I have been banned from EQD for this blog post.

That's okay, though. I'm not even mad. I take it as a badge of honor.

2197838 so you're the guy from that flash game

2197838 I hope to one day be banned as cooly as you have been

Also, dat game iz sexy

*sings Psalms of Holy Praise to 2197838*

I suddenly want to earn this badge.

Hypothetically speaking, were you expecting a positive response for making a public spectacle out of a feud with EqD?

Honest question.

Nice work, dude. You have a talent for butthurt that only a few can ever hope to master.

End didn't just ban you. They freaking rage quitted the conversation.

Wait, they ban people for off site drama? Lol, that's almost as low as FurAffinity, and those guys are pretty much bottom of the barrel.

2197838

Holy Celestia your response to them...its brilliance brought tears to my eyes

But now that you've successfully played EqD for the fools that they are, what's next on your long list of conquests?

2197908
I doubt the intention was to get a good response but by making it public you'd think Equestria Daily might be inclined to save face and take it with dignity, but then that's giving them way too much credit.

2197908

Hypothetically speaking, no, not really.

2197964 I'm going to end up jacking it in San Diego.

2198023

Uh, fair enough I guess.

2198011

Well, see, it's sort of a gray area.

When CartsBeforeHorses turns his very first rejection into a public issue and gets people to come point and laugh at it, then proceeds to write up an elaborate reply (which he also posts in public), this puts EqD in a very ugly position.

Either they cave and say their points weren't legitimate in the first place -- which, y'know, there's an argument to be made they did have some valid points -- or anything they say in response to CBH's reply gets posted up on a public forum to be mocked.

This isn't a game even the most professional of institutions are interested in playing, and while I may not necessarily agree with EqD's choices here, it's tough to argue that CBH is still in the right. It's cool to be frustrated with the system when you've expended all reasonable action and then post the stupidity up to be mocked, but if you turn the reply game into a spectator sport from the get-go, you can't expect any reasonable system to want to put up with you.

2198076
My counter to that would be that if they had actually read his story and not rejected it based on concept alone, which presents not only bad practice in general but also a HUGE double standard, then they would never have ended up in this sort of situation.

2198084
Multiple pre-readers read through multiple chapters and agreed with the rejection reasoning. Not one of them found it funny. Not even the British ones :V

2198109
I highly doubt that given that the rejection they gave shows plenty of signs of not having read maybe one sentence of the fic itself. This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, it's just a prominent and publicised instance.

2198118
Are you outright saying I'm lying?

2198128
No, because I don't know what goes on in EqD and won't pretend otherwise. However, one of two things have happened here:

1) They didn't bother to read the fic and judged it on assumptions

2) They gave a pitiful summary of their reasons for rejecting it which made them look like biased douches.

2198084

Having read the fic CBH submitted, I gotta say that I don't fully disagree with the points that EqD originally raised, though I might have phrased/explained them better. Large parts of the story's humor are pretty much devoted to finding humor in British speech mannerisms (which could trip wires for either not particularly funny or 'Hey, this culture sure talks funny!' as a joke).

That Nightmare Moon's accent was obscenely French doesn't super help from a "Not racist" standpoint, given that ridiculous exaggeration of an accent is often very sketchy. See what happens when you write Japanese people and you replace all their l's with r's.

“Ah, Queen Luna. Are you prepared to surrender?” asked Queen Celestia, who just appeared on the scene.

“Well jes, I zuppose,” said Luna. “I am French, after all.”

Mmm... yeah. I dunno. You could argue that's sorta racist.

I don't really want to debate these points, because that's not the point of this post. Mostly it's just showing that EqD might've had legitimate points in their rejection of CBH's story, and that he gave up the opportunity to at least attempt a productive appeal to EqD when he posted his rejection and response in public, with mocking commentary included on EqD's approval process.

If he'd tried a productive appeal and failed for ridiculousness on EqD's part, I might've bought his making a public sport of it. Resorting to that from the get-go doesn't really give him the moral high-ground, though.

2197838 So you're from that Flash game.

2198142
Well, the fact is that several pre-readers read the story, so your 1 is out of the question. That said, bullet point responses are how we do things now, and were generally how people wanted it to be given the very large survey we did a several months ago to help revamp the system and get responses out faster. It's just how things are now, and it is certainly not something strange or unique to CBH.

2198198
And clearly that's working wonders. This whole thing reeks of not having a good grasp on doing this pre-reading, when my fic was rejected almost a year ago I got a clear and detailed response about exactly WHY it wasn't good enough and I accepted that, because they raised points that you honestly couldn't argue against and which didn't seem opinionated but rather objective criticism.

