The unofficial Story Contest comments thread [Archive]

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Azi Tohak

07-31-2005, 20:43

I don't know how well this will go over with those in charge, but I thought I would make this so we can give (not insulting) comments to those who have posted for the contest.

I must say, I am pleased. Those stories are pretty good, and I think the judging will be tough.

I am just happy I finally saw the silly contest (I frequent the backroom most of the time. D'oh!).

Thank you Monk for organizing this.

Azi

Big_John

07-31-2005, 20:53

yes, thank you monk for organizing this! and smart job making this thread azi.

unfortunately, i still have not read any of the other stories in the contest! :embarassed:
i'll probably just read the winner and runner-up once they're announced. ~D

shifty157

07-31-2005, 20:56

I think these contests should be organized more often. One a month would be nice? There doesnt always have to be a prize. Just the little comment under your avatar would be nice. I rather enjoy these.

Azi Tohak

07-31-2005, 20:58

Is someone volunteering to organize?

~D

And yes, you're right about the icon. But having them infrequently is better I think. Maybe once or twice a year. To make the icon mean something.

Happy to know you guys are using this already though.

Azi

edyzmedieval

07-31-2005, 20:59

HEEEY!!!

I want credit for this!!! If it wasn't for me, the second writing contest wouldn't have started!!!!!!! Ask Monk!!!!

Yeah, I would volunteer to organize the second one. It's very cool.

Geoffrey S

07-31-2005, 22:27

Some good stuff there, it's a shame I won't be around to vote though. If I could, at the moment my vote would go to The Shadow One. Nice work man!

master of the puppets

08-01-2005, 02:13

i enjoyed it (even if in retrospect my story sucked) and with a little bit on the line i may press myself to become a better writer.

i can't organise crap but i hope yu guys can cause' i like contests W00T.

ichi

08-01-2005, 03:20

Thanks Monk and all the rest who are working to make this possible.

And Congrats to all who put forth their work :balloon2:

ichi :bow:

The Stranger

08-01-2005, 11:02

i'm friggin banned from the contest

edyzmedieval

08-01-2005, 12:06

i'm friggin banned from the contest

Why?! ~:confused:

The Shadow One

08-01-2005, 12:45

Geoffrey S:

If I could, at the moment my vote would go to The Shadow One. Nice work man!

Thanks for your comment. About a year ago, when I first joined this group, I posted quite a few musings -- a series of short essays -- that appeared in the Frontroom section of the Tavern. This went on for several months, until I found some serious employment. Diverted by training and some personal issues, I disappeared for awhile, only to return several months later discover the landscape seemed to have changed. I didn't recognize many of the regulars and so I began to lurk, posting only rarely.

I was pleased to come back last week and find the story contest, and it still open. I missed last years by a couple of days.

So, another thanks to those, like Monk, who organized it and made it happen. I'd be willing to help out in any future contests you might have.

The Shadow One

:duel:

Ianofsmeg16

08-01-2005, 13:13

Wow, i got my story up there first, it's so rubbish though....everybody elses are awesome, don't know how the judges are going to decide, or who the judges are, and how i can manipulate them...MWHAHAHAHAHA..*coughs then chokes onto floor*

serioulsy, this is a tough contest and i know my story aint gonna win (it's sandman) and good luck to those who entered!

Monk

08-01-2005, 14:03

Why?! ~:confused:

Failure to follow the rules.

edit: i'm *really* getting tired of people breaking the rules. every time i turn around another is broken, well this is the last contest i'm helping to organise.

shifty157

08-01-2005, 21:06

Just for future reference I would gladly help organize and/or judge a future contest. Although im not the absolute greatest writer im pretty familiar with literary analysis as ive written more generally college-level literary critiques/papers/essays than i even want to think about. Regardless if you ever want help organizing or judging just throw me a pm or email.

Big_John

08-01-2005, 23:27

Failure to follow the rules.

edit: i'm *really* getting tired of people breaking the rules. every time i turn around another is broken, well this is the last contest i'm helping to organise.dude, don't do that. if you stop organizing contests the terrorists have already won. :cry:

seriously though, why did people edit their stories? i mean, it's not like rule #3 is in a secret code or something. monk, maybe you should have made the rules text size=50.. and red.. and flashing..

~:handball:

shifty157

08-01-2005, 23:38

Flashing may have been a bit odd.

Regardless i think would have been better to have everyone PM you a copy that way they cant change anything.

The Shadow One

08-02-2005, 00:09

One way to solve the organizing/judging issue is to ask the winner of this contest to help organize and judge the next contest. He or she would be excluded from participation, of course.

The Shadow One

:duel:

Azi Tohak

08-02-2005, 00:31

:embarassed: I do feel bad for Monk. If only there was a way any mod could lock a thread to prevent editing...

Azi

Monk

08-02-2005, 00:46

:embarassed: I do feel bad for Monk. If only there was a way any mod could lock a thread to prevent editing...

Azi

not my problem anymore, i'm not the judge now.

Uesugi Kenshin

08-02-2005, 03:07

A suggestion to whoever organizes the next one, have people pm their stories in and post them yourself so they cannot edit the story.

I would like to post a story, but I am not sure if I will because I am very busy. Either way good luck to everyone who has submitted a story!

The Stranger

08-02-2005, 10:05

Why?! ~:confused:

cuz i edited my story. just like i'm the only one that did it. people did minor spelling edits. still a edit, their edit didnt got excluded

like this. but i did becuz i missed that rule, and cuz of some personal things, not becuz i ignored the rule on purpose.

