Top lists being flooded out

[Bowoodstock]

This is an issue I've noticed as of late, not really to do with the new layout but rather, something that has happened due to the age of the website.

Many of the top list categories are flooded out with multiple chapters of the same story. There are some stories with chapters in the triple digits that due to their long run time and strong userbase, have made it so that to even make it into the top 250 (5th page) of a genre, stories have to get better than a 4.9 in ratings.

That these authors are successful isn't a problem, as they certainly deserve the recognition for their work. The problem is that it's making it harder for newer authors to find their audience (If someone manages to get a 4.8 for example, that should be recognition worthy, but it can't break into the top), and it's also making it more difficult for readers to find great stories, as instead of getting 250 of the best stories from each category, you're instead getting maybe a fraction of that since some stories are taking up maybe 50 of those slots with multiple chapters of the same story.

Would it be possible to have a "top list" of series for each genre, based on the highest rating attained for a chapter within that story series? This way not only would new authors be able to break into the top list and gain recognition, it would also be possible for readers to expand their view of what the site has to offer.

 

[Thavipah]

Completely agree with this. I've wanted the website to do something about flooding for years now, especially seeing as there are authors who are abusing the site's limitations.

The worst offenders are those who split their stories up into tiny chapters in the most obnoxious manner.

For instance, the #1 story in the Mind Control all-time list is 'AMA - The Boyfriend Ch. 261-270' by @BreakTheBar, who is one of the worst offenders on the whole site.

All I ever do when I encounter flooding like that is deduct two stars from any rating. I find it more annoying as it's the newer writers who tend to produce better material, but get lost in the shuffle behind flooders.

 

[RejectReality]

That's one of the changes that's coming with the site revamp eventually. Multi-part stories will be represented by a single entry in the toplists with the highest rated chapter as the placement. It will open up some huge swaths of real-estate in some categories for other authors to see some time in the sun.

 

[alohadave]

That's one of the changes that's coming with the site revamp eventually. Multi-part stories will be represented by a single entry in the toplists with the highest rated chapter as the placement. It will open up some huge swaths of real-estate in some categories for other authors to see some time in the sun.

Will they be treated as a single story that are added to when new chapters are posted? Is there somewhere that talks about the proposed features of the revamp?

 

[RejectReality]

Will they be treated as a single story that are added to when new chapters are posted? Is there somewhere that talks about the proposed features of the revamp?

Whenever the toplist refreshes ( about every 24 hours ) if a new chapter has been added, it will check for the top score and place accordingly. This is only talking about the toplists.

Search I believe is supposed to display only a single entry as well. Beyond that, I don't remember any specifics about how multi-part stories will be handled elsewhere. There's no central location for the update information. It's all over the place.

 

[BreakTheBar]

Many of the top list categories are flooded out with multiple chapters of the same story. There are some stories with chapters in the triple digits that due to their long run time and strong userbase, have made it so that to even make it into the top 250 (5th page) of a genre, stories have to get better than a 4.9 in ratings.

That these authors are successful isn't a problem, as they certainly deserve the recognition for their work. The problem is that it's making it harder for newer authors to find their audience (If someone manages to get a 4.8 for example, that should be recognition worthy, but it can't break into the top), and it's also making it more difficult for readers to find great stories, as instead of getting 250 of the best stories from each category, you're instead getting maybe a fraction of that since some stories are taking up maybe 50 of those slots with multiple chapters of the same story.

The Top Lists on the site have been wonky for a long time. I've had my own questions about them as well - like why is the 'All Time' list different from the Category page vs. clicking through to the list? The lists are also feel 'untrue' to me as a long time reader and writer because over time really great stories have fallen off because of the Rating Sweeps, so legitimate votes at either end of the spectrum get wiped out and drag down stories overtime as a bell curve.

I, for one, absolutely look forward to the changes that are supposed to be coming down the pipeline that will amalgamate Series into single points on the list.

