Has This Happened To You?

[Bodington]

Firstly I want to point out what my routine is when one of my submissions is published on Literotica. Usually, the event occurs around 02:00 AM my local time (US Eastern time daylight or standard as the case may be). I unashamedly vote 5 for the story on the theory that if I don’t like the story how can I expect others to like my story. Anyway, when I wake up, I usually see some 30 to 50 readers have read it and invariably one of them voted a five as well.

My stories are mostly novels and as a result I don’t attract many readers with even less voting and almost no comments. In the current novel, which is not yet finished and the previous novel, I have submitted my chapters in piecemeal as opposed to submitting the entire novel at once.

Now in my previous novel which ended up with thirty chapters, the plot of the first chapter saw my titled MFC suffer a miscarriage and in addition was informed by the attending doctor at the hospital that she had become infertile as well. Rather than going home to console with her husband as it was a 45 minute to one hour drive, she opted to get a hotel room and drink at a nearby bar to drown her sorrows. At the bar she accepts two drinking companions and ends up participating in a MMF threeway sex session.

Now one reader commented in expressing outrage at this occasion of adultery and decried that the character was a slut and a whore. For that alone he proclaimed he was giving the story a one vote. And ever since then the remaining 29 chapters of that novel plus the forty chapters of my current novel follow the pattern of two five votes and then a one vote follows. Today I submitted the 41st chapter and sure enough I received a one vote after the first three votes were all fives.

This was even more remarkable considering before today’s submission I had only submitted one chapter in May and only two chapters in January during this calendar year. I suspect it must be the doing of that solitary reader who did comment using his Lit name. If it is him I would have thought he must be one of my followers in order to get notification of my submissions in time to render his one vote within twelve hours of publication. But no I’m not listed as a favorite. So if it is him he must check submissions under the novels and novellas category every day. I have to think it must be him because I can’t imagine the such consistent voting pattern.

I admit it is annoying as all hell but then our world is a strange place indeed.

 

[iwatchus]

Firstly I want to point out what my routine is when one of my submissions is published on Literotica. Usually, the event occurs around 02:00 AM my local time (US Eastern time daylight or standard as the case may be). I unashamedly vote 5 for the story on the theory that if I don’t like the story how can I expect others to like my story. Anyway, when I wake up, I usually see some 30 to 50 readers have read it and invariably one of them voted a five as well.

My stories are mostly novels and as a result I don’t attract many readers with even less voting and almost no comments. In the current novel, which is not yet finished and the previous novel, I have submitted my chapters in piecemeal as opposed to submitting the entire novel at once.

Now in my previous novel which ended up with thirty chapters, the plot of the first chapter saw my titled MFC suffer a miscarriage and in addition was informed by the attending doctor at the hospital that she had become infertile as well. Rather than going home to console with her husband as it was a 45 minute to one hour drive, she opted to get a hotel room and drink at a nearby bar to drown her sorrows. At the bar she accepts two drinking companions and ends up participating in a MMF threeway sex session.

Now one reader commented in expressing outrage at this occasion of adultery and decried that the character was a slut and a whore. For that alone he proclaimed he was giving the story a one vote. And ever since then the remaining 29 chapters of that novel plus the forty chapters of my current novel follow the pattern of two five votes and then a one vote follows. Today I submitted the 41st chapter and sure enough I received a one vote after the first three votes were all fives.

This was even more remarkable considering before today’s submission I had only submitted one chapter in May and only two chapters in January during this calendar year. I suspect it must be the doing of that solitary reader who did comment using his Lit name. If it is him I would have thought he must be one of my followers in order to get notification of my submissions in time to render his one vote within twelve hours of publication. But no I’m not listed as a favorite. So if it is him he must check submissions under the novels and novellas category every day. I have to think it must be him because I can’t imagine the such consistent voting pattern.

I admit it is annoying as all hell but then our world is a strange place indeed.

There are trolls who go through the new list early in the day and gift us their unhappiness. Some of them appear to be personal, some are equal opportunity assholes.

 

[Bodington]

There are trolls who go through the new list early in the day and gift us their unhappiness. Some of them appear to be personal, some are equal opportunity assholes.

