Fortnightly Writing Competition: Junkyard (Contest Closed! Finally...)

[lorenzo]

At the time of me writing this, 3 member have voted (including me) and there are only 4 votes (it should be 6, obviously). If one of the entrants votes just once either intentionally or because they don't see that they are allowed to vote twice, while another gives their two votes, it gives an advantage to the person who only voted once, the same way as not voting at all gives an advantage (as does voting for oneself, but I just assume nobody does that, even though it's impossible to control with polls, and very easy to see with open or PM voting).

I put in just one vote. I don't understand why we should put two -- I didn't find it written in the current contest's rules, nor in the previous. What's the point of a second vote? Unless we have specific categories, like in the BG Blitz, I don't get it.
I don't really get this talk about getting "advantages" either, since these are supposed to be friendly competitions made to have fun and exercise some skills that could come in handy while making games, with no prizes. I don't think anyone tried to cheat by putting just one vote... it just makes sense to vote for the story you liked best. Which in my case is Mandle's, complete transparency here (I was just waiting to write a few lines at the end of the competition anyway).
If it's necessary, I'll add another vote.

[Baron]

Good reads, my friends, good reads.

@Sinitrena

Spoiler

I liked the twist of old feeble Belikon being the superior necromancer and giving the smug High Caster his comeuppance.  I might have voted for your work except for the many humorous typos: "Witch" a snap of his fingers; two "answered" slipped through Belikon's mind; first he "locked" at the old sword....  You claim to have been rushed because you only got your idea two days before deadline.  Man, I wish I had ideas that far in advance!   

[close]

@Lorenzo

Spoiler

The story was a bit silly, but Loopy's enthusiasm despite her ignorance and poverty were infectious and I loved the description of the mess in her room.  It actually reminded me of my son's room (*cringe*), so I had a good chuckle at some of her antics.  A well-deserved vote.   

[close]

@Mandle

Spoiler

Oh Mandle.  Did you really spend 10 hours writing this?  Because it was AWESOME!  You kept me guessing where this was going, but there is no way in a million years I could have conceived of that ending.  I look forward to reading what you might produce if only you could pour a proper amount of time into your craft (I'm thinking six hours per paragraph?  ).  Alas, the geo-nerd in me looked up the Google Streetview at 47th Street and 6th avenue and was sadly disappointed.   

[close]

[Sinitrena]

I put in just one vote. I don't understand why we should put two

Because this is how the poll is set up this round. If it should be set up like that is irrelevant. Personally, I think more than one vote only makes sense when there are a lot of entries, which isn't the case here, but that's not the point.

I don't really get this talk about getting "advantages" either

Mostly in a mathematical sense. It makes a fairly big difference mathematically if you give one or two votes technically against yourself. The more votes there are, the less relevant it becomes, but it's still a mathematical advantage to only vote once when other people vote twice (speaking mainly about people who have an entry themselves, though technically, it still skews the results when a non-entrant gives just one vote)

since these are supposed to be friendly competitions made to have fun and exercise some skills that could come in handy while making games, with no prizes. I don't think anyone tried to cheat by putting just one vote...

Again, not the point and not what I'm saying. It's not about someone intentionally cheating. Why would they? This is, after all, a friendly competition, right? It's about logic and fairness. I don't even assume anyone intentionally saw that they could give two votes and only gave one; I rather think people didn't see how the poll was set up.

it just makes sense to vote for the story you liked best.

And that is completely fair, as long as everyone gives just one vote. It's not about who anyone voted for, it's not about who wins in the end, it's about a good voting system.

And if the competition admin for the next round still thinks it is a good idea to set up a poll with more than one vote, and if people still don't notice or ignore it - than so be it. I can't change it. I'm just pointing out that it is not a good system.

[lorenzo]

I found all three stories to be entertaining reads, my feedback below!

Renegade:

Spoiler

The connection to the theme is flimsy at best. Just because someone refers to a cemetery as a "scrapyard" (which is quite a stretch), doesn't make it so. Especially since junkyard, as far as I know, refers to places used to store vehicles to then sell their metal.

