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>>RogerDodger
>>Trick_Question
Didn't work. But while I'm here, feature request: if somepony replies to only a single message, and that message was keyed to a story, the reply should end up in that story's thread.
Maybe even tie a multi-reply into multiple story threads, but that's some fancy dreaming. :V
>>Trick_Question
Didn't work. But while I'm here, feature request: if somepony replies to only a single message, and that message was keyed to a story, the reply should end up in that story's thread.
Maybe even tie a multi-reply into multiple story threads, but that's some fancy dreaming. :V
I wish I could add more than one entry to my slate at a time. If I want to rank them all, I need to go three by three with flipping abstentions on and off, which is annoying. :P
>>Trick_Question
To get past this, you could click the number on the latest comment. This'll bring you directly to that comment when you refresh.
To get past this, you could click the number on the latest comment. This'll bring you directly to that comment when you refresh.
Wow, so much activity so fast! :)
Looking at the gallery page though, it's almost odd to see such a disparity in the comment counts. Two stories still have 0, while one has 9 already. (and the next closest is only at 4)
Is there usually this much disparity in the review counts, or is it just made more "glaring" in minific rounds?
/not griping, just genuinely curious :)
Looking at the gallery page though, it's almost odd to see such a disparity in the comment counts. Two stories still have 0, while one has 9 already. (and the next closest is only at 4)
Is there usually this much disparity in the review counts, or is it just made more "glaring" in minific rounds?
/not griping, just genuinely curious :)
Odd. The reply button for post #337 is not showing for me (also missing on #302). Roger, may need to investigate when you get a chance. Not game breaking, just annoying. Attempting manual override:
>>GrandMoffPony
Funny you should say that just as I was opening tabs for commenting/reviewing those exact stories for that exact reason. You can expect at least some disparity. Depending on the reader, they may or may not leave a comment/review immediately and the review slates may just have fallen that the overactive users happened to get the same stories.
Some stories may either merit deeper discussion or future reviewers find items worth commenting on in other people's reviews. This can lead to conversations that may or may not artificially bloat a story's exposure. I'd say it's natural, but much easier to see on this forum rather than the old spreadsheet that only tracked reviews.
That said, there's some dedicated and awesome people out there that tend to intentionally leave some form of review on stories with less activity, especially when it's pointed out. Granted, that doesn't always happen on the first day of reviewing, but it tends to happen. This group seems to be very serious about getting at least some sort of feedback to every story out there.
>>GrandMoffPony
Funny you should say that just as I was opening tabs for commenting/reviewing those exact stories for that exact reason. You can expect at least some disparity. Depending on the reader, they may or may not leave a comment/review immediately and the review slates may just have fallen that the overactive users happened to get the same stories.
Some stories may either merit deeper discussion or future reviewers find items worth commenting on in other people's reviews. This can lead to conversations that may or may not artificially bloat a story's exposure. I'd say it's natural, but much easier to see on this forum rather than the old spreadsheet that only tracked reviews.
That said, there's some dedicated and awesome people out there that tend to intentionally leave some form of review on stories with less activity, especially when it's pointed out. Granted, that doesn't always happen on the first day of reviewing, but it tends to happen. This group seems to be very serious about getting at least some sort of feedback to every story out there.
>>RampantArcana
Yep, understood. And you're right. The format here does bring that out in the open more than the spreadsheet did. :)
Yep, understood. And you're right. The format here does bring that out in the open more than the spreadsheet did. :)
I'm done with about half the stories now.
Who else wants their story reviewed? Just say so, don't be shy! ;V
(wait no fishpony don't DQ yourself again plz)
Who else wants their story reviewed? Just say so, don't be shy! ;V
(wait no fishpony don't DQ yourself again plz)
I just wanted to comment that while this is creating cross-talk about the stories, it seems to have eliminated a lot of what I'd call "community cross-talk" so far; the new format encourages people to focus in on the stories rather than on the thread, which is good for discussing the stories, but bad for anything else, really.
>>RogerDodger
The message numbers are incorrect in the story threads. They reset to 1, 2, 3, and so on, but using those numbers in replies will instead link you back to the main forum. The numbers in the story threads should probably be set to match the overall number rather than autonumbering them separately.
The message numbers are incorrect in the story threads. They reset to 1, 2, 3, and so on, but using those numbers in replies will instead link you back to the main forum. The numbers in the story threads should probably be set to match the overall number rather than autonumbering them separately.
I've been not paying too much attention, but a quick search for "finals" through the thread yielded no results.
Are we having a finals round with only 65 entries? If so, will it be fewer than the typical 35 (considering that's more than half)?
Are we having a finals round with only 65 entries? If so, will it be fewer than the typical 35 (considering that's more than half)?
>>Bugle
I would hope 65 is enough to allow for a finals round, albeit maybe a smaller one. That's still a non-trivial chunk of horsewords.
I would hope 65 is enough to allow for a finals round, albeit maybe a smaller one. That's still a non-trivial chunk of horsewords.
>>Bugle
>>CoffeeMinion
Last round had 25 out of 48 minifics in the finals. So we're likely getting finals on this one, but not sure how many.
Gotta say, so far I feel like this has been a quality round. Some stories have problems, but nothing has bored me yet. The reviews so far suggest a lot of "love it or hate it" entries.
>>CoffeeMinion
Last round had 25 out of 48 minifics in the finals. So we're likely getting finals on this one, but not sure how many.
Gotta say, so far I feel like this has been a quality round. Some stories have problems, but nothing has bored me yet. The reviews so far suggest a lot of "love it or hate it" entries.
