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I've read several games here but now that I have an account I wan't to go back and rate them. I'm just not sure what number I should be giving them, the joke descriptions don't tell me much.

2 or 1 means you think it should be removed from the site. A 3/8 is a diplomatic way to say, like, "you tried but it still sucks and provides little of value". (3s most often handed out to stories by very young and clueless authors.)

8/8 astonished you with a thoroughly positive experience, usually high effort on the author's part. While everything in between is pretty subjective.

Thank you

It's not all that difficult. They are a simple 1-8 scale. 

1 = sucks hard

8 = so awesome it brings enlightenment 

everything in between should be easy to figure out 

 

Thanks, maybe I've been overthinking it

1 = Really bad
2 = Kinda bad
3 = Bad
4 = Not Bad
5 = I liked it
6 = I really liked it
7 = I really liked it a lot
8 = I wet myself

Hope that helps!

These have all been useful thank you.

I think these should be the official list when we rate story games.

ok

I noticed you rated three games. Congrats on figuring it out!

Yes I know how to click the button thank you. I was asking for the criteria I was supposed to be using. Which the other posters have answered.

This is the criteria I usually use in terms of plot:

1/8: Garbage. I don't believe you wrote this in good faith. I don't think I've used this rating more than once or twice.

2/8: Garbage, but an attempt was made, at least.

3/8: Technically coherent, but I didn't really enjoy myself while reading it, and doubt anyone else would either.

4/8: Coherently written, but it wasn't entertaining and didn't seem to have a point.

5/8: You accomplished your objectives and created a coherent, entertaining story. However, nothing about this really stuck with me, the story was merely functional. I'm not convinced you were passionate about the idea.

6/8: Well-written, with interesting characters and strong wordcraft.

7/8: Very well-written. I would consider paying money for this. Your goals were ambitious, and you successfully used wordcraft, plot, and character to accomplish them in a meaningful way.

8/8: Your goals were ambitious, and you showed extreme writing craft in how you accomplished them. Professionally publishable. I'll be thinking about this story later on.

 

If there are serious typos or grammar errors, I'll usually knock my rating down several points. If the wordcraft is grammatically correct, but otherwise very dull or style-less, I'll knock it down a point or two. Exceptional wordcraft will raise my rating.

Unfinished stories, or those with major loose ends, I'll also rate lower. False choices (ie, a linear story pretending to be a cyoa) also bring my rating down.

If someone has an ambitious story that fails to accomplish its goals, I'll sometimes rate it higher out of respect for the idea. But this is unusual.

Dang, that 5/8 is brutal.

I just re-read it and actually you're right. I didn't mean it to sound that harsh lol, I feel pretty positively about most of the stories I rate 5/8 on this site. Edited the wording slightly

Too late, we know how you really feel now. Time to go look through your ratings history and see who you hate!

so if someone mistyped a word and had dull words.even if the story is great would get a 3/8

If a game has an 8/8 worthy story, but one or two typos, I'd still rate it an 8/8. When the typos become so numerous they start making it unpleasant to read and understand, my rating drops. I suppose it's theoretically possible a fantastic story could have so many typos it would drop down to a 3/8, but usually story & technically writing skill go hand in hand. I've never seen a strong story with typos so bad it dropped more than a point.

As for dull language, it's similar to typos. If it's an 8/8 story and the language is functional but doesn't stand out, I'm still probably rating it an 8/8. If the language is actively boring, it'll drop a point or two. If the language is so simplistic it obscures the meaning of the story, it could, in theory, drop as low as a 3/8. But in practice, this has never actually happened to me--every strong story I've read had the language skills to match. I've only ended up taking off points for dull language when the story was already at most a 4. It's much more likely that good or excellent language will cause me to rate a mediocre story a few points higher than I might have otherwise.

oh that makes sense.thanks for clearing that up

1 - dog shit
2 - dog fart
3 - dog water
4 - fart
5 - water
6 - water with lemon
7 - dog
8 - dog (big)

I think this is the most accurate scale.

my rating scale basicly is this

1:stop it, get some help
2:uh that sucked
3:it barely deserves to be on this site
4:i could read it
5:nice read
6:good enjoyable
7:amazing
8:you have opened a new path in my life your story is inspiring, instigating a new hope in my life