Jump to content
News Ticker

Internal Memorandum: Quodpot


TidalDragon

Recommended Posts

To: All Columnists
From: HPFT Staff

While you've been working, the publishers gave the staff another set of edicts: (1) add a bit of levity to your papers and (2) find a way to get the attention of an international audience. Fortunately, we staffers have developed an idea that should help you accomplish both goals at the same time. Add SPORTS - and start with the American standby - QUODPOT. Believe us, the powers that be love the idea, but they aren't ready to roll it out in writing just yet. In the meantime, we thought it would be a good idea for all of you to learn a bit more about the bizarre broomsport across the pond by playing!

During this final week of paper preparation, you will be required to leave reviews on stories across three (3) different matches. Each match will represent a duel between your team and that of a rival paper. Since all your showdowns will be taking place simultaneously, this isn't just about brute force, it's also about allocating your reviews in the areas you think will best position your team to beat your foe. The paper that leaves the most reviews in each match will receive extra points!

You'll also be aiming for some internal targets to make sure you gain a deep understanding of the sport. You can earn your paper bonus points for meeting numerical targets in each match and by meeting the numerical targets for all matches. Don't forget that we expect your reviews to meet certain quality control standards. The staff will be checking up to make sure those are met as well.

May the best paper win!

Details inside spoiler tag:

Spoiler

Match 1

A staple of any good newspaper is the gossip section; everyone loves to hate Rita Skeeter, but everyone loves to read her, too. For this match, you'll be familiarizing yourself with some very juicy gossip by reviewing stories with the themes 'Friends to Lovers,' 'Infidelity,' 'Star Crossed Romance,' or 'Teen Pregnancy.'

Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw

Hufflepuff v. Slytherin

Match 2

If you're going to be true reporters, you can't shy away from the harder-hitting stories - your readers are depending on you to keep them informed! For this match, you'll be diving into the action by reviewing stories with the genres 'Action/Adventure', 'Crime/Mystery.', or the theme 'War'.

Ravenclaw v. Hufflepuff

Slytherin v. Gryffindor

Match 3

The best reporters don't just rehash the same old stories - they're always on the lookout for new ones! For this match, you'll be sniffing out new leads by reviewing chapters with zero reviews on them.

Slytherin v. Ravenclaw

Hufflepuff v. Gryffindor

Points

  • Each house will receive one (1) PPR
  • The house that leaves the most reviews in each match will receive an additional fifty (50) points for winning the match
  • For each of your matches, your house will receive fifty (50) additional points for leaving at least twenty-five (25) reviews in an individual match
  • If you leave at least twenty-five reviews in each of your matches, your house will receive an additional 100 points

Review Requirements

  • Reviews must be at least 1,000 characters in length. This excludes greetings, farewells, and non-substantive commentary. We will be watching.
  • Reviews must identify that they are being left for Quodpot, along with which match they are being written for at the end of the review. Reviews can only count for one (1) category, regardless of whether the story fits multiple matches.
  • Reviews must remain respectful. CC is acceptable. Flames, insults, and the like are not.

 

Edited by TidalDragon
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Kevin, do we only have to review fics written by the house we've been paired up against or can it be any house's fic as long as it falls under the given category? Also, what's the deadline for Quadpot? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It ends when the House Cup ends on 17 August 2018. Since you are playing every house simultaneously, you can leave reviews on whatever stories you want that fit the categories. You just can't double dip on matches (categories).

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I'm understanding this correctly, the six categories are: 1. Friend to Lovers, 2. Infidelity, 3. Star Crossed Romance  4. Teen Pregnancy, 5. Action/Adventure  6. Crime/Mystery

What about chapters with 0 reviews? Is that a category to earn extra points?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Dojh167 said:

Is there a specific way you would like links to reviews posted?

I think it would be best if you had a separate list for each match, and that when you link to the review, please specify which story/chapter and who left the review. I understand you may shuffle your lists around a little as the week progresses, as some reviews could apply to more than one match, but by the end of the week, please lock in which match each review applies to and list each match separately.   I UNDERSTOOD WRONG - YOU MUST IDENTIFY WHICH MATCH A REVIEW IS FOR WHEN YOU LEAVE THE REVIEW.

4 hours ago, potionspartner said:

If I'm understanding this correctly, the six categories are: 1. Friend to Lovers, 2. Infidelity, 3. Star Crossed Romance  4. Teen Pregnancy, 5. Action/Adventure  6. Crime/Mystery

What about chapters with 0 reviews? Is that a category to earn extra points?

Extra points come from winning matches and meeting numerical targets. No category is worth more than any other, and none of them are categories to earn extra points (except by winning the match or meeting the numerical target).

For the chapters with zero reviews, you are competing against Slytherin, so if you leave more reviews on chapters with zero reviews than Slytherin does, you win the match and get points for winning the match. You can also earn extra points if you leave at least 25 reviews on chapters with zero reviews. The same is true for the other matches...for the action/adventure & crime/mystery match, you are competing against Hufflepuff and can earn extra points for leaving more reviews than they do in that match and for leaving at least 25 reviews in that match. Etc.