This... not so much.

2198177 Your almost an hour late to the punch, so close.

2198243 Haha, what a funny story Mark.

2198220
CBH, like any author, had a chance to get clarification on any point he wanted if he so chose to with email correspondence... but given that immensely lengthy response, it seems like he wanted to simply grill them publicly than actually find the the issues with his story, yes? I've seen several of his stories submitted before I left, and he almost always put the value of his witty replies before improving his writing. This is a central issue to why he was banned, and is plainly explained to him. It wasn't just "because he made public one email and did a big reply." He's done that several times already, so if that was the case, we would have banned probably tens of authors already (which is also not the case).

*salutes*

Carts, you are an inspiration to us all.

2197838 When you post something that sober, serious, polite, proper, and legitimate and get banned for being a better man than most of them... yes, it's a badge of honor.

2198076 I would also add that when their rejection notice is not only illegitimate on the face of it but presents arguments that are obviously illegitimate, and are vividly aware of the existence of at least one group on this site that exists solely for people to blow off steam about their site, what CBH did was fair ball and cannot be reasonably said to be an attempt to humiliate them. Since CBH phrased his reply to them in a way that was biting but ultimately free of profanity and ugliness, his actions were all the more fair and legitimate. As he himself says, he didn't expect a good response, but EqD chose the most extreme and disproportional response available to them, one that they have not applied to people who are nasty, hateful, and making a blatant attempt to smear them. It did indeed put them in a pickle, but not a very difficult one; I'd argue that giving in and reversing their judgement would have been a prime opportunity for them to send the message that "if you are polite, logical, reasonable, and have legitimate points, we're willing to listen to you and reconsider our decision". This would have resulted in goodwill but more importantly, rewarding good behavior causes more good behavior and it's always in the organization's interests when those they interact with are aspiring to be mature and act in good faith.

2198076 Assuming EqD actually has a position of standards. The pre-readers are too varied and there are no rules telling them what stories must be let through and what must not. That's your problem. You let them decide what they want to post instead of following the rules. That's why EqD is a pit of biased bullschwarks and its new counter-part will be much more succesful.

2198250

2197838 Did they send a letter? or did they just outright ban you with no warning? Either way your blog was funny and I loved your story ^^.

I can't say this surprises me.

2197935
Well, when it happens to be on a site that 95% of us also use, it sort of becomes our problem. It's not exactly "off-site drama" when it's being specifically targeted at us.

I'd like to draw attention to this post:

2178466

I am submitting my stories to be rejected for their benefit. I'm doing it to please them. For you see, the power trip high the pre-readers get from rejecting a story for no good reason is equivalent only to the high they get from the crack they must be smoking, or the orgasms they get from jerking it to Rainbow Dash clop.

There's something to be said for having an attitude of, "Eh, I'll throw this at EQD, maybe they'll like it, who knows?" I've done it myself.

But when you're submitting stories expressly so they'll be rejected and you can then post the rejection to do whatever it is you do to it, you're abusing the system. There's no good faith on the submitter's part, and we're not going to put up with this anymore. (And that's not even accounting for the sheer amount of insult being heaped on the pre-readers here. We're big boys, we can deal with that.)

Enjoy not submitting to EQD. It doesn't seem like you ever actually wanted to.

2199250 You speak as if the pre readers are in the right.

Ha.

Dat slaps me on da knee.

2197851 10/10

2199884 It's awesome because we really don't have to look hard at all to point out their hypocrisy.

2199250 You do realize that the comment of mine that you're quoting was made completely in jest, right? It was actually made in response to this comment by someone who was suggesting that I only submitted my stories so I could complain when they got rejected.

I'm pretty sure people (like you) just try to submit stories to Equestria Daily so they can hate on the fact that their stories are all rejected. It seems silly to me that anyone would do something over and over again knowing what'll happen just so they can complain about the outcome.

Since I thought that was completely ridiculous, I posted said quote that I was actually doing it for the pre-readers' benefit because they like rejecting stories. Neither one is true.

I'll admit, I probably should have put a "jk" at the end of it or something like that.

2198775
I understand the sentiment, but many sites would just ignore detractors unless they're actively screwing with the site, either by spamming, harassing other users/mods, etc. That would be like Reddit or Facebook banning people because they said on Twitter that they suck.

