Score?

[nakdsub]

I just noticed the score on one of my stories. I had 483 votes and the score was 4.11. Now I have 484 votes and my score is 4.09? With that many votes, how does one vote bring a score down that far?

 

[GinaTina]

You got a 1. It happens. Roll with it.

 

[sr71plt]

A 484th vote that was a 1 would only bring the score to 4.10. There likely sweeping and voting going on at the same time.

 

[nakdsub]

it went down again

Yeah, I just don't understand. Even with a 1, one vote out of 484 should not move the score at all. Now, I still have 484 votes, but the score has dropped another thenth to 4.08. From 4.11 to 4.08 with one vote out of 484. That's not possible. I'm wondering how these scores are counted.

 

[sr71plt]

Yeah, I just don't understand. Even with a 1, one vote out of 484 should not move the score at all. Now, I still have 484 votes, but the score has dropped another thenth to 4.08. From 4.11 to 4.08 with one vote out of 484. That's not possible. I'm wondering how these scores are counted.

No, a one vote going from 483 votes to 484 votes would take 4.11 to 4.10. I didn't say it would without having done the math. Do the math.

But I also gave you the probable explanation--which is possible--of what's happening: sweeping and voting going on at the same time.

You asked and I answered what is possible.

 

[Darkniciad]

It's entirely possible if there are votes getting swept and someone comes along and votes a 1. Scores trend toward the upper end, and anything below a 5 will lower a score that's above 4. So, you can imagine what a 1 can do, even when you have large numbers of votes.

There have been quite a few minor ( fewer than 5 votes per ) sweeps running through lately. Probably triggered in some way, shape, or form by the Summer contest.

The good news is that those 1s are very likely to go bye-bye in the near future, when the contest sweeps fire up in earnest. They tend to lift scores across a wide range of stories -- in the contest or not.

 

[lovecraft68]

What really blows is a one can drop you those 3 tenths, but it takes multiple five's to pull it back up there.

 

[nakdsub]

What is a sweep?

What do you mean, sweeping?

 

[Darkniciad]

The website removes votes considered illegitimate at various times. The only known criteria is multiple votes from the same IP/ID and votes wildly inconsistent with the voting patterns of the story ( Usually 1-bombs ), but there are likely other reasons votes get flagged and swept.

Right now, you're only seeing small changes. When the sweeps for the Summer contest start, you'll likely see larger ones ( even if your story isn't in the contest. Contest stories will see sweeps in the 20-30% of total votes range )

You may see that 20-30% when the monthly awards for whatever month your story posted are evaluated -- which is usually long after the fact. The ones for December of last year only posted not so long ago.

The sweeps can be heartbreaking, but most often, they lift your score by removing vindictive votes. If you consistently see your score dropping when sweeps happen, it may be time to start mentioning to your fans "1 story, 1 vote" Fans will sometimes multi-vote to try to help you out, not knowing that they're doing exactly the opposite.

 

[nakdsub]

Thanks

Thank you. I did not know that. I see another one of my stories dropped considerably, almost over night. Oh well. They can't discourage me? Can they?

 

[Darkniciad]

It can be very discouraging when you first start out, but as you build a fanbase, it becomes much more an ally than an enemy

You'll come to appreciate the Hoover running through, sucking up the slam votes people leave just to be assholes. Of course, it gobbles up some of those wonderful little fives as well, but on average, you gain more than you lose.

Higher scores attract more eyes, which attract more votes. It takes a while, but you build up there.

 

[nakdsub]

Thanks again

Yeah, I never paid that much attention before, but I see the scores going all around the place right now. One story I submitted two years ago just went up .5 while another one went down .3

 

[BONNIEBREA]

Here's an interesting thing. I don't care much about the numerical ratings on my stories. But I've been posting a new story lately and the first three or so chapters were up and had ratings in the 4.0 to 4.2 range.

Then I happened to go on the general board and make a few posts. I ended up trying to teach some basic American history to the dittoheads, but they of course had a preference for just parroting what they hear on Fox and from Rush and the rest of the right wing motor mouths.

Overnight the scores on those stories dropped to well below 4.0. It's that just the most interersting thing? I mean, I'd realized that dittohead = child, but I had no idea how right I was!

 

[nakdsub]

I know what you mean

I had one guy who read one of my stores and didn't like it so he went back and, with out even reading them, gave all my stories one star. I know this because he e-mailed me and told me.
Of course, when I checked for his stories, he hadn't any. I wish there was some way to ban those people from the site. They're just jack-asses.

 

[Spacefender]

I had one guy who read one of my stores and didn't like it so he went back and, with out even reading them, gave all my stories one star. I know this because he e-mailed me and told me.
Of course, when I checked for his stories, he hadn't any. I wish there was some way to ban those people from the site. They're just jack-asses.

Jack asses abound on the internet. And this place is no exception. That guy probably should be banned but banning seems to be pretty rare here. Which I think is one reason why you see so many jack asses here. People can get away with behavior that many other places wouldn't tolerate. So this place is kind of a safe haven for trolls.

Fortunately for you, those 1-bombs will likely be swept away eventually.

 

[adamzapple]

I think people worry too much about the scores.

 

[BONNIEBREA]

I had one guy who read one of my stores and didn't like it so he went back and, with out even reading them, gave all my stories one star. I know this because he e-mailed me and told me.
Of course, when I checked for his stories, he hadn't any. I wish there was some way to ban those people from the site. They're just jack-asses.

