Does formatting a link for easy reference count towards your wordcount if so does just the web address or the url= ect...
I don't think it does, but you could test it out. Put your entry with and without and see if the word count is different.
But don't hit submit!
(At least not until it's completely ready to go.)
A word, by definition, is a string of characters delimited by white space characters. In other words, as long as you don't put any spaces in your tags, you should be fine.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
,
Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Locke1520
|
From previous experience the word counter doesn't appear to count the board tags. I'd double check the word counter before submitting but you should be able to include it without upping your word count.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Generally speaking, URL links are "nice to have's" and never "need to have's" in RPGSS submissions. And, speaking as a former judge, if overused or needlessly used, it starts to look more like someone trying to show off their mad messageboard formatting skillz to somehow garner more attention or consideration for Top 32 (i.e., someone trying to show how super-detailed they are)...or, worse, they can potentially come across like they're attempting to educate the judges in case they didn't "get" what the author was attempting to do...i.e., you're basically pointing the judges to an "explanation" for your item's mechanics because you couldn't spare the words to adequately explain it in the item's descriptive text. In my opinion, this is an even more tempting thing to do for the voting public in Round One now, because not everyone evaluating these items is always doing so with the eye or experience of a primary judge...so you feel compelled to include such links in the hopes of convincing people to up-vote you as you educate them on the awesome mechanics your item is utilizing or enhancing.
Bottom line: For me, I almost never considered URL links as a "plus" in someone's favor. Mostly, I just ignored them. And, when you really stop and think about it...do magic items, wondrous or otherwise, get to include URL links in the published books in which they appear? Nope. So, why try to prop up your entry by including them? Someone with Superstar potential should be capable of demonstrating clearly worded designs which enable the reader to grasp their intent, mechanically-speaking, without having to have URL pointers referencing other parts of the book. If you truly need to guide the reader's understanding (which is quite rare), reference the rules it relies upon based on examples of how they're referenced in existing designs appearing in the CRB and elsewhere.
My two cents,
--Neil
Yeah I tested it today too. I might not bother for fear of a link distracting from the item.
I'm at my final draft, I'm going to sleep then turn it in sometime before the deadline.
:P
Template Fu doesn't give bonus for links either when reviewing, but will shout out if the links are broken or wrong - just so you know :D