>>RogerDodger
Roger, as long as you're still tweaking the on-site discussion: can you fiddle with the CSS to make links within spoiler blocks override the default link color and match the background? I think this will do it:
That's a long-standing FIMFiction annoyance and there's no reason it can't be fixed if you're rolling your own.
Roger, as long as you're still tweaking the on-site discussion: can you fiddle with the CSS to make links within spoiler blocks override the default link color and match the background? I think this will do it:
.Post-contents--body .Spoiler a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
That's a long-standing FIMFiction annoyance and there's no reason it can't be fixed if you're rolling your own.
It took me a long time to find this thread. So how exactly is this working? I'm seeing comments/reviews both here and on individual story pages. Are we copy and pasting, or is there some way to post a comment on both at the same time? Also, is the spread sheet still a thing?
>>HoofBitingActionOverload
Comments on a story automatically appear in this thread. The spreadsheet has been obviated, because reviews are directly below the story now.
Comments on a story automatically appear in this thread. The spreadsheet has been obviated, because reviews are directly below the story now.
>>horizon
I sort of assumed that was intended. Not sure why. Anyway, done.
I sort of assumed that was intended. Not sure why. Anyway, done.
Also for coloured spoiler text.
>>horizon
>>RogerDodger
There's a second problem Fimfiction has for which I'm curious if a solution exists (although the problem is extremely minor). Any selected text automatically becomes unspoilered: if you click and hold across the screen (or hit Ctrl+A) you can unspoiler everything on the entire screen by accident even when your cursor isn't near any spoilertext.
My curiosity is largely technical interest, because for some reason Fimfiction has this issue more strongly than writeoff.me. As in, selected spoilered text isn't quite as visible here as it is over there.
>>RogerDodger
There's a second problem Fimfiction has for which I'm curious if a solution exists (although the problem is extremely minor). Any selected text automatically becomes unspoilered: if you click and hold across the screen (or hit Ctrl+A) you can unspoiler everything on the entire screen by accident even when your cursor isn't near any spoilertext.
My curiosity is largely technical interest, because for some reason Fimfiction has this issue more strongly than writeoff.me. As in, selected spoilered text isn't quite as visible here as it is over there.
>>Trick_Question >>RogerDodger I see your point, but I personally see this as a positive, rather than a problem: If I triple-click to select a paragraph (often a large one in the context of the Writeoff) it uncovers that entire paragraph until I'm done reading it, and I don't have to keep my mouse over anything I've selected. Single-clicking anywhere on the page undoes this.
>>Trick_Question
It's possible to make the selection text color the same as the background, though I'm not sure that's desirable.
You can't hover on touch devices, so selection is the only way to reveal the text.
It's possible to make the selection text color the same as the background, though I'm not sure that's desirable.
You can't hover on touch devices, so selection is the only way to reveal the text.
>>HoofBitingActionOverload
Because the format of minifics makes it extremely difficult to pull off anything more ambitious, and because minifics are short enough to feel like these sorts of stories can be written without stretching out the run-up to the joke.
750 words is simply too short to do anything interesting in. Look at the statistics in >>Bugle: our median entry was 747 words. Compare that to the short-story rounds, where (aside from a bump at the 2k mark for people pushing to meet the minimum) the histogram for submitted word counts is typically an even distribution. With minifics, a literal majority of authors are struggling to take even simple ideas and pare them down to where they fit. The rest give up and write feghoots.
That severe restriction can be an excellent learning experience, don't get me wrong. It forces you to make hard decisions about what's essential to your story, and encourages an economy of words that teaches good writing habits. But the result is overwhelmingly not complete stories, it's glorified outlines or writing exercises.
I really wish we'd test-run a "minific" round of 500-1000 words instead of 400-750. I think we'd see the quality of the average submission jump (and I think we'd concurrently see a modest effect of authors focusing on fewer, more-in-depth entries). I really want to know whether that would also retain the learning benefits that the constrained writing has historically provided.
/rant
But why are we writing so many stories that are nothing but a long set up for a single punchline?
Because the format of minifics makes it extremely difficult to pull off anything more ambitious, and because minifics are short enough to feel like these sorts of stories can be written without stretching out the run-up to the joke.
750 words is simply too short to do anything interesting in. Look at the statistics in >>Bugle: our median entry was 747 words. Compare that to the short-story rounds, where (aside from a bump at the 2k mark for people pushing to meet the minimum) the histogram for submitted word counts is typically an even distribution. With minifics, a literal majority of authors are struggling to take even simple ideas and pare them down to where they fit. The rest give up and write feghoots.
That severe restriction can be an excellent learning experience, don't get me wrong. It forces you to make hard decisions about what's essential to your story, and encourages an economy of words that teaches good writing habits. But the result is overwhelmingly not complete stories, it's glorified outlines or writing exercises.
I really wish we'd test-run a "minific" round of 500-1000 words instead of 400-750. I think we'd see the quality of the average submission jump (and I think we'd concurrently see a modest effect of authors focusing on fewer, more-in-depth entries). I really want to know whether that would also retain the learning benefits that the constrained writing has historically provided.
/rant
>>horizon
But do we want to make things easier for authors in order to get better stories, or do we want to challenge authors more, at the cost of getting lower-quality stories.
Personally, I'm fine either way. I'm not a good enough author for it to make much of a difference.
But do we want to make things easier for authors in order to get better stories, or do we want to challenge authors more, at the cost of getting lower-quality stories.
