Story verification times

Quote by DousedInGasoline

Thank you for the clarification. It did feel very aimed at my inquiry.

We know who is using AI and who isn't.

Quote by GreyMatter

We know who is using AI and who isn't.

That’s reassuring to know. Maybe in the future it will be possible to banish these “writers” to a remote island surrounded by shark infested waters??? 🙏

Quote by GreyMatter

We know who is using AI and who isn't.

Kinda like Santa Claus, we know who is naughty and who is nice. 😉🎅🏼

Quote by techgoddess

Kinda like Santa Claus, we know who is naughty and who is nice. 😉🎅🏼

Exactly ha!

I'd like to see the messaging restructured, if possible. Once it's submitted, it goes to In Queue or even Submitted until it's actually picked up for review. it would be less stressful than seeing "under review" for seven + days

We already know that we'll receive a message when it's verified or if it's returned for whatever reason. So why would the wording change anything?

It's a stress reliever. Most would see it as a progress indicator.

Quote by Mandapanda2025
Once it's submitted, it goes to In Queue or even Submitted until it's actually picked up for review.

It differentiates anyway. It goes Under Review and you can recall it. When it's assigned to a moderator you can no longer recall it. If they unlock it, you can. So it flips between states already. As AC says, the wording is immaterial.

The fact it's sometimes assigned to a moderator and gets passed around or held back while we discuss aspects of the story among ourselves doesn't change the fact it's under review. And while we're deliberating, we wouldn't want you to make changes (unless you expressly ask for it to be unlocked and returned) as that would invalidate our discussions. Moving goal posts, and all that.

On a general note, one way to avoid feeling the need to recall it after submission is to make sure everything is shipshape prior to sending it in. Who would send in a half-finished piece of homework or a partial manuscript for printing with the intention "oh I'll fix the typos or structure or add the artwork after someone has read it all*?

Surely presenting the best possible version from the outset is the most efficient route?

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Surely presenting the best possible version from the outset is the most efficient route?

Makes sense. I always go over my stories multiple times, that doesn’t mean they are perfect when submitted. I’m awful wifh commas for instance 🤦‍♀️but I really try to create as little extra work as possible. As I’ve written more stories, I’ve become more patient at waiting. Alter all the best things are worth waiting for.

Quote by Shyexhibitionist
that doesn’t mean they are perfect

Mine neither. I can look at a story fifty times and miss a basic word or typo 'cos my brain just glosses over it.

We're not after perfection. But you probably wouldn't believe the horrors we've had submitted that are barely coherent.

Quote by AvidlyCurious

We already know that we'll receive a message when it's verified or if it's returned for whatever reason. So why would the wording change anything?

Granted, I'm not clear on the process behind the curtain here, but I would assume that there are stages of interaction that a reviewer has with the submission?

1. There's the automatic notice when the submission is made saying it's under review and can be recalled.

2. Then there's the notice of when the story is assigned to a review and can no longer be recalled.

3. Then the wait begins until we receive the notice of acceptance or rejection.

I find myself wondering if the reviewer has even begun to look at it, or if it's sitting in their own personal slush pile. This makes me think there might be a place there where the reviewer can let the author know they've got it on their desk and are actually reading through it. I think it would also be helpful to the site to know if there are bottle necks occurring at any of those levels if they were to keep track of the time and the flow.

I mean, I've had longer delays IRL and on other sites, but it never hurts to look at ways that increase communication and provide helpful insights.

the techies are working on things behind the scenes to help with the queue and the sooner that comes to fruition on the site, the better for all of us. Then hopefully this whole confusing and stressful thing will be resolved.

In the meantime, please please zip through the pages on this thread to read the details of what’s really going on. The mods have even added screenshots to be more transparent. We all just gotta hang in there—this too shall pass

Quote by Racoonteur

I find myself wondering if the reviewer has even begun to look at it, or if it's sitting in their own personal slush pile. This makes me think there might be a place there where the reviewer can let the author know they've got it on their desk and are actually reading through it.

Please keep in mind that all mods are volunteers. We're using our free time to review stories here. Your suggestion that we reach out to each individual author about the status of their submission in the queue would result in us having less time to review stories, and thus would make wait times even longer.

Quote by Obsolete_Fox

Please keep in mind that all mods are volunteers. We're using our free time to review stories here. Your suggestion that we reach out to each individual author about the status of their submission in the queue would result in us having less time to review stories, and thus would make wait times even longer.

I'm not suggesting that the mod reach out, rather, set up a simple automated notification procedure. (like the one that lets the author know their story has been assigned to a mod) It would take a simple click of the mouse or trigger automatically when the story is opened. A little time to set up the system, but potentially no muss, no fuss for the mod at all.

Quote by Racoonteur

I'm not suggesting that the mod reach out, rather, set up a simple automated notification procedure. (like the one that lets the author know their story has been assigned to a mod) It would take a simple click of the mouse or trigger automatically when the story is opened. A little time to set up the system, but potentially no muss, no fuss for the mod at all.

