How do I vote

[Leto Degeneres]

When I finish a story post which could be a chapter, an installment, or the entire story, I can vote clicking one of those stars on the last page. BUT, I can also rate it when I post a comment and get one of those thermometers.

Does the rating posted with the comment carry any weight?

Next, I think I've been making a mistake in my voting. When I read a story with several installments I've only commented and voted when I was finished, and then only to the last installment. I was thinking that I was voting on the story, not the installment.

Is that the wrong thing to do as I'm coming to believe it is?

Finally, I want to leave encouraging or appreciative comments, or just a comment to let you know that you reached something in me. I'm not telling you anything new when I say the comments I do read are confusing. I feel inclined to comment about how the story or the characters reached me, for the most part. I usually don't comment about whether or not I wished it was longer or shorter, more installments or lengthier installments, or if something seems "not possible".

This is coming to light in a story I'm reading where a decent, loving, and hardworking husband of 20 years is being emotionally mistreated by his wife as she begins "growing" with her new career. Comments says "he wouldn't put up with it", "he's wimp", "she's a bitch", "good for her". The commenters go on to berate the author with comments like "how can you say that. He should have left her", "she should have left him", or worse, "you're a whore" or a "you're a manhater".

I guess I'm asking, what do you want to hear?

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[michchick98]

When I finish a story post which could be a chapter, an installment, or the entire story, I can vote clicking one of those stars on the last page. BUT, I can also rate it when I post a comment and get one of those thermometers.

Does the rating posted with the comment carry any weight?

Next, I think I've been making a mistake in my voting. When I read a story with several installments I've only commented and voted when I was finished, and then only to the last installment. I was thinking that I was voting on the story, not the installment.

Is that the wrong thing to do as I'm coming to believe it is?

Finally, I want to leave encouraging or appreciative comments, or just a comment to let you know that you reached something in me. I'm not telling you anything new when I say the comments I do read are confusing. I feel inclined to comment about how the story or the characters reached me, for the most part. I usually don't comment about whether or not I wished it was longer or shorter, more installments or lengthier installments, or if something seems "not possible".

This is coming to light in a story I'm reading where a decent, loving, and hardworking husband of 20 years is being emotionally mistreated by his wife as she begins "growing" with her new career. Comments says "he wouldn't put up with it", "he's wimp", "she's a bitch", "good for her". The commenters go on to berate the author with comments like "how can you say that. He should have left her", "she should have left him", or worse, "you're a whore" or a "you're a manhater".

I guess I'm asking, what do you want to hear?

Let me guess, the story is in the Loving Wives category? People who read in that category are vicious with their comments, which is probably why I'll never write a story for that category...I have thick skin, but not that thick.

I think since each installment is actually a separate submission in as far as they're displayed on your submissions page, one should at least vote for each installment/chapter. However, if you don't want to comment until the entire story is posted, that's acceptable, too. I do that quite often and I'll either email the author or post in my comment that I waited until the story was complete to comment, but I always voted.

The votes for each chapter help the author to determine if people like the story, with or without comments, so it's always a good idea (as I said) to at least vote on each chapter.

I enjoy reading positive comments, even the typical "I love this story" type comments. I get quite a few emails from people with lengthy comments, telling me specifically what they liked about the story/chapter.

I ignore and delete without comment the negative or "this story sucks ass" type comments. Those people aren't the people I write for, they're usually just looking to bitch about something. Those same people make me wonder why they read a story/chapter all the way through if they think it sucks.

I guess we'll never know what motivates the trolls.

 

[Guest]

When I finish a story post which could be a chapter, an installment, or the entire story, I can vote clicking one of those stars on the last page. BUT, I can also rate it when I post a comment and get one of those thermometers.

Does the rating posted with the comment carry any weight?

Next, I think I've been making a mistake in my voting. When I read a story with several installments I've only commented and voted when I was finished, and then only to the last installment. I was thinking that I was voting on the story, not the installment.

Is that the wrong thing to do as I'm coming to believe it is?

I FINALLY found the explanation, right from the horse's mouth (sorry, Manu!).

From the Literotica FAQ's:


You must give a rating to the story to leave a comment. If you have voted on the submission previously, then the vote you leave with the comment will not count toward the submission's total.

So, if you've clicked on one of the gold stars before leaving your comment, that's the vote you actually cast.

As to voting on the last installment versus the individual chapters, you're right to think you're wrong.

Each submission to Literotica, whether a complete story or a chapter of a longer work, gets its own votes; voting on the last chapter of a work has no effect on the ratings of the previous chapters. Of course, it's not required to vote, but they're always appreciated--even 1's, if the story warrants it.

