The examples given in the Grading Guide are brief, albeit for the purpose of example, but the description strongly indicates that a few well-worded sentences could potentially award one skill point.
The assumption is stated and well-understood that a single post is at least 300-400 worlds long
However, this is what I've observed being practiced:
I saw one thread (solo) with about 7000 words over 10 posts awarded 20 xp in various skills, 7 lores, 12 items and a ton of gold.
Another thread (group), by the same person (different grader) was about 10,000 words long across almost 20 posts, and that one got a whopping 7 skill points and 1 lore, and none of the skills were maxed (as per the max 5 points per thread & max 100 points per skill per character).
From what I've seen in practice, the wiki seems to be a very poor representation of how skill points are awarded. Especially considering that there are quite a few frequently-used skills (socialization, rhetoric, flirting, observation) that theoretically could be awarded in almost every single post a PC makes, e.g.
Observation is one of the most commonly awarded skills, but should only be awarded when a PC actively notices something. Narration of the surrounding area does not count as observation, unless the PC is narrated looking at a specific thing. “Bob looked around,” is not an awardable sentence. “Bob looked out at the sunset,” is awardable.
But again, in practice, it does not seem common to see +5 observation, +5 socialization in every single PC's thread reward with 5 or more well-written posts.
As another example, here's a second quote from the wiki:
Below are a series of examples that illustrate the level of detail needed in an action to get experience points while at various skill levels.
...Bob clutched the dagger and swung it wildly, missing the Yukmen that ran past. One tripped over a fallen branch and Bob jumped forward, stabbing the blade into the neck of the prone creature.
This is an example of an action that would gain Novice-level experience.
Again, it seems to imply that getting experience is a fairly easy task, when in fact, as indicated above where sometimes nearly 20 posts with 500 words or more each garners 7 xp.
To reiterate, I am simply saying that it's vastly inconsistent, not "you're doing it wrong". I'm not here to argue, I'm here to be accurately informed and follow the rules, but the base issue is:
Assuming an average 500 - 600 words per well-written post and no violation of game rules,
A) The wiki appears to indicate that an average of 1 - 3 experience points would be awarded for every 1 post, while an exceptionally well-written post could get 5 (or more?)
B) Common practice appears to indicate that an average of 1 - 3 posts warrants 1 experience point, while an exceptionally well-written post could get 2
There are undoubtedly a multitude of various factors that make each and every thread reward almost unique, however, the difference is most definitely vast beyond even those factors.
I simply wish to know, which is closer to common practice, A) or B)?