Personally, I'm fine either way. I'm not a good enough author for it to make much of a difference.
>>RogerDodger
On an iPhone, selecting spoilertext still leaves it black on black. :( That's not a Writeoff-specific problem, by the way. Because of that, FIMFiction is halfway unusable for me on mobile.
On an iPhone, selecting spoilertext still leaves it black on black. :( That's not a Writeoff-specific problem, by the way. Because of that, FIMFiction is halfway unusable for me on mobile.
>>RogerDodger
On an iPhone, selecting spoilertext still leaves it black on black. :( That's not a Writeoff-specific problem, by the way. Because of that, FIMFiction is halfway unusable for me on mobile.
Edit: Hm, apparently we also could use a "delete post" button for those accidental double-clicks. :V
On an iPhone, selecting spoilertext still leaves it black on black. :( That's not a Writeoff-specific problem, by the way. Because of that, FIMFiction is halfway unusable for me on mobile.
Edit: Hm, apparently we also could use a "delete post" button for those accidental double-clicks. :V
>>horizon
If you’re on iOS, try Firefox. It works perfectly fine with the spoiler flag. You click on a hidden zone, the “veil” disappears, you click elsewhere, it reappears. Very neat and bugfree.
It’s just a matter of having a solid software working for you.
I mean, I used to browse with Safari mobile, because of “reader mode” which is fine to read text, but Firefox has it now too, and FIrefox is much quicker than Safari and seems to have a consistent behaviour over the fence desktop/mobile, whereas Safari does not.
Oh, and BTW, “I’m totally sitting this round out, folks” :P
If you’re on iOS, try Firefox. It works perfectly fine with the spoiler flag. You click on a hidden zone, the “veil” disappears, you click elsewhere, it reappears. Very neat and bugfree.
It’s just a matter of having a solid software working for you.
I mean, I used to browse with Safari mobile, because of “reader mode” which is fine to read text, but Firefox has it now too, and FIrefox is much quicker than Safari and seems to have a consistent behaviour over the fence desktop/mobile, whereas Safari does not.
Oh, and BTW, “I’m totally sitting this round out, folks” :P
>>Calipony
Thank you for the iOS Firefox rec. I'll have to download that and give it a try.
I intended to! D: And then the prompt gave me an idea, and then I felt guilty about not reading a slate, and then I wanted to see how reviews would work with the new system and I needed some down time at work ...
Think of me as that author who is always like "Yeah! I'm going to enter!" and then chokes in the writing period, except made of antimatter. :V
At least I genuinely sat out the writing last round. And if I'm feeling up to reviewing minifics, clearly I'm not as burnt out as I thought.
Thank you for the iOS Firefox rec. I'll have to download that and give it a try.
Oh, and BTW, “I’m totally sitting this round out, folks” :P
I intended to! D: And then the prompt gave me an idea, and then I felt guilty about not reading a slate, and then I wanted to see how reviews would work with the new system and I needed some down time at work ...
Think of me as that author who is always like "Yeah! I'm going to enter!" and then chokes in the writing period, except made of antimatter. :V
At least I genuinely sat out the writing last round. And if I'm feeling up to reviewing minifics, clearly I'm not as burnt out as I thought.
>>horizon
Yeah, go ahead. Firefox for iOS has a slightly different UI than Safari, so you might feel confused for a short while, but once you get used to it, it’s fine and it works pretty well.
And don’t feel guilty for chiming in. It’s always a pleasure to read your comments and reviews! :) (and your fics, of course!)
Yeah, go ahead. Firefox for iOS has a slightly different UI than Safari, so you might feel confused for a short while, but once you get used to it, it’s fine and it works pretty well.
And don’t feel guilty for chiming in. It’s always a pleasure to read your comments and reviews! :) (and your fics, of course!)
QED, all votes and reviews are done! /)^3^(\ It's nice to have the week off so I can contribute more to the Writeoff.
My top three, from top to bottom:
Pie to Pie
Fluttershy and the Cactuses
The Power of Love
My top three, from top to bottom:
Pie to Pie
Fluttershy and the Cactuses
The Power of Love
>>RogerDodger Roger, could we get a way to control which thread our posts are linked to? The above post is linked to a story thread, although it's not actually discussing anything specific to the story. I understand that risks fragmenting discussions, but the current mode will not only artificially inflate the 'discussion count' of a story, but if/when story reply notifications are added, possibly dump a whole bunch of unrelated discussion onto an annoyed author's story. And they won't be able to say anything about it.
EDIT: I mentioned something like this earlier, but I'm going to suggest it again; something like @ or # tags might work here? If each story had a # tag that could be added to the post like the >> replies to link it to a certain thread, that would give us some control. Perhaps replying to a certain story or story comment could automatically add that tag, which we could delete/modify if we wanted to change it? Allowing us to create custom tags for threading our own discussions would be pretty neat as well...
EDIT: I mentioned something like this earlier, but I'm going to suggest it again; something like @ or # tags might work here? If each story had a # tag that could be added to the post like the >> replies to link it to a certain thread, that would give us some control. Perhaps replying to a certain story or story comment could automatically add that tag, which we could delete/modify if we wanted to change it? Allowing us to create custom tags for threading our own discussions would be pretty neat as well...
Behold: I have read, ranked, and posted at least one random thought about reviewed all the stories! *guitar solo*
This is my first time doing such a thing. I don't know if I'd do it again, but the quality of the stories was high, and I kept being rewarded each time I clicked "add another." I know it sounds lame, but great job everyone!