While initially it seemed like this story could be hinting at some interesting themes (ethical questions about war; the respect and preservation of human corpses vs human life wasted on the battlefield; is it moral to use reanimated corpses in war?), it's not what the story is about. Instead, it just ends with a boss fight to show who is the stronger necromancer.
Also, some of the worldbuilding seems to contradict itself and parts of it feel anachronistic ("my best calcium"? or the idea of a scrapyard in itself, which is fairly recent).

[close]

Memoirs of a Trashy Woman:

Spoiler

An interesting journey from the bleakness of a seemingly endless landfill to perhaps the promise a new world. I liked the descriptions of life in this setting and the final discovery of a different sector.
Unfortunately, I spoiled the ending for myself by accidentally reading it while scrolling the page, before having had a chance to read the rest. So maybe its effect was diminished on me, but I liked the light of hope of a better life it gives to the story.
The title is pretty funny!

[close]

Rags and Bones Men:

Spoiler

I loved this entry and it's the one I voted for. It has the tone of a weird fiction short story, with the realistic setting mixed with hints of something supernatural. The story is gripping and kept me reading it until the end, wanting to know more. The setting is very well realised, with some great descriptions and some funny lines too.
The ending is quirky and unexpected in a good way!

[close]

[Mandle]

Just read all stories and voted now. It was a REALLY tough choice to choose two out of the three. And I REALLY wish Baron's story's ending hadn't already been spoiled for me by a wayward glance. PLEASE make spoiler tags a thing for stories. Not only does it hide potential spoilers, it also makes the thread easier to scroll through. Anyway, I will write some feedback in the morning.

[Mandle]

My feedback:

Sinitrena:

Spoiler

I love the setting and world building! Especially the quota for skeleton arms. I was wondering if he could enchant them to fly around and fight or something, but then finding out he could fuse them was great! And I loved the groundsman calling it his "scrap yard" like he was scavenging old auto parts to restore cars. You were correct that it could have used a proofread but even despite that it was strong enough to get one of my votes.

[close]

Lorenzo:

Spoiler

Your story was a genuine pleasure to read. The banter between the two characters was GOLD! I don't know if it was your signature-style shot of the duo at the top or not, but I could really see it as part of a comic book series. Which brings me to my only slight quibble: That it DID feel like a part of a larger work. It was a lovely look into the two characters' world, but didn't strongly go somewhere. It was a tough choice because the story gave me so many smiles, but I only had 2 votes.

[close]

Baron:

Spoiler

Well, it was GREAT! The writing was pitch-perfect with the usual avalanche of clever "Baron-brand" turns of phrase. The trick of something that seems set in the future having been actually in the distant past is not a new one but it would have fooled me here IF I HADN'T ACCIDENTALLY SEEN THE ENDING! So, I could only imagine the great surprise I would have gotten BUT WAS ROBBED OF. In that parallel world where the story had been in spoiler tags, my fortunate self was wonderfully surprised and looked like he was having enough fun for me to give your story a vote.

[close]

[Mandle]

Oh, and Baron: I was stoked that you looked up the corner the club is "located" on in NYC on google street view, because that's exactly what I did to find the location. It took a while to find an intersection that matched my description of being surrounded by skyscrapers but had a three-story building on one corner. A modern building though, of course. Hey, it's almost like we passed each other in the street, haha.

[Mandle]

Before the vote is decided. Should Lorenzo maybe cast his second vote in here? He said he was willing to, and I'm sure we can trust him to cast it honestly.
Because, if he would have cast it for Baron, then we have a tie.

Or should we just revote with one vote each?

[Durinde]

I can rerun the poll with one vote for everyone for a few days if that's what people would like. If I ever run this again I'll restrict it to one vote, the only reason I did 2 was to make it consistent with the previous contest, which I admit was a mistake on my part.

