So I was just reading the new comments in the HPMOR bash thread and a situation came to my mind. The author of MOR comes to WbA saying that he is going to be writing a rewrite of the story and wants DLP to edit the existing chapters for this rewrite. What is your reaction?

Be honest. I have a feeling this will be really entertaining.

 

I have a feeling that guy is not one to ask for help, or even admit he might need improvement. But in the far-off chance he does it, my reaction would be to try to help him. I've told it in the other thread: there is some good stuff there squashed under all the trash.

 

If you're spending the time and effort to help edit something, you have to at least like the story at hand. Otherwise it's just painful. I don't like the premise of MoR, so I'd skip the thread.

 

I would recommend turning into a comedy. There is a good farce in trying to rationally examine and explain something that is fundamentally illogical.

 

Assuming we live in a perfect world where DLP takes the attempt in good faith and LW doesn’t explode, probably this. DLP readers quite enjoyed the first ten or so chapters of the fic when it was a sort of absurdist comedy, it just rapidly transformed into a sciencewank that didn’t fit the setting. So yeah, to turn it into a good piece of fiction it would just be retooled to continue that trend.

The core problem was that MoR wasn’t written as a fic or even conventional fiction really, it was just a medium for the author to peddle his epistemological principles from. As long as the fic remains that it’s basically unsalvagable since it’s being written for that purpose rather than to be an entertaining, good piece of literature.

 

And the monetizing would have to go.

 

He did show up on DLP briefly, if I recall - not looking for advice or editors, admittedly. In fact, I think he came along to complain after someone left him a very blunt review (I have no idea how fair or accurate it was; I read the first few chapters, found them sporadically amusing and then forgot about it for the most part). It didn't go well.

 

Poorly, as the parts he’d be asked to take out/fix (largely toning down the preaching and related aspects) are what he’d consider to be the “core” of the fic and his motivation for writing. Agreed that if he wants to keep Harry being ubersmart the story would have to be a comedy, but again this would work against the core premise.

If he agreed to discard the idea that MoR is a story second and a pedagogy for “Rationalism” first, then we could get somewhere. Otherwise it’s a question of DLP helping him get his preaching out more effectively, and that wouldn’t go well. At best it would compromise at “explain empirical concepts entertainingly, but drop the idea of Rational supremacy”.

 

ಠ_ಠ.

One MoR hate!wank thread is enough, thank you. Locked.


Edit: LOL didn't even see this. QFT.