I'mma go sleep now. :-P
This is my first time doing such a thing. I don't know if I'd do it again, but the quality of the stories was high, and I kept being rewarded each time I clicked "add another." I know it sounds lame, but great job everyone!
I'mma go sleep now. :-P
>>Not_A_Hat
If a discussion starts from a particular story, it's still related to that. And giving users the ability to decide when it should be branched off is a recipe for disaster. (They do actually have that ability now, but the reply button jumping you to the story's thread suggests you shouldn't do that, because you shouldn't.) Requiring users to explicitly attach their comment to a certain story is very likely to result in someone forgetting and collapsing the whole system.
Similarly, giving users the ability to say whether their post is or is not a "review" is a recipe for disaster, as a lot of reviewers have a sort of imposter syndrome where they don't feel their reviews are really "reviews".
If a discussion starts from a particular story, it's still related to that. And giving users the ability to decide when it should be branched off is a recipe for disaster. (They do actually have that ability now, but the reply button jumping you to the story's thread suggests you shouldn't do that, because you shouldn't.) Requiring users to explicitly attach their comment to a certain story is very likely to result in someone forgetting and collapsing the whole system.
Similarly, giving users the ability to say whether their post is or is not a "review" is a recipe for disaster, as a lot of reviewers have a sort of imposter syndrome where they don't feel their reviews are really "reviews".
>>horizon
I support this message. Thumps up!
I really wish we'd test-run a "minific" round of 500-1000 words instead of 400-750. I think we'd see the quality of the average submission jump (and I think we'd concurrently see a modest effect of authors focusing on fewer, more-in-depth entries). I really want to know whether that would also retain the learning benefits that the constrained writing has historically provided.
I support this message. Thumps up!
>>RogerDodger
Is this the place for discussion of how to develop the commenting system in general? I have a million tiny thoughts, and one medium and relevant one: I'd like to be able to view only the posts here that are not story comments, so that I can follow general round discussion without picking through reviews of stuff I haven't read yet.
Is this the place for discussion of how to develop the commenting system in general? I have a million tiny thoughts, and one medium and relevant one: I'd like to be able to view only the posts here that are not story comments, so that I can follow general round discussion without picking through reviews of stuff I haven't read yet.
>>pterrorgrine
I like this idea. It's pretty tedious to scroll through the pages trying to see if anyone had any non-story related comments.
I like this idea. It's pretty tedious to scroll through the pages trying to see if anyone had any non-story related comments.
>>fda_approved
>>RogerDodger
Yea verily, I think the 500-1000 format would be worth trying, at least once.
>>RogerDodger
Yea verily, I think the 500-1000 format would be worth trying, at least once.
>>fda_approved
>>CoffeeMinion
Eh. I don't think I agree.
The entire point of the minific round is that it's challenging to write something in 750 words. That's why it's the minific round. If you raised the limit to 1,000 words then half the submissions would be within 10 words of that boundary, and there would be much less of a distinction between a small short story and long minific.
I'd actually rather have the boundary be 500 words than 1,000. I like 750, though.
>>CoffeeMinion
Eh. I don't think I agree.
The entire point of the minific round is that it's challenging to write something in 750 words. That's why it's the minific round. If you raised the limit to 1,000 words then half the submissions would be within 10 words of that boundary, and there would be much less of a distinction between a small short story and long minific.
I'd actually rather have the boundary be 500 words than 1,000. I like 750, though.
"No one said the job was supposed to be easy."
"No one said it's supposed to be that hard, neither."
"No one said it's supposed to be that hard, neither."
>>Haze
>>Trick_Question
I think there's a definite appeal to the hard-mode that minific represents, but it's also clear that people struggle and sometimes the end results suffer.
Dropping to an even lower word count would IMO only exacerbate that issue. Raising the ceiling a little would, yes, probably drive the median word count up. But I have to think we'd also get more stories that don't feel quite so pinched to accomplish anything.
I'm not suggesting we eliminate the "mini" versus "short" distinction. I just think the minis could benefit a lot from a little more breathing room.
>>Trick_Question
I think there's a definite appeal to the hard-mode that minific represents, but it's also clear that people struggle and sometimes the end results suffer.
Dropping to an even lower word count would IMO only exacerbate that issue. Raising the ceiling a little would, yes, probably drive the median word count up. But I have to think we'd also get more stories that don't feel quite so pinched to accomplish anything.
I'm not suggesting we eliminate the "mini" versus "short" distinction. I just think the minis could benefit a lot from a little more breathing room.
>>CoffeeMinion
I agree. the word count is hard enough as it is; dropping it lower would only result in lower quality fics all around, with a potential side effect of encouraging even more entries per person. (which isn't a great thing already, imo, but that's another topic)
Coffee's point about pinched stories is right. Every round, we get a couple of gems that somehow get an entire point across in 750, but the vast majority end up getting tagged/docked for feeling incomplete, or obviously cut for length. If we allowed ourselves the extra 50-100 words they really needed to tie it all together, the authors would be more confident in their entries, and the criticisms we all dole out would feel less repetitive in each round.
/again, not arguing at you or anyone else
//just discussing the topic :)
I agree. the word count is hard enough as it is; dropping it lower would only result in lower quality fics all around, with a potential side effect of encouraging even more entries per person. (which isn't a great thing already, imo, but that's another topic)
Coffee's point about pinched stories is right. Every round, we get a couple of gems that somehow get an entire point across in 750, but the vast majority end up getting tagged/docked for feeling incomplete, or obviously cut for length. If we allowed ourselves the extra 50-100 words they really needed to tie it all together, the authors would be more confident in their entries, and the criticisms we all dole out would feel less repetitive in each round.
