The Authors' Hangout 2011 Halloween Contest Support Thread.

[Darkniciad]

It's all about changing habits. If they get used to it being pointless to bomb with anything but the lowest votes on normal stories ( most of the trolls probably aren't seasonal ) then it should reduce the number cast during contests as well.

It would likely reduce the number of complaints from authors and dry up the troll's lifeblood, too. When it doesn't require almost every vote to be 5 to stay on the reader radar, then not every little dip is a knife in the back.

I might also propose upping the H vote level a little. Vote totals are steadily increasing across the board. I don't think an increase to 15 minimum ( Don't panic, poets. I would suggest that it shouldn't go up for poetry! ) is out of line with the increase in voting.

It might make it a little harder for new authors in low-vote categories, but shouldn't be overwhelming. Maybe another two or three stories posted to gather that initial readership. The new H-level should balance it out for even those categories that would be affected.

In the end, it's an internet poll, and there's only so much you can do

 

[madam_noe]

On one story, the vote total has been alternating between 100 and 101. I suspect some troll is checking and seeing if his or vote was swept and is voting again if it has. The other story has stayed at 35 votes for about two days now. The last four votes were three 1's and a 2, so I expect these to be swept. If they aren't, I will lose what little confidence I have in the hoover.

Hey there, I'm not the most technically-minded person, so forgive my ignorance, but can a reader actually check the number of votes on a story? I thought only the author could see it.

Just in case there are burgeoning trolls watching this there's no need for anyone to explain how it can be done, I'm just curious can it be? That's a little scary. I thought people could just see the # of views, # of favorites, comments, and the score.

 

[sr71plt]

Once again, a contest is an exercise in comparison with other stories in the contest (a story just submitted to the general list doesn't need to be considered in competition; it can be scored entirely on its own standalone merits).

So, the purpose of scoring is different for the two and there's every reason to approach your scoring of a contest story differently than one not submitted for competition.

A 3 vote is not a bomb--in either of the contexts. The website has defined 3 as a good score. If you see it as a bomb in the context of the contests, 4 is a bomb as well. Out of a field of 200 stories with only 3 win/place/show positions, anything but a 5 vote is you saying--and voting--that the story isn't in contention.

A contest needs a vote spread to be legitimate/fair. To reach this the best way, each voter reading several stories in a contest should participate in giving that wider vote spread--it's a competitive contest, not a standalone determination.

So, if you are taking a contest seriously, you should be using a wide range of voting, not just a 4 (which is also a "bomb" vote if you think a 3 is) and a 5.

The issue with these contests and all forms of "American Idol/Dancing With the Stars" type voting is that there is no integrity to the voting structure at all. It's mostly a personality love/hate or you scratch my back/I'll scratch yours exercise having little to do with the craft of the story itself.

On the separate issue of "hot" designation, a fuller breakdown and designation of relatively better stories could only enhance the website, I think. It would make the authors happier, it would serve the readers better, it would make the trolls' play a little less satisfying for the trolls, and thus it would make a better commercial platform. It seems, commercially, a win-win situation for the website. It's been proposed (even directly) before to the website managers, but the administrators always go off and give enhancements no one was asking for instead (although most of these have been good enhancements too). I just don't know where their heads are in terms of commercial enhancement.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Hey there, I'm not the most technically-minded person, so forgive my ignorance, but can a reader actually check the number of votes on a story? I thought only the author could see it.

Just in case there are burgeoning trolls watching this there's no need for anyone to explain how it can be done, I'm just curious can it be? That's a little scary. I thought people could just see the # of views, # of favorites, comments, and the score.

I'm not really sure of this, because these things change, but I believe the individual author is the only person who can see the number of votes, unless the story in question is in the top lists.

The two stories I mentioned in the post you cited were stories I entered in the contest.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm not really sure of this, because these things change, but I believe the individual author is the only person who can see the number of votes, unless the story in question is in the top lists.

The two stories I mentioned in the post you cited were stories I entered in the contest.

As long as it is on the recently published list of the category page, you can check votes by hovering your cursor over the gold star. This total lags behind the posting of the number to the author's submissions page, though.

 

[Awful Arthur]

Once again, a contest is an exercise in comparison with other stories in the contest (a story just submitted to the general list doesn't need to be considered in competition; it can be scored entirely on its own standalone merits).

So, the purpose of scoring is different for the two and there's every reason to approach your scoring of a contest story differently than one not submitted for competition.

