The Official Author's Hangout Valentine's Day 2013 Contest Support Thread

[DG Hear]

You really think the owners of this site are fixing these contests? For what purpose? What would they gain by doing so?

You're getting as goofy as the idiot.

Thanks Tx, I want to congradulate the other winners. I for one feel sorry for Ironiclaconic and others who were leading in the contest. I've been there quite a few times in the last seven+ years. It's a hard pill to swallow especially when you're so close.

I've always wondered why I've lost hundreds of votes but it does happen. I had four stories in this contest. All were over 4.00. I thought I had a chance at third place but didn't hold my breath after Scories and Lovecraft's posting. As I mentioned, been there before.

I have never met anyone on this site and only correspond with a few authors. If anyone was to fix a contest I can honestly say it wouldn't be for me. I like most on this site write because I like to express myself through my stories. Yes I was a winner in the Valentines Day contest last year and it was a non-erotic story. What's wrong with that?

I also wrote an incest and two loving wife's stories. Those that read my stories happen to like this one. I will not apologize for winning, I've done nothing wrong but submit my stories like the rest of you.

Well, thank you to those who congratulated the winners. I know I appreciate it and believe the others appreciate it also. Just had to say my piece and give my opinions.
With respect
DG Hear

 

[sr71plt]

Thanks Tx, I want to congradulate the other winners. I for one feel sorry for Ironiclaconic and others who were leading in the contest. I've been there quite a few times in the last seven+ years. It's a hard pill to swallow especially when you're so close.

I've always wondered why I've lost hundreds of votes but it does happen. I had four stories in this contest. All were over 4.00. I thought I had a chance at third place but didn't hold my breath after Scories and Lovecraft's posting. As I mentioned, been there before.

I have never met anyone on this site and only correspond with a few authors. If anyone was to fix a contest I can honestly say it wouldn't be for me. I like most on this site write because I like to express myself through my stories. Yes I was a winner in the Valentines Day contest last year and it was a non-erotic story. What's wrong with that?

I also wrote an incest and two loving wife's stories. Those that read my stories happen to like this one. I will not apologize for winning, I've done nothing wrong but submit my stories like the rest of you.

Well, thank you to those who congratulated the winners. I know I appreciate it and believe the others appreciate it also. Just had to say my piece and give my opinions.
With respect
DG Hear

It's your own fault for being a popular author here. I guess you shouldn't do that.

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

Congratulations to the winners.

Nice to see one of the old timers, Alex the Cat, back writing as capably as ever. And DG Hear of course, you know I'm a fan - good job.

As for the sweeps and the 'fix'...

Anyone who's been around a while knows how it goes. I dare say I've been affected by sweeps as badly as anyone in the past, I understand how IronicLaconic feels. I know I've lost many hundreds of votes in the sweeps, not sure how it happens, but admittedly it's usually to the stories that are high in the rankings. This may be the first contest where my stories (one of them) actually went UP after the sweeps.

Perhaps some out there believe I'm cheating (Although obviously not THIS contest.) Why else would I lose so many votes? (Almost 50% one time). I'm not, and I don't really care that much anymore. What's the old saying - a dozen times bitten, twice shy? And honestly, my stories do well enough, and I have enough favorites not to need to screw around with scores.

Not that I couldn't, how hard would it be to write a php or Ruby script that randomizes IP addresses and automates story vote submissions? Maybe a half-days effort at most. For a couple of hundred bucks, I could get someone on Elance or Guru.com to do it. If someone wants to screw with the system, there's not much you can do to stop them.

I have had correspondence with Laurel about this, and do not believe that Literotica in any way has a 'fix' in. The system's being screwed around with by someone, but it's not coming from on top, IMHO.

Not much to be done about it. I stopped tracking the scores on a daily basis a while ago, and don't put much hope into it when I find one of my stories leading the pack for a while. Contests are great for the exposure, and for finding readers who might not normally read your genre. Enjoy the benefits of entering a contest, and don't sweat the results.

My $.02

 

[sr71plt]

Huh? A fix would be dishonest. Of course it would be a bad idea.

If it was done by Laurel, who's the only one who sees them all, it would be more her judgment than a "fix," and that would be just fine with me.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

i always fare pretty well out of sweeps - it must be my LW 'fans' who 1 bomb my stuff that get swept

congrats to the winners ... you bastards! (joke)

 

[Ironiclaconic]

If it was done by Laurel, who's the only one who sees them all, it would be more her judgment than a "fix," and that would be just fine with me.

