The "Hot" rating

[RejectReality]

It might, but it doesn't, and I'm sure they wouldn't change it no matter what writers might want. I'd prefer some sort of three-voting system, Creativity - Technical Merit - Erotic Temperature. But that ain't gonna happen.

I'd love to see 4.5, 4.5, 4.5 on all three scores. I don't know how you determine what constitutes a Hot rating.

Tried on another site and eventually done away with after a few years because nobody actually used it. Few people bothered, and most of those who did voted a straight score across the three facets.

When you can't get more than 1 in 100 viewers to vote at all, there's not much hope of them going an extra two miles to break down the score into facets. It just ends up being a waste of coding time, server tics, and database space.

I still think slam-dunking the H into the dustbin of history with extreme prejudice is the best thing that could happen around here.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, I like seeing them on my control panel. It gives me a boost sometimes. I know it has no real meaning, still it's a nice goal to have.

 

[EmilyMiller]

But what does the W in the blue box mean? she asked unabashedly snicker snicker...

I’d trade all my thirty plus Hs for just one W.

Em

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I’d trade all my thirty plus Hs for just one W.

Em

Talk to @onehitwanda , she's got plenty. Maybe she'll share one with you.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Talk to @onehitwanda , she's got plenty. Maybe she'll share one with you.

I want one of my own, my own precious.

Em

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I want one of my own, my own precious.

Em

Not to rub it in, ahem, ahem, but they do feel quite nice...

 

[EmilyMiller]

Not to rub it in, ahem, ahem, but they do feel quite nice...

<jealous>

 

[MillieDynamite]

Okay, well, that was uncalled for, with some of us having never caught a whiff of the Sweet Smell of Success. Oh, that didn't have a good ending.

Not to rub it in, ahem, ahem, but they do feel quite nice...

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Okay, well, that was uncalled for, with some of us having never caught a whiff of the Sweet Smell of Success. Oh, that didn't have a good ending.

Yeah, lack of context sucks. Pretty sure Em took it as the friendly jab is was intended to be. If not, she'll let me know.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Mine was a joke as well!!! I forgot my own rule and didn't put any of my usual indicators for the context!

Yeah, lack of context sucks. Pretty sure Em took it as the friendly jab is was intended to be. If not, she'll let me know.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Mine was a joke as well!!! I forgot my own rule and didn't put any of my usual indicators for the context!

I like the dancing banana. That up and down movement has so much potential. LOL

 

[Devilsoctane]

hot means an average rating of 4.5 or more. is the number of times your story has been favourited. is the total number of views (or times something has accessed that story). is your average star rating / your total number of "starrings" i.e. your first story is averaging 4.67 out of 198 ratings. The speech bubble is the number of comments that have been left, and the final one is pancakes, obviously.

Thank you

 

[Gamblnluck]

'd love to see 4.5, 4.5, 4.5 on all three scores. I don't know how you determine what constitutes a Hot rating.

Exactly. The story may not be hot at all. Just loved.

 

[Gamblnluck]

Some of the score depend so much on category. To me in some cases it is like a male trans athlete suddenly breaking a record and coming in in first place in a female sport.
It is not validation, or lack thereof, you wrote a great story. It might be a great story plotwise that engages the audience but otherwise poor in terms of expression. (Some authors think you should be wordy like Dickens. Even as a kid in school, I thought he had great stories but the way he wrote them sucked.) That happened often with the 'classics'.

 

[RoturierFestif]

One of the neat things I love about Literotica is the instantaneous feedback it gives you on how your stories are doing. I mean, I would still have written these, even if there were no feedback. And I feel that, as an author, I should be above all the non-creative minutia and trivia of the world. And just focus on the writing.

But as a human being, I have to say: I love the "Hot" rating! I just get a kick out of seeing it show up next to one of my stories! It seems like it's never the same, twice, that little red "Hot" rating seems to rise and fall like the tide.

I guess you could sum this up as: I'm having a blast, writing for the fans of Literotica! Thank you, all!

How does a story receive a coveted 'Hot' rating? What determines this? Many thanks

 

[alohadave]

How does a story receive a coveted 'Hot' rating? What determines this? Many thanks

At least 10 votes with an average score of 4.5.

 

[Zach_lost_in_Aus]

My theory is that the best stories rate between 4.0 and 4.49. The very best in the rarified realm of between 4.40 and 4.49. I could be wrong of course as there are many exceptions to this theory.

 

[HordHolm]

I still think slam-dunking the H into the dustbin of history with extreme prejudice is the best thing that could happen around here.

With you on that.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Maybe if scores were "weighted" in some fashion they would hold more meaning for everyone.

