Greetings from Michigan where it is currently a mild 9 degrees.

I would like to take some time out for myself and the other admin to introduce ourselves.

As you can tell, My name is Dancewithknives. I may take some extra time to explain my role here for you all.

To put it in basic terms, My job here is to be a human resource manager. If you have any problems or suggestions, please send them to me first and I will deal with them accordingly.
I am on my phone constantly(right now, too. So forgive any errors) so I will try to get to you as soon as I can.

To further try to show trust, I will not be reviewing any stories, so there is nothing to fear in regards to offending me.

In the coming days, I will be working with JSF to smooth out bumps and to fix up the system so that everything is better.

Other than that, I will probably patrol forums in the event that a conflict arises.

So, introduce yourselves.

All right. Greetings from Ireland, where it's currently 2AM and I dare not think about what temperature it is as hailstones pelt my window.

I'm JumpingShinyFrogs (JSF) and I'm the lovely lady who started this little sewing circle, and I'm also the primary reviewer for stories. I'll read pretty much all of the stories that get submitted here, but I also have superpony55 and blowngasket to help me out.

I have one little issue though, and that's that I have an extreme aversion to clop. I won't read it, and if I do, I don't enjoy it. This is why there is but a single folder for mature stories. Blowngasket has suggested splitting the mature folder into categories as well, and there's a chance that I'll make subfolders for 'Dirty Diamonds' etc.

So that's me. Superpony55, blowngasket, the floor is yours.

Hello from America! It's 9:10 PM here, where it was below zero degrees until 1 PM!

I'm Super Twilight Sparkle, and (probably) the youngest admin here! I review stories for this group, and I'd love to help all the stories out there shine! I also like to see the forums active, so don't be surprised if I start a few threads. If 2522425 will let me, I would be happy to notify him when I see rulebreakers.

I have never downvoted a story, and if I don't like it, I just give a comment and leave. I am too young to read any mature stories, or sex. If I read a story, I'm probably going to end up liking it, because I only read stories I think I'll like. I do not read much F/F or M/M shipping.

This is my standard review:

Hello, this is Super Twilight Sparkle, reviewer and admin for The Gem Hunters. Congratulations! I deem this story a (whatever gem it is)

Grammar:
(1 - 10 points for grammar- I will say if I see any grammar mistakes)

Plot:
(1 - 10 points for plot- what I think of the plot, if I think it was rushed, etc.)

Characters:
(1 - 10 points for characters- whether the canon characters are in character, whether the OCs are good, whether the OCs have a good backstory, etc.)

Then I'll say my overall view on it, and average the rating. For example, if it scored three eights, I'd call it a sapphire. Three tens, a diamond. As there are 11 categories, I give myself a little breathing room to go one higher or one lower then what it would be if there were only ten categories.

I hope this group expands, and I look forward to meeting everyone here!

2522702 one of the first things I am going to clear is the forum rules. I, personally want general freedom in the threads, so unless something is just trolling or severely offtopic, it will be OK.

2522742

Right. And I think people should respect one another, and no NSFW.

I guess I should throw in a bit about myself as well. I am Blowngasket, though you all may call me blown...actually don't. That name makes me sound like a porn star.

Goofiness aside, I work to read through some of the stories and rate them, as well as the more mature ones. I don't really have any grading system besides what would be considered common sense for the most part, but if asked, I have no issues discussing my opinions and critique of a story.

Story wise, I like humanized. I write it, as well as enjoy reading it. Kind of find it hard to write about ponies, if that makes any sense at all.

I live by the motto "I may not be smart enough to do everything, but I sure as hell am dumb enough to try anything." I will gladly read any type of story others may not be comfortable with, so if you feel yours is being ignored for whatever reason, send me a PM and the link to the story and I will look it over.

Closing statement time. To all writers out there, don't feel pressured into writing what you think is popular if you don't enjoy it. Writing is about expressing yourself, not fighting for a spot on the feature box. The day you just write what makes you happy and it somehow makes it up there, it will be all the better than if you did some crackfic that everyone would like regardless. It will be you, and you can truly enjoy the fame you earn that day.

Hey, so, I feel like an ass before even asking a question such as the following, but still: What are your qualifications? That's kind of what I was looking for when I peeked into this thread.

Also,
2525976
Does this mean that you won't be giving anything diamond status for a while, period, or does it mean that you'll be setting things aside—things that you feel might deserve diamond status—until you've all talked it over? Sorry if this isn't the place for that question.

2568356 its cool.

I wanted to halt the diamonds after we gave out 4 in a single day because we had no agreed upon way to measure what was a diamond, but now they have (hopefully) decided what qualifies.

As for qualifications.... Much to my reluctance to admit it, besides Diamonds, all ranks are subjective based upon reviewer.

2568356 With me personally, I try to go into it with a completely biased opinion to start with, whether I enjoy the topics or not. Plus if I do end up liking it, extra bonus. In the end though, I try to use my best judgment.

Qualification wise, I honestly don't have any. More or less, this is my chance at building up a reputation as well as learning more for my own story writing. If asked to step down, I would be perfectly okay with it.

In the end, if the writers are willing to put faith in us as a whole to give a fair judgment on their story, I would be a fool to do anything but to the best of my ability, as would the others working hard to make this group a success. .

2568392

As for qualifications.... Much to my reluctance to admit it, besides Diamonds, all ranks are subjective based upon reviewer.

Oh, no, no. As blowngasket cottoned on to, I was asking about your qualifications as judges, in terms of the experience you've all had reviewing or the like.

2568497 Suppose we all need to begin someplace—thanks for your candor.

2568550 oh, that is why i dont judge stories.