Edited by Alopex
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do we need to post links to our reviews in real time, or is it okay to wait until a couple days, gathering them in our spreadsheet, and divide them into categories later?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DISREGARD ANSWERS IN THIS POST.

 

 

3 hours ago, Dojh167 said:

Do we need to post links to our reviews in real time, or is it okay to wait until a couple days, gathering them in our spreadsheet, and divide them into categories later?

 

3 hours ago, Alopex said:

by the end of the week, please lock in which match each review applies to and list each match separately.

 

Edited by Alopex
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clarification on these two rules:

3 hours ago, TidalDragon said:
  • For each of the categories featured in your matches, your house will receive fifty (50) additional points for leaving at least twenty-five (25) reviews in that category
  • If you leave at least twenty-five reviews in every category featured in your matches, your house will receive an additional 100 points

Does this mean that if we leave 25 reviews in each category for our first match, we will earn 100 points for the reviews themselves, then 200 points for leaving at least 25 reviews in each category, then 100 points for at least 25 reviews in every category? Or is that last rule meant to be cumulative over all of our matches? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, forever_dreaming said:

Clarification on these two rules:

Does this mean that if we leave 25 reviews in each category for our first match, we will earn 100 points for the reviews themselves, then 200 points for leaving at least 25 reviews in each category, then 100 points for at least 25 reviews in every category? Or is that last rule meant to be cumulative over all of our matches? 

We better wait for @TidalDragon because he is the one who designed this game.

My interpretation was that

if you win a match AND leave over 25 reviews for that match, that's when the over-25 bonus kicks in, and that you need to leave over 25 reviews in every match for the every-category bonus to kick in (so yes, the every category thing is cumulative over all the matches). I am 98% confident in the cumulative bit,

but do NOT go with what I said about the each categories, because I was just assuming and never double checked with Kevin about what he intended.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, forever_dreaming said:

Does this mean that if we leave 25 reviews in each category for our first match, we will earn 100 points for the reviews themselves, then 200 points for leaving at least 25 reviews in each category, then 100 points for at least 25 reviews in every category? Or is that last rule meant to be cumulative over all of our matches? 

First, for Match 1 the themes listed are collectively a single category. Any reviews left on stories with any of those themes will count toward the target of twenty-five (25) reviews for Match 1. For Match 2 it's likewise. Any reviews left on either genre or the "War" theme (which I had forgotten to add) will count toward the target of twenty-five (25) reviews for Match 2.

Also, you do not have to win your match to receive the bonuses. They are essentially to provide you further reward for your effort and breadth.

Example: The Noble House of Black leaves twenty-five (25) reviews in Match 1, Match 2, and Match 3. Their point total would be calculated thus:

150 (All Category Targets)
100 (50x3 for Individual Category Completion)
+75 (PPR)
325 points

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, TidalDragon said:

For Match 2 it's likewise. Any reviews left on either genre or the "War" theme (which I had forgotten to add) will count toward the target of twenty-five (25) reviews for Match 2.

Just to clarify - is "war" now a theme we can review for match 2, or is it just the two themes currently mentioned in the first post?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

War is now a theme you can use for Match 2. We made a late decision to add it and I forgot to modify the original post. Sorry!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few questions!

1. In the original post, you mentioned 6 categories. If you said that all the themes in Match 1 count as one collective category, and then Match 2's themes are another category, and then Match 3's is another, where are the last three categories?

2. What counts as "non-substantive commentary"? I'm asking because I feel like none of my reviews ever have terribly substantive commentary.

3. Just to clarify, in order to claim the points for the 25-in-each-category thing, we do not have to leave 25 reviews under each theme (Infidelity, Teen Pregnancy, etc.)? Just 25 reviews total for all the themes under a single match?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, just.a.willow.tree said:

I have a few questions!

1. In the original post, you mentioned 6 categories. If you said that all the themes in Match 1 count as one collective category, and then Match 2's themes are another category, and then Match 3's is another, where are the last three categories?

We need more words in English. It looks like we are using the word "category" too loosely. So I am going to switch to an even more precise word: "stuff." :P

There are 3 matches. In each match, there is a different group of "stuff" that you can review. If you count all the "stuff" up across all the matches, it does add up to 6 "categories" (not including the zero-review chapters one).

