Challenge 2018 Winter Word Race: TEAM EDITION - First Mini-game up!

I think the mini-game should be kept the way it was at first, no additional caveats, no rule changes during the process. There was a clear winner, so why make it complicated? There was a challenge, there was a payout.

Anything called "Olympics" is ultimately a competitive event and that's okay. Some end up in the B-final, which is okay, too.

I was uncomfortable with that choice of words, too. Plus, the next game sounds like it's got to be something very subjective. Not a big fan of subjective, juries, etc. Plus, how can a writing challenge not be about writing?

So, yeah - I don't mind that this is competitive at all, still having lots of fun, but these couple of things are kind of unpleasant. Changing the game after it was already won and the hints of a non-writing part of a writing challenge. Let's do some figure skating and not something like, I dunno, curling.

 

Okay. First off, I think we all need to breathe. We all understand DRL and other things come first. There is nothing at stake here. I wanted this to be a lighthearted competition, but still a competition.

What I meant by "ties are boring" is that if the pot is split between both teams, then that means no one really gets ahead. I honestly didn't think someone would get in all 199 words in a story in a week. However, in the interest of fairness, the original rules stand. If the Goats get to 199, then I will split it.

However, Chyn, if you still want to pull yours, that is totally up to you. Just let me know.

I didn't think the winners pot would get this big. I also didn't think I'd be snowed in my house. We can cap the pot off at 10k and start a new one for the next challenge.

THE NEXT MINI-CHALLENGE IS NOT SUBJECTIVE. But there are subjective elements in it, but it can TOTALLY be won without those. And it also could be a quick activity, not like this one. Frankly, I am kinda tired of feeling like I have to avoid subjective challenges because the last mini-challenge will be completely subjective. There are only so many 'numbers' challenges you can do here and, as last night demonstrates, people can write 199 elements into a fic. It's impressive, but it also coming up with non-subjective challenges difficult.

 

My internet is down, so I was unable to proceed beyond one SAT word; though on the bright side, coercing young Ysanne to say it, spell it, say it again, then use it in a sentence, created about 400 words of update.

@Briannakin - for you to know a tie when you see one, suggests that you were already aware of someone beating @Chyntuck to the 199 words.

Whomever that was, should get the mod count for their team, as they got there first.

 

A joint post from Mav and Bri:

First, we want to note that the only reason Mav was helping Bri as a host was because there was an odd number. Mira volunteered as well but Bri thought that since this was Mira’s first time in the challenge, she’d let Mira have the fun and pull Mav. Otherwise it would have been Bri and someone else. We wish to point this out because we want you guys to remember this isn't a mod challenge, like the fic-gift exchange isn't a mod challenge. They are challenges we've come up with as members of this community, just like you guys do sometimes.

However, there are times when Mav and Bri have to step back as users hosting a game or challenge and in as mods. This is one of those times. Fanfic is supposed to be fun.

Sometimes we like to experiment with challenges. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don’t. Sometimes it is the challenge, sometimes it is the hosts, sometimes it is the participants, and sometimes it is all of these things. As mods, we have to know when hosts should keep trying, and when it is time to end. We feel as if it is time to end the team edition of the word race. We would like to apologize to everyone who was having fun. We do feel bad and guilty about ending this.

The parsing of every little thing is why we don't do more mod challenges, so we are expressing our feelings both as users who host challenges and as mods who host challenges. We've got plans to do at least two mod challenges this year because we do love giving challenges for those who like participating. But we're reconsidering because it always turns into people getting upset about little details. It takes the fun out of it for us and for other people.

This isn't to say that you can't state your opinions about a challenge, of course you can, but a challenge is what it is. And part of what it is is something people have put time into thinking about and coming up with a new idea.

For the mod challenges we are planning to have a more serious prompt, which we are really excited about, because we really do love giving people who want to do challenges more challenges. We plan to do a clear individual challenge with clear rules up front.

If you are participating in a challenge something isn't working for you and something that supposed to be fun isn't, PM the host and they might be able to find a work around. (And if you are a host and you aren't sure, PM us, we're happy to help come up with ideas.) If you are reading a challenge and having unsure thoughts about it, it is totally understandable to simply not participate.