Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) The Description Force! "We dragon like a snake and sometimes a potato. We have a scraggly. We brave the insane and attempt to come out coherent. We...are...The Description Force!" It's a plane! It's a squirrel! It's a superhero! No, it's The Description Force! So Sockpuppet Strangler originally came up with Description Day and with some help from others, posted the topic about having two sets of days where we would all get together and review descriptions en masse to help knock out the backlog. The response was overwhelming. The first set of days drew 60+ users helping to review for each of the three days. We went from over 10k descriptions to over 4k. The next set was during a weekday and didn't draw as much attention but we go descriptions under 3k. People asked for a regular set of Description Days, since we had so much fun reviewing together. This is what The Description Force is. We would like to set up more planned description review days but for right now let’s settle on getting the new thread started. The users with access to this account are Brairtrainer, Herk, and Dimar. Feel free to PM any of them with questions, concerns, or things that need to be changed. The thread mascot is the Sunstone hatchling Toereador Sockmeister, better known as Toesocks! Read his description; it's cute. Welcome Earth Gurl to the group account Table of Contents 1. Announcements 2. What is This? 3. How Can I Help? 4. When is This? 5. IRC Channel (direct link http://irc.technoized.com/?channel=descripdoom ) invite to the dischord channel (pm @Herk if the link is expired (which it shouldn't but who knows) 6. DraDeWriMo/DragCave Description Writing Month 7. Banners 8. Extra Fun Links 2nd Post: Frequently Asked Questions 3rd Post: Description Suggestion Threads Announcements! Potential for future description moderators??? No promises, but at least it's being talked about by TJ. What is This? Descriptions are often backlogged into the thousands. To properly review descriptions takes a lot of time. The Description Force is a way for users to come together and share the experience. It motivates users and mods and gets things done! The Force is a group of users and mods who have pledged to help out with descriptions. You don't have to review everyday, but reviewing even 10 each day is a huge help! We also mean to encourage others to review, because the more people you have going through the queue the more fun and more input the mods can see when going to accept or reject a description. How Can I Help? Glad you asked! User feedback via comments is the most helpful tool at our disposal to get through descriptions more quickly. So what can you do? Not only review descriptions, but leave helpful critique on descriptions. To do this, make sure you know what the Description Guidelines are, first of all. Then, go to Account -> Review User Descriptions. You'll be shown one description at a time: just read it and leave a comment pointing out errors if there's any. Then click Accept, Reject, or Abstain and it's time for the next one! Even if you're not good at grammar, you can still tell when something doesn't follow breed description or cuts off or is too violent or doesn't describe the dragon or etc., right? Nobody needs to be perfect at grammar. Every part of the description guidelines is pretty important. Any help is help, and feel free to ask if you have questions. :3 When is This? Whenever you have time! If you want, just pop into the IRC and see if anybody is there (there often is). We try to do so to encourage people to come hang out with us and help motivate us to review. It's great fun to share what you're going through. =P IRC Channel The new and improved IRC channel is here: http://irc.technoized.com/?channel=descripdoom All you have to do is pick a nick and enter. If you need any info or help with IRC, check out the IRC sticky here in Site Discussion. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask here. Alternatively, the channel name is "#descripdoom" if the link doesn't work or if you're already in a channel or whatnot. :3 DraDeWriMo/DragCave Description Writing Month * DraDeWriMo - DragCave Description Writing Month * Inspired by NaNoWriMo, the goal here is to write as many descriptions as you can! This DraDeWriMo will be a bit different than those in the past, as we will have a contest as well as personal goals! This event will run from June 1 12:00am EST 2017 - June 30 11:59pm EST 2017. During this event, we also really want to encourage more reviewing than usual. Read the description guidelines, and pitch in. Any review is appreciated! We will have prizes for the person who writes the most descriptions for each trophy level! (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Prize donations would be much appreciated. If you would like to donate a prize, PM Herk or Earth Gurl. Directions: To sign up, please fill out this form and post it on the Description Force thread: [size=10][b][color=purple]I Wanna Write![/color][/b][/size] [i]Username:[/i] [i]Trophy Level:[/i] [i]Personal Goal:[/i] When you’ve written a description, come back to the thread and post the lineage link! Descriptions you’ve written before June 1 DO NOT COUNT. Earth Gurl and Sock will be checking and approving as they are submitted. Spreadsheet of everyone's progress! Please check regularly as we will post updates with some prompts from time to time (courtesy of Mathcat Happy writing! Banners Badge made by Enigmatron: [URL=http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=158360][IMG=http://i40.tinypic.com/2nisaro.png][/URL] Badge made by Dimar, for Description Day 2014 (reviewathon): [URL=http://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=158360][IMG=https://i.imgur.com/LEyusgU.png][/URL] Banner made by Tomato_Juice: [url=https://forums.dragcave.net/index.php?showtopic=158360][img=https://i.imgur.com/bUnHI7R.png][/url] Extra/Fun Links Got a description approved? Share it here! Want to write a description but can't come up with anything? Inspire others and be inspired here! Get a comment you'd love to share or need help deciphering? Go here! Find a fun description and want to share? Post it here! Want to show off your own description or another great description you saw? There's a "Description of the Month" event in Site Discussion. Herk posts a new thread each month with different categories. Want to have some fun with descriptions? Join the Describe-A-Dragon game! Edited March 10, 2019 by Descripforce Share this post Link to post
Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) Frequently Asked Questions How do I review other descriptions? Go to account --> review user descriptions. You can only review descriptions once you have 10 or more adult dragons. When do I use Accept/Reject/Abstain? People all review a little bit differently, so it's good to work out your own system for judging. Most people use Accept when there are no errors or just a couple. Abstain is generally used when there are more errors or doesn't follow the guidelines. Descriptions that are Rejected are either nonsense, go against guidelines, or have a number of errors. Some people prefer to Reject more, while others Abstain often. If I abstain, will the user still see my comment? It does not matter what you vote, a user can still see your comment. They will not see your username, but they will know what you voted and what you said. The accept/abstain/reject is mostly for description score and voter score (based on how often your vote agrees with the mods. However, Sock often encourages people to be stricter to encourage users to actually make corrections.) Can I just edit the description I'm reviewing where it's at? No, your edits will not be saved. Mods can edit descriptions and they often do if there are some minor things that need fixed. However, they will not edit a 1000 character description riddled with mistakes, especially if they have been pointed out by reviewers. Are we going to get description mods? "I am still a supporter of this. As of yet it has not happened, but I will keep you updated when I can." -SockPuppet Strangler. The rest of us also REALLY want description mods so that those thousands of descriptions can be handled better. But no one except TJ knows if or when mods will be created. How do I edit or delete my own description? Just go to actions --> describe and edit what you want to change, then re-submit. This will erase your comments. If you had some you wanted to save, be sure to take a screenshot. If you want to delete your description, go to actions --> describe, erase the description, and re-submit. How do I keep track of character count? You can copy and paste your description into Word, Cut and Paste Character Script, or Letter Count (if you choose re-set, your writing will be removed, so be sure to copy it before doing so). The 1000 character limit for descriptions includes spaces. (Another answer from brairtrainer: TJ has implemented a character counter for descriptions. During busy times though this character counter has been known to disappear but it does help as you write the description.) Are comments saved once a description is approved? No. Comments will stay if you have received a mod reject, but once you have received a mod approval, the comments will be erased. Don't be afraid to take a screenshot to save comments you want, especially during times when the backlog is down and mods get to descriptions quickly. How to Comment! -Vague comments are really not helpful for users to fix their descriptions, nor are they helpful for mods to determine why a user might have rejected or approved a description. Point out specific errors or tell the user what Guideline rule they are breaking, so that they know exactly what to change. Just saying "spelling errors" doesn't tell them what's spelled wrong. -If you run out of space, just fix the mistakes you can. If they're making too many mistakes with commas, for example, maybe give a more generalized "commas don't need to come after 'and'; those can be deleted" or such. Hopefully with more of you reviewing, more helpful input can be given for descriptions to be fixed. -If you come across a really sorry description it can also help to direct them here since the beta thread is now closed. People may ask for explanations about comments or proofreading, which is great. We can also offer advice for how to make a description better or more interesting. Who are these people? A lot of us nowadays sign our comments. Often people wonder who is who, so here is a short list: NOW ALPHABETIZED BY DIRTYTABS' REQUEST! 7M = Meg_752 ab = ab613 AJ = AnselaJonla Az = azazelbunny BM = BlueMint brair = brairtrainer C = Cireth Cat = Tiga Clya or C = Clya CNR = CafeNaRigara D = Dimar Dekka = Atala DSL = DarkShinyLugia Drako = Drako_tamer DT = dirtytabs E or ED = EmmaD333 Esme (or Yip) = yipyipbrrring ET = EternallyShadow G = Pixel.G GP = GalaxyPassion13 H = Herk Hawk = HawktalonOfRiverClan Jas = Jascuty KF = Kiya_Felixea Kim = Kimoko_the_Dragon KoD = Kakaru of Doom L = Lagie Lady or LL = Lady_Lunevis Lev = DragonLauren pg = pinkgothic PG = Pokegirl (yes capitalization DOES matter) PL = PootisLooti MC = Mathcat MC1 = MercenaryCobra1 MessengerDragon, Messenger, or MD = MessengerDragon MS = Moonshark NE = NightEagle newt = purplenewt Sam = Oasis SB = sbowen SP = SunstonePhoenix storm = Stormphoenix42 Syi = Syiren Syl = Sylph264 T = tinti Tempo = temposhark TNATS or ThalmorSpy = Totally_not_a_Thalmor_spy xey = xeyla Things to remember while reviewing: -Once again, here's the Description Guidelines. Sock's detailed posts disappeared, so feel free to ask if you have any questions or want extra opinions. -Know the breed description! If a dragon's personality doesn't match the official breed summary, it won't be Accepted by a moderator. The most common problems are "warrior Whites" and "friendly/gardening Vines". -Check the pronouns! Incorrect pronouns should be fixed unless the dragon is stated in the description to be transgender. Sometimes dragons are described with the opposite pronoun from their stats and it's not clear if it's an accident or on purpose. Edited June 16, 2017 by Descripforce Share this post Link to post
