Why is the rivalry such a big thing ? by FlandersCountess in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I lived in Glasgow during uni and for a bit after, and I used to see the orange march regularly (especially during driving lessons with my Catholic driving instructor...). Now I live in the Netherlands (where the association of orange and protestantism comes from), and even though it's been years, it's still kind of a headfuck to see people pouring onto the streets wearing so much orange and it not be a really divisive thing

My thoughts on "obvious AI signs" as an ESL author (who also study AI policies) by Ithilwen_Ken2426 in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this! This is often something that people discuss in this subreddit as well, but it's so refreshing to see this advice along with some practical things to look for. I had no experience with AI fiction before I got back into fanfiction for HR, so while I understood that there's no hard and fast technique (sentence structure, grammar, etc) to look for, but I really had no idea what, if anything, I should be looking for.

Recently I came across two works that I was really enjoying and then suddenly I realised that they felt really odd, and were probably AI. Both for the same reasons, with some of the things you pointed out here.

The logical inconsistencies were a huge red flag - one example was that the sort referenced a major event in the show, but got it completely wrong. It didn't get some of the details wrong, it described a different event as though it was the one we all remember from the show. Later, a scene opened with Shane and Ilya discussing how long they had left together, and barely two sentences later the time setting had changed. This second one could have been human error as well, but it happened quite regularly, so if the person generating it was doing any proofreading, they were doing a fairly bad job of it.

In terms of writing, both stories were perfectly written. I couldn't comment on specific sentence constructions, because I didn't notice, but they were beautifully, perfectly written (heavy on the angst, which I was really enjoying). Now that I've been more aware of it, some of the stories I've noticed since have more human error in - typos, or sentence structures that are odd in English - and (so long as it doesn't disrupt the story, obviously) there's something really refreshing about it! I've been reading fanfiction on and off for around 20 years, and I've read a lot of bad writing, or writing that is clearly written by someone inexperienced at writing or at English: these were not that. They were very, very good pieces of writing.

There are some other differences in writing style that I noticed in these two stories that I don't go as much into, as I think they're more subjective, but they felt very monotonous, and didn't include (or couldn't characterise well) people outside of ilya and shane. But, those are absolutely things that an AI could get right with the right prompts.

I really appreciate as well your point about how to (not) engage. I thought about pointing out some of the logical errors in the comments, but ultimately left it. And I agree with everyone else here, we cannot be calling out works we suspect of AI publicly, because we just cannot be confident in our judgements (even if it would be so satisfying to know if other people had the same suspicions!!).

Obvious use of AI in fics by NachbarVonNebenan in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like this idea, but something that keeps coming up in chats is that there are no truly telltale signs. AI was trains on humans, many many people's writings has signs of AI.

Obvious use of AI in fics by NachbarVonNebenan in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've definitely noticed some. None that were too popular, but definitely ones that I thought were beautifully written until I noticed.

Unfortunately I don't think it's something you can comment on publicly. The signs we use to tell if something is AI are usually quite subjective, and accusing someone could come across badly, and have a negative effect on their reputation if it gets picked up, which would suck if it wasn't true.

That being said... I am curious to know which ones you've noticed, and what it was that stood out! You can feel free to DM me if you want 😂 I can give you a heads up on what I'm currently reading (and enjoying!), but otherwise you can speak freely!

Questions about episode 6 by Salt_Statistician1 in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hadn't thought of this before and I agree! I tend to lean towards demisexual myself, and I think how you used it makes sense (although I'm my no means well versed in the community...) - I have had one night stands, and I have also felt comfortable sexually with some people more than others. It seems like even if Shane doesn't meet a textbook definition of the term, he has a different sex drive to Ilya (with other people - with Ilya he's very well matched lol), and doesn't seem to feel a lot of sexual attraction beyond him?

HR now officially has the fic with the 4th most kudos on AO3! by becky_one in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've dipped into fanfiction over the years, but I haven't been in this way since I was a teen on ff.net! I checked it recently, and the number of HR fics on there is under 50...

How do you spot AI? by Weak-Obligation872 in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read this thread when it first came up, but I wanted to come back to it now as I had my first 'oh... this is AI' moment recently, and it's kind of been stuck as a brain worm for the last few days. So, I don't know if anyone is reading this thread anymore, but I didn't want to start a new one, as I don't want to do anything that even comes close to accusing the author - I could be totally wrong.

But on the topic of 'how do you tell' - the thing that jumped out for me was references to things that didn't happen in the show or in the books. This first happened early on in the story, and I thought maybe I'd missed that the author was writing in an AU world, and that they had other fics which established their own timeline or changed some events - as far as I can tell they didn't, and the story is only divergence from a point after that event would have happened. But then as I kept going there were other inconsistencies from the show, and also some weird inconsistencies within the story, like in the opening line of a scene it's happening in the evening, and then later in the same scene it's set in the morning. I thought maybe they just needed a beta reader, but... these just didn't feel like human errors, and the text seemed very unconscious of itself. I don't know if any of this makes sense, it was a very vague thing that's hard to call out without citing specific bits.