If that were the announced rules, it would be fine. It would also be a very different contest, as everyone wrote stories to satisfy Laurel's unquenchable lust for MMF-BDSM-foot fetish-werewolf porn.

 

[sr71plt]

If that were the announced rules, it would be fine. It would also be a very different contest, as everyone wrote stories to satisfy Laurel's unquenchable lust for MMF-BDSM-foot fetish-werewolf porn.

Actually anything Laurel wants to do here is just fine. It's her site and her money.

 

[glynndah]

A congratulatory for the winners ~ and all who entered ~ from the good little witch.

 

[scouries]

First Place ($150 Cash Prize Winner): Sci Fi
Stupid Cupid by stubborn_dreamer

Second Place ($100 Cash Prize Winner): Non Erotic
The Senior Center by DG Hear

Third Place ($75 Cash Prize Winner): Lesbo
Late Valentine by Alex the Cat

I must say I always get a chuckle when the QUEEN announces her supposed “people choice” winners. Another least read Sci Fi story was the most popular story in the contest…

And what’s with the doc? Did lovergirl say he had three straight valentines day non erotic winners in a row? That no one reads. Okay the doc is a good guy but who does he think he is – darkboy? Which reminds us that Earth Day is upon us and another “least read” woodsy story is about to win for the fourth straight year…

And where did this lesbo story come from? It was way behind …

So again the most popular categories on the site are shut out!

Thank god for A.I.R.!!!! At least you get some human heterosexual fucking from their winners...​

 

[sr71plt]

I think it's indicative of taking the contests too seriously to even know who won a run of three contests.

Fun to see LC and Scouries showing as twins again.

 

[carlieplum]

Congrats to the winners! Enjoy your prizes. (I recommend a trip to the local liquor store, but that's just me.)

I looked at my views before I entered and after and got a lot of traffic on all of my stories, so I'm happy with that.

I am not in it for Earth Day, I don't think. The one idea I have would be disqualified as not in the spirit of the contest, but who knows when the muses will strike..

 

[TxRad]

Yes scouries, your only category was shut out. The most number of votes don't win contests, the highest score does. What is so hard for you to understand about that concept?

Poor scouries, he doesn't have a clue.

 

[OctavianEarth]

Congrats to the winners & thanks again to sun for working hard on those stats.

SSS, you did a wonderful job posting the results as often and as detailed as you did. This was my first contest and everyone involved has done A great job bringing a huge amount of talent to the attention of countless readers. Congratulations to the winners!

 

[TinyBeth]

Just poking my head in to say congrats to the winners. Very well done.

I was blown away by the feedback I got on my story. It made me very proud I took the time to write it.

Now back to my hermit cave.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

SSS, you did a wonderful job posting the results as often and as detailed as you did.

Thanks! I'll check the scores again tomorrow, the sweeps should have filtered through to the toplists by then.

I think the leaderboard is helpful to see, even if it doesn't exactly agree with the winners. You can get a feel for how other stories placed, and everyone gets to see (roughly) how well they did. Plus the "votes order" and "views per vote" order gives the stories a different ranking.

A low "views per vote" score, for example, shows that a lot of people who read the story, voted for it. You could take that as an affirmation that the story stirred interest. Of course you don't know if they voted high or low, but the overall score would indicate that.

 

[Darkniciad]

Congratulatios to the winners ( and to everyone who entered, because everybody wins from the added exposure )

SSS, the after contest sweep is a mixed bag. Most stories will have a decent record of the sweeps, and final scores will be fairly accurate. The three winners will probably have enough new votes coming in to throw off every stat, even in such a short period of time. Late entries from the last couple of days are also likely to be inaccurate on sweeps you can pick up.

My 10-14 hour shifts continue, so I didn't even get to read any this time out - let alone write.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

I agree, I won't be subscribing to any conspiracy theories.

At the cut-off point, the forum owners have access to the current (up to date) scores, and make their decisions based on that.

As for the sweeps, personally I wouldn't like to try to write a "duplicate vote detector" that is 100% accurate, it almost certainly couldn't be done.

It's a pity it is necessary. No doubt some people would vote twice purely by accident (eg. if they change PCs), but for the others who orchestrate campaigns to rig the voting, I have just one word for you: "shame on you".

