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Q: What is this snake fight thesis defense, anyway?
A: “FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion of Your Thesis Defense” is a McSweeney’s article written by Luke Burns in 2010.
Q: Does this fandom even exist?
A: Yes. It has now been a Yuletide fandom in three different years (2020, 2023, and 2024), which has led to a higher-than-usual number of fics for an online parody article. As of the writing of this FAQ, there are forty works on AO3 tagged with this fandom.
Q: Do I need to fight a snake to participate in this fandom?
A: No. In fact, this is largely discouraged. And it is in particular strongly discouraged to fight any of the approximately one hundred endangered species of snakes.
Q: Do I need to write a thesis to participate in this fandom?
A: No, unless writing a thesis is a required component of your post-secondary education, in which case yes, though that is a matter of correlation rather than causation.
Q: I am preparing for my defense next month. Can I participate in this fandom?
A: No. You do not have the time to add anything to the fandom tag at the moment. Should you survive your defense, you are welcome to return and share your story. Perhaps make an audio recording of your snake fight to contribute to our understanding of this tradition.
Q: Are there even any podfics in this fandom?
A: There are indeed podfics. As of the writing of this FAQ, there are six podfics tagged with this fandom. This means that podfic makes up more than 10 percent of the tag. At least one is a repod.
Q: Does that mean that there are authors with blanket permission in the fandom?
A: It does mean that. Per anecdotal evidence, Yuletide seems to attract a higher-than-average number of participants with blanket permission, so a significant number are present in this tag. Out of twenty-nine fic authors in the fandom tag, fourteen have blanket permission.
Q: I love this article, but I don’t know if I can really get invested in something based entirely on one parody article. Are there any other fandoms involved?
A: There are several crossover fics or fusion fics in the tag, including but not limited to crossovers with the Locked Tomb series, Naruto, and Vorkosigan Saga.
Q: Are there other fandoms that would make for a great new crossover with this fandom?
A: This fandom lends itself well to crossovers and fusions in general, so most any fandom would likely be possible. Some specific examples include Untitled Goose Game (as another animal that would be odious and dangerous to fight in a thesis defense) and xkcd (as beloved by academics decorating office doors everywhere).
Q: I really like to podfic unusual formats; are there any of those in the tag?
A: There are several fics with unusual formats, such as email chains, FAQs, parts of a doctoral dissertation, and many more emails.
Q: If I were to organize a multivoice, would other podficcers be likely to be interested in participating?
A: While one can never be completely certain of anything, it is very likely you could find other podficcers who are interested in such a project, especially if it were in the context of a large podfic event. At least one multivoice has already been created.
Q: My thesis includes oral interviews in which people discuss their snake fights. Can I post these to the AO3 tag?
A: No. While Archive of Our Own is an archive, it is not the place for your original research. Remixes or added commentary tracks would make excellent additions to the collection.
Q: Do I need to know anything about academia or snakes to be able to enjoy this fandom?
A: While knowledge of academia and/or snakes may increase one’s enjoyment of the works produced in this fandom, no knowledge is necessary as a prerequisite.
Q: Are there any resources that might be helpful to podficcing in this fandom?
A: Occasionally, scientific names of snakes will be referenced in works in this fandom. If this is not an area in which you have expertise, be aware that pronunciation of such names is not standardized, and anything you say will be perfectly understandable. If you still have questions, you can consider checking out the reptiles pronunciation guide from Animal Life Resource.
Q: I am working on my own thesis. By participating in this fandom, will it become more likely that a snake fight will be added as part of my thesis defense?
A: Yes.
Notes:
Since this article was published, some changes have occurred in this fandom that are relevant to the information presented here. While keeping this article updated is outside the scope of this publication, the editors do wish to call your attention to this crossover with Untitled Goose Game: FAQ: The Goose Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense - A Radio Show.
Chapter 2: image version
Chapter by deepestbluesky, farkenshnoffingottom, GoLBCollabs (GodOfLaundryBaskets), korechthonia, schittposting
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