576975
To answer your question...
577198
^
Seems like a cop-out, right? Well, he said literally everything I would've said, so not really... I guess. Being the best, over being popular is an easy choice, at least for me, and, I imagine, many authors.

As for the holiday question, I'd have to say the holiday season being over. Working retail at one of the busiest stores in my state has soured me to the whole experience. And now I sound like a crotchety old man.

577451
Oh no, you don't! The more we redux this question, the more I'm smelling a false dilemma. Specifically, how sweeping you're making this "all else being equal" clause.

The question comes from my own love of writing stories with Diamond Tiara as a major character. I could write about some others I really like, but I pick DT. A choice that comes with a cost in views, but the perk of being wide open, all sorts of things unexplored.

I mean, are you really proposing "I could just exchange Diamond with Sweetie and get more views"? I suppose in the most academic of senses, yes, stories with more popular cast members will have wider appeal, but no, I challenge that you can't "just" exchange your main character "all else being equal", because a change of this magnitude changes the story too drastically. (I know that we've limited the "uniqueness" discussion just to casting decisions so far, but it could easily apply to other "sources" of uniqueness too: plot twists, ending, setting, genre, crossover material, etc).

Let's hypothetical it out. Ponified "The Hatchet". Twilight Messes Up A Spell and teleports _______ deep into the Everfree, with nothing but a hatchet in their saddlebags Because Of Reasons. Survival story.

DT is pretty spoiled, so there'd initially be a strong distaste in any sort of manual labor, until fear and hunger set in. She'd probably feel reassured that Daddy is doing everything in his power to find his precious little angel, so she'd be inclined to hunker down, make herself visible, and wait for a rescue. That'd probably entail a clearing (for making a visible signal) and a cave (for naturally-existing, minimal-effort shelter)... assuming this could be found in the Everfree. She might need to get more creative. She'd probably be pretty lousy with using the hatchet, making tools and shelter, etc. She doesn't have an easy out in this situation (money, parents, bullying), so such a traumatic experience could make her grow up fast, and then there's a pretty wide-open field for what DT's personality would be without bullying as an option.

Now the Sweetie Belle version. I've had no shortage of praise for Sweetie Belle in these threads, for she is best filly, however... while she'll arrive at the correct answer, she occasionally takes longer than her peers to reach said conclusion. What's that? Why yes, she is a very special pony. Why do you keep using air quotes? Anyway, I do see a number of false starts and bad ideas, though not right at first. At first she'd be scared and alone, missing her sister and fellow Crusaders. Hell, the Crusaders could easily be a large subplot, as they ignore the Mane Six and charge into the Everfree, creating two groups in danger. Sweetie, thanks to her Crusader "experience", would probably be inclined to navigate her way out of the forest rather than rooting herself to a camp, invariably getting further away from AB&Scoots and the Mane Six's respective rescue parties... She's also a unicorn, and while she's not been using magic just yet, there's enough canon teasers that you could potentially have raw magic spurts be a factor in life-or-death situations (though maybe not; that's smelling like Deus Ex Machina).

Even though we start from the same premise, and even if we try to wedge in a few identical plot points, a significant "uniqueness factor" like casting choices will spin the stories further and further apart, if you're really being true to the characters and having them behave realistically. Ditto with the other "uniqueness factors" like genre or whatever. So there really is no "all else being equal" in this case, because the two stories are far from equal!

And you already indicated your preference in the matter. If I may, I think the heart of your question is "Should I stick with the story I want to write, the way I want to write it? Or do I sacrifice authorial integrity to make a 'more popular' story?" In which case, the answer is obvious. The latter option changes your story nontrivially, such that it is no longer your story. Write your story. DT fans will love you for it, and you just might create some new DT fans in the process.

578099
I'm actually asking a pretty simple question. One I should have asked in three words.

But I didn't think of those three words when I asked it. And so I tried to keep it simple, but obviously not simple enough. And that attempt to keep it simple is why the "all else being equal" bit is there. Then I compounded that mistake by including the big fish in a small pond aspect, some extra stuff to make try and make the question more interesting. And so people have latched onto the extra bits and try to make decisions based on info that has nothing to do with the intent of the question. Or read things into it that aren't there ;)

You obviously cannot just exchange ponies. Different characters will take the story in different places. Nor do people will not like all characters equally. And while we have been using characters as examples, the question doesn't preclude different genres as well, which introduces other factors. And there is the ability of a writer to consider, as writers will have different strengths. A good mystery writer is probably not equally good at writing comedy. And the audience: A mystery has a different audience than a comedy, even if they were the same size of pool. There's a ton of factors that can change. That is why the "all else being equal" bit is there. Because all else cannot be equal in the real world.