I think you are probably righr after all. After my three fives, I now have two ones fafter thse fivesd. Oh well!ollowing

 

[RejectReality]

That one story in Loving Wives is probably the culprit. Once you "offend" the restless natives there, they go after everything in your catalog — especially if it contains infidelity.

 

[MrPixel]

That one story in Loving Wives is probably the culprit. Once you "offend" the restless natives there, they go after everything in your catalog — especially if it contains infidelity.

Yep. I had one story in loving wives, oh, about three years ago. Deleted two years ago (external circumstances). They will "follower" you... and in my case there are at least two still attacking everything I post regardless of category.

 

[Statius]

I kinda think that there are some people who just down vote a story if it has a perfect score as well, just because. That is not to say the circumstances above did not/ do not happen, I'm sure they do. One thing I've learned here, do not underestimate the bitterness, vindictiveness, and just pain meanness of some Lit readers.

 

[MrPixel]

Because of this, frankly, I'd like the ability to "un-friend" followers. We can't necessarily discern which followers are up to no good, but sometimes coincidences will "out" them. And failing that, just wiping the list and starting fresh might be worth it in some cases.

 

[StillStunned]

I went through a period when, every day at almost the same time, two of my stories would be gifted a 1*.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Hopefully, a sweep will resolve things for you in the long-term.

The risk of submitting piece-meal is, that you are asking readers to vote on every course individually rather than on your meal as a whole. If they don't like your appetizer, "zing".

The entree and dessert could both be five star, and the taste of the first course barely lingering when they finish, but the damage is done.

You should know how to fix that. The best of luck to you.

 

[OddLove]

Ironically, and unfortunately, if the person who complained and is now coming back just to one-star your stories saw you discussing how much they're bothering you, it would probably make their day, because people like that don't have a whole lot going on overall. So despite how annoying or hurtful it might feel, just try to remember that the more time you let their actions fester in your brain, the more time and energy you're giving them.

But suppressing emotions isn't a valid or healthy option for most humans, so...

In my opinion, if you can't just 'get over it', then one of the best ways to gain value from someone like that, is to find a way to use them as fuel to write your next story. Perhaps adding a splash of grandiosity and smugness to your thinking, like, "Hmm... maybe if that person had the drive, work ethic, and creativity to write their own stories, they could write the story they want, instead of being a whiny and shitty critic."

It's obviously easier said than done. And everyone has their own way of thinking and processing the BS flung their way, but that's just the kind of way I try spinning it when I get a 'hater' who offers nothing valuable, and only exists to tear others down.

There's a lot of those people, so if you get infected by one and if they're gonna live in your head rent free, might as well make sure they're living in servitude and get something out of it.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

In my opinion, if you can't just 'get over it', then one of the best ways to gain value from someone like that, is to find a way to use them as fuel to write your next story.

When I read this, before I got to the next sentence, I was sure it was going to say something like, "Write a story about sexy things happening to Mister One Bomber, opening up his world and making him more tolerant of others who have specific kinks he doesn't share."

(Yes, in my head the one-bombers are all male. I don't know why.)

I wonder if One Bomber reads the stories, or you could give the story a title that would entice him to do it.

--Annie

 

[OddLove]

When I read this, before I got to the next sentence, I was sure it was going to say something like, "Write a story about sexy things happening to Mister One Bomber, opening up his world and making him more tolerant of others who have specific kinks he doesn't share."

(Yes, in my head the one-bombers are all male. I don't know why.)

I wonder if One Bomber reads the stories, or you could give the story a title that would entice him to do it.

--Annie

That's actually a really fun idea. And experiencing fun is in fact 'getting something out of it'.

 

[SimonDoom]

How do people "know" that there's a particular person giving them a one vote? I get one votes all the time, and I just assume that there are a lot of readers out there who like to give one votes to content they don't like. I don't assume it's any one person. I've written my share of "hot wife" type stories that attract the "She's a slut and a whore! 1 for me!" type comments and votes. But in 9 years I've never been able to discern a clear pattern or trace the comments to one or any particular readers.

