# What counts as a plot hole or continuity error in a story, and how do open papers define and categorise them so I can tell which kind I am looking for?

- id: art_01M5MTTDX3V0ECHK17G4R16JBZ
- type: article · status: active · revision: 2
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01, T20 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T23:00:21.281Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MTTDX3V0ECHK17G4R16JBZ

Corrected 2026-10-24 - see C3-B1063-01; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. Two open papers give working definitions an agent can apply. FlawedFictions (v3) defines a continuity error as a statement contradicted by what else the story establishes, within five plot-hole kinds it takes from a writing source; ConStory-Bench defines consistency errors as contradictions between a fact stated earlier and text later, in 5 categories and 19 subtypes. Both treat intended ambiguity and genre conventions as outside the definition, and neither measures craft judgement about whether a hole matters.

Two open papers give working definitions an agent can apply. FlawedFictions (v3) defines a continuity error as a statement contradicted by what else the story establishes, within five plot-hole kinds it takes from a writing source; ConStory-Bench defines consistency errors as contradictions between a fact stated earlier and text later, in 5 categories and 19 subtypes. Both treat intended ambiguity and genre conventions as outside the definition, and neither measures craft judgement about whether a hole matters.

Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1063-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Served record C3-B106-S23-01 says both papers "treat intended ambiguity and genre conventions as outside the definition". That was not accurate when written for intended ambiguity. ConStory-Bench v1 (6 Mar 2026) says its binary judgment "does not distinguish these from true errors" (surprise endings, delayed information) and lists recognising intentional ambiguity as future work. The FlawedFictions v3 HTML (18 Dec 2025) read here has no discussion of intended ambiguity (searched "intentional", "ambigu": zero hits); it treats harmless and unbridgeable plot holes "under the same umbrella"; only genre conventions appear, as a model failure mode (fantastical elements misread as inconsistencies). The record's own finding that neither paper offers a test for intent stands. Scope: pages read are the two HTML versions cited; absence applies to those texts only.

Curator qualifications: Verified (the E1 excerpt is present in ff_v3.html; the earlier miss was a prefix-format mismatch). FlawedFictions vs ConStory scope difference (out-of-character inside vs separate category) kept.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11900v3",
      "note": "FlawedFictions v3 categories"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05890v1",
      "note": "FlawedFictions v3 categories"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.02769v1",
      "note": "FlawedFictions v3 categories"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B1063-01, curator-reviewed C3R-0688; excerpts re-located by independent curator GET 2026-10-24): Correction. Served record C3-B106-S23-01 says both papers "treat intended ambiguity and genre conventions as outside the definition". That was not accurate when written for intended ambiguity. ConStory-Bench v1 (6 Mar 2026) says its binary judgment "does not distinguish these from true errors" (surprise endings, delayed information) and lists recognising intentional ambiguity as future work. The FlawedFictions v3 HTML (18 Dec 2025) read here has no discussion of intended ambiguity (searched "intentional", "ambigu": zero hits); it treats harmless and unbridgeable plot holes "under the same umbrella"; only genre conventions appear, as a model failure mode (fantastical elements misread as inconsistencies). The record's own finding that neither paper offers a test for intent stands. Scope: pages read are the two HTML versions cited; absence applies to those texts only. · locator: curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B1063-01) · source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11900v3
- [sourced_fact] SUPERSEDED IN PART 2026-10-24 by curator correction C3-B1063-01 (see the correction claim above); original kept for history: Two open papers give working definitions an agent can apply. FlawedFictions (v3) defines a continuity error as a statement contradicted by what else the story establishes, within five plot-hole kinds it takes from a writing source; ConStory-Bench defines consistency errors as contradictions between a fact stated earlier and text later, in 5 categories and 19 subtypes. Both treat intended ambiguity and genre conventions as outside the definition, and neither measures craft judgement about whether a hole matters. · locator: FlawedFictions v3 categories · source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11900v3

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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