Posted January 25, 2014 (edited) Description Suggestion Threads The amount of description-related Suggestion threads is overwhelming, and after re-organizing and updating the links the OP got pretty long. And moving that section to the FAQ post would make that really long. Since Dimar is an organizational freak, she added all the suggestions here. They are organized roughly by topic! Please note that some are very old and may not really be worth the bump. This is just a reference list. If you intend to post, please read the whole thread! Description Modding: Description Approvers/Mods Auto-Approve Descriptions Reviewing: More Space for Reviewing Track Number Reviewed Comment Required When Rejecting Review Notification Description Formatting: Question Marks in Descriptions Italics in Descriptions Change Paragraph Formatting; allow blank line Longer Descriptions Inter-Linking Descriptions Box for Author's Comments Drafting Descriptions Pending Descriptions: View My Descriptions Alert When Approved/Rejected Give Previously Approved Descriptions Priority Show Old Description While Being Edited Quick Editing Handling/Slowing Queue (more applicable if there were description mods caught up on queue) Approved Descriptions: Marker to Show Descriptions Comment on Approved Descriptions Save Comments Export All Descriptions General Description-Related Stuff: Description Directory Scroll Descriptions (and the Scroll Messages suggestion, which is less description-y but might be relevant) Sorting Filters; thread about description sorting filter got merged BBW BSA for Storytelling; descriptions were mentioned as a possibility Christmas Breed Descriptions Specifications in Breed Descriptions Alter Pygmy, Split, and Drake Descriptions Edited August 22, 2014 by Descripforce Share this post Link to post
Posted January 25, 2014 Jan '12: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K49CT2Q...Xu2Jp1Xcgg/edit Just a quick heads-up, this link's broken, since it has the ellipsis in the link itself, as well. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 25, 2014 Just a quick heads-up, this link's broken, since it has the ellipsis in the link itself, as well. Thanks Pinkgothic - it's fixed now Herk Share this post Link to post
Posted January 31, 2014 When reviewing, when do you guys reject/accept/abstain? I accept when I see no mistakes or other faults in the text; abstain if there is one or, in a longer description, a few errors and leave a comment pointing them out; reject if there are multiple spelling mistakes or it goes against the guidelines (e.g. first person or wrong setting). I feel quite mean for not accepting a description with only one mistake but on the other hand, if I accept the writer might not feel any incentive to edit his or her description, leaving more work for the mods. What do you think? Share this post Link to post
Posted January 31, 2014 I accept with one mistake and point it out. The mods are able to fix small errors. I abstain if it's two mistakes or more. I reject if it's nonsense or doesn't follow the breed or is completely ungrammatical. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Lagie has a good system, and what you're doing sounds fine Mirhana. I do pretty much the same thing as Lags, though with longer descriptions I tend to Accept with a couple errors if the edits are all small fixes and the rest of the description is good quality. I'm trying to tighten up on that though and Abstain more. Edited February 1, 2014 by Dimar Share this post Link to post
Posted February 1, 2014 I'm happy to see a descriptions thread. I'd love to help. When I review descriptions I accept them if they make sense and have no grammar mistakes, abstain if the review is grammatically correct but doesn't make sense, and reject if they have at least two grammatical mistakes or don't follow the description guidelines. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 1, 2014 I tend to accept descriptions if there are only few errors, even though I feel that I should abstain them. I abstain if it's grammatically correct, but doesn't follow the Description Guidelines. I reject if it has errors and goes against the Guidelines. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 1, 2014 I think I'm fairly permissive - I accept whenever I think the user has honestly tried to write a decent description, even if it has a few errors. I abstain if there are a lot of orthographical/mechanics issues, if there's confusing syntax, if it's well-written but doesn't follow the description guidelines (like Earth cities, etc.), and if I think the user wrote too little or isn't descriptive enough. I reject descriptions that I feel blatantly disregard orthography rules or the guidelines. I may even snark in my comment. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 1, 2014 I used to only use accept and reject, but lately I've been abstaining for simple mistakes. Considering how long it takes right now to get a description through I'd prefer to abstain and direct the writer to fix there work before a mod spends time fixing the errors. