A Thread about the Affirmation of Quest Submissions

[Ataraxis]

Unless there already is a place where quests in wait of judging are displayed, would it be useful if there was a sticky that was updated every time a quest is submitted for judging? I know we get a message saying that the thread was sucessfully submitted, though, so doing this might be an unecessary addition.

Would anyone like such a thread? I think it'd make it easier to keep track if you submit multiple quests in a short time interval, but that's just my opinion. Any thoughts?

[Rigor Mortis]

I think it would be nice if there was a thread where the judge confirms that he/she has taken your quest, so that you don't fret over whether or not the moderators recieved your submission.

[Atzar]

Not a good idea. Harassment would ensue. Even without this, many people find it necessary to spray PM's to various moderators when their thread hasn't been judged quickly enough for their liking.

I'm not saying that everybody does this... but it does happen, it is somewhat annoying, and it doesn't get it done faster.


I wouldn't object to Ataraxis' general idea, though. Perhaps if you could see the queue that we had at any given point in time, you would know how far down on the list your thread is. Frequently, this answers the question that we receive so often via PM.

That being said, this is my opinion only and doesn't reflect the thoughts of all of the judges.

[Synful_Blood]

I'd like something along those lines. I submitted a quest on the first, and then on the eleventh, I was talking to a mod and asked whether it had been claimed yet, and was told it hadn't gotten through.

[Daggertail]

I definitely see Atzar's point. seeing who claimed it may give impatient members something to zero in on to harass. Though it might be a lack of transparency that may lead to those PMs. This might solve the problem that people have when worrying about whether or not their thread got through when it's taking a whole month to judge. I guess we'd only know if it does happen but it probably won't.

[Amaril Torrun]

I like Atzar's idea. Having a list of all the quests that are pending judgement would let everyone see that it isn't all about them, that other people need threads judged too. It might stop some of the harassment. Then again it would be a pain to update.

Though signing on every day for a while without seeing it judged may make being patient difficult, every one needs to understand that judges have multiple threads to read through, have threads they are actually a part of and need to post in, plus they have lives outside of Althanas.

[Atzar]

I like Atzar's idea. Having a list of all the quests that are pending judgement would let everyone see that it isn't all about them, that other people need threads judged too. It might stop some of the harassment. Then again it would be a pain to update.

Though signing on every day for a while without seeing it judged may make being patient difficult, every one needs to understand that judges have multiple threads to read through, have threads they are actually a part of and need to post in, plus they have lives outside of Althanas.

I love you.

[Ataraxis]

Well if there's a Mod who has the time and sees that there's been a thread submission, he/she could edit in the name of the quest inside the thread and that'd be that. We can't really have a pending order since there are multiple threads judged by multiple judges who work at different speeds. That's not counting the new judging options available when we submit.

But I do agree that with a big list, people will realize that the mods have much to do already, and will refrain from PMing them, as that would potentially slow down the judging process and deter the will of the mod in question.

I don't know if this is viable, but maybe if the process was automatic? All threads submitted would be processed and somehow be displayed somewhere on the site? This would take a lot of time to code, though, so that's why I'm asking.

[Amaril Torrun]

I love you.

*drools over the beaver avatar*

[Cyrus the virus]

seeing who claimed it may give impatient members something to zero in on to harass.

Wow.

The only real concern people should have is whether the request went through or not, which is understandable. If you like, though, there's no harm in simply asking a moderator whether or not the form worked properly. Of course, this means new members who don't realize there is an occasional glitch could be the victim of an unfortunate forum error :(

[Massacre]

It could be done. Though impatient members will say something about it either way, no?

"Why hasn't my thread been claimed yet?!"

It's just a whole new set of issues too, so it's a good and bad idea, I suppose.

[The Barbarian]

Well, if judging is slow, get more good judges. I know that's a rash statement, kind of like saying, "Get people that do great work 100% of the time to do everything." Sounds like a good idea, just who is that capable?

And I like the idea of seeing a list of submitted threads. If a mod friend hadn't told me a week after I submitted my solo (June 4th, midnight-ish) that why didn't I submit my solo thread, I'd still think it was waiting its turn.

And how many active judges do we have? I saw those two really big threads judged, so that shows why judgings have been slow (I used to be a judge here, so I know how it can be), but just wondering if we have like 2-3 judges right now. It's summer. Althanas always picks up during summer.

[Atzar]

Well, if judging is slow, get more good judges. I know that's a rash statement, kind of like saying, "Get people that do great work 100% of the time to do everything." Sounds like a good idea, just who is that capable?

And I like the idea of seeing a list of submitted threads. If a mod friend hadn't told me a week after I submitted my solo (June 4th, midnight-ish) that why didn't I submit my solo thread, I'd still think it was waiting its turn.