And all because I didn't ask the simple three word question I should have

Popular or unique?

Oh, and yup, Sweetie is definitely best filly (along with DT).

578198

Popular or unique?

I don't think it's as black and white as you're making it out to be. You can be both popular, and unique (ignoring the fact that 'unique' is an impossibility if we look at it literally), but one does not necessarily beget the other. Still though, if we're looking at this in a world where you can only be one or the other, then I would still want to be 'unique' as opposed to 'popular'. Because anyone can write Derpy Delivers the Mail, but not everyone can write Derpy Suffers From Schizophrenia. Hmm, I may not be making myself very clear here. You see, you can write a story that becomes popular because it uses a popular idea (popular ship for example, AppleDash) and still have it be a really great story. Just because something is popular, or 'tried and true', does not mean that it's of any less value than a 'unique' story. No, in fact, there's nothing wrong with writing a popular fic that features popular characters with popular concepts. Even then, you can still be original, or 'unique', just by putting an interesting spin on it. And on the flipside, 'unique' does not necessarily mean 'good'. Cupcakes, at the time, was 'unique', and some would even argue that it's good, I would disagree, but that's beside the point. I don't think that you can simply ask 'Popular or unique?'. The world isn't black and white, and neither is that question.

So, you know what? I've changed my answer to: there is no answer. Popular and unique are not mutually exclusive so choosing between them is not possible, partially because 'unique' is such an impossibility. Every fic is derivative of something else, though that is not a bad thing. You should not bemoan the impossibility of originality, rather embrace your influences and allow them to permeate your writing.

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.”

― Jim Jarmusch

quotes inside of quotes... BWAAAAAAAAAAHM

Hey, is there any reason you haven't put up Round 16 (technically 15... no, I'll probably never let that go) yet? At first, I was under the impression that this became a biweekly thing, but it's Friday now and still nothing.

769519
It has sort of become a biweekly thing, mostly by accident, but this round is just taking a little longer than usual. Hopefully, however, Round 16 (15, whatever), will be up soon... ish.

774411 Ah, okay then. Also, I found that place you and the other reviewers go to discuss each round of reviews. It felt really weird, almost like I'd hacked into something I shouldn't have hacked into.

779957

You are aware that you must die now, right?

780146 You can't kill me.
There's a waiting list for that.

780151
This takes priority, sir.

780200 Nope. Back of the line and wait your turn. That goes for the rest of you too. Except for alexmagnet. I think he's already on here twice.

780214
Nope.

780216 Fine, how about I pencil you in for Monday afternoon. I'd get you in sooner, but like I said before (edited comment), alexmagnet is already here twice, and I don't want him to start piling up on the list (I think I'll put him in for Thursday).

But be warned that this waiting list exists for a reason, for if you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine... until it actually happens. Then it'll be well within what you can possibly imagine.

Okay, I have a question. After perusing your back room, again,* I saw the batting rotation you have for reviewers. So, who is this Keratin fellow, will he/she/it be reviewing here, and if so, why isn't he/she/it anywhere on the roster?

*Yes, I look through your back room. Frequently. Admittedly, it felt wrong at first, but since CSquared told me that I needed to die (Because... Ap-par-ent-ly I know too much?(ques-tion mark?)), only Pav has actually told others to GTFO (and even that was situational), and you don't do a very good of hiding it anyway, I assumed it was no big deal. Though I have tried to be as vague as possible about what and where it is, in case you don't want too many people in there. Still, if there is an issue, you could always talk to the heads and suggest a password protection option for that sort of thing.

967298
I've heard that, at restaurants, you can just walk right back into the kitchen. I mean, they might tell you to GTFO, but they don't even bother to lock the door or hide it or anything.