 

[StillStunned]

How do people "know" that there's a particular person giving them a one vote? I get one votes all the time, and I just assume that there are a lot of readers out there who like to give one votes to content they don't like. I don't assume it's any one person. I've written my share of "hot wife" type stories that attract the "She's a slut and a whore! 1 for me!" type comments and votes. But in 9 years I've never been able to discern a clear pattern or trace the comments to one or any particular readers.

Like I mentioned above, in my case it was the same time every day, and always two stories. Once is bad luck, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. Fourteen or fifteen times in a row? When Occam has finished shaving, ask whether you can borrow his razor.

 

[SimonDoom]

Like I mentioned above, in my case it was the same time every day, and always two stories. Once is bad luck, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. Fourteen or fifteen times in a row? When Occam has finished shaving, ask whether you can borrow his razor.

Could be. I have often followed my stories very carefully right after publication, watching the accumulation of votes. I sometimes feel like my story is a goat being lowered by a winch into a lake full of piranhas. But I'm not so sure there's one piranha. There may just be a lot of piranhas out there that want to take a bite. But maybe you've noticed more closely than I have.

 

[Bamagan]

Like I mentioned above, in my case it was the same time every day, and always two stories. Once is bad luck, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. Fourteen or fifteen times in a row? When Occam has finished shaving, ask whether you can borrow his razor.

This feels like a plot bunny forming. Occam, arch-nemesis of Anonybush, whose razor has stolen the pubes of many an otherwise-attractive Mum.

 

[Bamagan]

Could be. I have often followed my stories very carefully right after publication, watching the accumulation of votes. I sometimes feel like my story is a goat being lowered by a winch into a lake full of piranhas. But I'm not so sure there's one piranha. There may just be a lot of piranhas out there that want to take a bite. But maybe you've noticed more closely than I have.

It may not always be the exact same person, but there are definitely lurkers that vote 1s within minutes of stories getting posted, usually in much less time than it would take to read them. There's little reason to doubt that most such votes are based either on antipathy toward the author or a very cursory idea of the content (infidelity, sex work, promiscuity, etc.). Whether it's a lone bomber, a cabal, or what-have-you is debatable, perhaps, but probably irrelevant.

 

[crookedletter]

Like I mentioned above, in my case it was the same time every day, and always two stories. Once is bad luck, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. Fourteen or fifteen times in a row? When Occam has finished shaving, ask whether you can borrow his razor.

I think Occam and his razor would suggest it’s a far simpler explanation, given that everyone and every story gets one votes, that there are just some folks out there who tend to check out new stories and slam the ones that don’t appeal. Rather than nefarious personal attacks from that one reader every writer has who has it in for them.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Firstly I want to point out what my routine is when one of my submissions is published on Literotica. Usually, the event occurs around 02:00 AM my local time (US Eastern time daylight or standard as the case may be). I unashamedly vote 5 for the story on the theory that if I don’t like the story how can I expect others to like my story. Anyway, when I wake up, I usually see some 30 to 50 readers have read it and invariably one of them voted a five as well.
...

Now one reader commented in expressing outrage at this occasion of adultery and decried that the character was a slut and a whore. For that alone he proclaimed he was giving the story a one vote. And ever since then the remaining 29 chapters of that novel plus the forty chapters of my current novel follow the pattern of two five votes and then a one vote follows. Today I submitted the 41st chapter and sure enough I received a one vote after the first three votes were all fives.

This was even more remarkable considering before today’s submission I had only submitted one chapter in May and only two chapters in January during this calendar year. I suspect it must be the doing of that solitary reader who did comment using his Lit name. If it is him I would have thought he must be one of my followers in order to get notification of my submissions in time to render his one vote within twelve hours of publication. But no I’m not listed as a favorite. So if it is him he must check submissions under the novels and novellas category every day. I have to think it must be him because I can’t imagine the such consistent voting pattern.

I admit it is annoying as all hell but then our world is a strange place indeed.

They don't need to follow you.

There are some readers who look at the "New" stories list and go through it 5-ing or 1-bombing their targeted authors.

