satisfaction, within the Gossamer standards.
Categories and sub-categories are ways to classify the general content of a story, in order to help readers find the type of fiction they like to read. Categories also help determine which additional pages a story will be featured on--if no categories are listed, the story will not appear in any of the category listings. Authors are not required to provide category information, but are requested to make their choice clear by indicating "Not provided" in that field on the Gossamer header template.
The list of main categories that Gossamer currently uses to classify stories are:
| Categories (only one may be selected) | |
|---|---|
| Vignette (V) | Vignettes are mood or character reflection pieces, and generally contain only one or two short scenes and no plot. There can be conversation, but no real advancement. |
| Story (S) | Stories are character-driven fiction which contain a plot and possible character development. Friendship, family and romance stories fit into this category, as well as pure erotica. |
| X-File (X) | This includes plot-driven fiction centered around an X- Files investigation, or X-Files mythology. The story is typical of something you might see on the television show itself. |
| Adventure (T) | Plot-driven fiction not centered around an X-Files investigation or the mythology. This category is for action/adventure type fiction--stories you would probably not expect to see on the show itself. |
| Crossover (C) | Crossovers feature major characters from other shows, movies, or books, regardless of what other type of story it is. The show, book or movie which is featured should be included in the keywords field; for example, XF/Millennium crossover. |
| Sub-categories (multiple selections allowed) | |
| Romance (R) | One or more main characters are involved in romantic relationships. The characters involved should be listed in the keywords field. If it is an implied romance--something that can be classified as Unresolved Sexual Tension--please do not use the romance category. Use the Character/Character UST keyword only. Erotica should only be classified as romance if it includes romance. If it's just sex, use the Character/Character sex. keyword only. |
| Humor (H) | Overall, the story is meant to be funny. |
| Angst (A) | For most, or all, of the story, main character(s) are in great emotional or physical pain. |
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Authors are asked to rate their stories using a modified version of the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) rating system:
| G | The story is suitable for all audiences, including young children |
| PG | The story may contain some curse words, violence and/or sexual hints, but nothing graphic. |
| R | The story may contain a significant amount of profanity, graphic sex, graphic gore and/or explicit violence. It considers topics and/or has descriptions that may not be suitable for younger readers. |
| NC-17 | The story contains EXTREMELY graphic violence, gore and/or sex. It considers topics and has descriptions that may even be disturbing for adults. |
The author may also choose to provide no rating, or explicitly mark the story "Not Rated." Gossamer does not audit the ratings which authors have chosen, nor does Gossamer modify the ratings of stories without the author's consent.
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Spoilers are references to particular episodes, which would spoil those shows for a reader who has not seen them. While new episodes of The X-Files were being aired, spoiler warnings were essential because television schedules can vary by up to two years around the world. Now that the series has ended, spoilers are primarily useful for identifying the context in which the story was written. Nevertheless, it is considered polite to warn about possible spoilers to avoid ruining an episode for some readers.
We request that you only list the latest episode your story spoils, since that will encompass all prior episodes. If your work is a pre- episode, missing scene or post-episode, please list the episode that it relates to in the spoiler field.
Allowed values: any episode for which FOX/1013 has posted a definite title. Also full seasons (Season 1, Season 2), which implies spoilers through the final episode of that season.
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Keywords are content warnings or descriptions that provide additional information about your story to the reader. Authors are not required to use keywords, but are strongly encouraged to in the case of controversial content.
Relationship Related Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Character/Character. | The relationship noted includes sex, but no romance. NOTE: The word "sex" has been added to this keyword to clarify its definition. This form is now obsolete. |
| Character/Character sex. | The relationship noted includes sex, but no romance. |
| Character/Character romance. | The relationship noted is romantic in nature. There should be an R listed in the subcategory field. |
| Character/Character UST. | The relationship noted involves Unresolved Sexual Tension. |
| Character/Character friendship. | The relationship noted is platonic in nature (friendships.) |
| Character/Character married. | The two characters are married. If the relationship is also romantic, there should be an R in the subcategory field. |
| Note: Character/Character includes all reoccuring characters from the television show (characters that appear in more than one episode.) | |
| Character/other. etc | Same definitions as above. |
| Note: other includes characters that occur in only one episode, original characters, Mary Sues, etc. The name of 'other' will not appear in the keyword. | |
Content Warnings |
|
| Rape. | A character is raped; should be used for anything beyond a brief mention. |
| Character death. | Major character dies. |
Content Descriptors |
|
| Alternate universe. | Main XF characters traveling in time and/or developing extraordinary 'powers', fantasy stories, sword and sorcery stories, stories that place the characters into totally different 'worlds' other than the standard XF universe. Mulder and Scully in the Highlander universe would be an alternate universe story. However, if the Highlander CHARACTERS were also being used, that would make it a crossover instead. |
| Colonization. | The story involves alien colonization of earth. |
| Parody. | The story is a parody. |
| Pre-XF. | Stories which mainly or completely take place before the X-Files pilot episode. |
| Post-Series. | Stories which mainly or completely take place after the final X-Files episode. |
| Script format. | Stories written in screen play format. |
| Slash. | The story contains a same-sex sexual relationship. |
| XF/[universe]. | Names the crossover universe(s). |
| Pre-episode. | The story takes place before an episode, but strongly relates to that episode. The episode should be noted in the spoilers field. |
| Missing scene. | The story takes place during an episode and is either a character's reflections about a scene or a new scene (fill-in-the-blank). The episode should be noted in the spoilers field. |
| Post-episode. | The story takes place after an episode and strongly relates to that episode. The episode should be noted in the spoilers field. |
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A summary is a brief description (50 words or less) TV-Guide like synopsis of your story. Do not include editorial content (references to yourself and your reasons for writing the story) in the summary-- that information belongs in the author' s note if you wish to include it. Also, do not use abbreviations (such as M&S instead of Mulder and Scully) in the summary, to make the provided information easier to copy and paste into the database.
A correct summary:
Summary: Mulder and Scully discuss what happened with Skinner, then participate in some nocturnal activities.
An incorrect summary:
Summary: I wrote this after listening to my favorite song, because I was thinking about what Mulder might say to Scully. SMUT ALERT!
Gossamer reserves the right not to include summaries which are purely editoral content, or contain information duplicated elsewhere in the database entry. Gossamer may also edit summaries which are too long for our database field, or which contain a mixture of editoral content and story description.
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All other information--dedications, author's notes, extra story background, etc--is included at an author's discretion. Authors are encouraged to read the information on acceptable and unacceptable submissions, as well as the information about the editing of non-story text before submission to Gossamer.