967881 That's an interesting analogy, but here's where I think it falls short. Someone who walks into the kitchen of a restaurant and doesn't belong there could get in the way of the people working there, either by being a distraction, by literally getting in their way, or by making a mess in the kitchen. But because of the way your back room is set up, outsiders can't actually do anything in there except watch. So depending on how you look at it, this is either comparable to the visitor's section you'll see in the Senate or House, where you can watch the senators or congressman discuss and vote on bills (alternatively, you could be watching it on C-SPAN), or its comparable to the College of Cardinals convening to elect a new pope and someone bugging the chamber they're in. The latter scenario illustrates the issue that I initially had with it, that I would be more or less spying.

At any rate, looking at the overall reaction here, I've decided to take this as a cease and desist.

969033

Someone who walks into the kitchen of a restaurant and doesn't belong there could get in the way of the people working there, either by being a distraction, by literally getting in their way, or by making a mess in the kitchen.

So...
As long as you don't get in other people's way, it's okay?

Sweet, Imma go bug my neighbour's phone and watch them while they shower.

970141 Going back to the two analogies I suggested, its more an issue of the level of privacy required/asked for while working.

969033
ITT: Phazon implied we're as boring as C-SPAN

970141
Do recommend from personal experience.

Nah, but, for those interested in behind-the-scenes stuff, or just in picking our brains, or just in watching us drink out of boredom due to low turnout, reminder that we do have that Livestream Q&A tonight at 9PM EST, where we'll talk about pretty much whatever y'all want us to.

970337 Actually, among other things, I was worried you might think I compared you to a dysfunctional body of government that doesn't do anything, or for some reason a conservative gerontocracy.

Nevertheless, I do apologize for disrespecting the group's privacy, and I won't be going anywhere near the back room from now on. Now to get back to writing my mediocre Kid Icarus crossover fic... or I can put that off for the 73rd time and watch a Let's Play of Injustice.

In relation to the feature box, long stories, and F:E, Past Sins, etc discussion in the live stream...

We've gone from EQD being the main source to FimFiction. And FimFiction has revamped how its feature box works several times, with changes like the heat system and the 4k+ word requirements.

How much do you feel how the sites shine spotlights impacts what is popular?

974945
I suppose I'll be the first one to answer this.

I'm not entirely sure how accurate this is, but it seems to me that the feature box has "trends", or fashions that go in and out of style, if you want to think of it like that, and those trends seem to have a definitive effect on the other fics that hit the feature box, but perhaps not necessarily on the fics people write. What I mean by this is that it seems like if a story about Applejack being a changeling gets the feature box, and becomes very popular, then you're more likely to see other "X is a Changeling" fics, and this is evidenced by this exact scenario a few months ago when that Applejack changeling fic was in the feature box and about a week later so were a few other changeling fics.

So I suppose if you wanted to exploit that you could take a look at the feature box and see what "genre" is popular, like for instance if there were several [Romance] fics in the feature box at one time, then that would probably be a good time to write a [Romance] fic as it's currently "trending".

Of course, this isn't just seen in the feature box, hell, you can see it in everyday life. Look at how popular Game of Thrones has become, and in its wake it's caused a mini-renaissance of high fantasy. So, in short, my answer to your question is: quite a lot, actually.

974945
Frankly, I used to be Part of the Problem. I'd see something of mild interest in the Featured Box and add it to my Read Later. Once the Featured Box stopped getting shoved in my face, it lost most of its relevance to me. (Granted, that Featured Box Read Later stuff is still sitting in my Read Later, so not much of consequence has been changed.) I do think that the changes have been by-and-large an improvement to the system, and it's approaching the limitations that an automated system can muster. There's still flaws—not to pick on anyone, but allegedly a particular story recently got into the Featured Box after a mere 4 upvotes—but there's Reasons why that happened, so eh.

We bashed Popular Stories a bit on the stream, mostly because of the misnomer, but I find it interesting to peruse, in the same way one might idly filter through the discount bin at the bookstore. It's going to be very hit-or-miss, yes, but the randomized nature does allow a few gems to bubble to the surface, which I'd probably miss without that randomization factor.

To be frank, I've had most of my successes from following particular authors, word-of-mouth recommendations (either by friends, or by the aforementioned followed authors), and groups.

I'd really like to see a lot more enhancements go into groups. It seems like the best way to matchmake people with the stories they want to see. Sure, if you just join a broad group like "Shipping", there'll be a low success rate as usual. But in groups that are a bit more controlled, it becomes more of an elaborate recommendation service, so if you can find a group whose admins you trust, they can help find recommended reading for you.