A 3 vote is not a bomb--in either of the contexts. The website has defined 3 as a good score. If you see it as a bomb in the context of the contests, 4 is a bomb as well. Out of a field of 200 stories with only 3 win/place/show positions, anything but a 5 vote is you saying--and voting--that the story isn't in contention.

A contest needs a vote spread to be legitimate/fair. To reach this the best way, each voter reading several stories in a contest should participate in giving that wider vote spread--it's a competitive contest, not a standalone determination.

So, if you are taking a contest seriously, you should be using a wide range of voting, not just a 4 (which is also a "bomb" vote if you think a 3 is) and a 5.

The issue with these contests and all forms of "American Idol/Dancing With the Stars" type voting is that there is no integrity to the voting structure at all. It's mostly a personality love/hate or you scratch my back/I'll scratch yours exercise having little to do with the craft of the story itself.

On the separate issue of "hot" designation, a fuller breakdown and designation of relatively better stories could only enhance the website, I think. It would make the authors happier, it would serve the readers better, it would make the trolls' play a little less satisfying for the trolls, and thus it would make a better commercial platform. It seems, commercially, a win-win situation for the website. It's been proposed (even directly) before to the website managers, but the administrators always go off and give enhancements no one was asking for instead (although most of these have been good enhancements too). I just don't know where their heads are in terms of commercial enhancement.

If a vote is cast soley for the purpose of lowering the authors total score, then it is a bomb whether it be a 1 or a 4. If there is an organized effort to lower one or more author's scores, then those votes are bombs regardless of whether they are 1's or 4's. And the tactic of voting 3's does exist.

Regarding the "H" qualification, I have long contended that the criteria for earning an H should be lowered from 4.5 to 3 and the policy of scrubbing votes should be ended. That way 5's and 1's offset each other, somewhat balancing out the undeserved votes, both 5's and 1's.

 

[sr71plt]

If a vote is cast soley for the purpose of lowering the authors total score, then it is a bomb whether it be a 1 or a 4.

True, but it's for the doer to know that, not for the receiver just to assume it.

 

[Darkniciad]

Regarding the "H" qualification, I have long contended that the criteria for earning an H should be lowered from 4.5 to 3 and the policy of scrubbing votes should be ended. That way 5's and 1's offset each other, somewhat balancing out the undeserved votes, both 5's and 1's.

Moving the bar to 3 would mean that almost every story would have an H, and defeats the purpose of the visual cue. May as well remove it completely and just go with the score, since that's available in some of the newer updates to Lit. Doubt the readership would be too happy with that, though. They're used to the visual cues.

Remove the sweeps, and one determined fan or foe can ensure that you have whatever score they want.

There's simply no way to prevent someone from casting multiple votes. Only an average amount of internet knowledge and a distinct lack of scruples stands between anyone and casting as many votes as they wish.

Only by removing those multiple votes after the fact can you establish any sort of control ( without requiring sign-up, and probably charging for it as well )

On a related note, I've seen a few votes removed since last night. That's three for me, bringing the grand total swept up to 5 since the beginning of the contest ( that I noticed )

 

[Sugary_Comfort]

Woohoo for sweeps lol! They removed 3 votes and so I went from 4.08 to 4.18. ^_^

 

[PennLady]

Woohoo for sweeps lol! They removed 3 votes and so I went from 4.08 to 4.18. ^_^

Good for you.

I checked mine and haha, five votes gone, .01 difference in score.

 

[Darkniciad]

Odds are that the track tonight will only reflect part of today's sweeps. Just the nature of the beast with the way the various pages of Lit update at different times and frequencies. Tonight's track will be showing more of what happened yesterday than what happened today.

 

[Darkniciad]

And speaking of, here's tonight's track.

The scores are generally ahead of the vote totals, so that probably more accurately represents the effect of the sweeps than the vote total changes.

The average score is no 4.09 with a median of 4.19

The average vote total is 199 with a median of 103 and a total of 26,705

The average number of swept votes is 16 with a median of 3 and a total of 1238, but many stories still haven't shown swept votes.

( doesn't mean that they haven't been swept - just that it hasn't shown up in the toplist where it can be recorded. Various factors can cause this )

No way of knowing for sure, but this is most likely the last ( slightly less than ) 24 hours to read and vote, if you want your vote to count in the contest.

 

[AutumnRayven]

Every time I get a extra .01 I lose 3 votes and that extra. I don't even have friends to go vote a 5 for me which means they are removing legit 5's

 

[Awful Arthur]

And speaking of, here's tonight's track.