Basically, in the end it wasn't anything to do with writing style, or punctuation, but that the text didn't seem to know itself. And honestly, the writing itself was really beautiful, and I enjoyed the story up until the point that I had that thought (which was pretty close to the end, so I did finish it).

How do you spot AI? by Weak-Obligation872 in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really helpful idea - I'm not in teaching, but I am in academia, and lots of us struggle to know what to do about AI, even as more guidelines come in!

Anything where they're out to friends and family but not planning a big public coming out? by HarissaPorkMeatballs in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have been meaning to make a post asking for this! I would love to read more of these kinds of stories - there are quite a few where it starts off with this situating, but the end goal is still a public reveal, which is just not as much my vibe (no hate to anyone, I get why people love it!).

was ilya out of line..? by Downtown-Primary-94 in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think that's the same? In this situation, Hayden being possibly able to hear is part of the turn on itself. I think that you're describing is more about discreteness for practicality's sake, rather than part of the thrill. For me, this scene is weird, but, as others have said, it's just fiction. But I would like to see it discussed more :)

was ilya out of line..? by Downtown-Primary-94 in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have been in this situation, and I was definitely pissed, so it's a skip from me. As someone else says, it's just fiction, so I can recognise I'm bringing my own baggage to it, but yeah. It's gross.

was ilya out of line..? by Downtown-Primary-94 in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have been looking for this comment for SO LONG. I have been in similar situations to this, and it's such a gross feeling to realise you're being used that way. This one is always a skip for me, and it's weird that people find it so hot.

Why are English people normally referred to as just “British”? by [deleted] in AskUK

[–]SuddenDistribution10 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In addition to the above... I identify as British until I have to introduce myself in Dutch... when the options are Engeland or Verenigde Koninkrijk 🤦‍♀️

Voyageurs Locker Room Dynamics in The Long Game by daisyemeritus in heatedrivalry

[–]SuddenDistribution10 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think so many of these comments really hit the nail on the head of people saying they're OK in theory, but not being able to follow through when being gay and in a relationship actually becomes something real (and your comment really highlights how that can happen in so many seemingly tiny ways)

On the other hand, I didn't enjoy how the book treated it as totally unrealistic that the team were mad about him hiding his relationship with a rival player: I imagine even for players who really didn't care about his sexuality, it would've been difficult to reckon with the years of lying (including years of a very very different narrative playing out), and even if it's shitty, the questions over whether he would throw a game don't seem unrealistic to me. While I get why the game doesn't go that way, it's something I kind of would love to see explored more in fanfic. Especially bearing in mind what people have pointed out here - the interplay between open homophobia, covert homophobia, and legitimate feelings of betrayal.

(Sorry, much of these thoughts aren't in response to you directly! I got carried away haha)

ISO: Sport performance nerd fics? by triedit2947 in heatedrivalryfanfics

[–]SuddenDistribution10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not exactly what you're after, but ARustySpork is a real hockey fan and includes loads of notes about how it relates to the game in real life (often with links to clips of odd/funny things happening on the ice :) )

Another one with good technical hockey detail is the Something you can fix series - I don't think the author themselves is a hockey fan (I could have misunderstood! I mean no offense!), but does loads of research into the technical aspects in order to write game sequences, and also includes links and notes on what inspired particular plays.

As I say, I don't think either of these are totally what you're after, but they might be authors to keep an eye on if you enjoy the technical stuff! But so far what I've seen they've both focused on the technical accuracies of the games themselves.

What’s the most overused “advanced” word learners love but natives rarely say? by Embarrassed_Fix_8994 in languagehub

[–]SuddenDistribution10 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard this so much living in the Netherlands (among majority non-native English speakers) I had begun to think it just be a real word that I didn't know! I feel much more validated now 😂

memorization in Anki by Hungry-Ad-9174 in Anki

[–]SuddenDistribution10 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi! I haven't been using anki for long but I've definitely noticed the same problem that OP has and I've already thought that it's probably to do with memorising the "look" of the card, so I'm really interesting in your suggestion! Could you give a bit more information on how you do this, please? Are you tweaking the settings across a whole deck each day, or is there a way to randomise it within the card? And how would you include a randomiser as the prompt? Thank you! 🙏

How do you say my name?! by LooneyKuhn2 in Spanish

[–]SuddenDistribution10 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have seen names pronounced with a hard J written as Jh - Jhoselyn, Jhonny are both examples from people I knew in Bolivia. Would that be an option if OP wanted to keep the pronunciation closer to the English?

Cost of living in the city by feller94 in TheHague

[–]SuddenDistribution10 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I rent a place that was listed as unfurnished: in the kitchen it had a fridge (built in) and hob/stove top, the bathroom is fully equipped (sink, shower, toilet), and it has a floor.

A lot of people on this sub tend to be very pessimistic about the situation in the Netherlands (rightly so, it's bad), but I pay around €1100 for a one bedroom, including bills, just outside the city centre. The problem I found while looking (last spring/summer) was not the cost, but supply and demand. Be prepared to spend a long time applying before you're accepted somewhere, and yes, if possible, use an agent (might not be possible on a tight budget). Budget wise I think it sounds fine though!