A rating by an anonymous reader would hold less value than a rating by a named reader, which would hold less value than a rating by another writer on this site?

I also question whether the red H should be equated to the popularity of a story. I still have that outlier story with a score of 4.84, with 505 votes on 807 views. It's popular with those that read it, but certainly not popular among readers in general.

 

[StillStunned]

Maybe if scores were "weighted" in some fashion they would hold more meaning for everyone.

A rating by an anonymous reader would hold less value than a rating by a named reader, which would hold less value than a rating by another writer on this site?

That brings along a whole raft of other problems. Anonymous readers would vote multiple times, just to have the same impact. And why would a writer's opinion carry more weight than a reader's? We write for ourselves and our readers, surely, not to impress other writers? Otherwise you'd have to set up a separate category of "look at me being artsy" stories.

I also question whether the red H should be equated to the popularity of a story. I still have that outlier story with a score of 4.84, with 505 votes on 807 views. It's popular with those that read it, but certainly not popular among readers in general.

View attachment 2298326

When I first noticed the red H, back in my anonymous reading days, I thought it was a measure of how many people were reading it. You know, a "trending" thing (before trending was in fact a thing). Or perhaps it meant "hot" in the sense of "sexy".

Now, I have an I/T story rated 4.53 from 1.8k votes from just under 100k views. I also have a SF/F story that just reached 1k views, and is rated 4.85 from 13 votes. Which is hotter? (Well, personally I think the SF/F story is at least hotter in the sense of sexier.)

 

[BobbyBrandt]

That brings along a whole raft of other problems. Anonymous readers would vote multiple times, just to have the same impact. And why would a writer's opinion carry more weight than a reader's? We write for ourselves and our readers, surely, not to impress other writers? Otherwise you'd have to set up a separate category of "look at me being artsy" stories.

The site admins could allow anonymous readers to vote all they wanted. It could be transparent to them that their votes didn't count for much, if anything at all. They don't see an immediate effect of votes currently so how would they know that their one-bomb wasn't being counted or was being countered by more five votes by others?

The assumption would be that a rating by another writer would consider technical aspects of the story much more so than the typical reader would. I recognize that there are many writers here who couldn't give a zebra's behind about the literary quality of their works, but there are others who really are attempting to improve their skills and knowledge. Distinguishing ratings and constructive feedback from fellow writers should help them to do this.

I have never been a proponent of designing things to appease the "least common denominator" in any environment. That philosophy keeps everyone else at lower levels unfairly.

 

[SimonDoom]

The site admins could allow anonymous readers to vote all they wanted. It could be transparent to them that their votes didn't count for much, if anything at all. They don't see an immediate effect of votes currently so how would they know that their one-bomb wasn't being counted or was being countered by more five votes by others?

The assumption would be that a rating by another writer would consider technical aspects of the story much more so than the typical reader would. I recognize that there are many writers here who couldn't give a zebra's behind about the literary quality of their works, but there are others who really are attempting to improve their skills and knowledge. Distinguishing ratings and constructive feedback from fellow writers should help them to do this.

I have never been a proponent of designing things to appease the "least common denominator" in any environment. That philosophy keeps everyone else at lower levels unfairly.

I don't think the assumptions are sound. There are plenty of anonymous readers whose opinions are every bit as sound as those of writers. This would just be an arbitrary way of distinguishing between different readers. Also, it would be less accurate. People must keep in mind the purpose of a rating system is TO CONVEY INFORMATION TO OTHER READERS, not to reward authors. This is best served by making the rating system as democratic, egalitarian, and open to all as possible.

 

[alohadave]

People barely vote now. Every time you throw an obstacle in their way, the fewer people will vote.

All these schemes for weighting votes are silly. Why would my votes become worth more simply by using a named account? And for being an author here?

It's an added complication that will result in even more endless discussion about how voting works, how to get more authors to vote, how to write so that authors vote on your stories, etc.

 

[RejectReality]

People barely vote now. Every time you throw an obstacle in their way, the fewer people will vote.

All these schemes for weighting votes are silly. Why would my votes become worth more simply by using a named account? And for being an author here?

It's an added complication that will result in even more endless discussion about how voting works, how to get more authors to vote, how to write so that authors vote on your stories, etc.

And if there's more math involved than averaging the score you're going have authors screaming bloody murder as well. Math is witchcraft to many people when it doesn't appear to be favoring them.

 

[StillStunned]

And once you start giving authors' ratings more weight, sooner or later it will be "but this author only has one story, and I have fifty!" or "but this author never publishes anything in this category so their opinion doesn't count."