You brought up some great points about AI art, and it was insightful to read quotes from different sources. I agree that interest may die as the market is oversaturated with AI art.

Just like with other tools, I believe it’s about how you use it. To me, AI art can never replace human-made art as it lacks creativity and humanity. A piece can reflect the artist’s experience, life events, and the emotions present during creation, which the AI fails to capture. For the AI, there is no intention but to replicate.  

In addition, AI art serves as a shortcut to the final product. However, it skips through the crucial process of art creation, some of which includes skill building, experimenting with styles, and self-discovery. As you improve, your art grows with you, shifting like a living creature. It’s part of why I find art so charming.    

However, I feel AI can become a decent tool for experimenting with art composition and subjects - perhaps for a brainstorming session. Just not as a complete replacement.

Dear Admin Abuse Help Line,

I returned from the dead to discover that while I slept, my grave was robbed of 140 points. I've had 8 birthdays since my account creation (112 points), so I'm missing 28 points.

Life keeps me away. But upon each return, I expend my energy on extensive critiques to prove my dedication. I've also provided free, thorough feedback upon request.

If you could consider a refund, I'd be grateful. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much, Mystic!

Having a semi-regular event would be awesome. Perhaps it could serve as a platform for hidden gems/recent stories with few comments. Also, analyzing writing is a great skill to hone as it helps people articulate what works in writing, what doesn't, and why. So it's productive!

I see the value in more reviews, but personally, I prefer your current format and having reviews shine on one writer. For a "most reviews" contest, I’m concerned about their quality and how they’d be fairly judged. For instance, say someone submitted 10 okay reviews, but someone wrote 5 reviews of greater quality. 

To go a similar route, maybe instead of reviewing one story, the host could promote a couple and allow the contestants to choose. Or each contestant could submit a review of any story, provided it reaches a minimum word count or matches the competition’s chosen genre. But the latter may be messier and require judges to read more. Just some ideas I’m spitballing. 
 

Ninja, thanks for taking the time to judge our reviews, as well as for your kind words. I’m honored and am happy you liked the feedback. Yes, I’m sorry for the text block . . . but blame my eagerness to dissect your beautiful writing (and that I didn’t have time to condense). 

I already praised Fresh’s well-organized template, so I’d also like to point out how dreamy and pretty Peng’s review was. I felt his romantic, moody descriptions matched the story’s atmosphere well. Comparing the pacing to a dance was a neat detail. You hear that, @PerforatedPenguin ? What a great writer!

Thanks for hosting the competition. A few months ago, I wondered if a review contest would ever occur, so this was neat to see. It was a creative way to change things up a little around here.

Welcome! Good luck with the writing. Hope you find the process fun. The writing workshop is available should you desire feedback, though it’s best to have something substantial before submitting.

I knew what Deutsch was, but Deutschland threw me off and made me question my knowledge. Thanks for the lesson!

I like the look of “Amerika” better. It sounds tougher.

Huh. I wasn’t aware non-moderator usernames could change colors. Guess that shows how much I pay attention. And an accomplishment is an accomplishment (even if you’re a Warden lol). You got this.

You mean not enough. If your despair is great enough that you melt into a slug-like form, put more effort into multiplying your chins.

Ahh, youth. As a 48329429101321309$$$$@!??-year-old mortal, I can only long for such days.

Thanks for making that distinction lol. I’m on less than 2 hours of sleep, so I initially panicked and thought Hans had been Dutch the entire time and I’d misread the storygame.

I look forward to seeing more of your reviews then. I’m sure people would be very happy to get one from you.

(I’m tempted to demand that there can only be one. But I don’t want to get my butt whooped by a teen, so I suppose the title can be shared.)

Thank you for your encouragement. I’ve only seen a handful of Mystic’s reviews, but I admired how in-depth she went. I could learn a lot from her about writing critiques.