Terminology

The Ratings System
Fanfic/PBEM Terms

The Ratings System

Each piece examined on this site receives a grade from one of the following:

A: Perfect, marvelous. Wonderful development, intriguing characters, good writing and development. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. A work of pure genius. Can I have your autograph?

(You'll never see one of those here. This is for pure reference).

B: Overall very good, with a few small errors that can be glossed over, like a misspelled word or slight conflict in plot.

(You'll never see any of these here either. Reference only).

C: Average. It's good, but there's one or two major things to deal with that are an issue that cannot be ignored. It's either a bad formatting problem, bad spelling/grammar, or a seriously messed-up plot and/or characters. We can see the good stuff in there somewhere, and we know it can be brought out!

D: Barely passable. We know the good stuff is in there somewhere, but it's almost impossible to see due to the clutter. It's still salvageable though. An extensive rewrite is highly recommended.

F: You've either mangled the plot so badly that it's nothing but incoherent babble, or have written a really, really bad Mary Sue. There are less than 5 good points about your story/profile. There is no hope for it. It's a lost cause. Scrap the piece and start over. Please.

BONFIRE: Not ONLY is this as bad as an F-rated piece, but it has insulted the genre that it is a part of. It's a detriment to society. It deserves to burn in the Burning Dumpster for all eternity. Pure vomit.

All works that are clearly cheap rip-offs, plagiarisms, throw the main characters completely OOC (parodies excluded), insult the genre, and/or are of Sera quality get an automatic BONFIRE grade. No questions asked.

NUKE: Nuke is officially the newest grade. This is when the Bonfire grade goes over the edge forcing those who read this fic or profile to constantly convulse and retch periodically over a couple of hours. In other words: The thing doesn't deserve to live.


Fanfiction/PBEM Terms

Prime examples of Sue Logic at work:

1. "Born in darkness, but imploded with light..."

2. "The sun had just set, and its rays caressed the girl's face, causing Legolas to faint, overwhelmed by the surging, passionate, yet quiet expression that he was being faced with."
(I actually wrote this one myself. I feel really dirty right now.)

3. "Corrine is so naive. She can just step in the middle of a gunfight and not even know the danger."

(Later...)

"...I know about what happened before. I only acted as though I didn't. I'm not all that innocent as you think. I'm not that naive." "

(Yanked from 'New Destiny')


Take me back!