/again, not arguing at you or anyone else
//just discussing the topic :)
>>RogerDodger
Then what about indicating the number of unique aliases that have joined in a particular story's discussion thread? That's easy to calculate from existing data, and a story which has received 11 comments from 11 readers has gotten a very different sort of feedback than a story which has received 11 comments from 2 readers.
I'm certainly not the only reviewer who is trying to prioritize commentary on stories with feedback from fewer individuals, so that would help avoid edge cases where, say, a debate over grammar makes it look like a story's more widely reviewed than it is.
(Maybe that could be put in parentheses after the raw number of comments?)
Similarly, giving users the ability to say whether their post is or is not a "review" is a recipe for disaster, as a lot of reviewers have a sort of imposter syndrome where they don't feel their reviews are really "reviews".
Then what about indicating the number of unique aliases that have joined in a particular story's discussion thread? That's easy to calculate from existing data, and a story which has received 11 comments from 11 readers has gotten a very different sort of feedback than a story which has received 11 comments from 2 readers.
I'm certainly not the only reviewer who is trying to prioritize commentary on stories with feedback from fewer individuals, so that would help avoid edge cases where, say, a debate over grammar makes it look like a story's more widely reviewed than it is.
(Maybe that could be put in parentheses after the raw number of comments?)
>>RogerDodger
While we're dreaming, it would be amazing if there were some way to preview a story every time you hover over a link to that story. I can't ever remember what the stories are about because unless the title is "Fluttershy and the Cactuses" the titles tend to be far too vague. Half my story clicks are trying to remember what the story was, but even the first few sentences would remind me.
While we're dreaming, it would be amazing if there were some way to preview a story every time you hover over a link to that story. I can't ever remember what the stories are about because unless the title is "Fluttershy and the Cactuses" the titles tend to be far too vague. Half my story clicks are trying to remember what the story was, but even the first few sentences would remind me.
>>Haze
I suppose I had that coming. :-P
I dunno though, I really thought that third one was da bomb! :trollestia:
I suppose I had that coming. :-P
I dunno though, I really thought that third one was da bomb! :trollestia:
>>CoffeeMinion None of which I've read yet. I'll give them a read before the timeout tomorrow. :)
Well, we're coming up on the end of prelims, so I think it's time to kick off the traditional story mashups!
I Guess It Wasn't Misplaced — When an extradimensional monstrosity accidentally loses an adorable filly in a box, Octavia and Lyra have their concert's new opening act.
An Awesome Funeral For A Friend — After finding out that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom actually didn't die in the epic rocket sled crash, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack decide to hold the funeral anyway, and just use it to mourn the death of "The Crusaders' Chances Of Ever Being Not Grounded Again".
Power Of Obsolete Farm Equipment — "Twilight, since we're goin' all in on resistin' industrialization, I need a loan fer an insurance policy on Kicks McGee. You'll cosign fer me, right? ... Twilight? Will ya?"
Mt. Saint Rx — Baking five or six loaves of bread could be lethal. Ten or more, no question, you'd pass out and never wake up. So of course Twilight Sparkle takes that literally, and avoids overdose by baking a single loaf of bread the size of a volcano.
Stuck Inside Of The Once And Future Princess Of Equestria — A human scientist completes a program to unleash living, breathing MLP ponies upon Earth, but the world is saved from apocalypse when Diamond Tiara steps out of his biotubes and insults the Cutie Mark-less venture capitalists backing the project.
The Equestrian Cactuses — Diamond Tiara starts an insurgent political campaign to be elected Princess — and knowing that no publicity is bad publicity, cuts a video with P-Hub and Brazzers, in which they put some yuuuuuuge bricks in her wall okay I'm stopping there
I Guess It Wasn't Misplaced — When an extradimensional monstrosity accidentally loses an adorable filly in a box, Octavia and Lyra have their concert's new opening act.
An Awesome Funeral For A Friend — After finding out that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom actually didn't die in the epic rocket sled crash, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack decide to hold the funeral anyway, and just use it to mourn the death of "The Crusaders' Chances Of Ever Being Not Grounded Again".
Power Of Obsolete Farm Equipment — "Twilight, since we're goin' all in on resistin' industrialization, I need a loan fer an insurance policy on Kicks McGee. You'll cosign fer me, right? ... Twilight? Will ya?"
Mt. Saint Rx — Baking five or six loaves of bread could be lethal. Ten or more, no question, you'd pass out and never wake up. So of course Twilight Sparkle takes that literally, and avoids overdose by baking a single loaf of bread the size of a volcano.
Stuck Inside Of The Once And Future Princess Of Equestria — A human scientist completes a program to unleash living, breathing MLP ponies upon Earth, but the world is saved from apocalypse when Diamond Tiara steps out of his biotubes and insults the Cutie Mark-less venture capitalists backing the project.
The Equestrian Cactuses — Diamond Tiara starts an insurgent political campaign to be elected Princess — and knowing that no publicity is bad publicity, cuts a video with P-Hub and Brazzers, in which they put some yuuuuuuge bricks in her wall okay I'm stopping there
>>horizon
Merry Turn: The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Yet to Be helps Pinkie make sure her friends will follow her wishes for her funeral.
