I thank you for your kind words and appreciation. The staff understood that the Trial system would be a little odd from the start, especially for our guests from other forums, but it was better than the alternatives. However, there were a number of measures in place to preemptively alleviate most of the concerns expressed here.
First, judges were instructed only to read the first 2,000 words of a trial before doing their judgment. Once the judgment was complete in terms of numbers, they were free to return to the thread and finish reading it, and maybe offer some tips from the rest of the story if they felt so inclined. I understand that a judge could lose track and read beyond the word limit, and that this could potentially affect their view of the sample; this is why each trial isn’t judged by just an individual. It is also reviewed by a panel of judges to ensure the fairness, accuracy, and objectivity of the judgment.