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 8, 2014 Oh phew~ I'm glad to see this thread. When I saw the other one had closed I about flipped out. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to review. Having said that, I also forgot which of my dragons are awaiting approval or reviews. I would like to point out a teeny bit of sadness. This dragon here http://dragcave.net/lineage/xriJ7 was approved the night after I had written a description for it and I never got to see any comments from those who approved it. Now, I'm not complaining mind you, (well, I kinda am, but not in a bad way) I'm just a bit curious that he was approved yet those that had been waiting longer have not yet. I have a family of Ice dragons that are still waiting as is their mother; a female Grave dragon. I guess my question is, where are we in terms of quantity regarding unapproved descriptions? Share this post Link to post
Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) @Syiren: Wow, that's surprising! I'm guessing you just submitted it at a time when a mod was working on the queue. The backlog is sorted differently for mods than it is for us, so they can review things by breed. Perhaps someone was working alphabetically from A and that's how your Daydream got checked quickly. Sock has just reported to me that the current backlog is 5.355k. Edited February 8, 2014 by Dimar Share this post Link to post
Posted February 8, 2014 Not particularly relevant, but goodness the group's icon is adorable! I hope one of you has a writing-inclined Sunstone on your scroll for real. X'D Share this post Link to post
Posted February 8, 2014 D'aww, thanks ADP! I'm the one who drew it, and I'm glad you like it - I was a bit uncertain of it myself. I actually chose a Sunstone because Sock loves them so much, but you have a great idea there. Perhaps Herk or Brair can write a description for a Sunstone dragon of theirs and it can be the thread mascot. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 8, 2014 @Syiren: Wow, that's surprising! I'm guessing you just submitted it at a time when a mod was working on the queue. The backlog is sorted differently for mods than it is for us, so they can review things by breed. Perhaps someone was working alphabetically from A and that's how your Daydream got checked quickly. Sock has just reported to me that the current backlog is 5.355k. Hah, well there's timing for you. I know a few of my older descriptions have a few hiccups that need to be fixed and when I find an hour or two to go through my scroll and find them I'll do just that. The hardest part is running out of room and you have to make the description shorter which can really wreak havoc on grammar. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 13, 2014 Announcements! Since Sock's handy dandy guidelines have disappeared the users of descripforce are going to put together a community gathered FAQ (more like a guideline) to give people a better idea of how to review and to try and encourage new players to review as well. We're gathering info from your posts here, as well as statements made in descripdoom. If there is something you feel we should cover in the FAQ feel free to pm this account or any of us as you see us on, or head over to descripdoom. Also keep a watch in March, as we have something special planned for all those good reviewers and describers out there. Share this post Link to post
Posted February 17, 2014 My support for the thread mascot idea! Sorry this is a little random but, this reminded me, I meant to give this to you guys before I gave up the thread: http://dragcave.net/view/n/Descripdoom%20Reviewers <3 Share this post Link to post
Posted February 18, 2014 Sorry this is a little random but, this reminded me, I meant to give this to you guys before I gave up the thread: http://dragcave.net/view/n/Descripdoom%20Reviewers <3 Aww, I know I speak for all of the descripdoomers when I say thank you o3o. *leaves a tray of cookies for sock and the other reviewers* Share this post Link to post
Posted February 18, 2014 I saw her when she was still in the queue and was touched then. Yes, thank you (even if I haven't been doing much to help lately). Share this post Link to post
Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) Is this the new place to get descriptions proofread? It's been a while since I tried my hand at one, but I had an idea for my shiny new Radiant Angel. Twickster is a very cheerful dragon. He spreads joy to others around him- usually by playing pranks. While generally harmless, his pranks are often rather surreal. He is quite proud of his style of jokes, and meticulously crafts each prank to suit its target. The tricks are never malicious, but are sometimes used to teach a lesson to a misbehaving dragon or two. Twickster also loves sugary foods, and can usually be found by following the trail of sweets he inadvertently leaves behind him. I don't know how many SPN fans we have on here, but I was trying to make this a dragon version of Gabriel without being OOC for the breed. What do you think? Edited, thanks Dimar Edited February 19, 2014 by Stormphoenix42 Share this post Link to post
Posted February 19, 2014 Yep, this is the new place for proofreading since the old thread got closed. I don't know anything about SPN, but I can critique the grammar! It looks good to me, except for one little thing: when "prank" is used as a verb, it means to strut around or show off. You should say "...done through playing pranks" or something like that. Other than that, it's a cute description! Share this post Link to post
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