How can I request a personal sweep?

Status
Not open for further replies.
It struck me that people are used to voting on Yelp, Amazon, and so forth (for the latter it can be for books or movies). Perhaps to them erotic literature is just another commodity to consume like, I don't know, micro-wave ovens. The sheer number of stories on these sites, and the rate at which new ones appear, paradoxically encourages this state of mind.

Also, they may unconsciously associate us with big name authors and filmmakers who are interested in the sheer number of consumers but who are probably indifferent to the individual opinions of those people.

In other words, we as the authors don't think of our stories as "products" but many of the readers probably do.

'Classic criticism has never paid any attention to the reader;
for it, the writer is the only person in literature. We are
now beginning to let ourselves be fooled no longer by the
arrogant antiphrastical recriminations of good society in
favour of the·very thing it sets aside, ignores, smothers, or
destroys; we know that to give writing its future, it is
necessary to overthrow the myth: the birth of the reader
must be at the cost of the death of the Author.'(Roland Barthes) as the post-modernists say.

Prepare to die.
 
'Classic criticism has never paid any attention to the reader;
for it, the writer is the only person in literature. We are
now beginning to let ourselves be fooled no longer by the
arrogant antiphrastical recriminations of good society in
favour of the·very thing it sets aside, ignores, smothers, or
destroys; we know that to give writing its future, it is
necessary to overthrow the myth: the birth of the reader
must be at the cost of the death of the Author.'(Roland Barthes) as the post-modernists say.

Prepare to die.

That's pretty heavy. I was going to say that modern societies, regardless of their political orientation, commodify everything, including the people in them. So that which previously existed: was that better or just different? And what was the turning point? The Enlightenment? The Industrial Revolution? Probably I should check what Oswald Spengler had to say, if I ever get around to it.

Maybe we have already died.
 
Last edited:
Wow….I just happened across this thread and thought it was just my stories that had nasty individuals….of course, by my calling it out that way, I’m certain they’ll return with a vengeance but I really don’t care at this point. I had turned off comments due to nastiness. Didn’t realize they’d do the poor rating thing too. My stories that had been in the mid to high 4’s are now all below 3. I honestly feel a bit sorry for people with lives so small that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to tear down someone else. So sad
 
I don't believe I've ever mentioned Camus on here. So who would you recommend that I read?

Apologies, I thought you referenced him on the Perfect Story thread, he came up somewhere. I'd recommend that you stay well clear of anything written by a Frenchman.

Again, I may be wrong, but if it was you who referenced Infinite Jest, thank you for that.
 
In other words, we as the authors don't think of our stories as "products" but many of the readers probably do.

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly how many readers probably think. A story is a commodity. If the consumer doesn't like it, they downvote it, just as they would a product from Amazon that they thought was defective. They don't think about the author as a person they should give two cents about.

As authors, we don't have to cater to this attitude, but we should be mindful of it as a way of preparing for negativity.
 
Authors who are writing for profit will sometimes think of their works as products too--because they go through a process: conceiving, writing, agenting, producing (as a product), and selling (with the author's piece of this being involved at least in the publicity for the book). You can think of a book you've written as a creative work and as a sales product at the same time, and I don't see how it would be wrong to do so. It's a pity if you stop thinking of it as your creative expression, though.
 
Bombing happens, but people underestimate just how much random noise can affect scores.

I ran a simulation for six stories, showing how their averages drift as votes come in. Here's how each story fared over the first 50 votes:

attachment.php


Looking at those lines, it seems like Story #1 has settled down in the 4.60-4.70 range, and story #2 is somewhere around 4.20-4.30, currently sitting 0.36 points below #1.

In fact, the difference between them is just random noise. I set up the simulation so that every story has a "true" score of 4.5. Since readers can't give a 4.5, every individual vote has a 50% chance of being a 4 and a 50% chance of being a 5. On average, in the long term, all these scores will converge to averages of 4.50. No bombing, no bias.

But in the short term, some stories will be luckier than others. Some will get runs of 4s, some will get runs of 5s, and that randomness is enough to create the illusion of a meaningful difference between those scores.

