Sudden Ratings Dip

[magnetarhanggliding]

@Gortmundy Updated his profile this morning, stating that his stories had suddenly taken a ratings dip. I was curious and took a look at my own stories. I don't keep a log of where each story is at ratings wise, but I have a general idea. It appears some of my stories also took a sudden dip as well.

This is not a big deal to me, but just curious if others have seen something similar happen?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

@Gortmundy Updated his profile this morning, stating that his stories had suddenly taken a ratings dip. I was curious and took a look at my own stories. I don't keep a log of where each story is at ratings wise, but I have a general idea. It appears some of my stories also took a sudden dip as well.

This is not a big deal to me, but just curious if others have seen something similar happen?

Your user title 'virgin' is accurate. Well not anymore. You've been downvoted. You popped your cherry. Welcome top the club.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

It doesn't take much to make a noticeable difference.
If you've got a story at 4.8 with 50 votes, three 4's will drop it to a 4.75.
There have been instances where entire categories seem to have been 'adjusted' I know T/CD was, and have heard Lesbian, and one or two other saw the same fate.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

Your user title 'virgin' is accurate. Well not anymore. You've been downvoted. You popped your cherry. Welcome top the club.

LOL! Yes, I still feel very new here. I had a feeling this was the case though. I guess it's good to know I have company.

 

[StillStunned]

There could be a number of causes.

The first is if the site is conducting a sweep. They get rid of any votes that seem suspicious. Mostly this will be 1s dropped by trolls, but high votes will also be swept if the site considers them iffy. That said, there doesn't seem to be a sweep going on just yet. The next time will likely be shortly before the Valentine's Day contest winners are announced.

Another possibility is if you've picked up a troll. Either someone you've annoyed on the forums, or a reader who's taken offence to one or more of your stories, and is letting their feelings show. Or it's because you've entered a story in the Valentine's Day contest, and another author is feeling threatened. They'll bomb not just your entry, but all your stories. And it will happen day after day. If you're lucky, some or all of these will be swept at some point.

A third possibility, and one that seems to have happened a few times, is when trolls bomb the top lists in a specific category. I think Trans/Crossdressers, Lesbian and Gay Male have all been hit recently. Again, hopefully these will be swept.

Lastly, if your stories breach the top list for a particular category, expect it to be bombed out of sight. In Exhibitionist & Voyeur, for example, the threshold is at 4.8 from at least a hundred votes. You'll get a few bombs dropped on it over the course of the next few days.

It's not fun, and it's particularly not nice to think of a fellow author doing it, but it's part and parcel of the Lit culture. It's shitty, but it happens. It's put me off entering contests, for a start.

There's not much advice I can give, except to grit your teeth and remind yourself that your story hasn't all of a sudden become crap. It's the bomber who's crap.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

It doesn't take much to make a noticeable difference.
If you've got a story at 4.8 with 50 votes, three 4's will drop it to a 4.75.
There have been instances where entire categories seem to have been 'adjusted' I know T/CD was, and have heard Lesbian, and one or two other saw the same fate.

That was brought to light for me by onehitwanda, who posted some code that showed the possible permutations necessary to get a specific rating and it was eye-opening how much some three's and four's drop the rating on a story that has literally thousands of fives.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The website uses an open-to-abuse voting system and doesn't regulate it at all except in extreme cases. If the dip isn't big then you should call yourself lucky. Either way there is nothing you can do about it.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

There could be a number of causes.

The first is if the site is conducting a sweep. They get rid of any votes that seem suspicious. Mostly this will be 1s dropped by trolls, but high votes will also be swept if the site considers them iffy. That said, there doesn't seem to be a sweep going on just yet. The next time will likely be shortly before the Valentine's Day contest winners are announced.

Another possibility is if you've picked up a troll. Either someone you've annoyed on the forums, or a reader who's taken offence to one or more of your stories, and is letting their feelings show. Or it's because you've entered a story in the Valentine's Day contest, and another author is feeling threatened. They'll bomb not just your entry, but all your stories. And it will happen day after day. If you're lucky, some or all of these will be swept at some point.