In my experience (posting to LW), I have attracted at least two early morning haters who 1=bomb my story within ten minutes of it going public. And even a lengthy 15-20K word story gets those two 1's within ten minutes of going live.

Tracking the rating meticulously throughout the morning (only done two or three times, but no longer worth the effort), I've found that for every 5 the average gets, it's often followed by another 1.

This is why I don't put any faith in ratings or a "Red-H", those ratings are manipulated by the haters. And I suspect there are narcissistic authors even reading here in the AH who prop up their own story's ratings with multiple 5's.

For those who say they only read stories rated 4 or higher, they become suspect for being one of those manipulators.

Once you free yourself from the need to achieve that coveted Red-H, you'll find you can have more fun "jerking their chains" with more outrageous stories and triggers. When the rating no longer matters to you, you've robbed them of their power. They can no longer 1-bomb you, they'll only "1-dud" you.

 

[StillStunned]

I think Occam and his razor would suggest it’s a far simpler explanation, given that everyone and every story gets one votes, that there are just some folks out there who tend to check out new stories and slam the ones that don’t appeal. Rather than nefarious personal attacks from that one reader every writer has who has it in for them.

They weren't new stories. And it was the same time every day, almost to the minute. And always two stories.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think Occam and his razor would suggest it’s a far simpler explanation, given that everyone and every story gets one votes, that there are just some folks out there who tend to check out new stories and slam the ones that don’t appeal. Rather than nefarious personal attacks from that one reader every writer has who has it in for them.

This is what I suspect. It's just a suspicion, but it fits with the pattern I see when I post stories.

It fits with the fact that so MANY people complain about having that nasty 1 vote follower. If it's so common, isn't it more likely that there are people who just systematically do this rather than that each of us has an obsessive psychopathic follower trying to hurt us at every turn? I think Occam might agree with me.

I don't know enough to discount people's concerns entirely, but I think there probably is some "false patterning" going on in the way people perceive downvotes.

 

[Lifestyle66]

When I read this, before I got to the next sentence, I was sure it was going to say something like, "Write a story about sexy things happening to Mister One Bomber, opening up his world and making him more tolerant of others who have specific kinks he doesn't share."

(Yes, in my head the one-bombers are all male. I don't know why.)

I wonder if One Bomber reads the stories, or you could give the story a title that would entice him to do it.

--Annie

This comment on my story "A Band of Sisters and Brothers":
***************************
buelah 4 months ago
I wish you had warned us this was cuck shit. I’m glad I skipped a bunch of pages.
***************************

There seem to be many readers like this based on similar comments on other stories who immediately jump to the end to rate it a 1 as soon as they're triggered. One author I'll leave nameless here in the AH proudly proclaims the tactic of "skimming" the story before rating and negatively commenting on them.

 

[crookedletter]

They weren't new stories. And it was the same time every day, almost to the minute. And always two stories.

Yeah, sorry, I reread your post after I quoted but was too late to revise.

Maybe you had a hater. Maybe it’s a coincidence. I don’t know.

Still, I think in general we try to form narratives about these trends in voting, when we really have no idea who’s voting and why, on what criteria, on how many stories.

And of course we never question the legitimacy of the 5s.

 

[SimonDoom]

They weren't new stories. And it was the same time every day, almost to the minute. And always two stories.

I agree that the pattern you describe sounds suspicious. It wouldn't be consistent with random, impersonal voting.

 

[StillStunned]

And of course we never question the legitimacy of the 5s.

My interpretation of how most readers vote:


I like the story; I like the author; I want to encourage the author; this is a default vote


I want to be encouraging but there were some issues; I don't really like the story/the subject matter/the author, but I don't want to be nasty about it


I want to express my dislike for the story/the subject matter/the author, and I want my dislike to last beyond the next sweep


I want to express my dislike for the story/the subject matter/the author, I want my dislike to last beyond the next sweep, but it's more important to have an immediate impact


I hate the story/the subject matter/the author/myself/life in general, and I want to hurt someone here and now

(Yes, this is largely tongue in cheek, though not entirely.)