The scores are generally ahead of the vote totals, so that probably more accurately represents the effect of the sweeps than the vote total changes.

The average score is no 4.09 with a median of 4.19

The average vote total is 199 with a median of 103 and a total of 26,705

The average number of swept votes is 16 with a median of 3 and a total of 1238, but many stories still haven't shown swept votes.

( doesn't mean that they haven't been swept - just that it hasn't shown up in the toplist where it can be recorded. Various factors can cause this )

No way of knowing for sure, but this is most likely the last ( slightly less than ) 24 hours to read and vote, if you want your vote to count in the contest.

Thanks for keeping the stats, Dark. It has to be time consuming, but it is appreciated.

 

[Darkniciad]

Every time I get a extra .01 I lose 3 votes and that extra. I don't even have friends to go vote a 5 for me which means they are removing legit 5's

Could very well be overzealous readers. I used to have a lot of heartbreak with 5s vanishing in sweeps until I went on a 1 story, 1 vote campaign that I maintain on my website, in my author's notes, and responses to readers to this day.

Let them know that they aren't helping anybody, because the multiple votes get swept, and enough of them might just get their votes wiped out across the board as a habitual "problem voter"

Hardly ever see a 5 vanish now.

Never underestimate a reader's desire to see your score go up if they like the story a lot. Or, in even worse cases, to also vote down your competition in a contest, stories above you on a toplist, etc.

Thanks for keeping the stats, Dark. It has to be time consuming, but it is appreciated.

It's useful to me later on, as well. When people ask questions, I can back up my answers with hard data. When trolls start spouting lies, I can rebut them with hard data.

It's a win/win for me

I'll release the full track once the winners are announced. Unlike a certain troll who regularly posts the whole list as a roadmap for the leaders to get bombed to hell and back. He truly is the king of scumbaggery.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Well, I'm not getting anywhere near the vote numbers of the other contestants but at least my score is back up above the median, now that the first sweep has gone through.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

i shed over 20 votes, which dropped the count to 44 yet increased the score to just trip over the 4.00.

interesting times.

 

[Darkniciad]

Another reason I know that asking your readers to only vote once makes a difference is that I haven't done this in my third name. Stories in that name typically lose a far larger percentage of votes in sweeps, and while the score does go up, it will sometimes dip a bit during early sweeps, only rising at the end -- and not by nearly as much.

If you want to cut down on the heartbreak of lost fives and/or the shock of losing 25-50% of your max vote total, tell your fans to only vote once, not to bomb everybody else, and do it regularly.

 

[AutumnRayven]

Thank you for the tip. Will remember for the next contest.

 

[ScouriesWorld]

A.I.R. Winners announced!!!!!

[size=+2]ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS (A.I.R.)[/size]


A.I.R. HALLOWEEN CONTEST 2011

http://image.blingee.com/images18/content/output/000/000/000/703/683560200_1905158.gif?4

On behalf of all of us associated with the ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS I'd like to offer congrats to the OFFICIAL LITEROTICA winners (except for the cheaters).

I’d also like to post the HALLOWEEN CONTEST winners as picked by the ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS. These selections are not official LITEROTICA winners. Instead they were designed to reward stories that were the true #1 choices of our readers.

Not surprisingly in a contest that is decided by the votes of our readers, the A.I.R. winners list for the HALLOWEEN contest is again dominated by some of LITEROTICA’S all-time greats.

We at A.I.R. would also like to send out our prayers to the lovely sarahhh. Get well hon!

We also like to take a second and ask all of you to remember the brilliant BOSTONFICTIONWRITER who was murdered over two years ago. Rest in Peace big guy.

A.I.R. 2011 HALLOWEEN CONTEST AWARD WINNERS

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
BEST STORY IN THE CONTEST

The Winning Halloween Costume by Rickyroma

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST VIEWS RECEIVED WINNER

Mom and the Halloween Party by Ahabscribe

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST COMMENTS RECEIVED WINNER

The Blood Orange Moon by Rehnquist

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST VOTES RECEIVED WINNER

What Mom Doesn’t Know Will Fuck Her by silkstockinglover

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST FAVORITES RECEIVED (both story and author)

Jen’s Little Brother by scouries

Certain stories were disqualified for category problems, failure to follow the theme, or other major infractions. The stories submitted by ace and little ralphie were all disqualified.

All Non-Erotic stories were disqualified as well as the eleven stories identified by our association computers as ALT stories.

