Life isn't so simple that we can just categorize fiction into slots like "bad" and "good." Sometimes an idea is good but the execution is poor. Sometimes the execution is good but nothing really happens in the story. Here, then, are what I consider to be the six degrees of bad slash. I, of course, have never been guilty of any of these. *cough* - Jane

BabyBadfic
Courtesy of someone on the BTS mailing list, "BabyBadfic" is so bad, it's infantile. Written by someone who either has no grasp whatsoever on the concept of prose, or who is obviously in the middle of reading "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" for the first time, it was used to describe a Buffy fic called "What the Future Holds." The author of said fic shall remain nameless. It's also a good way to describe the Buffy story we reviewed called "Bad Girls." BabyBadfic gives you that hopeless feeling in the pit of your stomach, where you know that if you were to send constructive criticism, you would find yourself explaining the basics, such as the fact that dialogue should be believable, and sentences should end with periods, and stupid plot ideas should stay in the author's diary, not pulled out and posted on a dozen mailing lists.

GoodIdeaBadfic
For a half decent author, there's nothing more frustrating than seeing someone who can't keep her homonyms straight come up with a really bitchin' story idea. Sometimes BabyBadfic writers will come across something that has the potential to be really entertaining, such as two characters switching bodies. But it's done so badly, often in BabyBadfic style, that you can't even get enjoyment from reading it. Even worse, she's grabbed the idea, so you can't even write one of your own.

Unbeta'd Badfic
Unbeta'd Badfic is fic that would be good if it weren't for the typos, spelling errors and loathsome sentence structure. It's like you can see the good story in there, but each glaring error is like a poke in the ribs. It's akin to a wool sweater that looks nice but hurts like hell to wear. You may even read this fiction all the way through, wanting to be a nice person, but the long and the short of it is that the author needed a beta reader. Badly.

ViolentBadfic
You know what I'm talking about. Someone writes a story wherein a character gets tied to a chair, slapped silly and raped like a prison inmate who dropped the soap. And you can tell, just by reading it, that the author thinks this is extremely cool and sexy. The plot and the writing style are meaningless, really, because you're too busy trying to keep your lunch down. The angst is so thick that you could eat it with a spoon. Of course, no ViolentBadfic would be complete without a nice sex scene a few minutes after the torture.

MasturbatoryBadfic
MasturbatoryBadfic occurs when an author is off in her own little world, writing the characters she sees in her head, making them go to the zoo when there's no zoo for miles, making them get cancer for the hurt/comfort scenario and making them eat cotton candy after riding the Ferris Wheel. It has nothing to do with the show, and the characters don't come close to resembling how you've seen them act. But she's having fun, and that's the main thing.

Good author, bad fic
It could be called "GABF" for short. It sounds kind of funny when you say it out loud. Even the best authors go off on their little tangents, getting into a character or a concept or a plot that makes you go "hmmm." It's nothing to be ashamed of, really. We're in this for the fun of it. But more than ever, the author of a GABF is unlikely to get any honest criticism for said story. It may leave the reader a bit puzzled, scratching her head and thinking "What's wrong with me? I should be liking this." GABF can often occur when a series goes on for too long.