For each match individually:

  • You earn bonus points if you leave more reviews on that match's "stuff" than the team you are playing against
  • You earn bonus points if you leave at least 25 reviews on that match's "stuff" regardless of whether or not you win the match

For the GAME overall (across all 3 matches):

  • You earn one point per review left
  • You earn bonus points if you leave at least 25 reviews on all three match's "stuff" regardless of whether or not you have won any matches

Let me clarify/elaborate on Kevin's example above using my stuff terminology. :P

Example: The Noble House of Black leaves twenty-five (25) reviews in Match 1, Match 2, and Match 3. They LOSE all three matches. Their point total would be calculated thus:

150 (50 points per match for meeting the target of 25 reviews on that match's "stuff")
100 (100 points for meeting the target of 25 reviews on all three match's "stuff")
+75 (1 point for each of the 75 reviews left)
325 points

 

Quote

2. What counts as "non-substantive commentary"? I'm asking because I feel like none of my reviews ever have terribly substantive commentary.

Basically the parts that are chatting rather than reviewing. If you're talking about the story, it should be fine.

Quote

3. Just to clarify, in order to claim the points for the 25-in-each-category thing, we do not have to leave 25 reviews under each theme (Infidelity, Teen Pregnancy, etc.)? Just 25 reviews total for all the themes under a single match?

Yes.

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(I think with the addition of "War" there are now seven themes total instead of six. :P)

Also, I have another question! In the rules it says: "Reviews must identify that they are being left for Quodpot, along with which category they are being written for at the end of the review." But it was also mentioned that reviews could be shuffled between categories afterwards...so do we still have to write the category that it's for in the actual review?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, just.a.willow.tree said:

(I think with the addition of "War" there are now seven themes total instead of six. :P)

Also, I have another question! In the rules it says: "Reviews must identify that they are being left for Quodpot, along with which category they are being written for at the end of the review." But it was also mentioned that reviews could be shuffled between categories afterwards...so do we still have to write the category that it's for in the actual review?

*buries head in hands*

For the first part, please just stop parsing the minutiae of what's a category, what's a theme, what's a whatever and how many there are. The number there are literally does not matter one single bit. Just look at the criteria for each match individually and what each match's "group of stuff" is and stop trying to count. I apologize for how confusing we made things in even introducing the word "category" to this game. It gets even more complicated when you look at the actual terminology used on the archives where it's theme vs genre, etc. So let's just think of it as each individual match has its own "group of stuff" and the number of items in that group of stuff has no bearing whatsoever on the game itself.

As for the second question...the confusion and inconsistency there is 100% my fault because I was trying to get answers out quickly while Kevin was away. That is 100% my oops, and I am sorry about that. The best thing to do (especially looking at the progress already made by some houses in this game) is to follow the original rule as Kevin intended, which is to decide the category and write it in the review. I will go back and amend my previous posts.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Dojh167 said:

Do we need to post links to our reviews in real time, or is it okay to wait until a couple days, gathering them in our spreadsheet, and divide them into categories later?

I am making an amendment to my answer to this as the original rules were pointed out above. I apologize for being confused and not as familiar with this game as Kevin. :(

Since a requirement is to identify which match you are leaving the review for, shuffling after the fact does not work. It is ok to organize reviews on a spreadsheet, but you need to make a decision as to which match it counts for when the review is posted.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

we're supposed to review only stories written by people in other houses, not our own, if i understood correctly? i just wanted to double check.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, starbuck said:

we're supposed to review only stories written by people in other houses, not our own, if i understood correctly? i just wanted to double check.

You can review stories written by anyone.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the clarifications! It’s much clearer now. One more question—can multiple members from a house review the same chapter? (Obviously this doesn’t apply to Match 3). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, forever_dreaming said:

Thank you for the clarifications! It’s much clearer now. One more question—can multiple members from a house review the same chapter? (Obviously this doesn’t apply to Match 3). 

There is no rule against this, but we would PREFER if you can spread out your reviews. Having three people all review the same 10 chapter story doesn't spread the love out much, you know?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you! 

I have another question (sorry to bother you so much omg), regarding this rule:

Quote

Reviews must identify that they are being left for Quodpot, along with which match they are being written for at the end of the review. Reviews can only count for one (1) category, regardless of whether the story fits multiple matches.

I’m assuming here instead of the word “category”, you guys meant “match” again, right? As in we can’t count a review on one chapter for two matches, yes? Also, is there any need to identify which specific theme within each match we are reviewing for? I’ve simply been stating Match 1/2/3, and leaving it at that. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The obvious intention is that you are NOT permitted to double up any reviews. Each review can count for one thing only. Referring to matches by their name (match 1,2,3) is obviously fine. The point is we should be able to tell which one somehow, not that you are using some exact phrase like a picky government form.

I deeply apologize for the obvious great deal of confusion caused by our poor word choice and not proofreading more carefully to see if it made sense to someone who wasn't in on planning it and knew what we meant. That was definitely our fault and something we should have paid more attention to. It's a learning opportunity for future events.

I would really love it if we could move past it now, though.

We have made a lot of attempts here to clear up the confusion and fix things. I honestly believe that by now our intentions should be clear, and we shouldn't have to continue debating the meaning of the word "category".

I hope.

Still ask questions if you have them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who is the best person to contact if we've forgotten to mention the match in the review? For instance +this review is supposed to be for Match 3. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...