Your thoughts on troll psychology

[TarnishedPenny]

OK, not whining and it's definitely not not something keeping me awake at night, but I'd be interested in your thoughts.

New writer, having fun, learning. I don't think that I'm the best in the world, but objectively I think my stuff is at least pretty good. I would (like every writer, I suppose) like better scores, but I'm pretty satisfied and see no reason to worry.

The thing is that there is inevitably a 1 in the initial scores, always and very quickly and regardless of what sort of story it is. At the risk of being called paranoid, it's like somebody out there really doesn't care about the story, just about dissing anything with my byline on it.

So - am I paranoid or is this real and happening to others? Like I said, it's not a major concern, just something that has me curious as to the mentality of somebody like that. Also, any thoughts on why they would do this?

 

[oggbashan]

Join the club. It happens to most of us.

 

[ChloeTzang]

OK, not whining and it's definitely not not something keeping me awake at night, but I'd be interested in your thoughts.

New writer, having fun, learning. I don't think that I'm the best in the world, but objectively I think my stuff is at least pretty good. I would (like every writer, I suppose) like better scores, but I'm pretty satisfied and see no reason to worry.

The thing is that there is inevitably a 1 in the initial scores, always and very quickly and regardless of what sort of story it is. At the risk of being called paranoid, it's like somebody out there really doesn't care about the story, just about dissing anything with my byline on it.

So - am I paranoid or is this real and happening to others? Like I said, it's not a major concern, just something that has me curious as to the mentality of somebody like that. Also, any thoughts on why they would do this?

No, it's not you whining. There's horrible nasty trolls out there that take delight in 1* ing poor authors. Happens to all of us. They're just enjoying giving us a hard time. React and you simply add to their enjoyment. Just don't post a story in "Loving Wives" until you understand the trolls ... should you be so inclined, ask here and you will be educated....

 

[TarnishedPenny]

OK, so it's real. In one sense I'm comforted.

You've both been around the block once or thrice. Any idea as to what motivates such poor creatures? I doubt it's jealousy. Is it just that this is the only way they can feel powerful or such? Weird, anyway.

 

[ChloeTzang]

OK, so it's real. In one sense I'm comforted.

You've both been around the block once or thrice. Any idea as to what motivates such poor creatures? I doubt it's jealousy. Is it just that this is the only way they can feel powerful or such? Weird, anyway.

Not knowing any such denizens of the dark depths of the human psych personally, I can only guess. mostly I think they just enjoy misery. You do get pedantic assholes too who will rate you low based on their perception of your grammar and spelling. Your story might not be something they actually like or they might just be in a bad mood. You name it. After a while it's mostly just background static and you ignore it. If you look thru thethresds here it gets dicussed a lot. It's something every new author discovers and the lucky ones like you that make it here find out quickly.

And welcome to the AH by the way. Hang around, it can be fun.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Thanks. I am having fun. 'Background static' - great way to look at it.

 

[lovecraft68]

Its bandwidth courage. Trolls are people who are not happy with life and are angry and miserable. They can't spew their hate in real life because they'll get their asses handed to them

So they go online and one bomb stories and leave hateful but always anonymous reviews and try to take joy away from other people in a quest to make them as miserable as themselves.

 

[SimonDoom]

The troll phenomenon exists throughout social media. The cause, I think, is that there's no cost to it. The Internet allows a certain kind of person to indulge in his or her worst behavior with no consequence. I'm not convinced that these are unhappy people. I think it's more the case that a lot of people have a side to them that, if unchecked, will come out in ugly ways. The Internet is like a virtual version of the island in Lord of the Flies; it brings out the inner savage in some people.

It's not just here. I see people on Facebook saying "Fuck you" to people they disagree with all the time. These are people who probably would never think to talk that way to someone in person, but they think nothing of talking this way in Facebook threads.


Be patient. It's shocking and discouraging at first, but you get used to it, after a while.

As a practical matter, story scores typically rebound once most of the trolls are finished with their evil-doing and Laurel's sweeps take care of some of their handiwork.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Thanks. I am having fun. 'Background static' - great way to look at it.

So as you can see, a subject we are all familiar with and I defer to those with more knowledge on the subject. I do enjoy my trolls most of the time tho. I'm sure in real life they might actually be quite nice, but as Simon and Lovecraft say, with anonymity the side you might never see comes out....

Anyhow you should come over to Tex's coffee shop and introduce yourself. Just ignore the girl in the string bikini and the lovely lady withe the whip. Magica is ace tho and who knows who else might drop by.

But if it's something from Cthulhu, just remember it's Texas.

 

[SimonDoom]

. . . Tex's coffee shop and introduce yourself. Just ignore the girl in the string bikini and the lovely lady withe the whip. .

Obviously, I've been missing out. Am going to check this out.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

As a practical matter, story scores typically rebound once most of the trolls are finished with their evil-doing and Laurel's sweeps take care of some of their handiwork.

If you're not familiar with "sweeps", Laurel has some kind of algorithm that identifies illegitimate 1* votes. Nobody but Laurel knows how it works, but every so often, the algorithm "sweeps" out some of the low votes. There is no set schedule for this, but once your stories are swept, your scores will improve.