2200556
2199884
I'd like to inform you both that Pascoite is an exceptional writer, so it's no wonder his story has been posted. Maybe if you read it you'd learn a thing or two. ;)

2200956

That's hardly the point, I'm more concerned with the fact that an Equestria Daily pre-reader is getting his stuff posted on Equestria Daily. It doesn't set a very nice standard

Pre-readers have been rejected before. I have. I know a few others that have. I know one who won't even submit because he knows he won't reach the standards. As much as people like you would like to believe, our own stories go through the same exact process as any other story.

The only difference is that they're usually well written.

And while the story is well written, it's still just an 'Applejack dead parents' fic. Shouldn't that be dismissed out of hand because it's just beating a dead horse?

No, because knowing Pascoite, there's a great chance it's much better than your typical "Applejack's parents are dead" fic. Having read his work before, I can say that with good assurance.

All told, no, his story was not simply accepted "because he's a pre-reader." It was accepted because it was a good story. Funny how that works, eh?

2200890 I read what I love. I write how I love. That to me is the entire point of fan fiction.

I share my writing in hopes of finding people who enjoy it. I have found that group of readers, and will never change how I write to satisfy the bias of an anonymous prereader.

2200956 They are. To be perfectly honest, I used to not be able to stand Alex, but have since gained a good deal of respect for him since he is behind EqAD and Canterlots Finest.

2201179
Maybe I need to explain something.

While we generally do turn down stories that use a done to death premise, such as this one, we will accept them if they turn out to be extremely good pieces. So yes, if someone writes a "Rainbow Dash loses her wings story" but it blows the other ones we've read out of the water, there's a good chance we'll accept it anyway!

2201290
So... PRs shouldn't be allowed to write? Or we should submit under alts so we're anonymous? Ironically, that would make getting on EqD easier. We're tougher on each other than we are on the general public. More than once, I've gotten a response of "This could pass, but you can do better."

And—now, brace yourself—many people get to be PRs because they're good authors. It used to be an explicit requirement to demonstrate writing ability to become a PR. While we've relaxed that in favor of demonstrating good reviewing ability, it's still not unusual for PRs to have a number of good stories under their belts. That's not bias. It's common sense.

2202115

It's a big word, I know

Whoa, why are you escalating to personal attacks? If that's what you think is necessary to make a point, we're done here. This is exactly the type of problem that caused this thread in the first place.

Honestly, I think your story is terrible.

Sounds like someone is biased.

2202457
Don't use that as an excuse to attack me. I haven't said anything until now.

By the way, you never answered my question. What would you have PRs do? Not write, or post under alts? Whether or not it's an issue of perception, the means of addressing it are the same.

So far, you've tried to change the subject, exaggerated everything I've said, and insulted me. I don't see what you think that's accomplishing.

2202379

*/popcorn*

Hey, Pas, I brought the chocolate covered raisins for this. Want some? We need snacks for this sorta trainwreck, wouldn't you agree?

2202565
No, that's your prerogative not to like it. There's no point discussing that. Neither one of us will convince the other of anything. I'll just point out that your choice of language on the matter has been adversarial and inflammatory, and needlessly so. If your aim is to look cool on the internet, then have at it, but if you want to have a civil discussion, then please do just that.

My point is this: A lot of people disagree with you. And this is exactly the issue we get all the time. People accuse us of bias for rejecting stories that have good up/down ratios. I take it you'd reject my story, were you a PR. You'd get the same complaints that you were clearly biased for rejecting a story that far more people liked than didn't. How do you answer them? No matter what you say, they're going to fling the word "bias" at you. How is what you're doing any different than the judgment calls we make?

2202724

So has the moderators.

Why are you using that as an excuse? Just because other people have behaved badly means you must, too? I've been nothing but respectful to you. Don't I deserve the same in return?

you've still to actually say why it was accepted

I'm not the one who accepted it, obviously, but were I to wager a guess, it's because it's a different take than I've seen on this topic, which is why I wrote it in the first place. I haven't seen this interpretation of Apple Bloom's involvement before. If you don't like it, that's fine. That's not a productive debate to have. But more people than not do like it. I'm sure you'd ask me why I think I know better than the crowd. So I ask you the same thing, and why your justification is any better than the approving PR's (rhetorically, that is—as I said, this is not a productive avenue of discussion). That's just the way it is. Unless everyone has the exact same tastes and standards, someone will always think the next guy has an unsupportable opinion. And disliking a story doesn't mean it's bad. I've approved stories for EqD that I didn't like, because I recognized that they were well-written and thought they would get a positive reception.

2202724

Hi, if my language has been in any way unduly rude, inflammatory, or personal, I'd like to know about it. I try not to do that sort of thing, but if you're seeing it, feel free to point it out.