Locked: People can just make new threads to ask questions.

If you have any questions pertaining to the write-off, here's the place. Be sure to check the FAQ first to get quick answers to common questions.

(Website feedback & feature requests go here.)

YAY NEW THREAD

3259355
There's no specific API for it, but it shouldn't be too difficult to get what you want with a scraper script. Here's an example: it grabs the plaintext of every story on the site right now and saves them to disk. You can modify as appropriate to extract whatever info you need.

That said, if you want a fancy API to query, you're always free to submit a pull request.

3264141
Strange. What version of Mojolicious does your system have? In the most recent version, Mojo/UserAgent.pm line 229 is blank, so it's hard to tell what's going on there.

You could try getting some more output from the script (e.g., `say $e->attr("href");` on line 36) to see if the state is as it should be (or if you'd just like some more noise from the script -- as said, modify as desired).

Is the folder for a write-off for all stories from that write-off, or only the top 3?

3292734
All of the ones people feel like adding, I suppose.

I just realized... whatever happened to the Wooden Spoons? Do they not get awarded anymore?

3329731
They're still being handed out correctly, but there was a bug in the results page that had them not displaying there. Fixed that now.

3329731
This is a man who recognizes the value of the Wooden Spoon. :3

3329800
Here's one to add to the FAQ, or perhaps the contest story formatting rules: How do you add formatting to a submission? It took me quite a while of searching to realize that basic BBCode would work (I'd have asked but wanted to keep it a surprise I was entering).

3330115
It's in the FAQ under the header "How Do I Format My Story?"

3330126
Oh, the site FAQ … ha, now I feel silly for assuming that was identical to the FAQ here in the forum threads.

Good to know though!

3330169
Nah. I'll admit it's pretty damn confusing though. I'll edit the title of that thread (because that's pretty much all I can do that isn't deleting it) to try and avoid that in future.

Ok, I have to ask: WHAT is a wooden spoon? How is it awarded?

3560505
The wooden spoon is the most glorious prize, awarded only to those proven worthy in the arena of literary combat. Armies have fallen in the quest to achieve it. The wooden spoon can make kings from men and scholars from fools. All bow before its might.

It's given out if you take last place in a contest.

3560520
I once complained fought hard to make sure my deserved wooden spoon was rewarded justly. It is my highest honor.

3561895
3560520

Someday, I will find a way to win that wooden spoon, preferably without resorting to gratuitous misspellings. PP, Raz, as experts in the field of getting booby prizes without actually being boobies, do you have any hints for a neophyte like myself?

3561901
Gratuitous misspellings. :V Writeoff crowd don't like bein' trolled!

3561901
Do what I did. Set your ambitions astronomically high and wait until a few hours before submissions close. Then grace your keyboard as quickly as your fingers and mind will allow, churning out a stunning and marvelous story in the process that looks like a functionally challenged hamster in a square plastic ball compared to the beauty you had envisioned.

Of course, a lack of dignity is required. But nobody ever said attaining the glorious wooden spoon would be without sacrifice.

I'm pretty sure the answer to this is "no," but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I've been going back through the old prompts and doing them as closely as I can to the original rules. I did the "Magic in Everything" one last weekend and spent yesterday writing up one for "Famous Last Words." Can I post the stories I ended up with in the folders here?

3755626

Not really a point to, having them in the folders doesn't seem to hold a noticeable increase in viewers and seems mostly as a way to notify group members of the finished version being uploaded so you can see your favorite ones fully edited and may be extended. If you wait a week there is another contest coming up you can compete in.

3757280
OK. I'll just do the folders for stories going forward, not going back. Thank you!

3757521
No, do it! D: I like knowing the stories are done!

3757280
3757953
Conflict!

I guess my real question is more "would anyone object to me adding the stories even though they weren't part of the original contests?" That's the catch, it seems to me. These are stories I'm doing now following each contest's rules as closely as I can, not stories I entered back then and am now finishing up.

3758718
...Huh. That's a neat idea, I've never considered anyone else doing that. I'm for it, anyone else?

3758823
Okay, I'll add them. And if anyone complains, I'll take them out. It's just the click of a button either way, right?

3764179
yup! :B

3764179 3764570
Add a belated vote to the "go for it" list. It's an entry in spirit, just missed the deadline by a bit.

3757280
Probably there aren't many more viewers, but speaking only for myself, I clicked on it based on the group notification and most likely would have missed/skipped it otherwise.

I have a voting question this time. Is the N/A column for stories that don't address the prompt? I can't think what else it would be there for.

3807573
Stories you don't read or have no opinion of, typically. Ones you'd want to abstain from voting on.

3807580
Oh. Okay. Thank you!

Just a quick question for those in charge of the prize pool: Is there a way I can contribute to said pool or get in touch with whomever contributes?

A great deal of my favorite fics come from the write-off, and I'm always in favor of writing events like these that try their best to remove whatever bias they can. So I'd like to fund some of the money needed to keep prizes for the top fics because I think they encourage writers--especially those who wouldn't otherwise write a timed piece--to participate.

3852886
Not every round has prizes attached nor are they guaranteed. Most write for the fun of the writing, but it's always nice to have generous people donate to the cause.

3848438
I would suggest that if prizes are going to surface for this round, and if Roger can get the "guess the author" widget in place, that the prize go with that. I also like PP's suggestion of a sunglasses wearing fedora for the icon. 3849187 I'm not a good artist, but I'm thinking something along these lines:

3852949

Ah, no problem. :) It'll be nice to see everyone have fun regardless! Still, I'm always open if you guys need a sugar daddy sister.

3852886
If you wish to organise a prize pool, you're free to do so. That's how it's been in the past.

There's no "official" prize pool because I don't want to deal with the horrible logistics of international money transfers. However, I understand that having a prize pool operate in some official capacity would be useful, so if someone wants to nominate themselves to handle it, I can try and work something out.

3852949
I was more thinking something between

and

The specs would have to be pretty large, though, to be visible in tiny, tiny pixelvision.

3257600
How does scoring work when there is a preliminary round?

I updated the FAQ.

Now that Season 5's started up, is there any policy on spoilers?

4250603
No.

Enter at own risk.