Disappointing

rjordan said:

Thanks. The main category you write for answers why I haven't read them in the past. I also tend to skip the GM and BDSM aisles. I'll try the two Humor stories, though.rj

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If you will allow me to make recommendations, I would suggest What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted https://www.literotica.com/s/what-becomes-of-the-broken-hearted-1 Not Your Typical Girl https://www.literotica.com/s/not-your-typical-girl and He Who Laughs Last https://www.literotica.com/s/he-who-laughs-last as these are three non-incest stories that I think are pretty well-written.

Long time first time. I have been lurking for years and decided to sign up recently. I may as well make this my first post. I saw the most ridiculous thing recently. A story I recently read was set in a Canadian farmhouse and included sex with a ghost. One of the comments took issue with the protagonists's job. He said that it was not likely that she would hold that position with the degree she held. Surprised that he did not cry foul that the 24 year old on the Canadian plains was still a virgin. No believeability issues with the ghost sharing her body though.

Bykerider said:

Long time first time. I have been lurking for years and decided to sign up recently. I may as well make this my first post. I saw the most ridiculous thing recently. A story I recently read was set in a Canadian farmhouse and included sex with a ghost. One of the comments took issue with the protagonists's job. He said that it was not likely that she would hold that position with the degree she held. Surprised that he did not cry foul that the 24 year old on the Canadian plains was still a virgin. No believeability issues with the ghost sharing her body though.

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I don't know what the story was, or who the author was, but if a reader commented on my story that way, then I might hurt myself with the eye rolling and head pounding.

But what can you do? Laugh about it. It's the best thing.

I wonder if we aren't all reacting like Skinner's pigeons in a random-interval reward experiment. There is no consistency or logic in the way stories are awarded 5-star ratings, and there is even less when the one-bombs and two-pedoes are leveled on our stories. We are trying to make sense of events outside our control, where sense may not apply at all.
Some guy in Denver had a shitty day at work, and my latest offering in I/T just had a phrase in it that got on his nerves. He dropped a 1-bomb, had a beer, dropped another 1-bomb and called it a night. I sit at my desk and watch my story drop over the course of the evening and wonder if I should have added more detail when I described the car the characters were driving while mommy gave that blowjob.

LexxRuthless said:

I sit at my desk and watch my story drop over the course of the evening and wonder if I should have added more detail when I described the car the characters were driving while mommy gave that blowjob.

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Of course more details on the car! I’m part way thru a LW story and the heroine has recently bought an old Ford Mustang and the first few thousand words are heavily about Mustang mods and her driving... and her husband totally panicked over her insane driving. Mustang guys are really helpful I’ve found out...

LexxRuthless said:

I wonder if we aren't all reacting like Skinner's pigeons in a random-interval reward experiment. There is no consistency or logic in the way stories are awarded 5-star ratings, and there is even less when the one-bombs and two-pedoes are leveled on our stories. We are trying to make sense of events outside our control, where sense may not apply at all.

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This is the only rational approach. Enjoy the absurdity and chaos that is LIT voting. And/or pander shamelessly to gain Red-H's. But don't expect any black-box theories to work, out here on the knife-edge of sanity.

It would be nice if there were a way to entice all readers to vote, I think this would help ratings a lot. Example: one of my stories teeters in and out of the “hot” status...it has 11.9k views. Of that, 97 votes.

I’m sure category has a lot to do with it; I’ve posted in a few. From what I can tell BDSM is a very popular category but I think more so for sexual gratification than plot, so a lot of views and few votes. Nonhuman/sci if fantasy however appears to attract those looking for a story over sex, so more votes but less views. (Actually got blasted by pissed readers because they were upset about sex scenes and wanted more of a plot development in nonhuman)

AfterDusk said:

It would be nice if there were a way to entice all readers to vote, I think this would help ratings a lot. Example: one of my stories teeters in and out of the “hot” status...it has 11.9k views. Of that, 97 votes.

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That's close enough to the magic ratio 1 vote per 100 views, which is my "all story" average across the various categories I write in, and a common ratio seen by many others. That's my gauge - any better ratio than that I see as a plus: "a good story."

Yes, some categories are more generous than others - Sci-Fi & Fantasy, give them a story and you'll be rewarded, but views are a quantum lower than most other categories.

I've learned to judge story responses not against each other, but category by category. The differences are fascinating, but I can't work out the various factors.