Trib

Trib and "Tribber" are terms used in print zine fandom. 
To trib is to contribute a story, poem, filk, or piece of art to a zine.
Tribber is someone who tribs material to a print zine.
A trib also refers to one's contribution or individual "zine" in an APA.
Tribbers generally receive a free trib copy of the zine they trib to. Trib copies may be dependent on the size of one's contribution, though -- for instance, a zine editor might declare that tribbers needed to send a minimum of three pages of story, or a certain number of poems or pieces of art, in order to receive a trib copy.
==Some History and Description==
In 1989, Susan M. Garrett wrote: 
==The Politics of Tribbing==
One expectation regarding tribbed materials is that one should not submit their fanworks to more than one zine at a time. 
Editors wanted exclusive rights to print fanworks in their own zine in order to attract readers. 
Readers also did not want to see stories and poems in a newly purchased zine that had previously appeared elsewhere. They expected material to be brand-new. 
Sometimes editors got permission from previous zines to reprint material, and they were expected to make clear that the stories and other items had been previously published, and from where. 
It was bad form to reprint fanworks without this acknowledgment, even with the original creator's permission. 
Of course, reprinting a fanwork without permission from the editor or original creator was considered very bad form, not unlike the sin of plagiarism.
It was expected that zine editors give a timely response to authors and artists who had tribbed material. Holding onto tribs without acknowledgment put their creators in a bad spot; they weren't allowed to submit the material to another zine, but no reply from the editor meant they did not have the freedom to shop their content around. 
Contributors also had to have patience, as sometimes their material did not see publication for a long time, commonly months and sometimes years passed before their story, poem, article, or art was available. While uncommon, sometimes fans took back permission from editors; this sometimes led to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
 
==Time Limit for Posting Online==
When the internet became an option, fan creators and editors had to come to an understanding regarding posting print items online. 
Fans generally agreed that stories printed in a zine needed to "time out" before they could be posted online. This period of time was usually understood to be a year. There were, however, exceptions to this: Beyond Dreams Press asked for three years. Submission Guidelines 
From a fan, Lorraine Anderson, in 1995: 
Randy Landers, owner of Orion Press, made this statement in April 1996: 
For fans straddling both the print fan and the online world, things could get complicated. From a fan in early 1997: 
==Creating Specifically for the Trib==
It was considered somewhat gauche for a fan to admit they were writing and/or submitting material for the pure goal of obtaining a free fanzine. This is a reflection of fandom as a place of generosity, of non-profit community standards, and as a place where one does it purely for the love of it.
 
From 1996: 
==Tracking Down One's Trib==
While most zine editors were diligent in tracking down and sending their tribbers their zines, not all kept up their end of the bargain. 
From a fan in 1985 wrote a personal statement: 
From a fan in 2003: 
 
==A Trib Copy Was Not Entirely "Free"==
From a fan in 1991: 
From a fan in 1996: 
A slightly different spin from a fan in 2000: 
==Who Gets a Trib? -- Involved Some Math! ==
Different zine editors had different stipulations about what fanworks were "worth" in terms of a trib copy of their zine. This was based on community norms, supply and demand, and scarcity. Things like word count or page lengths, the value of poetry and fanart all came into play in the trib equation. One zined gave fan who wrote essays and reviews for Communicator (1981-1985) got a free trib copy but fans who simply wrote a letter of comment did not.
A fan in 1986 described a pecking order of value: 
 
From a 1991 comment in Cold Fish and Stale Chips #10: 
From a 1991 comment in A Throw of the Dice: 
From a 1997 comment: 
From a press, possibly in 2002: 
From a fan in 2003: 
From an undated post at Requiem Publications: 
==General Comments==
===1990===
===1999===
==References==
Category:Zine Glossary