The Official Authors' Hangout Winter Holidays 2017 Support Thread

It was going so well...

My Winter Holiday entry was being received reasonably until two or three 1-bombs hit it within an hour.

https://www.literotica.com/s/go-with-flow

Of course there were no comments to justify those votes. :(

Isn't that the way. Someone was busy bombing one of my other stories, three or four one stars within a few minutes, enough to take it down - I guess someone was having fun. Happy I made their morning.
 
It was going so well...

My Winter Holiday entry was being received reasonably until two or three 1-bombs hit it within an hour.

https://www.literotica.com/s/go-with-flow

Of course there were no comments to justify those votes. :(

I go through this every time I post a story. I know my stories aren't grammatically perfect, but I pour my heart into them. It just sucks that a few 1-stars can start your story out on the wrong footing and it is hard to recover afterwards before the story goes off of the new stories page.

I have had several stories start out in the high 3's and low 4's and over time they have risen. The ones that were in the 3's for the most part have risen to the 4.3 to 4.4 range, while the 4's have taken time, but finally gotten to the 4.5+ range.

People read stories based upon whether they are considered hot (4.5+). These are the first stories they read. So if your story gets bombed, then it isn't going to get the readers it otherwise would have, because before the numbers come back up, the story is off of the new story page and this is where most people search to find stories of interest to them.

I just wish more would be done about the bombing, because it is obvious when it happens. I have learned to live with it. It's just that people will give you a 1-star, because you didn't take the story in a direction they wanted. Is that fair? That is a fickle beast to contend with. Many times quality and crafting aren't taken into consideration. It is usually done by Anonymous or what surely seem to be fake accounts.

Oh Well! That's my rant. Good luck to all in their endeavors.
 
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Still getting nowhere fast. But, it's giving me something to do. So, clearing out the dead weight and starting again from a blank screen. Still the same story, but pretty sure I've got a little better plan for the beginning this time than the last eleven. We'll see.

And if ya haven't already done one, unwrap that gift you're hiding in your psyche for the rest of us who may or may not actually get our own done. Still plenty of time.
 
...My Winter Holiday entry was being received reasonably until two or three 1-bombs hit it within an hour...

'They' must think you a threat then. I've been left alone this time. Though no one needs to bomb me as I'm nowhere near troubling an H and have a lot of 3*s which won't be swept - no post-sweep bounce.

(Are 3*s the new 1* bombs for stories with low vote numbers? Or is my story really that 'meh'?)
 
Yes, the contest ratings soar (or are manipulated) so high that a 3 vote can deep six your story in terms of competition for placing. The trolls and other contestants undoubtedly have figured that out.
 
Yes, the contest ratings soar (or are manipulated) so high that a 3 vote can deep six your story in terms of competition for placing. The trolls and other contestants undoubtedly have figured that out.

Oh. There we go then. It's following the same patterns as the 1*-bombers used to, so should've known it. Disappointed that they have figured it out - I idly wondered/predicted a few years ago why they didn't use that tactic.

I knew something was up when my very first vote was a 2*. Previously, that would be a 1*.
 
Jeanne's Go With Flow has been posted less than 48 hours. It already has more votes than any of her other stories.

She's pleased to have had so many votes so fast, but not with the rating.
 
Jeanne's Go With Flow has been posted less than 48 hours. It already has more votes than any of her other stories.

She's pleased to have had so many votes so fast, but not with the rating.

I’m having the opposite experience. I’m not really getting any votes, good or bad. This often happens to me in EC; I’d have tried for another category, but the story just wouldn’t have fit.

Bummer. Plenty of reads, though.
 
Race you to the end. Last time I got mine in with 20 minutes to spare. Want to have a competition to see who can cut it closest?

Looks like I'll have to race you to the 2018 finish line. Work is keeping me too busy :/
 
I know contest stories have to be stand alone stories but is it allowable to have later stories with the same characters?
 
I know contest stories have to be stand alone stories but is it allowable to have later stories with the same characters?

I asked that for the last competition and the answer from everyone was yes, you can.
 
Yep, here come the dickheads. A story that sat at 4.57 after 31 votes is now at 4.38 after 42 votes. I got a few 1-bombs obviously.

Had someone post comment that the story was non-sensical and went on and on. The story is like 3 1/2 pages on here, like 24 in Word -- obvious 1-bomb. So I'm not supposed to develop the story? Have a plot?

Looked up the commenter and they basically had no background under the name. They had one liked story and that was it. No favorite authors, no biography, no stories, no content... Just like some of you have talked about.
 
Now down to 4.27 in the matter of moments I looked back -- two votes later.

Sometimes I think they come so fast and close together that it's a single troll just faking ip addresses and one starring away. I had four one stars in a couple of minutes last competition and a lot more that were really blatant. One of the bonuses of the competitions. You're not the only one and with stories in categories with low views and therefore votes, it's easy to manipulate ratings down under 4.5 early on. The only way round that is to go for categories with high views where the trolls are unable to exert an influence.
 
Yep, here come the dickheads. A story that sat at 4.57 after 31 votes is now at 4.38 after 42 votes. I got a few 1-bombs obviously.

Had someone post comment that the story was non-sensical and went on and on. The story is like 3 1/2 pages on here, like 24 in Word -- obvious 1-bomb. So I'm not supposed to develop the story? Have a plot?

Looked up the commenter and they basically had no background under the name. They had one liked story and that was it. No favorite authors, no biography, no stories, no content... Just like some of you have talked about.

Those could be 4's.
 
Those could be 4's.

4s don't drag your score down so fast. I can accept 3s and 4s, it is the 1-bombs in multiple fashion. No one is going to get a like 11 4s in a row.

We all know the routine.

4.5 can equal 5 5s and 5 4s (or) 8 5s, a 4, and a 1

Which do you think sucks more?

I think the second one sucks more, because of the pattern.

You don't legitimately go down from 4.57 after 31 votes to 4.27 after 44.
 
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You don't legitimately go down from 4.57 after 31 votes to 4.27 after 44.

That's an average rating of 3.55 in 13 votes. You don't have to get one-bombed for that to happen, but you probably did.

I'm a nerd. There are fifteen combinations of 13 votes that can drop your score from 4.57 to 4.27. There aren't more than two 1* votes in any of the combinations, and four of them need no 1* votes.

A combination of 1x1*, 2x2*, 3x3* 3x4* and 4x5* is reasonable.
 
That's an average rating of 3.55 in 13 votes. You don't have to get one-bombed for that to happen, but you probably did.

I'm a nerd. There are fifteen combinations of 13 votes that can drop your score from 4.57 to 4.27. There aren't more than two 1* votes in any of the combinations, and four of them need no 1* votes.

A combination of 1x1*, 2x2*, 3x3* 3x4* and 4x5* is reasonable.

You're a nerd? You should see my spreadsheet? ;):D

(No, seriously - I have a basic spreadsheet which helps calculate what votes have come in. Watching voting patterns interests me.)

As theorised earlier by me and confirmed by pilot*, it appears to be the 3*s which the trolls use now, as they're less likely to be removed in a sweep.

If you've really been 1-bombed, your bounce-back will be massive. One of mine got pulverised by 1-bombs and bounced back to place, before the trolls took it down again.

In fact, I think the 1* votes do you a favour. So, don't worry about them.



*or we're just producing mediocre stories and that the 3*s arrive in a rash is coincidence.
 
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