Now some of you may find the subject of this thread a bit controversal, while others may think its about time that I put it out. I wanted to get this out two days ago, but as you may have noticed work is picking up for me. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on writing but it is getting to a point where I think you guys need a few friendly tips. Anyways, I'm going to do the short part first: what makes an acceptable post.
Good Posts
Good posts don't necessarily mean long posts. They don't need to actually accomplish a goal. Take Fury's post about diving into the snow for example....it wasn't exactly long but it not only gave us a good laugh but it advanced our position to be a little closer to camp. All that is needed for a good post is for it to be correct (which means reading the storyline posts before yours so your post doesn't seem totally irrelevant) as far as information goes. If LeGit makes a post saying that we're taking off, we should not be seeing Arnaut making a post saying we're waiting for the shuttles to arrive. (Pure example, neither party made such a post) Good posts also focus on the present....they DO NOT focus on what already happened (I'll touch more on that later). The point of you posting is to advance the story and keep it in the present not keep looking backwards.
Bad Posts
Okay it's time for bad posts. I suggest some of you go get a snack, cause this will take a while. Okay so starting with the first thing: flashbacks. Is this really needed? It's okay if you're trying to post then when its posted you realize someone posted before you. In which case its okay to make one of those "Before Alater's Post" headings. What I'm talking about is maybe 6 hours after a post is made we see one of those headings and it's not really needed. To me, it seems like posting for the sake of posting....which is okay if you actually move the storyline along but when you're posting a post for no real reason to move back in time....it's rediculous!
Another particular type of post that we're all getting sick of seeing posted is for example when Riqimo makes a post, and then the next person or two basically make posts taking quotes from his post and showing their reactions....even when the storyline is actually a bit ahead of that. This is NOT considered a post, rather a sad excuse for a post. Honestly, what good do you think this does the storyline? If you were reading a book do you think you'd see this kinda stuff? I can assure you that you won't.
I'm going to give one more example, then I'm going to leave it upto you guys to figure out what else you're doing wrong. Another thing I think we're all sick of seeing (and we've all been guilty of it at some point in our career here but is happening on a regular basis lately) is the posts that make no sense. People will literally make a post that either does not do anything OR they will make a post that totally contradicts the post before if not more than that. I can't stress enough how important it is to back-read before you post....make sure you didn't miss anything. I mean we all make mistakes, but not of the number that is happening lately.
And for those that feel I'm just in a bad mood over a couple posts, take a look around! Riqimo has already withdrawn himself from the competition cause he is so fed up with everything going on. I have the troopers that are posting right complaining to me (and possibly him I'm not sure) on a regular basis. I'm not cancelling this competition cause that'll just ruin it for the ones that are posting right but I'll remind you again: any of your posts that are considered "bad" (and there are more examples than these) will result in the posts in question NOT BEING COUNTED for the overall post count. So is it really worth rushing to make a post for the sake of getting one in just to have it not counted? I know I sure as hell wouldn't want to do that. At any rate...I think you get the idea. So next time you post....THINK before you post.
[This message has been edited by
Rizzit
(edited December 6, 2007
10:28:06 AM)]