[Mandle]

Rerunning the poll sounds good to me. Depends what others think I guess.

[lorenzo]

Whatever you all agree to do, is fine by me.
Regarding my votes, I would have given the first to Mandle, and the second to Baron.

If I ever run this again I'll restrict it to one vote, the only reason I did 2 was to make it consistent with the previous contest, which I admit was a mistake on my part.

Not a big issue, really. Personally, I just didn't notice that you could vote for two entries. If two votes are mandatory, you shouldn't be able to send the poll until you have selected two; it's more of a mistake in the system than on your part, in my opinion.

[Sinitrena]

Rerunning the poll sounds good to me. Depends what others think I guess.

Sounds unnecessary to me, honestly. It's not ideal how this voting turned out, but in the end it's not so important that it warrants discarding results as they stand. Just, for the future: in polls, only ever allow one vote, it's just less confusing and more consistent.

lorenzo posted while I was typing...

Regarding my votes, I would have given the first to Mandle, and the second to Baron.

Which does make it a tie.

Unless the other person who only gave one vote wants to say so, it's up to Durinde to decide the winner, I guess.

[Durinde]

Ok, I've reset the poll to one vote and gave it 2 days (everyone has read the stories by now, so I don't think there's a need to run it another week).

[Mandle]

Unless the other person who only gave one vote wants to say so, it's up to Durinde to decide the winner, I guess.

I'm guessing it was Rootbrand. I will PM him.

[Stupot]

I've cast my single vote, but I don't see the point in dwelling on this. I'd rather see the next topic.

[Mandle]

I've cast my single vote, but I don't see the point in dwelling on this. I'd rather see the next topic.

Yeah, sorry for causing a bit of a shitshow here. I know this is more of a writing group to support one another and keep each other writing than an actual competition, but I was concerned about feelings over the voting. Not that it's Durinde's fault at all. I 100% agree with Durinde that the AGS poll system is borked for more than 1 vote. There is no option to FORCE 2 votes, and I didn't know it worked that way when I set up my own 2 vote round, and Durinde just followed that misguided example.

Baron hasn't commented as of me posting this, so I don't know if he cares much about it, but yeah... As Lorenzo's vote would have forced a tie after all, I do feel it is prudent to revote.

I don't think anyone would feel "cheated out of a win" in this situation, but I can imagine some possibly legit hurt feelings of being brushed aside/disregarded/etc.

Anyway, it is what it is, and sorry to all again. Cheers!

P.S. I voted (for Baron, but was a tough choice I didn't have to make the first time) and also, Rootbrand told me he was not the mysterious 6th voter last time. What's more... who WAS the 7th Guest?!

[Sinitrena]

I've cast my single vote as well (for Baron, if anyone's curious, though it was a tough decision.)

I feel a bit bad for pointing out that the voting system didn't work very well. Sorry. 

Btw, Mandle: RootBound not Rootbrand, and they/them, according to their signature.

[Mandle]

I feel a bit bad for pointing out that the voting system didn't work very well. Sorry. 

It wasn't that you pointed it out this time. It was more me coming to agree with you on this one. The AGS poll system should NOT be used with multiple votes for contests. It is not the tool for the job. For one vote polls, it's fine.

The reason I started all this was because the potential tie between Baron and me showed me the flaws that you have mentioned before. Had to see for meyself I guess. Now, as in the song: "Now I'm a believer."

[Baron]

Wait, what?  You can't do this to us old guys!  For a minute there I legit believed I'd lost my mind and hadn't voted yet.  Now I feel compelled to vote for a third round of voting to call into question the validity of the previous two votes. 

I think I agree most with Mandle here that this is mostly a writer's group masquerading as a contest.  Who cares about the voting system?  I mean, it's nice to win once in a while, and more votes mean marginally more validation I guess, but the real love is in the feedback.

If anything good has come of this it's that Mandle has taught me the word "borked".   
 

[Durinde]

Alright, Mandle is the winner. Congrats! Hopefully things go more smoothly in the future.