I don't think it'll help much.

Sorry, but I don't understand the need to know what is going on before you actually need to know something (story approved or needs fixing). It doesn't change anything for the person who is waiting. You'll end up getting more messages with a random, automated note, nothing relevant, which I'd imagine it would add to the anxiety.

Granted, I'm the notifications' Grinch. I turn all of them off.

The process has been explained several times, even in this very thread. So everyone knows they'll get the notification that truly matters. Seeing that it's 'under review' getting five messages saying 'still awaiting for verification' won't speed up the process.

In the meantime, write some more, read some more, interact some more... so many things to do on Lushland that are far more enjoyable and fun than going over this again and again.

Quote by AvidlyCurious

I don't think it'll help much.

Sorry, but I don't understand the need to know what is going on before you actually need to know something (story approved or needs fixing). It doesn't change anything for the person who is waiting. You'll end up getting more messages with a random, automated note, nothing relevant, which I'd imagine it would add to the anxiety.

Granted, I'm the notifications' Grinch. I turn all of them off.

The process has been explained several times, even in this very thread. So everyone knows they'll get the notification that truly matters. Seeing that it's 'under review' getting five messages saying 'still awaiting for verification' won't speed up the process.

In the meantime, write some more, read some more, interact some more... so many things to do on Lushland that are far more enjoyable and fun than going over this again and again.

I don't think anyone's asking to speed things up, just to be better informed of where things are.

Better communication is a beautiful thing.

Quote by Racoonteur

Granted, I'm not clear on the process behind the curtain here, but I would assume that there are stages of interaction that a reviewer has with the submission?

1. There's the automatic notice when the submission is made saying it's under review and can be recalled.

2. Then there's the notice of when the story is assigned to a review and can no longer be recalled.

3. Then the wait begins until we receive the notice of acceptance or rejection.

I find myself wondering if the reviewer has even begun to look at it, or if it's sitting in their own personal slush pile. This makes me think there might be a place there where the reviewer can let the author know they've got it on their desk and are actually reading through it. I think it would also be helpful to the site to know if there are bottle necks occurring at any of those levels if they were to keep track of the time and the flow.

I mean, I've had longer delays IRL and on other sites, but it never hurts to look at ways that increase communication and provide helpful insights.

I don't recall getting the "It's under review and cannot be recalled." That is what I mean. We are going on Day 8, and from a notice perspective, I don't know if it's in the queue or in someone's hot little hands. Yes, I can periodically try to recall it, but I'd probably actually end up recalling it and slide down to the bottom of the queue.

Quote by Mandapanda2025

I don't recall getting the "It's under review and cannot be recalled." That is what I mean. We are going on Day 8, and from a notice perspective, I don't know if it's in the queue or in someone's hot little hands. Yes, I can periodically try to recall it, but I'd probably actually end up recalling it and slide down to the bottom of the queue.

If you scroll to the bottom of this screen, there’s a link to “contact us” for any questions.

Quote by Mandapanda2025

I don't recall getting the "It's under review and cannot be recalled." That is what I mean. We are going on Day 8, and from a notice perspective, I don't know if it's in the queue or in someone's hot little hands. Yes, I can periodically try to recall it, but I'd probably actually end up recalling it and slide down to the bottom of the queue.

Well, that's interesting.

I just went to my latest submission, Mari's Run, to do a screen grab for you to show you what the "Cannot be recalled," notification looks like, and I see that it's been demoted back to the slush pile. Hmm? Any explanation on what happened there mods? Tomorrow will be 7 days since submission.

Quote by Racoonteur

Any explanation on what happened there mods?

It was explained on October 25th, page 6 of this thread.

We’ve had so many side quests, the answer to these questions have been lost and and that’s super problematic for legitimate concerns like yours. I think the best thing to do at this point is to bring some of those forward and then lock the thread so they’re not lost again when others need those answers.

****

To recap, the queue is long and hard. That's how I like to fuck, but not how any of us love to verify/get verified. Please be patient with us as we get spanked by legitimate writers (heyyyy baby!) and the flood of AI written stories that keep our dudes soft and our ladies dry.

What to know (that's lost in the fillings of this thread):

1. Above your submitted story, there will be words about it being reviewed or being with a mod, etc. These are in the site design, created to help writers know their story status. Unfortunately it can be buggy or verifiers may need to discuss something about it or it's been been moved around for queue management so basically, ignore it. The only legit thing that can tell you is if you can recall your story or not.

2. If you need to recall your story and can't, send a note through the "contact us" link at the bottom of the screen or contact a verifier to check the status and/or have it sent back or moved so you can recall it.

3. The great techies in the sky are doing almighty techy things to try to help us get this working in a better way, so hope is on the horizon.

Thank you for your patience!