 

[ScouriesWorld]

SSS, the after contest sweep is a mixed bag.

Enough already! Now he and his Aussie ALT are having a public posting conversation.

Why don't you get back to writing the latest chapter/serial/run on/continuation of your awarrd winning "woodsy" saga and leave us alone...

 

[TxRad]

Scouries, you are an idiot. SSS and Dark are two different people. Live with it.

Poor delusional scouries.

 

[scouries]

I have to admit that Jacqui and I were surprised by the third place winner. Some unknown writes a last minute entry and even writing in that category and entering at the last minute only had a so-so score.

Then bingo - the sweeps come along and she jumps over all sorts of people. Even the guy who was .17 ahead of her the night before. What gives we asked ourselves. So this morning I investigated.

Guess what? This babe hasn't submitted a story to the site in some 7 years! But, and this is a biig but, surprise, surprise the QUEEN loves her stories. So much so in fact that she awarded her TWO E's way back when. She was one of LAURELS pets in those days.

And guess who's beenn trying to get her to submit some new stories? Yes you guessed correctly! And what do you think the QUEEN used as an inducement to get her favorite author back? Right again!

Was the result fixed? Well, when there is no transparancy to the voting, and when the person in charge of the sweeps just happens to love the work of one of the submitters, and when that entrants score suddenly and inexplicably spikes ...Well boys and girls. it doesn't take a genius..​

ALEX THE CAT'S SUBMISSIONS

A Chance Affair (4.76) Lesbian Sex 11/13/04
A Riverboat Encounter (4.75) Lesbian Sex 10/24/06 E
An Empath's Detective (4.77) Lesbian Sex 12/10/04
Apartment for Rent (4.73) Lesbian Sex 09/09/04
Bloodline (4.83) NonHuman 09/30/04
But Now One Soul (4.80) Lesbian Sex 06/11/03
Cowboy Girls (4.77) Lesbian Sex 01/12/05
I Will Come For You (4.76) Lesbian Sex 01/22/05
Late Valentine (4.82) Lesbian Sex 13/06/1306
Misgivings (4.76) Lesbian Sex 01/08/05
Shelter in the Storm (4.78) Lesbian Sex 07/07/03
The Unforgettable Flight (4.61) Lesbian Sex 01/31/05
Train Ride (4.46) Lesbian Sex 09/09/04
Two Halves, One Soul (4.79) Lesbian Sex 04/16/03 E

 

[TxRad]

Scouries, maybe you should read some of the stories you are always putting down. That way you would actually have an idea what you are talking about.

Why don't you try congratulating the winners and forgetting your vendetta against Lit and everyone here.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

I've been offline for a couple days, was able to peek in yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post my congratulations to the winners.

So:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Congrats to the winners.

Personally, I ended with my best contest score to date for a 13th place score; 20th in votes; only three votes swept; and in view per votes, my story placed a remarkable 61st.

Perhaps someone can help me understand the final of Sun's fine charts. If it's votes divided by views, than how can anyone have more than 100? People can't vote without viewing, right? According to Sun's charts, I had 392 votes with 21,633 views - which means to me, 1.81% of viewers, voted.

I ended with being 32nd, slightly below the average total number of votes of 23,145.

I'm not complaining about my score, just trying to understand the math is all. I feel good finishing in the top 25% and nearly breaking into the top 10.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

There is a point I think should be emphasized. I think a fix is very unlikely on its own merits but what makes it an even less likely explanation is the pattern of votes I saw. I definitely noted vote spikes, where I would have three votes in twelve hours and then suddenly get 20 votes by the next refresh an hour later. I figured at the time that maybe a sewing circle was reading my story over lunch together, but with 350 votes swept from my story it seems far more likely that it was a bot or someone trying to give themselves carpal tunnel by working their mouse clicks.

No idea why they chose to focus on me. I do have enemies, but the few who know I write smut have already been killed. (Except maybe Colonel Zorloff. I never did see a body, because the Corsican hit squad swore my oldest nemesis had fallen into the caldera at Mt. Etna after the attack on his laboratory. Hmmm.)

 

[JagFarlane]

Congrats to all the winners!

This was my first contest so just glad to get the first one done with and I can't complain about the score I got. Sweep wise that final one bumped me up about 0.15 pts.

On to the next one!