A third possibility, and one that seems to have happened a few times, is when trolls bomb the top lists in a specific category. I think Trans/Crossdressers, Lesbian and Gay Male have all been hit recently. Again, hopefully these will be swept.

Lastly, if your stories breach the top list for a particular category, expect it to be bombed out of sight. In Exhibitionist & Voyeur, for example, the threshold is at 4.8 from at least a hundred votes. You'll get a few bombs dropped on it over the course of the next few days.

It's not fun, and it's particularly not nice to think of a fellow author doing it, but it's part and parcel of the Lit culture. It's shitty, but it happens. It's put me off entering contests, for a start.

There's not much advice I can give, except to grit your teeth and remind yourself that your story hasn't all of a sudden become crap. It's the bomber who's crap.

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

I will not let it get me down. I have not been shy about expressing my own reservations about my writing abilities. I am frankly stunned at the good ratings I do have. The good comments I have received outweigh the bad. From those good comments, and some of the notes I've received, some folks genuinely enjoy my stories, which is good enough for me.

Cheers!

 

[pink_silk_glove]

LOL! Yes, I still feel very new here. I had a feeling this was the case though. I guess it's good to know I have company.

The question is not, "Has anyone else been downvoted?" It's, "Is there ANYONE here who HASN'T been downvoted?"

Indeed, if you post 3 or 4 stories over a few months and NOT get any significant downvotes, keep your eye out for 4 horsemen because the apocalypse might be at hand.

Everybody gets downvoted. Some of us more than others. Some of us cry about it. Some of us don't.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

The website uses an open-to-abuse voting system and doesn't regulate it at all except in extreme cases. If the dip isn't big then you should call yourself lucky. Either way there is nothing you can do about it.

No, I didn't think there was any recourse, and I wasn't looking for any. Just curious if it was a common thing, and from what the replies are stating, it sounds like it is.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

No, I didn't think there was any recourse, and I wasn't looking for any. Just curious if it was a common thing, and from what the replies are stating, it sounds like it is.

It's relatively common, yes.
Occasionally, there are some serious bombing campaigns so not everyone's experience here is the same. It also depends a lot on the category and kinks you write, as well as your forum involvement. So yeah, if it's a small dip only, you are one lucky author.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

It's relatively common, yes.
Occasionally, there are some serious bombing campaigns so not everyone's experience here is the same. It also depends a lot on the category and kinks you write, as well as your forum involvement. So yeah, if it's a small dip only, you are one lucky author.

Oh, I've only recently started visiting and interacting on the forums. Maybe I should go back to my dungeon!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

It's relatively common, yes.
Occasionally, there are some serious bombing campaigns so not everyone's experience here is the same. It also depends a lot on the category and kinks you write, as well as your forum involvement. So yeah, if it's a small dip only, you are one lucky author.

And for heaven's sake, DO NOT win a contest.

 

[MillieDynamite]

In tandem, the bombers line up on their target. They flip through the pages, not bothering to read, until they set their bombsite on the target, releasing their one-star-bomb, one by one, and they move on to the next story in the queue. Another day for the proud Ace Bombers, devesting score after score before returning to their mother's loving arms at the top of the stairs from their basement bedroom. They eat their mack and cheese and return to their domain... jacking off as they one-bomb some more stories before they go to beddy-bye land.

 

[karina_jayde]

@Gortmundy Updated his profile this morning, stating that his stories had suddenly taken a ratings dip. I was curious and took a look at my own stories. I don't keep a log of where each story is at ratings wise, but I have a general idea. It appears some of my stories also took a sudden dip as well.

This is not a big deal to me, but just curious if others have seen something similar happen?

It's happened to me twice now, only after I've had stories reach the all-time top spot. The first time it happened in one category I got a few more votes that drove it down. I assumed it was just a matter of reaching a wider audience. And it was in the Trans category which I think has a range of tastes that might cause people to downvote stuff not in their wheelhouse. I didn't really think anything of it.

Then I had a story hit the top spot in SciFi/Fantasy. Then a week later, all on the same day, I get about 15 new votes and the story drops way down (and of course off the top list).

