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I'm personally not a fan of this kind of rating system, since it can easily be skewed by one destructive rating and I don't think grammar is all that important at our level of writing, but I do like the weighting thing.
I still remember there was one year we had 4 categories to rate, I want to say it was during IWT3, but I don't remember what the fourth category was and we never bothered with it again for some reason, or maybe we just combined it with another category.
The weighting thing came into play during IWT4, I think Apoth first suggested that one.
EDIT: Oh wait, creativity was its own category once, but we ended up combining it with plot for some reason and we added enjoyment as a category.
Well, personally, if a plot isn't very creative, I'm not going to score that plot very high. They're heavily related to each other. I'm not sure that I would be able to judge them as separate entities. I think the changes you're talking about both came in during IWT 4- I seem to remember reading those arguments, and I've certainly never known it any other way.
Still, you're the boss for this year's IWT. If you wanted to change the scorecard, that's your right. Personally though, I think it's fine the way it is. I can't see how changing it would make it any better or worse- just different.
Originally posted by Ryan_DuBois
Usoki, you're the crankiest asshole we know. Not that it's a bad thing, it just means that you smell funny and are best left hidden in darkness.
And it's embarrassing when you make any noise at all.
I'm not sure how to weight them - and since I've not had much practice at rating on this site in the past, I'm not sure if my ratings will mess things up.
Nah, I wasn't going to change anything with the ratings stuff, especially not this late in the game. The only change I briefly pondered was a "theme" category and based on whether or not the story stayed true to the theme, but we just decided if it deviated that much from it, the story just got docked in the plot department.
Crunchy: You basically just rate the stories in all the categories in the normal way (1 to 10). You then pick the category you think is the most important and you weight it. This will be either grammar, plot, or enjoyment. Whatever category you weighted, the score in that category will be doubled for all the stories.
Ryan will be tallying up the scores, so you don't really have to think about it too much, just be sure to make a note of which category you're weighting and he'll double it.
Writing: It's more fun than a barrel of Ebola ridden monkeys!
You basically just rate the stories in all the categories in the normal way (1 to 10). You then pick the category you think is the most important and you weight it. This will be either grammar, plot, or enjoyment. Whatever category you weighted, the score in that category will be doubled for all the stories.
In the past, I've weighted different categories for individual stories, based on what I thought made that story stand out - not necessarily which category I felt was most important to writing, in general. To be clear, this time around, you're saying the rater will pick one category as a personal preference, and apply just that one across the board?
My own vote will go to enjoyment in that case, since fiction is worth little to me unless it is enjoyable or evocative in some way that keeps me turning pages. Why read something (fiction, at least) you find dull and uninspiring?
I doubt anyone will weight grammar (though someone might surprise me - maybe MRH is lurking and will weigh in just to throw everything off?), though I have for one or two stories individually, in the past.
Often, if a piece is creative and has a well-developed plot, I find it enjoyable once I get into it (the inverse isn't always true). I can see some overall weightings for creativity, particularly if you look at this in terms of literary merit.
If I had to add a category, I'd go for Character Development - though the IS format is different enough that developed characters aren't always essential - or maybe setting/ambiance.
Just my thoughts, but I'd appreciate a definitive answer for this IWT on the weight/categories question.
EDIT: Oh, and for anyone new to the contest, I should point out that it's customary to add a short paragraph to each set of scores with comments on the story in general, or something by way of explanation for the rating given in each category.
The inbox size on the forum is very limited, so - assuming you have an account on the main site and the site is up - PM your votes to Ryan there, rather than here. He's "YazZMaN" on the main site.
Argh, I don't know if I'm going to make it at this point. My new job has been kicking my ass, and it seems like I just couldn't get focused with this theme. I must have started and abandoned like five stories, and the one I'm trying to convert now is in a lot worse shape than I originally thought. I don't want to throw a bunch of terrible crap up just to meet the limit, so it's looking like there's going to be SHAME in my future.
I'm definitely going to keep working on it at my own pace and try to finish though, I've been a member of this site way too long with only a few rooms in the HOID to show for it.
To be clear, this time around, you're saying the rater will pick one category as a personal preference, and apply just that one across the board?