By 100 votes, stories have drifted a little towards the average, but there are still big differences:
attachment.php


If these were real stories, authors would be weaving all sorts of narratives about those random fluctuations, like sailors who see a bunch of stars in the sky and interpret it as a naked woman or whatever:

"My story's scoring 0.36 above his story. Must be because I'm a better writer." (Nope, just good luck for me and bad luck for him.)

"My story was scoring 0.36 above his story, but now my average is coming down and his is coming up... must mean his fans are bombing mine and voting his up." (Nope, just initial good/bad luck being slowly damped out as more votes come in.)

(I did something like this a while back, but it's easier to redo than to find the old thread.)
 
He's a fence sitter. Am I mistaken in believing it was you who referenced Camus recently?
Me, I think. I was referencing my seventeen year old "impress the well read hippy chick" schtik with Sartre and Camus on the bookshelf. Penguin Classics, obviously ;).
 
Me, I think. I was referencing my seventeen year old "impress the well read hippy chick" schtik with Sartre and Camus on the bookshelf. Penguin Classics, obviously ;).

I thought most young readers have moved onto audiobooks. Or at very least ebooks.

Especially with something like Sartre and Camus, the ebook with its search option is pretty handy.
 
Bombing happens, but people underestimate just how much random noise can affect scores.

I ran a simulation for six stories, showing how their averages drift as votes come in. Here's how each story fared over the first 50 votes:
As always, Bramble, your brain, planet, size of. I'm impressed!

My research is more subjective - in my noir story I wrote a central sex scene as GM (well, one character established as bi, by virtue of the main emotional connection in the story) - but how dare I? The story is easily as good as anything else I've written in the last three years, but has only just cracked Red H after 136 votes - if that scene was hetero, it would be up around 4.70 - 4.80, I reckon. Nobody has said anything, of course, but I reckon if I was to see the votes, lots of 3s and 4s.

It's the homophobic undercurrent of Lit, I have no doubt about that.
 
I thought most young readers have moved onto audiobooks. Or at very least ebooks.

Especially with something like Sartre and Camus, the ebook with its search option is pretty handy.
Ah, I feel you've missed a generational clue or two. When I was seventeen the ONLY way to read a book was the paper version; you know, the ones with ink and pages to turn and a cover that got dog eared. I precede audio books and e-books by several decades, just sayin' ;).
 
Ah, I feel you've missed a generational clue or two. When I was seventeen the ONLY way to read a book was the paper version; you know, the ones with ink and pages to turn and a cover that got dog eared. I precede audio books and e-books by several decades, just sayin' ;).

Oh. I thought you were saying this was a thing that still happens. My bad.

Although I did see some Buzzfeed article somewhere recently about how Hadid sisters are popularizing books as accessories...
 
Some sweep was done either late yesterday or early this morning. All of my stories lost two votes between yesterday and this morning, and their scores all increased. They haven't gained back what they lost in the last three weeks, but it is a plus so I'll take it.
 
Some sweep was done either late yesterday or early this morning. All of my stories lost two votes between yesterday and this morning, and their scores all increased. They haven't gained back what they lost in the last three weeks, but it is a plus so I'll take it.

I know some people here think that a sweep goes through the entire database but to me it appears to go through it in sections, at the very least. Whenever someone speaks of a sweep, I find nothing has changed, but then I check again a few days later and things look a bit different.
 
In a somewhat similar vein to bramblethorn, I did this several years ago. If you have just ten or twenty votes, you will dramatically notice the impact of a one bomb. When you have more votes, the impact becomes smaller and smaller. For example at ten votes a one bomb brings a 5 down by .36 to 4.64 rounded, a big change. At 100 votes down by .04 to 4.96. This doesn’t mean we don’t all want our stories to do well, it just means that when your story is so new you can count your votes with just your fingers and toes, wait a few days. Fluctuations quickly get smaller and smaller.