I had a guy (who knows, maybe the same idiot) started reading Ellen & David's Bet, which is five stories into a six (now seven) story continuing story arc. He messaged me to let me know he gave the story one star because he couldn't figure out what was going on!

And I put very detailed information in my profile about how these stories are continuing, and what order people should read them in if they're interested. I've even done a separate essay post to make the same information available.

No shortage of galactically stupid people in the world.

 

[Spacefender]

I think people worry too much about the scores.

That's true. A story's score is not that accurate of an indicator of how good a story it is. But it's what everyone looks at because it's what determines which stories land on a category's top list.

 

[Darkniciad]

The scores may not be a true indicator of a story's strength, but the are very much a factor in what story a reader selects when browsing for something new.

While on the New list, getting an H can more than double your views and votes. The category hubs are also beginning to have that effect on new stories a couple of days old.

Scores are important because of the effect they have on building new readership.

It's all well and good to say "don't worry so much about your score" when it comes to judging what people think of your writing. There are a lot of other factors that can kill your score and a lot of other data to see that the story outperforms the score it has -- or vice versa.

To imply that it's irrelevant is to ignore the reality of what causes a reader to choose yours over the thousands of other options available. Anyone who posts a story here wants people to read it. There's nothing wrong with being concerned about questionable changes in your score when it can have such an effect on new readership.

 

[nakdsub]

I learned a lot

Thanks for all the info. I did not know about, "sweeping". It explaines a lot. I have 5 stories posted. The story that had the second highest score in that bunch is now the lowest score. This happened over two nights and with few votes, so I assume it was caused by sweeping. At the same time, the story with the lowest score rose by several tenths.
I'm still not sure I know just HOW that happens, but at least I know why.
Thanks again.

 

[KarlMartinK]

The scores are interesting. As a writer, they don't tell me a whole lot other than a general idea of how much they were liked. If a story is around 4.0, I figure it's not that great or not very well-received. Anything above a 4.5, I figure a lot of people liked it. I really only vote when I like a story and there are lots of things that make a story likable to me.

I've gotten messages telling me someone didn't like my stories with the explanation that it wasn't the type of story the reader likes. I don't vote negatively (or comment) on stories that are of a type that I don't like.

As for reading stories, I don't use the scores very much in determining what I'm going to read. A story with a 3.5 might still be a decent story, but with a lot of grammar problems or just isn't what a lot of people like. A story with phrases like "I undone her buttons" and "her panties were wet in the crouch" might not be big on grammar, but it may still be a decent story.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

No, a one vote going from 483 votes to 484 votes would take 4.11 to 4.10. I didn't say it would without having done the math. Do the math.

But I also gave you the probable explanation--which is possible--of what's happening: sweeping and voting going on at the same time.

Seems likely. If 483 scores added up to 1983 points, the average would round to 4.11. A sweep that removed a single 5 accompanied by two votes of 1 would lead to a total of 1980 with 484 scores---which rounds to 4.09. There are other scenarios that lead to the same result.

 

[BONNIEBREA]

I've gotten messages telling me someone didn't like my stories with the explanation that it wasn't the type of story the reader likes. I don't vote negatively (or comment) on stories that are of a type that I don't like.

You're right about this. Given the nature of the site, how "good" a reader thinks a story is depends entirely on how "satisfying" (ahem) they find the story within the very narrow confines of their own particular sexual fetishes and interests. Most readers on the site have no idea about grammar, spelling or usage, and much less about character development, plotting, mood, theme, etc. A story can be written by a monkey, but as long as it hits a readers fetish sweet spot it's a "5."

That's the difficulty with my stories. I tell real stories with real characters and real plots, and so the story can go all over the place in terms of the sexual interest/fetish it addresses, and they are never narrowly focused the way readers would really prefer they be. I often have a hard time knowing in what category to submit my stories/chapters.

 

[nakdsub]

after two days of sweeping

The story that got the highest number of negative comments turns out to be my highest rated story score wize. ( uuuuggggghhhhhhh)

 

[KarlMartinK]

You're right about this. Given the nature of the site, how "good" a reader thinks a story is depends entirely on how "satisfying" (ahem) they find the story within the very narrow confines of their own particular sexual fetishes and interests. Most readers on the site have no idea about grammar, spelling or usage, and much less about character development, plotting, mood, theme, etc. A story can be written by a monkey, but as long as it hits a readers fetish sweet spot it's a "5."

That's the difficulty with my stories. I tell real stories with real characters and real plots, and so the story can go all over the place in terms of the sexual interest/fetish it addresses, and they are never narrowly focused the way readers would really prefer they be. I often have a hard time knowing in what category to submit my stories/chapters.

The feedback I get is interesting. In some cases, I've had readers say, "In the next chapter, you should have the characters do this..." with some advice taking the story down some completely different path that wasn't even hinted at in prevous chapters.

Voting and comments are both as imperfect as the people making them. I think the only way to improve it would be to make it much more (and needlessly) complicated, like a survey:

Rate the grammar of this story from 1-5.
Rate the amount that this story kept your attention from 1-5.
Rate the level of arousal you experienced during this story from 1-5.
Rate the highest level of arousal you felt during this story from 1-5.
How likely are you to recommend this story to another member?

And so on.

But that's far too complicated.