Congratulations to our winners – well done!​

[size=+2]Jacqui O.[/size]
Acting President, A.I.R.
Secretery of the MOST COMMENTED on
and the MOST VOTED on story clubs
Miami Beach, Florida

*Under the ASSOCIATIONS rules a story/author can only win one prize in any contest.
** Minimum numbers of votes are required to qualify in the various categories

 

[Sugary_Comfort]

More sweeps. After the first one yesterday that took off 3 votes changing my score from 4.08 to 4.18, one person voted which dropped the score to 4.17.

Another sweep which took off one vote and has brought my score up to 4.21. Good grief! I think this is still my lowest scoring story just by looking at the scores but considering how many votes it has, it's one of the highest, or IS the highest.

 

[oggbashan]

The sweep reduced my votes to 22 and the rating went UP...

...to a massive 3.77 Wow!

 

[SuperHeroRalph]

[size=+2]ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS (A.I.R.)[/size]


A.I.R. HALLOWEEN CONTEST 2011

http://image.blingee.com/images18/content/output/000/000/000/703/683560200_1905158.gif?4

On behalf of all of us associated with the ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS I'd like to offer congrats to the OFFICIAL LITEROTICA winners (except for the cheaters).

I’d also like to post the HALLOWEEN CONTEST winners as picked by the ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS. These selections are not official LITEROTICA winners. Instead they were designed to reward stories that were the true #1 choices of our readers.

Not surprisingly in a contest that is decided by the votes of our readers, the A.I.R. winners list for the HALLOWEEN contest is again dominated by some of LITEROTICA’S all-time greats.

We at A.I.R. would also like to send out our prayers to the lovely sarahhh. Get well hon!

We also like to take a second and ask all of you to remember the brilliant BOSTONFICTIONWRITER who was murdered over two years ago. Rest in Peace big guy.

A.I.R. 2011 HALLOWEEN CONTEST AWARD WINNERS

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
BEST STORY IN THE CONTEST

The Winning Halloween Costume by Rickyroma

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST VIEWS RECEIVED WINNER

Mom and the Halloween Party by Ahabscribe

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST COMMENTS RECEIVED WINNER

The Blood Orange Moon by Rehnquist

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST VOTES RECEIVED WINNER

What Mom Doesn’t Know Will Fuck Her by silkstockinglover

A.I.R. 2011 Halloween Story Contest
MOST FAVORITES RECEIVED (both story and author)

Jen’s Little Brother by scouries

Certain stories were disqualified for category problems, failure to follow the theme, or other major infractions. The stories submitted by ace and little ralphie were all disqualified.

All Non-Erotic stories were disqualified as well as the eleven stories identified by our association computers as ALT stories.

Congratulations to our winners – well done!​

[size=+2]Jacqui O.[/size]
Acting President, A.I.R.
Secretery of the MOST COMMENTED on
and the MOST VOTED on story clubs
Miami Beach, Florida

*Under the ASSOCIATIONS rules a story/author can only win one prize in any contest.
** Minimum numbers of votes are required to qualify in the various categories

It's funny that you should mention BOSTONFICTIONWRITER, Scouries. I remember his last words, just before I killed him.

"Come closer to the screen, so that everyone doesn't hear."

He said...are you ready, Scouries?

He said to tell you... Actually, he said to tell Scouries that when he was aboard your (ahem) yaucht, row boat actually, that he was surprised how old you were. He said that if you were a day, you were 80-years-old. He said that you had the smell of urine because you wore Depends. He said you were crazy. He said not to believe anything that you said. And he said to never touch Gabby, as there was your cum and saliva all over that blow up balloon.

"Eww. Gross."

Anyway, that's for remembering me, sorry, I mean, of course, BOSTONFICTIONWRITER, the greatest and best looking writer ever to write a story on Literotica.

 

[AutumnRayven]

Yay! My edit went up! Not that it really matters but at least that glaring typo isn't there at the end anymore. Hooray for piece if mind. But more yay! Sweeps finally raised my score. Had nothing to complain about in the first place but still...nice to see. Been a ton of fun.

 

[sr71plt]

The sweeps thus far of my contest stories have brought up the ratings, but on many they have dipped the votes far below the eligibility threshold. It looks like only Scouries and his alts were interested in voting on them. Hardly a surprise, as the whole game for me this time was to write in the minor and/or problematical categories--and in a lot of them. That was fun and made it worthwhile. Also making it worthwhile was the marketplace e-book I got out of it, which is top-50 in the Allromanceebooks anthology category.


http://www.allromanceebooks.com/dbimages/624828.jpg