Code:
	10	25	50	100	150	200	250	300	350	400	450	500	750	1000	1250	1500	1750	2000	5000	10000
5.00	4.6364	4.8462	4.9216	4.9604	4.9735	4.9801	4.9841	4.9867	4.9886	4.9900	4.9911	4.9920	4.9947	4.9960	4.9968	4.9973	4.9977	4.9980	4.9992	4.9996
4.95	4.5909	4.7981	4.8725	4.9109	4.9238	4.9303	4.9343	4.9369	4.9387	4.9401	4.9412	4.9421	4.9447	4.9461	4.9468	4.9474	4.9477	4.9480	4.9492	4.9496
4.90	4.5455	4.7500	4.8235	4.8614	4.8742	4.8806	4.8845	4.8870	4.8889	4.8903	4.8914	4.8922	4.8948	4.8961	4.8969	4.8974	4.8978	4.8981	4.8992	4.8996
4.85	4.5000	4.7019	4.7745	4.8119	4.8245	4.8308	4.8347	4.8372	4.8390	4.8404	4.8415	4.8423	4.8449	4.8462	4.8469	4.8474	4.8478	4.8481	4.8492	4.8496
4.80	4.4545	4.6538	4.7255	4.7624	4.7748	4.7811	4.7849	4.7874	4.7892	4.7905	4.7916	4.7924	4.7949	4.7962	4.7970	4.7975	4.7978	4.7981	4.7992	4.7996
4.75	4.4091	4.6058	4.6765	4.7129	4.7252	4.7313	4.7351	4.7375	4.7393	4.7406	4.7417	4.7425	4.7450	4.7463	4.7470	4.7475	4.7479	4.7481	4.7493	4.7496
4.70	4.3636	4.5577	4.6275	4.6634	4.6755	4.6816	4.6853	4.6877	4.6895	4.6908	4.6918	4.6926	4.6951	4.6963	4.6970	4.6975	4.6979	4.6982	4.6993	4.6996
4.65	4.3182	4.5096	4.5784	4.6139	4.6258	4.6318	4.6355	4.6379	4.6396	4.6409	4.6419	4.6427	4.6451	4.6464	4.6471	4.6476	4.6479	4.6482	4.6493	4.6496
4.60	4.2727	4.4615	4.5294	4.5644	4.5762	4.5821	4.5857	4.5880	4.5897	4.5910	4.5920	4.5928	4.5952	4.5964	4.5971	4.5976	4.5979	4.5982	4.5993	4.5996
4.55	4.2273	4.4135	4.4804	4.5149	4.5265	4.5323	4.5359	4.5382	4.5399	4.5411	4.5421	4.5429	4.5453	4.5465	4.5472	4.5476	4.5480	4.5482	4.5493	4.5496
4.50	4.1818	4.3654	4.4314	4.4653	4.4768	4.4826	4.4861	4.4884	4.4900	4.4913	4.4922	4.4930	4.4953	4.4965	4.4972	4.4977	4.4980	4.4983	4.4993	4.4997
4.45	4.1364	4.3173	4.3824	4.4158	4.4272	4.4328	4.4363	4.4385	4.4402	4.4414	4.4424	4.4431	4.4454	4.4466	4.4472	4.4477	4.4480	4.4483	4.4493	4.4497
4.40	4.0909	4.2692	4.3333	4.3663	4.3775	4.3831	4.3865	4.3887	4.3903	4.3915	4.3925	4.3932	4.3955	4.3966	4.3973	4.3977	4.3981	4.3983	4.3993	4.3997
4.35	4.0455	4.2212	4.2843	4.3168	4.3278	4.3333	4.3367	4.3389	4.3405	4.3416	4.3426	4.3433	4.3455	4.3467	4.3473	4.3478	4.3481	4.3483	4.3493	4.3497
4.30	4.0000	4.1731	4.2353	4.2673	4.2781	4.2836	4.2869	4.2890	4.2906	4.2918	4.2927	4.2934	4.2956	4.2967	4.2974	4.2978	4.2981	4.2984	4.2993	4.2997
4.25	3.9545	4.1250	4.1863	4.2178	4.2285	4.2338	4.2371	4.2392	4.2407	4.2419	4.2428	4.2435	4.2457	4.2468	4.2474	4.2478	4.2481	4.2484	4.2494	4.2497
4.20	3.9091	4.0769	4.1373	4.1683	4.1788	4.1841	4.1873	4.1894	4.1909	4.1920	4.1929	4.1936	4.1957	4.1968	4.1974	4.1979	4.1982	4.1984	4.1994	4.1997