And how many active judges do we have? I saw those two really big threads judged, so that shows why judgings have been slow (I used to be a judge here, so I know how it can be), but just wondering if we have like 2-3 judges right now. It's summer. Althanas always picks up during summer.

Not advertising anything, are we? ;)

We technically have seven official judges and a couple that step up when the queue gets big. Right now, though, I think real life is biting many of us in the ass. I'm working a full-time job and a full-time girlfriend, so it's tough for me to find some time to myself where I can focus on Althanas - whether it's judging or writing my own shit.

[Amaril Torrun]

I have both of those full-timers too, plus I'm not sure if my judgements would be that great. Otherwise I'd be more than willing to help out the process.

[The Barbarian]

No, not advertising for myself. If I really wanted to get back on the staff, I'd just go to Santh. I asked like a couple weeks ago if there was a judge shortage or lack of activity just to see if I might be needed as an experienced mod.

But like I said before, I know what it was like being a judge and how real life requires much more attention than our little corner of the creative writing internet. So if more than half of our judging staff is currently busy with real life, bring in some other judges for the summer. No one can blame anybody here for having to take care of life first. Althanas is afterall just a game.

Edit: And Atzar! Get your ass to work in the Bazaar! :p

[Atzar]

I don't run the Bazaar. That's Artifex Felicis and AdventWings.

[The Barbarian]

Ya know, someone really needs to update the whole "Moderators" section in some of these areas....lol.

[Cyrus the virus]

"Get some new judges" is a fine idea and all, if the staff has a magnificent pool of fantastic judges to choose from. There's criteria to keep in mind, not to mention a first-come first-considered type of atmosphere that sometimes makes things move a little slower than would be ideal.

[Serilliant]

We have made some modifications to our judging submissions system as per the requests outlined in this thread.

Now when you click on the "Submit Thread for Judging" link, you will be taken to a different screen with just one box. This single box will be a field for any notes you would like your judge to know and for you to specify the depth of comments you would like to receive. It is no longer necessary to paste a link to your thread.

When you have submitted the thread, it will automatically be added to our queue. You can view the status of your judging submission by clicking on the link under the Welcome Header on the board's main page. The link reads, "View Your Judging Requests". Alternatively, you can also click here (http://www.althanas.com/world/postreports.php).

When your request is initially submitted, the status of your thread will be set to "Open". When your thread is claimed by a judge, the judge will change the status to "Pending" and will supply an estimated date of completion. You can keep checking this page as the moderator will update the status of your thread every so often. Once the thread is judged, the status will be changed to "Closed".

It is important to note that while you will be able to see the name of the judge who has taken your thread, that harassment of the judge is prohibited. While you are welcome to PM the judge if you have additional information you feel you need to share (such as clarifying a spoils request), you should not PM judges asking for status updates. Instead, rely on the status page.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this new judging submission system. We are still adjusting to this system ourselves, so there may be some kinks and initial delays. We trust that things will go a great deal more smoothly from now on and we hope you like this new method. I am also still open to suggestions if there are tweaks you would like to see.

[The Barbarian]

So this will be for new judging requests submitted after this was posted. None sent in before this new feature would show up, right?

[Amaril Torrun]

I'm just seeing a blank screen when I click on the link. Have the threads not been added yet?


So this will be for new judging requests submitted after this was posted. None sent in before this new feature would show up, right?

How would a list showing where your quest is in line work without showing the threads in line before this feature?

[AdventWings]

Can you tell me exactly what you did when you tried to access the "Submitted Threads" page? I think I can help. :)

Also, the submitted quests that are on the page are from after the update. The quests submitted before the update are not updated into the list, but are monitored in the Moderator/Admin-only area.

[Amaril Torrun]

Whenever I click on the link on Serilliant's post, I get led to a blank page, http://postreports.php/

My thread is old, so I wouldn't get to see it anyways.

[Serilliant]

I forgot a leading slash. The link in this thread now works.

And yes, only threads submitted AFTER the update will appear on that screen. Any threads submitted BEFORE the update are currently in our old system and are being worked on.

The only users currently in the judging queue are: Ataraxis, Christoph, Reiko, Synful_Blood, and Amaril Torrun. If your name is not on this list and you believe it should be, go ahead and resubmit your thread using our new system.

[Kari and Grimble]

When I click the link, this is what I get:

Server not found
Firefox can't find the server at postreports.php.
* Check the address for typing errors such as
ww.example.com instead of
www.example.com
* If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network
connection.
* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

Ive got no firewalls and a good connection, I assume. I was "commandeering" files from LimeWire while the clicking of the link was going on and that was going just peachy.

[Serilliant]

Don't click the link in Amaril's post. Use the one in mine or the one on your welcome bar on the forum's main page.

[Apocalyptica]

Ah, okay. Works now. Thankee Ser! *grope!*