The unofficial Story Contest comments thread

[Monk]

Just so everyone is aware. I'm no longer AM of the Mead Hall.

Just so there's no confusion about things and so it's clear no favoritism or conflict-of-interest appears, Kukrikhan has been made temp mod of the Mead Hall until the judging ends. Therefore as for as entries go mine is no different from anyone else's.

I'll retake my place as AM of the mead hall once the judging ends, thank you.

[KukriKhan]

Hello contestants, writing enthusiasts, and avid readers. We have about 3 hours until the contest is closed for submissions. I know it's kind of last minute, but the contents of this thread seem to dictate a clarification or explanation of the goals and rules of the contest. Monk has handed the administrative baton to the judges, so that he can make an entry too. So here is my take on what was intended, and what we should do next:

General Goals:
1) fun way to pass some time. This is the primary reason for having the contest. Anything that distracts or diminishes the fun, should be closely examined and dealt with.

2) good work by entrants. We see in the Mead Hall, and throughout the Org forums, much talented writing. It was thought a contest would be an opportunity to showcase some of that talent.

3) reader enjoyment. I always enjoy a clever turn of phrase, a well-put point, a nicely constructed argument...and I bet many others here do as well.

Specific Rules:
1) Original work; straightforward enough - no copying Hemingway, etc
2) 1,000 or less; more of a challange than many think. That's a third the size of the average news story, so the author must distill his idea quite a bit to have traction.
3) No edit; this to combat the natural writers' tendancy to continually refine his/her piece, since, once submitted, all entries are visible here. Having submitted my own work on Monday, it wouldn't be fair to let me change my story after I'd seen Johnny's Tuesday submisssion, which inspired me to go in a different direction. Spelling, puncuation and other administrative edits should be done before submission, to insure that everyone's entries start on a level playing field, and no doubt remains as to any entrant's good faith.
4) Comply with Org language rules; we acknowledge that a well-placed curse word can certainly 'punch up' a string of dialog...but relaxing this Org rule for the contest would embolden some members to use such language elsewhere, which we cannot have.
5) Open to all; this to get as many entries as possible from our broad demographic.
6) One entry per user name; this to recognize that some members have many usernames

What we should do next: Despite the brilliant quality of many of the entries, in the interests of fair play and contest integrity, we will automatically disqualify any entry that was edited after submission, and hope that the affected entrants aren't too disappointed. I apologize if any feelings are hurt by this decision, but it seems the only way, short of chucking the entire contest, to be fair to those who did comply with all of the rules. (Next contest, we'll use the excellent suggestion above of PM'ing the entries, to sidestep this problem).

However, to recognize the excellent efforts of all the authors, we will leave disqualified entries visible, for the readers' enjoyment - with a disclaimer at the top of the entry that it is not part of the official contest. (I will try to dig up the previously deleted entries from the database; they may be yet available).

Finally, once this post has published, I'll be PM'ing the disqualified authors to solicit their input on this solution.

All other input will be gratefully received. frogbeastegg and I will not begin judging until about 0800 GMT Wednesday, 3 August.

[shifty157]

Just wondering how exactly youll be judging. Are there different categories? Are you using a number scale? A rubric? Or is the judging going to be entirely subjective?

[Azi Tohak]

I feel honored...using my little thread for the news Kukri...I just wonder how many people will see it?

Any idea when the results would be posted? (or pm'd or whatever)

This is fun though. I don't usually look at this particular part of our lovely establishment. I like the stories though! Especially the campaign ones.

Azi

[KukriKhan]

I couldn't decide between
and

(just kidding, folks), so I decided to go less scientific and rate each eligible entry on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 high) on the 3 stated criteria (originality, presentation & entertainment value)...or something like that.

In the end, although I'll use some numbering system to help me, it will be totally subjective. frogbeastegg will use whatever feels comfortable for her, and finally we'll assess the Org zeitgeist via a poll. The three put together should yield a pretty fair assessment of the entries (or so it's hoped).

[shifty157]

Or how about this:


Anyway. How do you grade on presentation?

[KukriKhan]

I feel honored...using my little thread for the news Kukri...I just wonder how many people will see it?

Any idea when the results would be posted? (or pm'd or whatever)

This is fun though. I don't usually look at this particular part of our lovely establishment. I like the stories though! Especially the campaign ones.

Azi

We thank you for the fine idea Azi Tohak of starting a 'comments' thread to accompany the contest. We'll use your idea in the next iteration, with your permission.

frogbeastegg and I will review the entries, without consultation, and draw up our own ordered lists. Meanwhile, tomorrow morning (my time, GMT minus 8 hours) I'll create a poll of the eligible entries, ordered by time of submission, for the Org to vote. That poll will be anonymous, but on a 1-vote per user basis, and voters may make comments. It will stay open 5 days to garner votes from the maximum amount of people possible. That poll will close midnight GMT, Monday, 8 August. Winners get announced Noon, GMT, Tuesday, 9 August.

