FAQs have been updated - why you should read them!

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

The FAQs have been updated. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/....

It's pretty clear from the questions asked that many participants either haven't read these or don't understand their significance. Here's an explanation.

There are 3 categories of information about any task.
1. The general SRC rules. These include things like the minimum page length, the childrens book rules, and so on. These rules CANNOT be changed by a task creator, so they are the first thing to look at.

2. Specifics in a particular task. These would include the particulars of the task (green cover, author initials in a particular word), as well as variations on the general SRC rules - for instance, the SRC requires that a book be at least 100 pages, with an exception for one 5 point task. A task creator cannot change this rule, by allowing 50 page books - however, the task creator can require a higher minimum.

3. Finally, default rules. What happens if something is not specified in the general rules or in a specific task? We simply cannot include every possible rule in every single task - so, the FAQs contain general default rules. These are the rules that apply if the task itself does not specify.

For example, how many books are required for a task? If there's nothing specified in a task, look at the FAQs - that tells you the general default rule. Or, if a task involves an author, what if a book has multiple authors? If the task doesn't specify, the general default rule is that an author task requires a single author book.

For the most part, these are not "rules" of the SRC, because they can be changed by a task creator. HOWEVER, these are the rules that will apply if there is nothing in the task.

So, if your issue isn't covered in the task itself or the basic SRC rules, look at the FAQs. That may well give you the answer. And if it does, there's no need to clutter up the help thread with "just in case" questions. If the task doesn't specify, the default rules are the ones that the mods will be using.