Rainbow Dash Enters the Writeoff With Fibrous Ot Nuggets OF EMOTION: Rainbow Dash and Discord team up to shatter the fourth wall like it was the sound barrier.
The Patience of Sand: Daring Do is not having a good week.
Dying for the Center of Attention: Fleetfoot and Trixie compete to see who can steal more attention from the deceased.
We Only Live Beneath Rosemary Manor: Once their secret is revealed, Lyra, Bonbon, and the changelings hunker down in siege conditions for a week before realizing that nopony in Ponyville particularly cares.
Merry Turn: The Ghost of Hearth's Warming Yet to Be helps Pinkie make sure her friends will follow her wishes for her funeral.
Rainbow Dash Enters the Writeoff With Fibrous Ot Nuggets OF EMOTION: Rainbow Dash and Discord team up to shatter the fourth wall like it was the sound barrier.
The Patience of Sand: Daring Do is not having a good week.
Dying for the Center of Attention: Fleetfoot and Trixie compete to see who can steal more attention from the deceased.
We Only Live Beneath Rosemary Manor: Once their secret is revealed, Lyra, Bonbon, and the changelings hunker down in siege conditions for a week before realizing that nopony in Ponyville particularly cares.
@Roger
Bug report: One off error
Severity: Trivial to Minor
Environment: Main Discussion Thread
Not sure if it's a one off error or the server trying to serve data that's not yet available/synchronized, but at 900 posts, an empty page 10 has been created for me. Noticed this earlier but someone else posted again before I could double check what I was seeing.
Bug report: One off error
Severity: Trivial to Minor
Environment: Main Discussion Thread
Not sure if it's a one off error or the server trying to serve data that's not yet available/synchronized, but at 900 posts, an empty page 10 has been created for me. Noticed this earlier but someone else posted again before I could double check what I was seeing.
>>horizon
>>FanOfMostEverything
A Deal to Die For Twice — Flim and Flam get a huge head start on their new business venture by signing an exlcusivity agreement with Sweetie Drops.
A Curious Case To Die For — They then go out of business as they realize the entire population of Ponyville has been made immortal.
>>FanOfMostEverything
A Deal to Die For Twice — Flim and Flam get a huge head start on their new business venture by signing an exlcusivity agreement with Sweetie Drops.
A Curious Case To Die For — They then go out of business as they realize the entire population of Ponyville has been made immortal.
>>RampantArcana FWIW the entire thread of 900+ posts is being loaded in a single download. Seems a bit heavy - and I would guess temporary - but then I'm not a web dev. I imagine Roger just needs to tweak the page separator. </comments may be full of hot air>
Predictions:
Maybe eighteen stories(?) will make the cut.
Two of my three stand an excellent chance of being among them, but that's a tight squeeze so probably not both, statistically speaking. So I'm hoping for two, banking on one.
Third story will probably just miss the top half so it'll be another negative points story for me. :raritydespair:
Maybe eighteen stories(?) will make the cut.
Two of my three stand an excellent chance of being among them, but that's a tight squeeze so probably not both, statistically speaking. So I'm hoping for two, banking on one.
Third story will probably just miss the top half so it'll be another negative points story for me. :raritydespair:
Additional mashups because reasons:
I'm Discord, I've Got Cactuses — Discord and Fluttershy go a teensy bit overboard in their attempts to spice up their relationship.
Timely Casket Beats — Sunset has a terrible recurring dream where Rainbow keeps jumping off a roof and plunging to her death. Then it actually happens...
Fibrous Nuggets OF Rx — Five or six metafics could be lethal to the Writeoff. Ten or more, no question.
The Power of Yalta — In Communist Equestria, changeling gets drained by YOU!
I'm Discord, I've Got Cactuses — Discord and Fluttershy go a teensy bit overboard in their attempts to spice up their relationship.
Timely Casket Beats — Sunset has a terrible recurring dream where Rainbow keeps jumping off a roof and plunging to her death. Then it actually happens...
Fibrous Nuggets OF Rx — Five or six metafics could be lethal to the Writeoff. Ten or more, no question.
The Power of Yalta — In Communist Equestria, changeling gets drained by YOU!
>>Trick_Question
The number of finalists is fixed based on a wordcount threshold collectively reached by the finalists. According to the site FAQ, if there is a finals round we should see approximately 35 finalist stories.
>>RogerDodger
Come to think of it, the FAQ should probably be linked in the navbar somewhere, along with the formatting guide. Perhaps a Help menu?
The number of finalists is fixed based on a wordcount threshold collectively reached by the finalists. According to the site FAQ, if there is a finals round we should see approximately 35 finalist stories.
>>RogerDodger
Come to think of it, the FAQ should probably be linked in the navbar somewhere, along with the formatting guide. Perhaps a Help menu?
>>horizon
35 of 65?! Yeesh. Maybe I do have a chance at getting all three in. :V
Probably not. I'm betting on two now, though.
35 of 65?! Yeesh. Maybe I do have a chance at getting all three in. :V
Probably not. I'm betting on two now, though.
Huh. Didn't think it was that bad. I'll have a retrospective up soon.
In any case, most of the stories I particularly liked made it through, including all of my top ten. Congratulations to the finalists, and good luck in this next round.
In any case, most of the stories I particularly liked made it through, including all of my top ten. Congratulations to the finalists, and good luck in this next round.
Welp, shut out again. Kinda expected it, though the fact that I ranked lower than two metatroll fics has me wonering if I should just focus on short story rounds instead. :/
Time to read the finalists! :)
Time to read the finalists! :)
Huh, I got all my stories into the final. Awesome, that's a new best for me. Usually I struggle to get even one good story together for the minific rounds.