BUT, I will also say, just because someone gets a 4.8, or whatever you want to set the number at, doesn't mean they should necessarily have a shot at the All Time Top List for their category if it's a stacked category. Weekly and Monthly Top Lists are there to fulfill that purpose (if they are working appropriately), they just need to be more prominently available for readers to browse.

Completely agree with this. I've wanted the website to do something about flooding for years now, especially seeing as there are authors who are abusing the site's limitations.

The worst offenders are those who split their stories up into tiny chapters in the most obnoxious manner.

For instance, the #1 story in the Mind Control all-time list is 'AMA - The Boyfriend Ch. 261-270' by @BreakTheBar, who is one of the worst offenders on the whole site.

All I ever do when I encounter flooding like that is deduct two stars from any rating. I find it more annoying as it's the newer writers who tend to produce better material, but get lost in the shuffle behind flooders.

This is, honestly, hilarious to me because I'm having flashbacks to 2016 when I complained that the New Releases section in some categories were being swamped by 2x day releases from one or two authors pushing out 1-2k word chapters.

I bundle that series into 11-13k word releases expressly to NOT swamp Lit with releases, and to make it easier for readers. To be clear, I could have titled the linked release as 'Chapter 26' instead, and the series has been getting releases for 16 months (so that's averaging about 19.5k words a month). And I pretty much get 'write more, faster' comments all the time, on all my ongoing stories.

What about what I do is 'abusing the site's limitations?' I categorize my releases appropriately if a series moves between themes. I release reasonably sized chapters that are full of content. Are you mad that I'm a prolific writer and can juggle multiple stories at a time? Do you think I should throttle my releases so that people need to wait even longer? If that's the case, what word count is appropriate to release in one go?

I love new writers who bring quality writing and creativity to the table, both with plot and with great smut. Short and long form storytelling take different skills, and I appreciate both. If you think my work being highly voted and reaching multiple top lists is 'flooding,' I don't know what to tell you. I write longform stories that I like, other people like them too, and I don't do anything to manipulate any systems. That's all I got.

 

[Bowoodstock]

4.8 is incredibly hard to get, but that number is irrelevant. I mean, we get an "H" flag if we're above 4.5. I'm just arguing that if it's one story, then the one story should be evaluated on the merrits of its own longform, rather than just each individual chapter. To give a better example; People evaluate "To kill a mockingbird" as it's whole, not by chapter. You don't see multiple chapters from said novel listed on the ranks of "greatest novels ever written", you just see the title of the whole work. I just think that the top lists of all time should be treated as such.

 

[BreakTheBar]

4.8 is incredibly hard to get, but that number is irrelevant. I mean, we get an "H" flag if we're above 4.5. I'm just arguing that if it's one story, then the one story should be evaluated on the merrits of its own longform, rather than just each individual chapter. To give a better example; People evaluate "To kill a mockingbird" as it's whole, not by chapter. You don't see multiple chapters from said novel listed on the ranks of "greatest novels ever written", you just see the title of the whole work. I just think that the top lists of all time should be treated as such.

No, I understood that part just fine, and agree that the eventual change to Series counting as one point on the All Time Top Lists makes sense. BUT, that doesn't mean Weekly/Monthly lists shouldn't include new chapters on them, or that new chapters should get ignored in terms of other awards. Again, short and longform stories take different skills. At the moment the only place I see SOME issue is in the All Time Top Lists, but I don't want to see a pendulum swing all the way in the other direction where long form content gets the shaft because of trying to fix non-issues for short form.

 

[Bowoodstock]

No, I understood that part just fine, and agree that the eventual change to Series counting as one point on the All Time Top Lists makes sense. BUT, that doesn't mean Weekly/Monthly lists shouldn't include new chapters on them, or that new chapters should get ignored in terms of other awards. Again, short and longform stories take different skills. At the moment the only place I see SOME issue is in the All Time Top Lists, but I don't want to see a pendulum swing all the way in the other direction where long form content gets the shaft because of trying to fix non-issues for short form.

I could agree with that. I think chapters would belong in the weekly/monthly. But top list should look at writing pieces as a whole, whether full chapter or single work.