In a similar vein, part of me would like to see automated recommendations—people who liked this story also read—except we already tried that, back when the site was new. After a while, every fic started pointing back to Anthropology. Still, maybe with some tweaks to the algorithm, it wouldn't fall into the same feedback loop problems that the Featured Box has wrestled with. In leiu of this, checking people's userpages for their recommended Favorites is a decent, if clunky, workaround.

981815

I do think that the changes have been by-and-large an improvement to the system, and it's approaching the limitations that an automated system can muster.

The 4k+ word requirement in particular I think was a huge boon to the quality of fics getting featured. Pretty much the nail in the "Pony Verbs a Noun" coffin, as well as making multi-chapter fics deliver a bit of something, rather than just the promise.

Though, to be honest, I tend to use the feature box more to find an interesting comment stream than to pick stories.

On a related note: I was in chat yesterday, and Xaq was talking a bit about the feature box. Looks like they've got some more changes planned for it. They want to tweak the factors it looks at, how it weighs things, to try and factor in "quality" a bit more. Guess that probably means looking at things like view to up vote ratio and such. Will be curious to see how that impacts things. Hopefully, it won't create a situation where people will try to hate certain fics out of the box.

982185

Hopefully, it won't create a situation where people will try to hate certain fics out of the box.

An interesting prospect. EQD, especially earlier on, showed the capacity of hate, with any sadfics or M/M getting starbombed to oblivion. Arguably, part of this was due to anonymous ratings, so starbombing accounts could not be dealt with by the mods there. Here on FimFic, most fics of at least moderate quality tend to have an overwhelmingly green ratio. The concern is more upvote vs apathy, moreso than upvote vs downvote.

If users felt more empowered, that their downvote might actually knock that Lyra Races Some Marbles fic out of the Featured Box, then they might be more inclined to get involved in constructive critiques, downvotes would become more common but also upvotes would become worth more. That hypothetical scenario would be a good thing... but it's also entirely possible that Fimfic would just devolve into EQD-style starbombing all over again. (TwiLuna shipping? Not on my frontpage, you don't! etc etc)

There'd also been a thought from a while back of disabling upvote/downvote without a 100-character comment. If you actually wanted to vote, you'd have to back it up with something a bit more explanatory than a reaction gif or "First, will read later"

982632
Yeah, it is that star-bombing aspect I'm worried about. Certain subject matters get down votes without even having been read. What happens if doing that can actually knock a fic out of the box? In some ways, it is good, a reflection of what the community wants to see. But on the other hand, what does that mean for thumbs as a reflection of quality within its category. Does this story have a ton of thumbs down because it is poorly written or because it happened to get featured? Then there's a question of where the line gets drawn. Rape fics, foalcon, HiEs, video game crossovers, FlutterMac, alicorn Twilight... I'd also be worried about some sort of author based conflict. What if one author says something about another author and fans feel the need to retaliate?

Right now, the system seems to only look at positive things. That's a blessing in some ways. But it also means that the feature box is not an indicator of what the majority like/approve of, but rather what a sufficiently-sized minority care to up vote and/or favorite.

Here on FimFic, most fics of at least moderate quality tend to have an overwhelmingly green ratio.

That they do.

I think this is in part due to the quantity of fics we have to choose from.

I know I tend to pick and choose quite a bit based on the description. That lets me avoid most bad stories, plus I'm picking ones that cover things I'm inclined to like. Combine that and it means the story has to do something to annoy me even though I'm going in favorably inclined. A bait and switch, poor characterization of one of my favorite characters, or just a writing style that really rubs me the wrong way, that sort of thing.

And there's the voting system. Up or down. I'm sure some people look at the overall rating, see it is 80/10, and decide that the story is really only worthy of 75% rating, so give it a down vote, but what about those that rate the story for themselves, independent of what others say? Do you up vote if you enjoyed the story? If you feel the story is 7 stars out of 10, do you up vote, or is it 9 out of 10? How about if you enjoyed the story, and you know a thumbs is an easy way to let the author know that? And when do you down vote?

I know I'd vote a lot more if I could vote out of 10, rather than being limited to just up or down. Of course, the problem with that is people who vote the extremes, but in theory all fics should be subject to that equally, at least within their own genre.

