All stories added to this group will be added by staff members, but I do want to give a general idea of what we are looking for. Staff members should keep these in mind, and even if you aren't one, if you are recommending a story here or thumbing up or down a recommendation, this is what we are judging by:

Is this a good story? This is our primary concern. Was it fun? Funny? Scary? Did it make us cry? Were we really worried about the characters? Do we want to tell a couple of thousand people "hey, you should read this?" Can we think of a reason to give them to check this out? This is up to the individual staff members, and is the most important part of their decision.

Is there something about the characters that we like? Obviously as fans of the show we like the characters on MLP:FIM. If the story uses an alternate or exaggerated version of those characters, is it done well or in a way that sold us on the new version? If it uses OCs or background ponies, were they written in a way that fit the story and setting and made us care about them? This is also up to individual staff members to decide.

Is the technical stuff good enough that it didn't take away from the story? Formatting, grammar, and spelling exist in writing for a reason: they help readers understand what was written. If those things are flawed enough that they're making a story hard to read, we're going to be giving it a pass. This, too, is up to the judgement of individual staff members.

Are any mature or controversial subjects being used as part of the story, or are they the only draw? There are plenty of good stories that tackle adult themes, including sex and violence. We want those here! There are also plenty of stories where the only selling point is sex, violence, or controversy. This is not the group for them. Once again, this is up to individual staff members.

You might have noticed that everything on this list is up to individual staff members. This is good news for people looking to get stories in here; it means that if one of them wasn't nuts about a story, maybe someone else will be. They all have different taste, different tolerances, and love different kinds of stories. But all the staff members have one thing in common: Tag-a-long's Book Club trusts them to find stories that people might like to read.

We appreciate any help you can give them in finding those stories.

ust fyi folders aren't locked right now.

4025889

If those things are flawed enough that they're making a story hard to read, we're going to be giving it a pass.

I find this statement ambiguous, unless I misunderstand what 'giving it a pass' means :)

4030538

I suppose I could reword. In this case, we'd be passing it up and not including it.

--arcum42

4025889

Are any mature or controversial subjects being used as part of the story, or are they the only draw? There are plenty of good stories that tackle adult themes, including sex and violence. We want those here! There are also plenty of stories where the only selling point is sex, violence, or controversy. This is not the group for them. Once again, this is up to individual staff members.

To expand on this, are there ant particular topics that would be forbidden here, just by the nature of the topic? Topics which delve deep into social moors which would be forbidden in real life. I know of one such story in the Self Promotion thread which deals with a topic which is considered highly controversial on fimfic.net. Personally, I think it is one of the best fics on the site, and deals with the subject in a very mature manner. The author has done a ton of research on this topic, and has done really well, in my opinion.

I ask this mainly because I wish to know where the boundaries might be. I do not wish to cross any boundaries by recommending any stories which would cross such boundaries to be unacceptable here.

4070539

I deliberately made the standards here rather more subjective and up to the individual staff member, so the lines aren't as clear cut as they were in Twilight's Library. I would personally ask that serious matters were treated seriously in the fanfic: i.e. rape is not comedy, just done for drama or vicarious enjoyment, or something someone shrugs off, but instead is something serious that affects the characters for years to come, fanfics involving incest explore why it isn't normally a good idea and the consequences, and so on.

Things that involve rape, incest, foalcon, etc, are going to be a harder sell, and will be a lot harder to get in, but I can think of circumstances where they could get in. I remember reading a story about how Applejack had been molesting Apple Bloom for years which focussed on Apple Bloom's state of mind and how upset she was at Applejack being taken away, for example, though I now can't find it. Twilight-the-Pony has been writing a mature story recently called Burning Dreams that I'd probably be willing to add that deals seriously with rape. I've been meaning to look back and make a decision on it.

So it is very much going to depend on how seriously they take the topic and how well written it is, and most of all, if it's something compelling that one of our story scouts or librarians feels is worth recommending.

--arcum42

4070676 The story I was thinking of deals with the love between Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle, and how they deal with the fact that Equestrian society considers it a taboo love, due to Sweetie's young age. It is done as a very serious story with a ton of research and forethought. It is rated Mature with the sex tag, for one small scene (which is marked clearly, so that the reader may easily skip over if they wish.

It is one fic I do highly recommend.

4070800

I'd say to go ahead and add it to the recommendation thread, but make sure to mention what you already have here about the topic matter, including the relationship, the sex scene, and how it deals with the topic, just so anyone going into it (who may not have seen this thread) knows what they are getting into...

--arcum42