Hi Curtis, I hope you (and maia_bob) don't mind me dropping this comment here, but frankly, trying to find official contact info for OTW people makes me cranky. I wanted to give you some feedback on the form of the post, not the content.
When I read the post the first time, I got to the line, "use of our resources is consonant with our purview and mission," and I burst out laughing. Sorry, but I did. Then, because I'm a bit cynical, I started wondering what truth you were hiding in the jargon weeds.
It uses the standard formulas most writers are familiar with and gives instant results.
So I tried the post in that readability test and it came out with a grade level of 11 and a reading ease of 56.
I tested the most recent news post about the support chat and it was a bit lower grade/higher ease.
Then I grabbed the first fic I could find on the AO3 with more than 1,000 kudos and 30,000 hits. Grade 5/Ease 86. I tried another and got Grade 3/Ease 87.
I think this a real problem with official communications. The posts are long, complex, often shy away from making points bluntly and plainly and do hide things in the jargon. Posts are also written like the expected audience is a US anglophone college grad.
I believe this is contributing to the form and amount of angry pushback you're getting sometimes, and this time in particular.
There are varying levels of language skills in your audience, non-anglophones, people like me who are very much not college grads, young people, etc, and I don't think this post hit anywhere near even the median reading level of AO3 users.
Put that together with the Hi! So glad you commented!! Here's some boilerplate text in response!!! replies and the post is bound to piss off and alienate people who are much less cynical than I.
I'm saying, therefore that not just straight talk, but some straight-sounding talk is needed by users.
Thanks for your time Curtis, and I wish you all the best.
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When I read the post the first time, I got to the line, "use of our resources is consonant with our purview and mission," and I burst out laughing. Sorry, but I did. Then, because I'm a bit cynical, I started wondering what truth you were hiding in the jargon weeds.
Today, I stumbled across a readability tool today: http://www.readability-score.com/
It uses the standard formulas most writers are familiar with and gives instant results.
So I tried the post in that readability test and it came out with a grade level of 11 and a reading ease of 56.
I tested the most recent news post about the support chat and it was a bit lower grade/higher ease.
Then I grabbed the first fic I could find on the AO3 with more than 1,000 kudos and 30,000 hits. Grade 5/Ease 86. I tried another and got Grade 3/Ease 87.
I think this a real problem with official communications. The posts are long, complex, often shy away from making points bluntly and plainly and do hide things in the jargon. Posts are also written like the expected audience is a US anglophone college grad.
I believe this is contributing to the form and amount of angry pushback you're getting sometimes, and this time in particular.
There are varying levels of language skills in your audience, non-anglophones, people like me who are very much not college grads, young people, etc, and I don't think this post hit anywhere near even the median reading level of AO3 users.
Put that together with the Hi! So glad you commented!! Here's some boilerplate text in response!!! replies and the post is bound to piss off and alienate people who are much less cynical than I.
I'm saying, therefore that not just straight talk, but some straight-sounding talk is needed by users.
Thanks for your time Curtis, and I wish you all the best.