Whoops! That was the last story!
All in all, I was reasonably happy with this round of stories, as evinced by me getting through everything (well, not quite everything; missed a few prelim round stories). Glad that I did, as there were a fair number of interesting things mixed in here.
All in all, I was reasonably happy with this round of stories, as evinced by me getting through everything (well, not quite everything; missed a few prelim round stories). Glad that I did, as there were a fair number of interesting things mixed in here.
>>Calipony
You're welcome! :trollestia:
More seriously, yeah, I didn't get through every story during the prelim round. Sorry about that.
You're welcome! :trollestia:
More seriously, yeah, I didn't get through every story during the prelim round. Sorry about that.
>>TitaniumDragon
There's no need to apologise since there's no obligation, eh!
I just found funny you missed both of my entries, that's all!
Good night!
There's no need to apologise since there's no obligation, eh!
I just found funny you missed both of my entries, that's all!
Good night!
I realize that vee-face is catchy. :V And so I am obligated to share.
For an example to what it actually refers to, see Dogris (the pink VG Dog version of Aeris, who is practically my spirit animal) in the second-to-last panel, below.
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=243
It was the best Writeoff ever. :V
For an example to what it actually refers to, see Dogris (the pink VG Dog version of Aeris, who is practically my spirit animal) in the second-to-last panel, below.
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=243
It was the best Writeoff ever. :V
Well I finally have all of the stories read and voted on. Yay!
There are many good stories in this run, and I honestly feel bad placing some above/below others, so I'm thankful for the absolution provided by group-vote and mystical magical, statistical wizardry. ;)
So I'm curious: How does everyone feel about the new Writeoff forum in general?
I actually like the way the site turned out. Aside from a few much-needed tweaks, the only real complaint I could make is that it felt a little less homey and more like reviews had completely taken over. The format kind of lends itself to that, but hopefully it will all even out over time.
There are many good stories in this run, and I honestly feel bad placing some above/below others, so I'm thankful for the absolution provided by group-vote and mystical magical, statistical wizardry. ;)
So I'm curious: How does everyone feel about the new Writeoff forum in general?
I actually like the way the site turned out. Aside from a few much-needed tweaks, the only real complaint I could make is that it felt a little less homey and more like reviews had completely taken over. The format kind of lends itself to that, but hopefully it will all even out over time.
>>Southpaw
The stories having their own comment threads is pretty nice. Overall, though, I think I kind of prefer the fimfiction forum.
The stories having their own comment threads is pretty nice. Overall, though, I think I kind of prefer the fimfiction forum.
>>Trick_Question
I think Bad Horse clearly established it is a duck quacking on its head.
I think Bad Horse clearly established it is a duck quacking on its head.
>>Southpaw
I'll be quite happy with it once on-site reply notifications are up and running.
I'll be quite happy with it once on-site reply notifications are up and running.
>>TitaniumDragon
How does one quack on one's own head? :rainbowhuh:
EDIT: Ah, you mean a duck on some invisible person's head. Hmm. That one's def new.
How does one quack on one's own head? :rainbowhuh:
EDIT: Ah, you mean a duck on some invisible person's head. Hmm. That one's def new.
Blargh, curse this Daylight Savings Time! I go for a break at work hoping to see how I did, only to discover the results won't be in for another hour. #firstworldproblems :-P
In all seriousness, this seems as good a time as any to thank Roger for his awesome work on the site, and for his persistence in the face of those (sometimes including myself) who doubted the merits of the endeavor. I think this turned out really well. The conversation has tended to stay focused on the stories, but IMO that isn't a bad thing.
Also, good job everyone; there were a lot of great stories this time!
In all seriousness, this seems as good a time as any to thank Roger for his awesome work on the site, and for his persistence in the face of those (sometimes including myself) who doubted the merits of the endeavor. I think this turned out really well. The conversation has tended to stay focused on the stories, but IMO that isn't a bad thing.
Also, good job everyone; there were a lot of great stories this time!
Congrats to our winners, Cold In Gardez, "Anonymous", and Billymorph!
I wonder if the "Anonymous" story was accidentally submitted anonymously? :s
I wonder if the "Anonymous" story was accidentally submitted anonymously? :s
… wait, what? I got a magnifying glass?! :pinkiegasp:
Holy crap, I do have something to celebrate this round. I honestly never thought I'd guess well enough to be in contention.
Holy crap, I do have something to celebrate this round. I honestly never thought I'd guess well enough to be in contention.
Last time I submitted 5 stories, they got me a lot of negative points. this time, only my bottom one was worth -2. improvement in consistency?
ooh, I got a controversial party popper award. a special award for special people (who write about Anon)
I really wasn't expecting my 2 stories in the Finals to get there, they were written quickly and I assumed they were my weakest of the set. but instead, the story I spent the most time on ranked lowest. this is useful info. though I'm surprised, my middle 2 stories were pretty close to the finals cutoff too.
I got a good number of author guesses just by random luck. none of the other top guessers identified mine, even with my usual gimmicks. I thought it would be ironic if my story about a review ended up being traced to me because of my writeoff reviews, but that didn't happen.
like the Joker said, "what doesn't kill you makes you stranger." I might not ever place among the medalists, but I sure do feel stranger now.
ooh, I got a controversial party popper award. a special award for special people (who write about Anon)
I really wasn't expecting my 2 stories in the Finals to get there, they were written quickly and I assumed they were my weakest of the set. but instead, the story I spent the most time on ranked lowest. this is useful info. though I'm surprised, my middle 2 stories were pretty close to the finals cutoff too.