So I do wonder if there are people trying to claw their way into the top 25 (or maintain their position there) by down voting stories that get higher up once they pass the higher threshold. But all I can really do about it is laugh at the absurdity of gaming votes on a free website, keep writing, and take enjoyment in the knowledge that the vast majority of my readers/voters are still enjoying my work.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

But all I can really do about it is laugh at the absurdity of gaming votes on a free website, keep writing, and take enjoyment in the knowledge that the vast majority of my readers/voters are still enjoying my work.

Completely agree!

 

[StillStunned]

So I do wonder if there are people trying to claw their way into the top 25 (or maintain their position there) by down voting stories that get higher up once they pass the higher threshold.

Some people here will argue strenuously that it's "the fans" trying to protect their favourite authors' stories. But to me it's always struck me as less likely that any readers would care more than the authors themselves. Occam's razor.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Some people here will argue strenuously that it's "the fans" trying to protect their favourite authors' stories. But to me it's always struck me as less likely that any readers would care more than the authors themselves. Occam's razor.

Chinese Deep Seek bots.

 

[StillStunned]

Chinese Deep Seek bots.

DeepSeek bombing stories because the content can't be used for training? Sounds plausible, actually.

On a related note, who else suspects that DeepSeek isn't actually an AI machine, just millions and millions of Chinese helpdesk workers doing everything by hand?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Some people here will argue strenuously that it's "the fans" trying to protect their favourite authors' stories. But to me it's always struck me as less likely that any readers would care more than the authors themselves. Occam's razor.

You're still new here, Stunned . You don't know about previous clique wars that without doubt were fan driven. Not so many nowadays, but they're still there. Ten years ago, every Contest would bring them out in droves. This place was toxic, back then (before the AHMod was brought in).

These days, you see the effect most in the annual "best blah blah" nominations, which tend to be dominated by one coterie.

 

[RetroFan]

I've actually noticed this myself in the last two weeks or so, with the scores on some of my stories going down. This includes some stories which were forgotten and in low readership categories.

I thought it was just me, that one of my stories antagonized a reader or several readers so much I got my other works one-bombed, but maybe there was a sweep of scores across the site?

 

[Cagivagurl]

Best advice I could offer....
Ignore the scores all together.
Write for your own enjoyment and extract as much pleasure as you can from it.
We post stories on a free site. It is open to abuse, as are all free sites...

You will never please everybody and the harder you try, the less fun it will become...

There is something else to consider...

Not everybody will like what you post. It doesn't take many 3's to drag a score down. It may not be a unibomber at all.

The secret is to forget about scores. If it is enjoyed by readers, and you get a few nice comments. That is a bonus...

Keep writing...

Cagivagurl

 

[RejectReality]

Everything is getting beaten down.

Until the monthly awards and the associated sweeps get caught up, everybody is going to be sinking. The monthly contest sweeps are what always removed most of the garbage.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

Best advice I could offer....
Ignore the scores all together.
Write for your own enjoyment and extract as much pleasure as you can from it.
We post stories on a free site. It is open to abuse, as are all free sites...

You will never please everybody and the harder you try, the less fun it will become...

There is something else to consider...

Not everybody will like what you post. It doesn't take many 3's to drag a score down. It may not be a unibomber at all.

The secret is to forget about scores. If it is enjoyed by readers, and you get a few nice comments. That is a bonus...

Keep writing...

Cagivagurl

It is wonderful advice!

I believe I mentioned in another thread, so apologies for repeating myself:

For the first story I published, I did not have an editor, so it was full of all the mistakes you can imagine from someone that doesn't write for a living. There were a few deservedly savage comments about this on the story. Another Lit author, who's works I admire, but I had not previously had any interaction with, took the time to write me a note which echoes what you wrote above: Write for yourself, and take it as a bonus if others enjoy it.

I also agree about forgetting about the scores. Gortmundy's update just made me check mine and I was curious if the community had thoughts on it, which they obviously did!

I also plan to keep writing, and thank you for the encouragement!

 

[gunhilltrain]

Completely agree!

I think we mentioned that anyone with an Internet connection can get on here and cause havoc - excuse me, vote and comment. It's something like the population of California coming on here every month; I have to check the numbers. It actually could be be crazier than it presently is.