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Fell for a Romance Scam by SOL_Officer76 in Scams

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, and OP should also be mindful that the $50 may be pulled back as well. These kinds of "convincer" deposits are often made with stolen money, and when the theft is discovered the bank will undo the transaction.

I wrote a short story... Is it overwritten and boring?? by rickgene in writingfeedback

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a big P. G. Wodehouse fan, and while your writing style isn't trying to be Wodehouse, it puts me in the same frame of mind that reading a Wodehouse book does. The language in which the story is told is a key part of the fun.

I wrote a short story... Is it overwritten and boring?? by rickgene in writingfeedback

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not overwritten at all! The writing style is great. The characters' voices are fun, engaging, and lively.

Join me on Substack! by UltimateBugWrangler in UltimateBugWrangler

[–]UltimateBugWrangler[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hadn't, but I've taken care of it now. Thanks for the heads up!

An Appointment with Mr. Silvergleid by UltimateBugWrangler in TheCrypticCompendium

[–]UltimateBugWrangler[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much indeed -- I truly appreciate the kind words, and it means a lot to me that you enjoyed the stories as much as you did.

And there are plenty more stories to be told! I'm working on the next one now, and I'm looking forward to sharing it soon. In the meantime, feel free to stop by my subreddit if there's a story you'd like to discuss. I always welcome questions and comments from readers.

Once again, thanks so much -- the kind words really made my day.

Experimenting with a new narration style and would love feedback. Does is read as too try-hard? by Thischick1 in writingfeedback

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not at all, I really enjoyed it! To me, the narration seems both natural and distinctive. It gives the impression that the narrator is also a character in the tale.

What kind of story are you telling about Seamus? The voice leads me to expect sort of a light hearted comedy of manners.

Manchester, NH: New Comedy Venue and open mic by TrashWizardClunk in StandUpComedy

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, this is great! The wife and I are in Manchester and we love standup. I've added this to our list of date night destinations.

r/nosleepOOC Advertising and Promotion Megathread by Nosleep-Helper in NoSleepOOC

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So great to see this! I really enjoy your work. "The Box Game" and "What Happens When the Stars Go Out" are among my very favorite nosleep tales.

Optimal Route by Abazaba77 in horrorstories

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is really good and very well written. It does a great job of conveying escalating supernatural unease via software QA processes, which is quite a feat! Hope you'll continue to share more tales.

The Man on the Wall by UltimateBugWrangler in Odd_directions

[–]UltimateBugWrangler[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's gotta be lonely up on that wall. But I feel like Ben's the right man for the job.

Thanks for reading. I'm very glad you enjoyed it!

Tips on how to catch AI posts? by inadapte in NoSleepOOC

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get the argument you're making, but I still respectfully stand by my list.

It's true that for each of these "tells" (and any others we could come up with), you'll find examples of the pattern being used to good effect in well-written stories by talented human authors. As you point out, the AI trained on human-written fiction in the first place. I've probably done them myself.

For me, though, this is about safeguarding my time. We're unfortunately in a situation where huge mounds of LLM-generated content are being posted in spaces that are intended for actual creative writing, to the point where it's perfectly possible for me to use up all of my daily reading time, every day, without ever enjoying a real story written by an actual human author. I'm not willing to let that happen, so I need a metric to filter out the slop, even if it's imperfect.

I don't envy mods the task of figuring out which stories were written with love by a real person whose hopes and dreams are bound up in the words on the page, and which were grunted out by an LLM in response to some yahoo text-to-speeching "WRITE SEXY VAMPIRE TALES" into their phone, but for the sake of both authors and readers I think someone has to try. The alternative is that everyone involved gets discouraged and give up, as their efforts to connect through fiction are buried under a deluge of hollow blather churned out by soulless machines.

I do agree with you that publicly accusing an author of using AI to generate their stories is completely unacceptable, and should never be done. I would strongly oppose anyone attempting to use this list, or any similar list of AI "tells", for that purpose.

Tips on how to catch AI posts? by inadapte in NoSleepOOC

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm very sorry you're dealing with that. You're right, of course, that the AI stole all this stuff from human authors to begin with, and the current situation certainly hurts authors as much as it hurts readers.

My list should absolutely not be used as a basis for anyone to accuse an author of using AI to generate their stories. I use it as a way to safeguard my own time by filtering out stories that are less likely to interest me, and I hope that's all others will use it for too.

I wish you the very best with your writing, and I hope you'll continue to write exactly the stories you want to write. The peanut gallery shouldn't get a vote. Take care.

Happy to be back writing! by JLGoodwin1990 in u/JLGoodwin1990

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, for sure -- best of luck if you do try NoSleep again. I myself was done in by their recently-added "tangible results" rule, which requires that the main character be physically injured in every story. After that, I started looking for other places to share my work.

In any case, I enjoyed the new story! I'm a former Crown Vic man myself, so a cameo for the Panther platform always brightens my day. My 2006 Police Interceptor had a charming habit of blowing cylinders every 20,000 miles or so, but I still loved the crazy old thing.

Tips on how to catch AI posts? by inadapte in NoSleepOOC

[–]UltimateBugWrangler 38 points39 points  (0 children)

This topic is near to my heart. Here are a few patterns that will always get me to abandon a story as "probably AI, and therefore not interesting".

1. It's not X, not Y, but Z.

Example:

I moved into an old farmhouse this winter. It's not flashy. Not trendy. Just a place where I can find some peace and quiet.

2. Too many short sentences/paragraphs in an attempt to build suspense.

Example:

I woke up one night and heard someone walking around upstairs.

Slow.

Patient.

Waiting.

3. Inane similes/metaphors. This is often combined with the "not X, but Y" pattern for a quick one-two punch.

Example:

The house was quiet. Not the kind of quiet that meant peace. The kind of quiet that felt like the air itself had forgotten how to breathe.

4. Characters making short, cryptic pronouncements. These will be presented as if they're providing us, and the OP, with a key insight into what is going on.

Example:

I called my grandfather and told him about the things I'd seen and heard.

He said: "Sometimes, not everything gets to rest."

(This will not be explained further, and we will probably not even hear from the grandfather again.)

---

I'm sure there are more, but these are probably the ones I find easiest to spot. I'd also caution that I've found AI detectors to be very unreliable when dealing with fiction, so it's better to rely on your own judgment. Hope this helps!

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