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| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61824/124 |   OldFriend (178) Feb 23, 2007 - 07:40 pm
| | judging these entries should have less to do with the subject matter itself and more to do quality of writing; i.e., how well arguments are constructed, grammar, humor, creativity, etc. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/11 | OldFriend (178) Feb 23, 2007 - 07:33 pm » Edited on Feb 23, 2007 - 07:36 pm
| the negative voting really isn't that big a deal. your percent score only counts for 1/7th your total. i counted my first round entry at around 17th in percent score and around the same in number of votes. the editors' scores count for 4/7ths of your score, and i think they will be fairer judges of quality than the voters. I ended up finishing 9th in spite of my low percent score, so i can only assume the judges dug what i wrote. so just don't suck and you'll probly make rd 2.
that said, all these unbelieveably low scores do bother me. the winner of the first prelim was a fantastic article that should've scored 80% to 90% imo. i don't mind the positive ballot-box stuffing, but all the downvoting that seems to goes on i find rather unconscionable and pathetic. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62486/138 | OldFriend (178) Feb 23, 2007 - 03:56 am
| | hahaahahah an amusing read to say the least. a writer after my own heart, although i hafta say you lay the metaphors on a bit thick. it borders on sarcasm, which is not good for a professional article. i also felt you could have gone more indepth. seemed to end just when it was getting good. otherwise, just reign in the prose a bit and you'll be up there with the best. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/28327/123 | OldFriend (178) Feb 22, 2007 - 01:10 am
| | yeah, no need to be sorry for trying; as a friend once told me, you usually regret the things you don't do, not what you do. the best way to improve is to put yourself out there and learn, esp. when there's little risk like this contest. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/11053/122 | OldFriend (178) Feb 21, 2007 - 07:09 pm
| | finally someone with a firm grasp of not just speaking, but writing in english. a very interesting article; i'd agree that it could do with some specific and interesting examples. otherwise very fine. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/28327/123 | OldFriend (178) Feb 21, 2007 - 07:01 pm
| agree with the first two commenters. blanket statements like 'xbox was the wrong answer' and 'The Playstation 3 is the newest form of the answer to destroy Nintendo, but they are dead' need argumentative support within the article; assuring us they're correct is far from good enough.
and yeah, lots of run-on sentences and various grammatical errors. overall an article with a lot of potential, but you weren't quite savvy enough to pull it off. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61824/124 | OldFriend (178) Feb 21, 2007 - 06:35 pm
| | quite the contrary; i think you spent too much time on the other candidates. in my opinion that section should have been no more than 10-15% of the article. instead it's nearly half, which feels like a lot of filler material to me for an article about The Most Influential Game, which to me implies an article about one game. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/11 | OldFriend (178) Feb 21, 2007 - 06:11 pm » Edited on Feb 21, 2007 - 06:13 pm
| you guys need to advertise this cluster somewhere. i had to poke around all the contest pages and only found this at the very bottom of one of the pages. also what's the password to join? i tried intel but it didn't work.
edit: so it's case sensitive. has to be uppercase 'I' Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/3 | OldFriend (178) Feb 20, 2007 - 11:47 pm » Edited on Feb 21, 2007 - 06:15 pm
| so where are people going to post their entries for prelim 2? it's almost wednesday (already is in some parts of the world).
edit: link to prelim 2 in case anyone was curious. was a biznatch to find.
http://www.firingsquad.com/matrix/cluster.asp/11 Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/3 | OldFriend (178) Feb 20, 2007 - 03:13 am
| | sweet. i guess i can just sit back and help critique the prelim 2 entries now. i might even upvote them just to offset the friends-and-family downvoting that seems to be going on. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Shout Box Link » /matrix/user.asp/17473 | OldFriend (178) Feb 12, 2007 - 02:56 am
| » editors' contest concerns
you run the editors' challenge right? well i have a few concerns about it that i thought would be more properly brought to a person of authority than posted publicly there. i looked for an email address but i couldn't find one for you. if you don't run the contest then please run this by someone who does. thanks.
question: is it just me or has everyone's scores been going progressively down since this whole deal started? i hadn't visited in a couple days (since there were 22 or so articles), but back then there were several articles that were solidly in the 70s and even 80s. now it seems nobody has anything over 70, and that's just improper to me because there are some very fine articles here.
while there is far from enough evidence to conclusively say anything, at least i can with confidence say i wouldn't be surprised if there was some negative ballot-box stuffing going on. a graph of votes for any one article should show a fairly tight cluster right around the average; i suspect we would see that with most of the articles, with another cluster of votes right around the bottom, which would be indicative of intentional negative votes.
also, as votes go on, the average should normalize at a certain number, not continually go down and down as is the case here. that can happen anomalously with a few articles, but not with every single one as i've seen here. i think this is indicative of groups of people voting down old articles as their friends post new ones. if it was the contestants doing it, i think everyone's averages would normalize quickly at a low number rather than going down over time.
thanks for your time. reach me at sumdumfu@gmail.com if you want to keep this private. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61594/81 | OldFriend (178) Feb 09, 2007 - 02:12 am
| | maybe it should have been titled 'I've lost that lovin' feeling'. heh. i was gonna write a similar article about the halcyon days of gaming, but maybe not in such a crotchety ol' bastard voice hehe. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/3 | OldFriend (178) Feb 08, 2007 - 12:15 am
| | also i was wondering when we'll find out who makes it from prelim 1; if it'll be immediately after or if you guys will announce that after both prelims are over? Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/3 | OldFriend (178) Feb 08, 2007 - 12:06 am » Edited on Feb 08, 2007 - 12:11 am
| | yours was fine to begin with and will probly make the prelim cut regardless. my beef is how much it helps the people not as talented as you; it can really close the gap between the gifted writers and not-so-gifted ones so that it's harder to distinguish at the top. and this early in the prelim, that could still help raise their averages a lot. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/3 | OldFriend (178) Feb 07, 2007 - 06:48 pm
| » editing
i don't like that editing of posted blogs is allowed. writers shouldn't be able to edit their posts after reading criticisms from the comments. Flag this | Edit this post |
| This message was posted anonymously and is hidden |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/61849/54 | OldFriend (178) Feb 07, 2007 - 12:40 am
| very disarming, informal style. does a good job of drawing the reader into the state of mind of a dear subject matter.
as a result, very disappointing ending. why was 'fun' the most important part; what made your game not fun; how did you discover this? i would have loved to have read about the journey. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/18766/53 | OldFriend (178) Feb 07, 2007 - 12:33 am
| adequate spelling/vocabulary/grammar
too many commas
you ask a question in the title, but if the goal was to answer that yes, there is room for more, then i agree with zoe in that i don't think you did it with enough conviction.
the paragraphs about the positive/negative personal effects of such games were very promising, but ended up being a bit flat to me. i think a little more emotional appeal with more descriptive imagery would have done well there. Flag this | Edit this post |
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