 

[SimonDoom]

If you're not familiar with "sweeps", Laurel has some kind of algorithm that identifies illegitimate 1* votes. Nobody but Laurel knows how it works, but every so often, the algorithm "sweeps" out some of the low votes. There is no set schedule for this, but once your stories are swept, your scores will improve.

How this works is one of the great mysteries of this Site, and that's probably a good thing.

 

[NotWise]

If you're not familiar with "sweeps", Laurel has some kind of algorithm that identifies illegitimate 1* votes. Nobody but Laurel knows how it works, but every so often, the algorithm "sweeps" out some of the low votes. There is no set schedule for this, but once your stories are swept, your scores will improve.

The process isn't limited to 1* votes. I've seen quite a few 5* votes removed as well, but the result is usually to push the score up. Sometimes *way* up.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

The process isn't limited to 1* votes. I've seen quite a few 5* votes removed as well, but the result is usually to push the score up. Sometimes *way* up.

Really? Huh. Well, I guess that ends my career as the "Anonymous Fiver," trawling the new story lists at three in the morning and clicking quick 5* votes on random authors so they could feel good about their stories. Guess I'll hang up my mask and cape.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Obviously, I've been missing out. Am going to check this out.

Just watch out. Someone just fired a 12 gauges magnesium shell out through Tex's front door. Knock and announce yourself.

 

[lovecraft68]

Just watch out. Someone just fired a 12 gauges magnesium shell out through Tex's front door. Knock and announce yourself.

Now I have the image of the mother from Every which way but loose sitting on the porch in the rocking chair firing her shot gun at the motorcycle gang.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If you're not familiar with "sweeps", Laurel has some kind of algorithm that identifies illegitimate 1* votes. Nobody but Laurel knows how it works, but every so often, the algorithm "sweeps" out some of the low votes. There is no set schedule for this, but once your stories are swept, your scores will improve.

Sweeps run regularly over the period of a competition, so scores can move up and down, all over the place, as junk scoring is cleared. All stories are swept, not just comp entries. Between comps, maybe once a month, from the way I've seen my scores move about. After a while, it all settles down.

It seems writers eventually discover this and take heart, but the muppets one-bombing never do.

There are different schools of thought as to trolling comments and what to do with them. Some consider it a badge of honour to keep every one, other writers deny trolls air, and delete trolling "comments" immediately. It's your call as a writer to make, how to keep your backyard tidy, nobody else's.

 

[NotWise]

Really? Huh. Well, I guess that ends my career as the "Anonymous Fiver," trawling the new story lists at three in the morning and clicking quick 5* votes on random authors so they could feel good about their stories. Guess I'll hang up my mask and cape.

So it's YOU!

It's too bad, but there are invalid 5* votes, too. The best documentation I have is on one of my stories where the votes have come in so slowly that I know exactly each vote cast and each vote removed. It's had two 1* votes, one 2* vote and two 5* votes swept. The story has a high score,so removing the 5* votes didn't move the results very much either time it happened.

 

[My I]

Trolls are simply people who's brains have not developed past that of a ten yr old. They are piss poor examples of humanity and they know it. Their lives are so worthless that the only way they can feel as though they have ANY power in the world is to trash other people's work. But even there they have to do it anonymously so no one laughs in their face, proving once again how worthless they really are.

 

[My I]

But if it's something from Cthulhu, just remember it's Texas.

Ya know... I was heading out of Laredo a couple days ago and saw a sign for a town that, at glance, I would have sworn said Cthulhu.

 

[MindsMirror]

How's that line go again?

Feed a troll, starve a feeder. -M
No, you got it backwards again... M

Ignore unless you want more. Even if you vent a comment and delete it, they seem to remember.
-MM

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Ignore unless you want more. Even if you vent a comment and delete it, they seem to remember.

Comments are all good, to be honest. It was just that one little post-posting critter which (not who) had me curious.

Thanks for the insight, all. Maybe I'll drop in for a coffee, CT, someday when I'm feeling more public.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Could be. Starting to branch out. In any case, it's been the same for some time, regardless. Appreciate the thought.

 

[RetroFan]

I'm just bemused sometimes about what gets trolls riled up - on this site it often seems to be female characters readers take exception to - but this is far from unique to Literotica.

As I mentioned on another thread a few weeks ago, I was watching some clips from the sitcom 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' on Youtube. I was astonished at the vitriolic, hate-filled comments about the two main female characters on the show, Jeff's wife Susie to some extent and Larry's wife Cheryl to a far greater degree. Some of the comments about Cheryl were absolutely appalling. I have seen similar comments aimed at female characters on other sitcoms that are now no longer on the air, such as Debra from Everybody Loves Raymond and Carrie from The King of Queens.

Do these trolls realize that Susie, Cheryl, Debra and Carrie don't actually exist, but are fictional characters on TV shows devised to make viewers laugh? If they upset you so much, don't watch CYE, ELR or KOQ.

 

[miniwritessmut]

I think it's a misnomer to call them "trolls," because that implies they're just doing it for shits and giggles. I suppose that's easier than considering that a great many of the people out there are reprehensible snot bags, but it's also disingenuous at best. I mean, 60+ million people voted for a racist rapist with obvious ties to organized crime the world over - were they just "trolling?" Nah, they're literal feces.

I look at it like this: who gives a fuck about the outliers? If you're happy with the quality of your work, and it's consistently well-received, you can wear the 1s as a badge of honour, 'cause who the fuck wants their approval anyway?