The Stranger

08-02-2005, 10:08

Monk

08-02-2005, 12:53

cuz i edited my story. just like i'm the only one that did it. people did minor spelling edits. still a edit, their edit didnt got excluded

like this. but i did becuz i missed that rule, and cuz of some personal things, not becuz i ignored the rule on purpose.

you're not the only one who had their entry excluded Emperor...

CrackedAxe

08-02-2005, 17:58

Monk

08-02-2005, 18:11

I don't mind if I get disqualified, I did break the rules after all. But if you look at my edit, it came shortly after I had already submitted my piece and before anybody else had submitted a further entry. So it definately wasn't done as a response to somebody's else's entry, just a moment's oversight. A rule is a rule, though, and if I am disqualified, could you please PM me ASAP to let me know? Thanks.

I'm not the judge anymore but i'd say your post wont get disqualified. I (and the curent judges) are more concerned with edits that come days after the entry is posted.

and btw(this part of the post directed to all): i find it very funny how some are complaining after the fact that they told me they were fine with getting thrown out because they broke the rules. Very nice.

CrackedAxe

08-02-2005, 19:00

The Shadow One

08-02-2005, 20:15

I know what you mean, Monk, but I certainly didn't knowingly flout the rules, and just to prove that and to not cause contention with those who submitted without edit, I've decided to withdraw my entry. Good luck to everybody who entered!

Cracked:

Sorry you decided to bow out, but I think it speaks well of you that you're willing to live by the rules. There are actually a couple of mistakes in my story that I wish were not there, but, oh well.

I would welcome the opportunity to compete with you again.

[Salute]

The Shadow One

:duel:

The Stranger

08-02-2005, 20:39

I know what you mean, Monk, but I certainly didn't knowingly flout the rules, and just to prove that and to not cause contention with those who submitted without edit, I've decided to withdraw my entry. Good luck to everybody who entered!

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. :bow:

Uesugi Kenshin

08-02-2005, 21:20

and it will clutter your PM box.

Not by that much, especially with the expanded pm boxes. By checking each night and pasting the stories into a document you could keep that under control

Kagemusha

08-02-2005, 21:28

Okay.Its about 45 minutes to the deadline.I want to wish best of luck to all fellow participants of this fine contest and thanks to the Monk for organizing it. :bow:

Monk

08-02-2005, 21:28

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. :bow:

KukriKhan

08-02-2005, 21:54

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

08-02-2005, 23:07

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

08-02-2005, 23:37

KukriKhan

08-03-2005, 00:04

I couldn't decide between
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/8ball.jpg.bmp and https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/dartboard.jpg

(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

08-03-2005, 00:31

Or how about this: https://img160.imageshack.us/img160/2267/nickelflip7jt.gif

Anyway. How do you grade on presentation?

KukriKhan

08-03-2005, 00:33

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. :bow:

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

08-03-2005, 00:57

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

08-03-2005, 01:22

CrackedAxe

08-03-2005, 01:36

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. :bow:

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

08-03-2005, 01:46

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

08-03-2005, 08:46

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* :bow:

frogbeastegg

08-03-2005, 09:50

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

08-03-2005, 10:18

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

The Stranger

08-03-2005, 12:36

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

08-03-2005, 15:16

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

King Henry V

08-03-2005, 17:29

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

KukriKhan

08-03-2005, 17:55

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

08-03-2005, 20:49

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

KukriKhan

08-03-2005, 21:12

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

08-03-2005, 22:05

Where do we vote again?

KukriKhan

08-03-2005, 22:56

There will be a poll here in the Mead Hall.

KukriKhan

08-04-2005, 16:01

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

08-04-2005, 19:26

coool

Ianofsmeg16

08-04-2005, 20:46

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

08-05-2005, 03:38

When will the poll be up?

KukriKhan

08-05-2005, 03:54

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

08-05-2005, 03:57

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

frogbeastegg

08-05-2005, 10:03

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

08-05-2005, 10:03

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?

frogbeastegg

08-05-2005, 10:13

Yes, it only seems fair to keep the poll open for the intended length of time so more people can vote.

To be honest I've no idea about exit polls. I wouldn't have thought it to be a problem, so long as it's clearly labelled as your own opinion of what will happen ... er, but I'd wait for Kukri to ok it too. He's the senior judge, having helped run this competition last time.

frogbeastegg

08-05-2005, 10:22

The poll (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51896) is now up and running.

KukriKhan

08-05-2005, 14:29

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?

I agree with frogbeastegg that there seems no harm in holding an informal, unofficial exit poll to amuse patrons while the official polling is taking place. And yes: the poll will be open for the originally-stated 5 days, so will close 0001 GMT, Wednesday,10 August.

KukriKhan

08-06-2005, 02:38

After a couple of voters expressed confusion at having more than one poll in which to vote, I have moved the 'unofficial', exit poll to the Entrance Hall
here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?p=874591#post874591) for your amusement, and to not confuse voters.

Sorry for having to change the decision, but it seemed in the best interests of the contest and the contestants.

Azi Tohak

08-06-2005, 04:42

This remind anyone else of herding cats?

Thank you very much Kukri and Madam Froggy for doing this for us :bow:

Azi

King Henry V

08-06-2005, 09:53

RabidGibbon

08-06-2005, 09:56

Maybe the Contest Poll could be stickied for the duration?

Ianofsmeg16

08-10-2005, 09:38

Hey isnt today the day? I mean THE day? when the votes stop coming in....oooooh god i'm excited

King Henry V

08-10-2005, 10:57

So what happens if the two judges and the poll each pick a different candidate? Does it go to another poll?

RabidGibbon

08-10-2005, 19:13

Originally posted by Monk

The two volunteers will revote/re-negotiate as they need to do assure a winner is chosen.

So if everyone comes up with a different answer the judges will decide between them who wins.