4.15	3.8636	4.0288	4.0882	4.1188	4.1291	4.1343	4.1375	4.1395	4.1410	4.1421	4.1430	4.1437	4.1458	4.1469	4.1475	4.1479	4.1482	4.1484	4.1494	4.1497
4.10	3.8182	3.9808	4.0392	4.0693	4.0795	4.0846	4.0876	4.0897	4.0912	4.0923	4.0931	4.0938	4.0959	4.0969	4.0975	4.0979	4.0982	4.0985	4.0994	4.0997
4.05	3.7727	3.9327	3.9902	4.0198	4.0298	4.0348	4.0378	4.0399	4.0413	4.0424	4.0432	4.0439	4.0459	4.0470	4.0476	4.0480	4.0483	4.0485	4.0494	4.0497
4.00	3.7273	3.8846	3.9412	3.9703	3.9801	3.9851	3.9880	3.9900	3.9915	3.9925	3.9933	3.9940	3.9960	3.9970	3.9976	3.9980	3.9983	3.9985	3.9994	3.9997
3.95	3.6818	3.8365	3.8922	3.9208	3.9305	3.9353	3.9382	3.9402	3.9416	3.9426	3.9435	3.9441	3.9461	3.9471	3.9476	3.9480	3.9483	3.9485	3.9494	3.9497
3.90	3.6364	3.7885	3.8431	3.8713	3.8808	3.8856	3.8884	3.8904	3.8917	3.8928	3.8936	3.8942	3.8961	3.8971	3.8977	3.8981	3.8983	3.8986	3.8994	3.8997
3.85	3.5909	3.7404	3.7941	3.8218	3.8311	3.8358	3.8386	3.8405	3.8419	3.8429	3.8437	3.8443	3.8462	3.8472	3.8477	3.8481	3.8484	3.8486	3.8494	3.8497
3.80	3.5455	3.6923	3.7451	3.7723	3.7815	3.7861	3.7888	3.7907	3.7920	3.7930	3.7938	3.7944	3.7963	3.7972	3.7978	3.7981	3.7984	3.7986	3.7994	3.7997
3.75	3.5000	3.6442	3.6961	3.7228	3.7318	3.7363	3.7390	3.7409	3.7422	3.7431	3.7439	3.7445	3.7463	3.7473	3.7478	3.7482	3.7484	3.7486	3.7495	3.7497
3.70	3.4545	3.5962	3.6471	3.6733	3.6821	3.6866	3.6892	3.6910	3.6923	3.6933	3.6940	3.6946	3.6964	3.6973	3.6978	3.6982	3.6985	3.6987	3.6995	3.6997
3.65	3.4091	3.5481	3.5980	3.6238	3.6325	3.6368	3.6394	3.6412	3.6425	3.6434	3.6441	3.6447	3.6465	3.6474	3.6479	3.6482	3.6485	3.6487	3.6495	3.6497
3.60	3.3636	3.5000	3.5490	3.5743	3.5828	3.5871	3.5896	3.5914	3.5926	3.5935	3.5942	3.5948	3.5965	3.5974	3.5979	3.5983	3.5985	3.5987	3.5995	3.5997
3.55	3.3182	3.4519	3.5000	3.5248	3.5331	3.5373	3.5398	3.5415	3.5427	3.5436	3.5443	3.5449	3.5466	3.5475	3.5480	3.5483	3.5485	3.5487	3.5495	3.5497
3.50	3.2727	3.4038	3.4510	3.4752	3.4834	3.4876	3.4900	3.4917	3.4929	3.4938	3.4945	3.4950	3.4967	3.4975	3.4980	3.4983	3.4986	3.4988	3.4995	3.4998
3.45	3.2273	3.3558	3.4020	3.4257	3.4338	3.4378	3.4402	3.4419	3.4430	3.4439	3.4446	3.4451	3.4467	3.4476	3.4480	3.4484	3.4486	3.4488	3.4495	3.4498
3.40	3.1818	3.3077	3.3529	3.3762	3.3841	3.3881	3.3904	3.3920	3.3932	3.3940	3.3947	3.3952	3.3968	3.3976	3.3981	3.3984	3.3986	3.3988	3.3995	3.3998
3.35	3.1364	3.2596	3.3039	3.3267	3.3344	3.3383	3.3406	3.3422	3.3433	3.3441	3.3448	3.3453	3.3469	3.3477	3.3481	3.3484	3.3487	3.3488	3.3495	3.3498
