crudcutter:
That's interesting. I had got the impression that Validators ignore things like character name inconsistencies.
When I first found this site I used to comment upon such name inconsistencies in both validated and un-validated stories , mainly because it really spoils my enjoyment of a story. But it seemed to me almost nobody else cared about it (with the notable exception of the author tfs) so I soon stopped doing it.
I don't comment about the poor quality of writing, except to remark upon good well written stories, for fear that the author has intentionally written descriptive sections in vernacular as well as just speech. Of course it is much worse (more frequent) on other sites.
Hi Crudcutter
I think wherever possible, the validator will query with the originating author any inconsistencies in names that appear in a story. The validators core remit is to assign the indexing metadata and write a summary; they also correct obvious mistakes where they can.
Story submissions don't have to be perfect, but we do expect a basic standard of English. Sometimes we receive material we can't load because there are so many errors, and they are sent back for corrections as it's not the validators job to rewrite and carry out detailed editing. A lot of authors struggle with punctuating dialogue etc, but we all improve with practice and a bit of extra time to proofread our material before sending it in.
The thing to remember is that no one gets paid for giving up hours of their free time to help out behind the scenes. We are very grateful for the help we get, and ultimately it's down to the authors to hone their craft. Maybe some authors never do, and that's fine, after all this is a site for amateur authors wishing to share their stories, and it doesn't matter if they are not perfect, providing they are of an acceptable, basic standard. Information for authors is provided in the Author Guide, accessible from the Info button when logged into the site.
There is a facility built into the site for reporting errors. Wherever you see a listing - eg on the latest loaded list, or on an author page - there will be a tick to show the item has been validated. If you click on that tick, a form pops up that you can use for reporting errors. There's obviously no point in reporting errors for unvalidated stories, but if the validator has missed something important, feel free to point it out and it will get sorted eventually.
flopsy