Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

From day 1 on the site, I have been a harsh critic of many aspects of Vocal. From their ridiculous and counter productive censorship policies, to their absurd 600 word count minimum for story publication rule, and most recently, their slowly backsliding commitment to publish all submitted stories within 24h of submission. This last issue had gotten so bad that two of my more recent stories had languished in submitted purgatory for 8 days prior to publication with zero communication from Vocal as to why. I have also in the past given fair credit when Vocal has shown some real guts in what they have chosen to publish, including material harshly critical of their own policies.

I find myself today in the unusual position of yet again having to tip my hat to Vocal for their handling of my complaint. Not only did they publish the article I wrote laying in to them for the problem, but overall story publication times have accelerated significantly in the past few weeks. All of the stories I have submitted have published same day, including some within minutes of submission. Hopefully, this acceleration in publication times has applied equally to all writers on the site and not just those that have complained. I have also in the past pointed out when Vocal impressed me with their handling of specific issues, including this story here. Today (or whenever this publishes, I am submitting it at approximately 6am EST on Sunday September 4 so you can check how well they did when you see exactly when this one publishes. Why I am up so absurdly early on a Sunday morning is another story, and not one worth publishing) Add one more story to the small pantheon of pro Vocal pieces in my vast catalog. Thank you Vocal for taking my complaint seriously and responding quickly and appropriately. Once again I tip my hat to you.

Bu you had to know it couldn't last as because of your absurd 600 word count minimum rule I am now forced to once again append word count filler material to a perfectly good <350 word story. Since I am bereft of ideas at the moment. Below find a copy paste of the Vocal publication policy taken from the FAQ document in the resources section of their website.

"How long will it take for my story to get published?

Our moderation team will always review your story, and either publish it or send it back to you for edits, within 24 hours. If it’s been over 24 hours and you don’t know where your story is, check your email, or log back in to Vocal. You’ll receive an email update as soon as your story has been reviewed, but you can also see the status of your story when you view the draft. You’ll see a bar at the top, either letting you know that the story’s been approved, or detailing the edits that you need to make."

And their word count policy below

"Word count

Vocal is a long-form publishing platform, which is why we require stories to be at least 600 words. Similarly, we require poems to be at least 100 words. We know there are plenty of amazing stories to be told that are less than 600 words —unfortunately, that content just doesn't align with our mission to foster engaged readership."

Engaging readers is a great idea. Driving writers and readers away with arbitrary rules does not foster engaged readership. It fosters resentment, anger, and a major opportunity lost for Vocal and its many writers. When it comes to the internet "engagement" is a very misunderstood word and the metrics used to assess it are misleading and inaccurate. Contrary to majority opinion, it is not about time spent staring at a given page, or even on a given website. It is about connecting with someone on a deeper level than they have been connected with by other similar or even dissimilar forms of media. Connecting is not about time at all, it is about impact, and it is about quality. Vocal admits in their policy that plenty of amazing (presumably high quality) stories are <600 words, but from that premise argues that content does not align with their mission to foster engaged readership. Setting aside the very weak logical argument (the premise really has very little to do with the conclusion), it is simply factually wrong. Vocal misunderstands engagement as many do and therefore its policy is counterproductive and frankly, stupid.