3.30	3.0909	3.2115	3.2549	3.2772	3.2848	3.2886	3.2908	3.2924	3.2934	3.2943	3.2949	3.2954	3.2969	3.2977	3.2982	3.2985	3.2987	3.2989	3.2995	3.2998
3.25	3.0455	3.1635	3.2059	3.2277	3.2351	3.2388	3.2410	3.2425	3.2436	3.2444	3.2450	3.2455	3.2470	3.2478	3.2482	3.2485	3.2487	3.2489	3.2496	3.2498
3.20	3.0000	3.1154	3.1569	3.1782	3.1854	3.1891	3.1912	3.1927	3.1937	3.1945	3.1951	3.1956	3.1971	3.1978	3.1982	3.1985	3.1987	3.1989	3.1996	3.1998
3.15	2.9545	3.0673	3.1078	3.1287	3.1358	3.1393	3.1414	3.1429	3.1439	3.1446	3.1452	3.1457	3.1471	3.1479	3.1483	3.1486	3.1488	3.1489	3.1496	3.1498
3.10	2.9091	3.0192	3.0588	3.0792	3.0861	3.0896	3.0916	3.0930	3.0940	3.0948	3.0953	3.0958	3.0972	3.0979	3.0983	3.0986	3.0988	3.0990	3.0996	3.0998
3.05	2.8636	2.9712	3.0098	3.0297	3.0364	3.0398	3.0418	3.0432	3.0442	3.0449	3.0455	3.0459	3.0473	3.0480	3.0484	3.0486	3.0488	3.0490	3.0496	3.0498
3.00	2.8182	2.9231	2.9608	2.9802	2.9868	2.9900	2.9920	2.9934	2.9943	2.9950	2.9956	2.9960	2.9973	2.9980	2.9984	2.9987	2.9989	2.9990	2.9996	2.9998
2.90	2.7273	2.8269	2.8627	2.8812	2.8874	2.8905	2.8924	2.8937	2.8946	2.8953	2.8958	2.8962	2.8975	2.8981	2.8985	2.8987	2.8989	2.8991	2.8996	2.8998
2.80	2.6364	2.7308	2.7647	2.7822	2.7881	2.7910	2.7928	2.7940	2.7949	2.7955	2.7960	2.7964	2.7976	2.7982	2.7986	2.7988	2.7990	2.7991	2.7996	2.7998
2.70	2.5455	2.6346	2.6667	2.6832	2.6887	2.6915	2.6932	2.6944	2.6952	2.6958	2.6962	2.6966	2.6977	2.6983	2.6986	2.6989	2.6990	2.6992	2.6997	2.6998
2.60	2.4545	2.5385	2.5686	2.5842	2.5894	2.5920	2.5936	2.5947	2.5954	2.5960	2.5965	2.5968	2.5979	2.5984	2.5987	2.5989	2.5991	2.5992	2.5997	2.5998
2.50	2.3636	2.4423	2.4706	2.4851	2.4901	2.4925	2.4940	2.4950	2.4957	2.4963	2.4967	2.4970	2.4980	2.4985	2.4988	2.4990	2.4991	2.4993	2.4997	2.4999
2.40	2.2727	2.3462	2.3725	2.3861	2.3907	2.3930	2.3944	2.3953	2.3960	2.3965	2.3969	2.3972	2.3981	2.3986	2.3989	2.3991	2.3992	2.3993	2.3997	2.3999
2.30	2.1818	2.2500	2.2745	2.2871	2.2914	2.2935	2.2948	2.2957	2.2963	2.2968	2.2971	2.2974	2.2983	2.2987	2.2990	2.2991	2.2993	2.2994	2.2997	2.2999
2.20	2.0909	2.1538	2.1765	2.1881	2.1921	2.1940	2.1952	2.1960	2.1966	2.1970	2.1973	2.1976	2.1984	2.1988	2.1990	2.1992	2.1993	2.1994	2.1998	2.1999
2.10	2.0000	2.0577	2.0784	2.0891	2.0927	2.0945	2.0956	2.0963	2.0969	2.0973	2.0976	2.0978	2.0985	2.0989	2.0991	2.0993	2.0994	2.0995	2.0998	2.0999
2.00	1.9091	1.9615	1.9804	1.9901	1.9934	1.9950	1.9960	1.9967	1.9972	1.9975	1.9978	1.9980	1.9987	1.9990	1.9992	1.9993	1.9994	1.9995	1.9998	1.9999
1.00	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000
 