I got a good number of author guesses just by random luck. none of the other top guessers identified mine, even with my usual gimmicks. I thought it would be ironic if my story about a review ended up being traced to me because of my writeoff reviews, but that didn't happen.
like the Joker said, "what doesn't kill you makes you stranger." I might not ever place among the medalists, but I sure do feel stranger now.
Congratulations to the winners (and the finalist in general). We had a pretty solid round this time.
Wow. One away from the cutoff. Less than three hundredths of a point. Ouch.
Ah well. Congratulations to the winners.
Ah well. Congratulations to the winners.
>>horizon
It helps to guess heavily for the girl who announced she had three fics in the finals. :raritywink:
It helps to guess heavily for the girl who announced she had three fics in the finals. :raritywink:
Oh, so that's how you add comments. I've been sitting here scratching my head and figuring that I was just having bad luck about checking in at times when comments weren't allowed for anonymity reasons or something. Didn't realize I had to create an alias as well as the account. I suppose that's what I get for not carefully reading the FAQ, it appears.
Pie to Pie is mine, anyway.
Pie to Pie is mine, anyway.
Congrats to the medalists, guessers, and the most controversials.
And thanks to the people who reviewed and read my story. I was going to post a retrospection but... I had to put my pet down (A bit of an ironic prompt, huh?) and I'm still grieving. Anyways, see you all next round (in better spirits, I hope).
And thanks to the people who reviewed and read my story. I was going to post a retrospection but... I had to put my pet down (A bit of an ironic prompt, huh?) and I'm still grieving. Anyways, see you all next round (in better spirits, I hope).
Retrospective (altogether)
I thought I'd break out of the usual Trick Question mold and write some comedies: Dying for Attention, Celestia's Vacation, and A Deal to Die For. I think on the whole they were successful, although I made some missteps that have since (mostly) been corrected. I've already published these on Fimfiction so I'll add them to the group when the folder has been created.
I hope some of you got a chuckle. :trollestia: You'll probably appreciate the changes I've made in the fixed versions, although Dying for Attention hardly changed at all (I thought it worked well as-was).
The collection is titled Dead and Loving It, and you can find it here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/321469/dead-and-loving-it
Thanks again for all the valuable feedback!
I thought I'd break out of the usual Trick Question mold and write some comedies: Dying for Attention, Celestia's Vacation, and A Deal to Die For. I think on the whole they were successful, although I made some missteps that have since (mostly) been corrected. I've already published these on Fimfiction so I'll add them to the group when the folder has been created.
I hope some of you got a chuckle. :trollestia: You'll probably appreciate the changes I've made in the fixed versions, although Dying for Attention hardly changed at all (I thought it worked well as-was).
The collection is titled Dead and Loving It, and you can find it here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/321469/dead-and-loving-it
Thanks again for all the valuable feedback!
>>RogerDodger
I don't know if this can be fixed, Rodge, but if you submit changes (like an edit or a post) you must remain on the page for a while or the changes will be lost entirely. That's bitten me three or four times already (had to rewrite posts etc.). I guess the submissions aren't entirely handled server-side?
I don't know if this can be fixed, Rodge, but if you submit changes (like an edit or a post) you must remain on the page for a while or the changes will be lost entirely. That's bitten me three or four times already (had to rewrite posts etc.). I guess the submissions aren't entirely handled server-side?
>>RogerDodger
Okay I see it. It's a cacheing problem. The changes aren't lost. While I work on a fix, you can see an uncached copy of the post if you go to /post/<id>/view.
Edit: Fixed now.
Okay I see it. It's a cacheing problem. The changes aren't lost. While I work on a fix, you can see an uncached copy of the post if you go to /post/<id>/view.
Edit: Fixed now.
>>RogerDodger
I inadvertently submitted 'Pie to Pie' anonymously. Is it possible to have it changed to 'Jordanis'?
I inadvertently submitted 'Pie to Pie' anonymously. Is it possible to have it changed to 'Jordanis'?
>>Jordanis
Sure. It'll take some time for the change to be reflected in the scoreboard etc.
Sure. It'll take some time for the change to be reflected in the scoreboard etc.
There are several stories up now, so this is another reminder that somepony needs to create the folder in TWA.
(Folder should probably be created when the competition starts (as soon as the prompt drops), so ponies who have late entries they couldn't finish in time can post them without delay.)
(Folder should probably be created when the competition starts (as soon as the prompt drops), so ponies who have late entries they couldn't finish in time can post them without delay.)
>>Trick_Question
That would be my fault. This is what happens when I try to skip rounds. D:
Folder has now been created, so everyone please add your stories there when you post them to FIMFic. And if you've entered a competition but you're not yet a "contributor" to the Writeoff group, bug me over on Fimfic and I'll get that fixed. We have a thread for that in the group forum, or you can PM me directly.
There are several stories up now, so this is another reminder that somepony needs to create the folder in TWA.
(Folder should probably be created when the competition starts (as soon as the prompt drops), so ponies who have late entries they couldn't finish in time can post them without delay.)
That would be my fault. This is what happens when I try to skip rounds. D:
Folder has now been created, so everyone please add your stories there when you post them to FIMFic. And if you've entered a competition but you're not yet a "contributor" to the Writeoff group, bug me over on Fimfic and I'll get that fixed. We have a thread for that in the group forum, or you can PM me directly.