[KukriKhan]

Or how about this: [img]

Anyway. How do you grade on presentation?

LoL, the coin flip.

As I say, my judging will, in the end, be totally subjective...but I'll answer that question, anyway.

To me, "presentation" is the whole non-content package; how does it look, how does it read; do I have to stumble over misspellings and misplaced words, or does the piece flow, gently leading me from one sentence and thought, to the next?

Can I suspend my disbelief, and actually dive into the story/idea being presented? Did I feel anything, when I've finished, or did I always know that I was the reader & and the author was the writer? Did the author literally 'capture' my attention, or just rent my eyeballs for 5 minutes?

That's what I look for.

[LeftEyeNine]

1- Well, what about the open-to-members poll ? Does it have any influence over your judgement or just to keep the contest subject hot and discussed ?

2- I feel that this was a dumb question. What about you ?

[CrackedAxe]

sorry if sumthing i said made you decide to back out. i also didnt knowingly edited my story, but i was more wrong than you. i dont know what your story was, but atleast share it with us in the meadhall. (if it still can)

again my apoligies if it was due me.

No worries, Umeu, my decision had nothing to do with what you said. I just thought it was the fair thing to do. I've now posted the story to the mead hall (An End To It) if anybody would be kind enough to spare the time to read it!

Oh, and The Shadow One - next time, mate!

[KukriKhan]

1- Well, what about the open-to-members poll ? Does it have any influence over your judgement or just to keep the contest subject hot and discussed ?

2- I feel that this was a dumb question. What about you ?

Not at all, LeftEyeNine...a fine question it is. After I have created the poll, I will not refer to it again until it is time to close it. How can I prove that? I cannot. If I could, I would. But: I cannot; board software does not allow username tracking throughout the site. So it ultimately is a matter of trust. You (all) of me.

[King Henry V]

We could always monitor Kukrikhan's activities to make sure he isn't on "Viewing Story Contest Poll"..... just kidding. Such a thing is only worthy of the .com, not the org which has been an excellent, friendly internet home for me for many months.*disable sycophantic mode*

[frogbeastegg]

On the subject of the poll, if I remember correctly it is possible with this board to create polls where the results stay hidden after voting. Very simply, that means even if Kukri and I drop in to the thread we will not be able to see anything, and likewise for every other person at the org. We will be asking TosaInu about this, and if it is possible that will be our poll of choice.

[King Henry V]

No! I would't be able to stand the suspense for so long.

[The Stranger]

little problem with the POLL though.

1. juniors cant vote, how will this be solved

sumthing about the contest in whole
2. native englishspeakers have a big lead.

[Leonin Khan]

i got 2 stories in the contest.....that with 12 words too much was deleeted but is back now...huh

[King Henry V]

Where is the poll? I can't find it!

[KukriKhan]

Where is the poll? I can't find it!

Not up yet, mate. We are on hold, pending responses from all contestants to my PM (please check your PM inbox, everyone).

[Ianofsmeg16]

So Kuri, whats the word about the contestants? has everybody answered you?

[KukriKhan]

Yes, the responses are coming in; no clear majority opinion just yet, though. I'll post the results as soon as I've received at least 15 votes (51.7%) one way or the other.

[CrackedAxe]

Where do we vote again?

[KukriKhan]

There will be a poll here in the Mead Hall.

[KukriKhan]

Update:

The majority of contests have responded, and they decided to

allow all entries to be judged.

There were some dissenting votes, some abstentions, and a few non-responders...but a clear majority of contestants voted to allow; so we shall.

We are constructing a poll that will be posted and stickied soon. Everyone is authorized and encouraged to vote. To insure that the poll voting does not affect the 2 judges (frogbeastegg and me) the poll results will remain hidden until it is closed (thanks to our able Administrator, TosaInu & his SQL magic).

[The Stranger]

coool

[Ianofsmeg16]

I'd like to say good luck everybody, i have read most of the stories and they seem top notch, better than mine anyways. Remember this is all in the spirit of fun so i want no pissy fits when i win ok?

[King of Atlantis]

When will the poll be up?

[KukriKhan]

As soon as the coding is finished to hide the results from all (me included, to insure impartiality). This feature is not an integral part of board software, so must be hand-done, manually. Soon. Sorry for the delay.

[King of Atlantis]

Alright cool, so that means you have already narrowed down the results?

[frogbeastegg]

No, every single entrant is included in the poll. Technical wizardry was required to do that too, as the usual limit is 20 options and we have 29.

[King Henry V]

Since the poll is a few days late, does that mean that it will be open longer? BTW, am I allowed to make an exit poll, to give a forecast to what the result may be?