Should the posting limit of 20,000 be increased? - Writers Forum

eggo · 05-04-2008, 12:39 PM

From time to time a story posted will run over the 20,000 char limit on a new thread.

This causes you to break up your work into two posts. For much longer works, 5000 words +, I think that's OK.

If we raise it to 35,000 char limit, it should be able to handle works 3500 words and not cause any problems or extra work for formatting.

Whaddu guys think?

JosephB · 05-04-2008, 05:59 PM

Occasionally, people post around 4000. I've done it and still get a fair number of crits, so I'd be up for a bigger count still.

I guess I'm trying to understand what the drawback is -- if it's a technical issue. Otherwise, why not accommodate something longer?

Selorian · 05-04-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

The main reasoning before is that 20,000 characters has proved to be right around the optimum reading length to receive feedback fairly quickly. Anything beyond that may cause it to come a little slower. Of course, it also has a lot to do with reputation and so forth. If people know and like your work, it doesn't matter quite as much.

lin · 05-04-2008, 07:15 PM

Christ, no! I don;t undertand anybody wanting to post that much at once anyway. Possibly the same people who wonder why things load slow and they don't get reads?

papertears · 05-04-2008, 07:30 PM

honestly, if you can turn pages physically, whats the difference in having two posts?

hell, what are chapters for?

from my point of view i can't see how this hurts the feedback process. i would think it might even make it easier and possibly more organized.

JosephB · 05-04-2008, 07:31 PM

lin, most of my stories are this long, and I always get several crits. I think when you get 20 or more responses to a story, it's a good indication that people are reading.

There are several other writers who post in the Workshop who have to use more than one post. Believe me, these are not people who whine about not getting reads.

Once people discover it's worth their time, they will read longer posts. It's a pain in the ass to post a story in more than one post and in also causes artificial breaks in the story.

If it's not a technical concern, why not allow it? Why would someone who never posts stories even care? Character limits don't effect pithy little one-liners in the lounge.

Quote:

honestly, if you can turn pages physically, whats the difference in having two posts?

hell, what are chapters for?

The problem is the writer has to format two posts instead of one. I also don't want to break my short story up at all if doesn't have "chapters."

It's not a huge deal, but it would be nice.

And why would anyone vote against it? Likely people who don't post longer stories. But why should they care? Don't read the story if you think it's too long. That's what words counts are for.

papertears · 05-04-2008, 07:40 PM

oh fek, ignore my previous post, i read "char" and somehow substituted "word"--my huge bad. that makes a bit of a difference. its finals time and professors ask for short stories to be measured by word count.

because i know more about software i suppose that unless it is going to be a performance hit, as Joseph mentioned then really thats the best argument I've heard.

~pt

Monkuta · 05-04-2008, 08:10 PM

I see no problem with long stories needing to be in two posts. Maybe someone just really wants their entire work to be seen instead of a small section just because of the character limit. Raising the char limit wouldn't really change anything. One gigantonourmos post in the place of two that are half it's size? Not necessary.

PS - in the poll, "your" is spelled as "you're"

JosephB · 05-04-2008, 08:14 PM

Quote:

I see no problem with long stories needing to be in two posts. Maybe someone just really wants their entire work to be seen instead of a small section just because of the character limit. Raising the char limit wouldn't really change anything. One gigantonourmos post in the place of two that are half it's size? Not necessary.

Just out of curiosity, do you post long stories, or read them? As we say in the South, do you have a dog in this hunt?

I'll just add that some of the better writers -- in my opinion -- the writers from whom I've learned the most, write stories that require multiple posts.

Chris Miller · 05-04-2008, 08:22 PM

Most of my pieces ring in between 5000-9000 words now. It's kind of a pain in the ass to split them up. People will or will not read and or comment however many posts I have to use. So I vote 50000 chars. But I also understand that this is longish for most contests and venues, and will garner not just less feedback, but fewer placements. I assume the limitation makes the database more efficient.

eggo · 05-04-2008, 08:29 PM

I don't know how many times I've posted a story complete with line breaks and added extra spacing all the way through, only to have is disappear when the post was too long.

I have to go back, break it up and reformat.

If it can be done with any detriment to what we do already, why not?

Monkuta · 05-04-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephB

Just out of curiosity, do you post long stories, or read them? As we say in the South, do you have a dog in this hunt?

I'll just add that some of the better writers -- in my opinion -- the writers from whom I've learned the most, write stories that require multiple posts.

I read them. I do have some that I could post, but I like posting my short things more. I feel I get better, more specific feedback when people see a concentrated segment, rather than a long story where people post about it with general advice that don't help as much. But if people want to post long stories, I have no problem with reading them and trying my best to give that kind of specific critique.

I just don't see the important difference between one huge post and three or four smaller ones if they all have the same story and are one after another.

JosephB · 05-04-2008, 09:16 PM

Would you rather cut and paste once and address formatting issues, or would you rather do it 2 or 3 times? Answer honestly, and then tell me why you want me to do it.

Frankly, the votes and opinions against this don't really matter. The administrators will consider the merits and technical feasibility of this and make their decision. It doesn't effect the people who don't post longer stories, and certainly, they don't have to read them.

adrianhayter · 05-04-2008, 09:17 PM

Quote:

As we say in the South, do you have a dog in this hunt?

Hell, I thought it was "I don't have a dog in this fight".

Anyway, I have to copy pieces and paste them into a word processor where I can modify the background. This forum's background is too harsh for my eyes. That's the only advantage I can see- easier copy and paste. Of course, I don't have a dog in this hunt.

Adrian

JosephB · 05-04-2008, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Hell, I thought it was "I don't have a dog in this fight".

Ha ha.

Here in Georgia, "fight" only works if you play for the Falcons, wear number 7 and you're an idiot.