Tales of Yip

F: A story with absolutely no redeeming qualities, isn’t entertaining despite its terrible mechanics, plot and characterization, and overall isn’t even something I’d recommend ironically. No examples known.

D-: An F-rated story that has a couple of redeeming qualities. Nearly unreadable. No known examples.

D: A D-rated story is a funny apple, because it can either be something with a few redeeming qualities or a sliver of hope in one or two, or it can be something that’s absolutely terrible in a humourous manner. Generally if it’s the latter, then it’s done in a non-intelligent way that’s still funny. The intelligent trollfics/badfics would go in a higher category. No known examples.

D+: A D-rated story that shows promise in one category. Any category. Still no way this is getting recommended to anyone. No known examples.

C-: A C-rated story that fans of the genre might pass on due to controversial nature, abundant typos, or anything in between. No known examples.

C: C-rated stories normally would only cater to fans of a particular genre, and outside of that, not many will want to read them. It could do one of a multitude of things: it could be a cookie cutter idea made to pander to a certain audience a la LOHaV universe (although there can be exceptions); it could be a story that tries too hard to be something it isn’t; it could be completely absent of something important like characterization, even though there is some merit to things like mechanics or an engaging plot. No examples known yet.

C+: Generally, C+ stories are C-rated stories that have a shining beacon in the darkness that renders it more than readable to people that like that particular genre. Otherwise, it carries out like a C-rated story. An example of this would be ROBCakeran53’s My Little Dashie due to the writer's excellence in emotional play but fails in many other regards including believability, rational plot progression, and cheap clichés.

B-: A B-rated story that has everything done to a satisfactory level with one or two sub-par ideas, or one that does everything to a slightly sub-satisfactory level. Stories here can have strong elements marred by a terrible showing in another. An example of this would be Stormy Nights by Void Chicken due to its strong ability to tell a riveting story with strong characterisation and a mechanical element that falls incredibly flat and feels dry.

B: A story that, at base level, warrants an upvote. Generally B-rated stories are either stories that could have been excellent were it not for a crucial crippling error, several non-essential crippling errors or it could be a story that does everything to a satisfactory level. An example of this would be A Long Night by Idylia, as it does exactly what it wants to do in few words and strives to be nothing else. No risk, no loss.

B+: A B-rated story with just enough extra to warrant a favourite and an upvote, whether it’s due to one element being even more exceptional than a B-rated story would be or has everything just the slightest bit better. Home by RBDash47 is a good example of a B+ story due to its all-around excellence and particular emphasis on certain symbols that enhance the reading experience.

A-: An A-rated story is essentially an excellent story with no major shortcomings and is only held back by a lack of ambition to be something greater than simple fiction. Usually appeals to a certain audience and is highly recommended to all readers of any genre. An example of an A story is Eakin’s Hard Reset, which has quite possibly the most exciting tale on the site and features some strong mechanics, but feels a tad clunky in some sections, especially the romantic subplot.

A: A story with incredible excellency pertaining to multiple different categories, including but not limited to an engaging plot, well-done mechanics and beautiful characterization. Nothing is done poorly here, and one or two elements of storytelling is done extraordinarily well. Warrants a fave, and upvote and a follow.

A+: A story with such incomparable features that fans of any genre and of all types will enjoy this one and then some. The mechanics are impeccable, the plot is entertaining and memorable, and the characters are consistent and generally two-sided. Bonus points if this story can fit within the MLP universe, but even if it can’t, it shouldn’t detract from such an outstanding read. No element of this story is done poorly, and all of them are at least excellent with several of them being done to extraordinary levels. The best stories on the site, and warrant a favourite, an upvote, a follow and whoring it out to the masses. An example of an A+ story is ColdinGardez’s The Glass Blower.