Poll: fic reading habits

[schneefink]

A poll about fic reading habits, because I'm curious.

(I'm posting a survey without testing it first, I keep flashing back to the semester-long seminar Don't Do That as well as the myriad real life examples of why this is bad. Fortunately this is not scientific.)

Poll #18459 Fic reading preferences

This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 58

View Respondents

Do you read fanfic?

View Answers

Yes, often
33 (56.9%)

Yes, sometimes
8 (13.8%)

Yes, with varying frequency
14 (24.1%)

Yes, rarely
2 (3.4%)

No
1 (1.7%)

Other or more details:

View Answers

What kind of fics do you like to read?

View Answers

Only finished stories or series
3 (5.3%)

Only finished stories, but ongoing series
16 (28.1%)

Finished stories, and WIPs only if there's a regular update schedule
9 (15.8%)

Finished stories, and WIPs only if I trust the author to finish the story eventually
9 (15.8%)

Finished stories and WIPs, preferably finished stories
19 (33.3%)

Finished stories and WIPs, preferably WIPs
0 (0.0%)

Finished stories and WIPs, no preference
1 (1.8%)

Only WIPs
0 (0.0%)

Other or more detail:

View Answers

I read fic for...

View Answers

fandoms I know
57 (100.0%)

fandoms I've heard of or know vaguely
35 (61.4%)

fandoms I don't know
17 (29.8%)

Other or more details:

View Answers

When looking for new fic, I...

View Answers

look at new works for my fandoms on AO3
40 (70.2%)

look at new works for my fandoms in other places, e.g. Tumblr or ff.net
6 (10.5%)

browse tags on AO3
37 (64.9%)

browse bookmarking services, e.g. pinboard
12 (21.1%)

follow recs
48 (84.2%)

go through my backlog of "to read" bookmarks
20 (35.1%)

Other, please elaborate
8 (14.0%)

Other or more details:

View Answers

Comments

[dancing_serpent]

I don't go looking at Tumblr, but ff.net is a site I'm still frequenting. Especially, as I'm often interested in small fandoms or rarepairs. For whatever reason, if I can't find anything on AO3, ff.net most often has something for me. No guarantee for quality, but at least something to give a try.

[devon]

Ah, when reading other people's responses, I was reminded of a good way to find fic at AO3. I go to an author I like and try to read their fandoms that I don't know very well. If it doesn't work, well, I just stop. But I haven't tried looking at their BOOKMARKS of stories that they really like enough to save, so I'm going to try that. Also, I have more authors I like whose "other" works I haven't read, yet.

[sholio]

The question about reading fic in fandoms you don't know was a hard one to answer for me, because I do, but not very often, and usually only if it's written by a writer whose work I love or recced in a way that makes it sound interesting enough that I'm willing to try reading it as original fic. So it's not something I do regularly enough to feel like I should tick those boxes on the poll, but it is something I do.

On Tumblr I usually find new fic via the character or pairing tags. I still read fic on ffn, but generally only via recs anymore -- it's not a fic-quality thing (AO3 has a similar dreck-to-quality ratio anymore, in my experience) but because I prefer the AO3 search interface and find it easier to find good fic that way. AO3 has been my first stop for years when I get into a new fandom or need new fic to read. Tumblr is increasingly coming up behind it as a second choice, but since there's no easy way to search for fic specifically, it's a hit-or-miss kind of thing and really depends on how people in the fandom typically tag stuff.

[weird_one]

It's cool to see how many people use an author's bookmarks to find new. It's reassuring to me that I'm not the only person who does this!