I know some people here think that a sweep goes through the entire database but to me it appears to go through it in sections, at the very least. Whenever someone speaks of a sweep, I find nothing has changed, but then I check again a few days later and things look a bit different.
It goes through in several passes, from what I can see from my own story stats. My latest story has had the same number of votes this last 24 hours, but the score has moved up twice in the same period.
 
Apologies, I thought you referenced him on the Perfect Story thread, he came up somewhere. I'd recommend that you stay well clear of anything written by a Frenchman.

Again, I may be wrong, but if it was you who referenced Infinite Jest, thank you for that.

Yes, I did mention Infinite Jest, but I confess I haven't read it yet. Wallace has written some good essays, but nine-hundred page novels (it that the length?) usually remain on my "to do" list. I have the same problem with Underworld.

So if not Frenchmen, then Germans? Englishmen? Americans?
 
Authors who are writing for profit will sometimes think of their works as products too--because they go through a process: conceiving, writing, agenting, producing (as a product), and selling (with the author's piece of this being involved at least in the publicity for the book). You can think of a book you've written as a creative work and as a sales product at the same time, and I don't see how it would be wrong to do so. It's a pity if you stop thinking of it as your creative expression, though.

Well, I guess we can be grateful that we have an online outlet for our work, even if we don't get paid for it. Twenty-five years ago, most of us would be scribbling in the dark, as I might put it.

When did novels really become something where sales mattered? Maybe the early 19th Century? Movies have always been that way.
 
Me, I think. I was referencing my seventeen year old "impress the well read hippy chick" schtik with Sartre and Camus on the bookshelf. Penguin Classics, obviously ;).

You were lucky you even had well-read hippie chicks to impress. I didn't meet one of those until I was nineteen. For some reason, she liked both John Steinbeck and Joseph Conrad, which strikes me now as an odd combination.
 
It’s not just ‘one bombs’

A simple 4 vote can lower a score and a single 5 vote cannot bring it all the way back up. (I learned this first in college when a single B could hurt the GPA and a string of A’s couldn’t bring the GPA all the way back up.)

Take the example of 50 votes with an average of 4.8 That is a total of 240. Add one 4 vote and you get 244 which gives an average of 4.784. Now give a 5 vote and the total is 249 and the average is now 4.788. Still below the original 4.8.

This whole effect is more prominent when the original score is higher (closer to 5.0) and when there are fewer votes all together.
 
I know some people here think that a sweep goes through the entire database but to me it appears to go through it in sections, at the very least. Whenever someone speaks of a sweep, I find nothing has changed, but then I check again a few days later and things look a bit different.

I think it's done in sections too. And there was no sweeping of my recent stories last night.
 
Well, I guess we can be grateful that we have an online outlet for our work, even if we don't get paid for it. Twenty-five years ago, most of us would be scribbling in the dark, as I might put it.

When did novels really become something where sales mattered? Maybe the early 19th Century? Movies have always been that way.

The point is that once a story is published even here for free read, it becomes a product (look at all of the posts on what essentially amounts to selling the work--meaning being read, voted on, and/or commented on) and that there's nothing evil about viewing it both as a creative expression and as a product once it's been published. (Being posted to Literotica is a form of publishing it.)
 
I should also add that if a score is close to 4, say 4.1, an additional vote of four does little to change things whereas a score of 5 has a greater impact. The statement about this being more of an impact at lower vote counts still stands.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top