Personally, I like getting votes, but I'd trade a double fistful of them for half as many comments; that's what really trips my trigger as a writer. What I like to hear is what worked, or didn't work, in the story--plot, character development, dialogue, sex scenes, what have you--tell me you loved it, tell me you hated it, but tell me why. That way, I can actually improve as a writer, maybe.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

Let me guess, the story is in the Loving Wives category? People who read in that category are vicious with their comments, which is probably why I'll never write a story for that category...

...Those same people make me wonder why they read a story/chapter all the way through if they think it sucks.

I guess we'll never know what motivates the trolls.

Yes, Loving Wives (God forbid!) I wish I could understand why I make myself read something that makes me feel so miserable. The author who wrote the story I'm reading seems to have a sadistic gift for presenting emotionally-laced marital discord to my distress.

As for why those trolls, some of which I think aren't really trolls but just ignorant of why they have the emotions a good story evokes, say what they do; one of the banes of the internet, that is, strut mightily, speak quickly with self-righteousness and self-efacing ego, and think later (but probably not). Oh, I just had a wicked thought. They're like dogs that go pissing all over their territory to mark where they've been and leaving behind smell and dead shrubbery.

I've wondered if those that read to the end only to leave an emotionally-charged and abusive comment might not be a sign of a good story. Assuming the abusive comment wasn't over a severe literary gaffe that only became apparent at the end, just cause for righteous anger, then maybe it's because the the comment writer is simply emotionally retarded, lacking introspection, or inarticulate. I guess there are a lot of those, huh?

I haven't as yet, but I suppose I might leave a sarcastic comment if I got all the way through a long story only to have it ruined near the end. I don't mean ruined because I didn't like the ending, but ruined because self-discipline that authored a good story evaporated before the end. For sure, I'd send the author a more detailed message, in private, about how I felt where I believed he went wrong.

There really is a lot of good writing here. As a reader, I'm not affected by prior comments about the story. If it has a lot of comments, good or bad, I'm more likely to be interested in it.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Yes, Loving Wives (God forbid!) I wish I could understand why I make myself read something that makes me feel so miserable. The author who wrote the story I'm reading seems to have a sadistic gift for presenting emotionally-laced marital discord to my distress.

As for why those trolls, some of which I think aren't really trolls but just ignorant of why they have the emotions a good story evokes, say what they do; one of the banes of the internet, that is, strut mightily, speak quickly with self-righteousness and self-efacing ego, and think later (but probably not). Oh, I just had a wicked thought. They're like dogs that go pissing all over their territory to mark where they've been and leaving behind smell and dead shrubbery.

I've wondered if those that read to the end only to leave an emotionally-charged and abusive comment might not be a sign of a good story. Assuming the abusive comment wasn't over a severe literary gaffe that only became apparent at the end, just cause for righteous anger, then maybe it's because the the comment writer is simply emotionally retarded, lacking introspection, or inarticulate. I guess there are a lot of those, huh?

I haven't as yet, but I suppose I might leave a sarcastic comment if I got all the way through a long story only to have it ruined near the end. I don't mean ruined because I didn't like the ending, but ruined because self-discipline that authored a good story evaporated before the end. For sure, I'd send the author a more detailed message, in private, about how I felt where I believed he went wrong.

There really is a lot of good writing here. As a reader, I'm not affected by prior comments about the story. If it has a lot of comments, good or bad, I'm more likely to be interested in it.

Hi, welcome and thanks for starting this thread.

Gnome is right as always. In theory, any ISP can only vote once on a story. This is both fair and unfair as it means that you or I can only vote once, but if we share the connection with a partner or roommates, only the first vote counts. Those that don't know squeal they have lost votes on a sweep when this is just the site sweeping away multiple votes from an ISP - if you vote the stars and vote for comment, the second vote will be deleted.

Each chapter stands alone and deserves a vote. There is no mechanism on lit (unlike some sites) to accumulate votes on a work in progress. So go for a rating on each chapter.

Public comments are relatively new and, IMO, often misunderstood. For me they are like a billboard sign outside a Broadway theater or the captions on the back of a paperback - a short, pithy view of whether the story was good, bad or indifferent with no philosophizing or expressing one's own views.

The email feedback system is the place for more considered critique - we all love it - and it enables an exchange of views that public comments does not.

Hope this is of some help.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

...multiple votes from an ISP - if you vote the stars and vote for comment, the second vote will be deleted....

I wonder if you mean IP, else that might be a little harsh.

So, with this good input I'll make it a point to vote on each installment even if all installments are posted. Thank you all for your help.

For the record, I abandoned the Loving Wives piece at the end of Installment One. The story, novella really, was long and had plenty of grist and promised much more. I rarely do that. The problem is that I was reliving my own experience more than a decade after it happened. It would be an excellent piece for those that didn't want this to happen to them. This author really knows her stuff, either through research, education, or experience. Hat's off to you, Kathi.

Leto