That's how I thought we always were doing it when it was first suggested. At least that's how I've always been doing it for all the contests.
My own reason for weighting the same category for every story would be the fact that my mind isn't really going to change from story to story about what category I think is important. And typically I pick enjoyment as well, but I figured most others picked plot/creativity though. Other than maybe Usoki, I can't imagine anyone who has rated contest stories in the past to weight grammar/spelling either, but I imagine it's still useful as a possible "tie breaker" category, even if it's never weighted.
Quick question, other than Locke have the rest of you guys been weighting the stories individually?
EDIT: I'm not going to change the rating system or category stuff at this point. So we'll still be picking one category to weight for all stories since I thought that was how we were always doing it.
Whoever is in charge of the next contest can change stuff around (or change stuff back if the case may be).
I must have started and abandoned like five stories...
I had this same problem when I considered entering this contest. I had a few ideas that were interesting, but maybe because this is the first time I'm trying to write a CYOA-type story, I had trouble getting beyond the basic premise.
Can I still vote if I'm not taking part in the contest? I'd be willing to do that, providing I had some way of knowing what all the entries are (I think I read something about how there'd be a thread with links to them all forthcoming).
It makes sense to me that enjoyment would be the 'weighted' category, too. After all, a story doesn't have to be the most original (i.e. creative) to be a good read.
I've always been picking just one category (Enjoyment, although I considered the creativity one), since doing it the other way just seems like an opportunity for unfair ratings to get in. The whole point of doubling a category is because there was some disagreement over which one was most important, right? Anyway, I'd be in favor of a complete revamp for next contest. Even something where we all just voted for our favorite story and then the story with the most votes wins would be better in my opinion. This kind of rating system would at least get rid of any destructive votes.
To Mizal and Dreamshell: I wouldn't be too hard on yourselves at this point; it took me about five or six years before I finally got a little less lazy and entered my first Infinite Writing Tournament. It is a pretty big time commitment, too, depending on how fast you're able to write. Of course, having entered, Mizal will still have to suffer great SHAME!
Yeah Dreamshell, you can still vote too.
[EDIT]
Just to be clear on what to send me
1) Your ratings on a scale of 1 - 10 in each category for all stories (except your own if you entered).
2) The category that you personally feel is most important.
3) Any comments/constructive criticism on each story.
4) Send this stuff to YazZMaN on the main site. You can find me on the active members list. My avatar is this crazy clown with a fiery head.
I'll take care of all the weighting and averaging. I should also point out that your ratings and comments will be anonymous. Well, I'll see it, but you have my word that I won't get offended if you rate me low.
You got until Sunday midnight. It's currently around 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, so you still got plenty of time.
Again, just to be clear, are you saying the deadline is effectively 11:59 tomorrow night - the last minute of the 16th - or 11:59 tonight, with the contest closing as soon as the deadline date hits?
From what I've dug up, the last two contests at least were not officially "over" until 12:00 AM on the day after the deadline date hit.
Some info is on preceding pages in each thread if anyone is insatiably curious.
Assuming we follow precedent, there are about 30 hours left in IWT7 (currently 6 PM EST), though of course that's up to you, End. I'm actually not sure whether we used Eastern or Central time in the past, but I am not anal enough to bother finding out.
Sorry for being so exhaustive about all this, but as usual, there are several people trying to pull it together - Crunchy and perhaps Mizal - so it will make a difference.
EDIT:
Oh, and this may be a very stupid question, but when reading and rating, we're exploring every single room and path, right?
I think that's been assumed in the past, and it does seem ethical; otherwise, you could hit a 3-room path that ends in sudden, pointless death and rate the piece a 1. It is the fairest way to go about it, and nobody can cry foul over the ratings. I've always done it that way, myself.
Yeah tomorrow night at the last minute on the 16th, not tonight.
I'm just using the eastern standard time as the guide since that's what I'm using to measure time and its easier that way. Don't think the time difference issue has ever really been addressed since most either submitted stuff at least a few days before the deadlines or they just dropped out completely. Nobody was really writing up to the very last minute.
Anyway Crunchy's in the clear already since she already posted a story with more than 20 rooms.
Writing: It's more fun than a barrel of Ebola ridden monkeys!
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