Milk and honey... or cream and sugar?

Choose wisely.

2982230
Milk and sugar.

2983205

2982230
Milk, no honey or sugar.

White Tea Masterrace

Do any of you not wear fedoras?

3167841
I wear Santa hats.

3167841
From what I can tell, only Pav wears a fedora around here. Some have yet to forgive him for it.

What is it like to watch Celestia raise the sun? or Luna raise the moon?

(the west coast is awesome! to bad you guys aren't south of Portland)

Will there be a podcast today? I know the guys take questions, so is there like a stream/chatroom I can sit in on?

If it's the skype group then I think I've already joined it but I wanted to be sure.

3287979
Podcast is on, aye, with CouchCrusader as our guest.

The stream will be via Youtube, and a link to it will go in the thread once it's live, as well as in the public chat.

Also, I'm not sure what your skype is, so I can't confirm/deny that you're in the public chat. If there's one titled "Seattle's Angels | Round 43 (which is way better than stupid ol' 42) is up! http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/321988/reviews-round-43", then you probably are

3288224

I'm just going to say that I'm not in the right chat room then since it is inactive. I just joined the group that was pointed out here. Something about not using IRC anymore.

Guess I'm not all that knowledgeable about Youtube streams either. I actually forgot Youtube does that.

3288355
Interesting. That's the skype group we use, but it certainly isn't inactive. Send me your skype username, and I'll add you directly

What are your criteria for rejecting a story?

3703069
Could you define what you mean when you say we "reject" a story?

3703207 How do you decide to not include stories in the review posts?

3703583
I assume you're talking about the Recommendation Thread? I notice you made a post there just over a week ago.

Well, to clarify, the Recommendation Thread is exactly that: recommendation. There's no process of approval/denial, just "Hey, this person thinks this story is good, and it looks interesting, so I might check it out". There isn't really such thing as "rejection criteria"

Also, I will point out that we put reviews up once a fortnight, so the chances of it getting into the latest round when it was recommended halfway through the production process were fairly slim.

3703642 Thanks for the reply, glad to hear that the story still has a chance, be criminal if it didn't get mentioned.

543510 What would you say are your favorite crossovers, if any? Do they annoy you that there are crossovers? Do you feel that some stories have a character(s) from a book or tv show forcefully shoved into Equestria? What are your thoughts?

3704293

What would you say are your favorite crossovers, if any?

Assuming stories by our reviewers are disqualified, I'd have to go with Stardust, Grossly Incandescent, ME2 DLC: The Equestrian Equation and its sequel, and the greatest crossover of all, Sparkle's No.1 Assistant.

Do they annoy you that there are crossovers?

Nope.

Do you feel that some stories have a character(s) from a book or tv show forcefully shoved into Equestria?

Yep. Also known as "Halo in Equestria"

What are your thoughts?

If a character doesn't make sense in the world, then it shouldn't be in the world. Simple as.

3704104
What?

3704293
I don't like to read crossovers, so I don't have any. However, I'm not bothered by the fact that there are crossovers. Just because I don't like them personally, doesn't mean I'm against them.

As Plum said, yes, there are very many examples of characters awkwardly shoehorned into a ponyfic for the sake of "I like this character, so I'm going to put them in my story", and it's quite easy to tell when that is the case. Personally, I think it's quite difficult to write a successful crossover. The best you can hope for, in my opinion, is a sort of "spiritual crossover" where none of the characters crossover, but the ideas, or concepts, or locations do. That, I think, can work.

543510 What brought you all together? What made you decide to form this group? Who's idea was it in the first place? How do you select reviewers? Where do you get your funding?

3706317

What brought you all together?

Horsewords.

What made you decide to form this group?

Seattle_lite thought it'd be a good idea to have a group that promotes underviewed stories.

Who's idea was it in the first place?

Seattle_lite, hence the moniker "Seattle's Angels".

How do you select reviewers?

We look for people that have a lot of experience when it comes to reviewing, and then have them do a sample review to see if it's "up to snuff", so to speak. In other words, we don't take applications, per se, but we seek out people we think are capable and have proven themselves to be such many times. Basically, it functions a lot like how we select our fics.

3706317

What brought you all together?

They conscripted me, and now they won't let me leave.