https://www.reddit.com/r/ScenesFromAHat/
New to /r/ScenesFromAHat? Read here!Mod Post (self.ScenesFromAHat)
submitted 3 years ago * by CaptainHair59[M] - announcement
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Okay, I know that this topic gets brought up a lot. This particular thread, however, will be permanent.
First things first: Welcome to /r/ScenesFromAHat! We're glad you're here, and we're especially glad that you're actually taking the time to read this!
Second things second: This post is here because we have to remove a lot of "unformatted" responses by newcomers like you. If you've already read the sidebar and are still confused, we recommend checking out this wiki page to get a better understanding of how to correctly format your responses.
If you're still unsure (or if you just need your fix of real Whose Line), perhaps an easier way of understanding how the game works would be to actually watch how the Whose Line performers do it.
I time-coded that link so that the video would start at the prompt "Rejected gift ideas that the Wise Men considered". Notice how the performers don't just say "a PlayStation 2", "a pork roast", "a Chia pet", "the singing bass", or "the Clapper". Instead, they act out a scene by being one of the Wise Men presenting the gift.
Now, responses like the ones listed above (and Colin's "water skis") are what we've been removing for not being in the Scenes from a Hat "format". They just give the answer as if the prompt were a question on /r/AskReddit. This way of responding does not have much room for creativity, and as a result, is usually not as funny. Not being funny would defeat the purpose of /r/ScenesFromAHat, as well as Whose Line itself.
If you see any comments that break this (or any other) rule, please report them so that they can be removed faster. More info on why reporting helps can be found here.
A couple more things regarding the SFAH format:
Quotation marks are not required, as it is already implied that the comment author is performing the scene. With that said, the use of quotation marks on an unformatted repsonse does not automatically make it fit the scene format. [more details and an example]
If you are making a top-level comment that isn't a scene response (e.g. critiquing the prompt, "ITT:"), be sure to put a [Meta] tag before the comment (as if it were the title of a meta post) to distinguish it from comments that are meant to play the game. Otherwise, the comment may be removed. [more details]
Although not required, acted-out responses should be more creative overall than adding something like "It's the __!" or "Oh look! __!" just to make it qualify as acted-out so that it won't be removed. For example, in the above video, Wayne's "The young messiah will derive hours of this: the singing bass" is more creative than Kathy's "It's a Chia pet."
"Creative" doesn't mean super long, like the typical /r/WritingPrompts response. They won't be removed for it, but imagine Ryan pulling you off stage as the reader gets near the end of it.
Replies to responses
These are not governed under the act-it-out rule, though there is nothing prohibiting you from continuing a scene. These comments can be pretty much anything, as long as they are:
Civil. As on most subreddits, uncivil comments may lead to more than just removals.
Not made just to congratulate the parent comment (i.e. the comment just says "/thread", "Brilliant", "We have a winner", etc.). These comments will be removed silently, as they do not add anything meaningful to threads. Consider upvoting good comments instead.
Last, but not least: Colin, if you're reading this, I want to let you know that:
Your comment:
Water skis
Has been removed.
Your response must be given in the Scenes From a Hat format. (see sidebar)
Feel free to reformat your response and submit it as a new top-level comment.
If you still have any questions, feel free to message the mods with them.
Again, thanks for actually taking the time to read this! We look forward to seeing you and your responses and prompts out there!
Important edits:
Addition of the [Meta] tag rule.
Grammar issue's. Thank's to /u/sylban for bringing them up.
New video link. Thanks to /u/Furzel for bringing up in modmail that the original video "is no longer available due to a copyright claim by WBTV".
Added the part about quotation marks.
Added the part about creativity.
Added the "Replies to responses" section.