I've never modded an exchange, but I've modded fests, and participated in several exchanges. So, here's my two cents based on that.
1. You should be fine as long as Ao3 account is required for posting assignments. For DW, turning anon commenting on is how it's usually done, yeah. Generally this is not a problem. You can screen anon comments if you think there will be issues, but this is not necessary in most cases.
1A. Since images can't be hosted on Ao3, you might want to include instructions of where to host and how to post them - imgur is best in my experience, but some people won't know about it, or won't know how to embed on Ao3.
2. Communication by email is best if you're using google forms as signup. If you're using the Ao3 exchange tools for signups, then the assignment will be sent from Ao3 to the person's email + it will also appear on their assignment page on Ao3, and questions to mods can be sent via email (or DW). Sorry if this repeating things you know, but I don't know if you've been in an exchange that uses Ao3's exchange tools before.
3. assign every participant a number that only they and the mod/s know and keep a public sheet of "# is assigned [prompt]" for anonymous reference as necessary? - I'm not sure what this means. Are you planning to have the prompts visible to everyone? Most of the exchanges I've been in that use Google signups don't have visible prompts, but most of the exchanges I've been in that use Ao3 signups do have visible prompts. There are advantages/disadvantages to both options.
4. should mod/s match people up, or do people claim on a first-come first-serve basis? In exchanges, it's mods who match people. The only exchange I've participated in (out of like, 25?) that had any form of prompt claiming was NiF Exchange, where you picked your top three assignments and then the mod would assign one of those to you.
5. Age - yeah, include this in the signup form if you want to allow underage users to participate. Most of the ones I've been in don't allow underage users. (Is this even a problem in Chernobyl fandom?? It doesn't seem like the kind of canon that would be popular with kids.)
6. One problem that pops up with exchanges is that some people never receive a gift. This is obviously pretty crappy, so it's important to make sure that you're firm with deadlines, pinch hitters, and not opening the collection until everyone has a gift. I know this is all obvious, but it's an issue that pops up pretty frequently.
6A. How will you handle initial pinch hits? (These are ones that are left over at the beginning, rather than being PHs because somebody dropped.)
7. Will treating be an option in this exchange?
8. I notice you mention check-ins - the only exchange I've heard of that uses them is Fandom5k, and that's because it has a 5k minimum length. If you want to have them, there's no reason not to, but if your minimum is 1k then I don't think it will be necessary.
There are probably a lot of other things that I'm forgetting, but this is what I can think of right now.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-09-15 04:58 am (UTC)1. You should be fine as long as Ao3 account is required for posting assignments. For DW, turning anon commenting on is how it's usually done, yeah. Generally this is not a problem. You can screen anon comments if you think there will be issues, but this is not necessary in most cases.
1A. Since images can't be hosted on Ao3, you might want to include instructions of where to host and how to post them - imgur is best in my experience, but some people won't know about it, or won't know how to embed on Ao3.
2. Communication by email is best if you're using google forms as signup. If you're using the Ao3 exchange tools for signups, then the assignment will be sent from Ao3 to the person's email + it will also appear on their assignment page on Ao3, and questions to mods can be sent via email (or DW). Sorry if this repeating things you know, but I don't know if you've been in an exchange that uses Ao3's exchange tools before.
3. assign every participant a number that only they and the mod/s know and keep a public sheet of "# is assigned [prompt]" for anonymous reference as necessary? - I'm not sure what this means. Are you planning to have the prompts visible to everyone? Most of the exchanges I've been in that use Google signups don't have visible prompts, but most of the exchanges I've been in that use Ao3 signups do have visible prompts. There are advantages/disadvantages to both options.
4. should mod/s match people up, or do people claim on a first-come first-serve basis?
In exchanges, it's mods who match people. The only exchange I've participated in (out of like, 25?) that had any form of prompt claiming was NiF Exchange, where you picked your top three assignments and then the mod would assign one of those to you.
5. Age - yeah, include this in the signup form if you want to allow underage users to participate. Most of the ones I've been in don't allow underage users. (Is this even a problem in Chernobyl fandom?? It doesn't seem like the kind of canon that would be popular with kids.)
6. One problem that pops up with exchanges is that some people never receive a gift. This is obviously pretty crappy, so it's important to make sure that you're firm with deadlines, pinch hitters, and not opening the collection until everyone has a gift. I know this is all obvious, but it's an issue that pops up pretty frequently.
6A. How will you handle initial pinch hits? (These are ones that are left over at the beginning, rather than being PHs because somebody dropped.)
7. Will treating be an option in this exchange?
8. I notice you mention check-ins - the only exchange I've heard of that uses them is Fandom5k, and that's because it has a 5k minimum length. If you want to have them, there's no reason not to, but if your minimum is 1k then I don't think it will be necessary.
There are probably a lot of other things that I'm forgetting, but this is what I can think of right now.