How is the 'Hot' Badge Earned?

[TadOverdon]

Alternatively if it’s got sex plus sex plus sex plus depravity plus some sort of story it won’t matter about the quality of the writing because the reader will be too busy……..

Don't forget sex. And, oh, right, sex.

 

[rescatooor]

The main problem with this list is that it doesn't apply to all categories. For #1, it applies to the category I read, I/T, but I'm doubtful that it applies to Erotic Horror. #2 doesn't apply to Romance. It may not apply to other categories as well. My understanding is that SF&F readers are there for the world building, not the sex. As for #3, strokers can do quite well in I/T. I don't know about other categories.

Or an alternative reaction - having a happy ending, a sex scene and some meat to the story IMHO are less sure of a path to a red H than having a premise that readers like.

Yeah, it's okay. I backpaddled on it early on and it's been retracted now for everyone's pleasure.

 

[8letters]

Yeah, it's okay. I backpaddled on it early on and it's been retracted now for everyone's pleasure.

There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a good post that sparked some meaningful conversation. Far, far better than some of the posts in this thread that serve mainly to suck the enjoyment out of reading the thread.

 

[rescatooor]

There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a good post that sparked some meaningful conversation. Far, far better than some of the posts in this thread that serve mainly to suck the enjoyment out of reading the thread.

Not embarrassed. Just believe talking any further on that list would he highly redundant, seeing as arguing against it would be arguing against a position that no one here holds. But hell, I might be wrong about that too.

 

[oggbashan]

Despite hundreds of stories posted on Lit, I have no way to ensure that any of my stories will get a red H.

When I post a story, I have no idea how it will be received. Some surprise me by getting an H, but I am not surprised when that H becomes a troll target.

Some do badly and I do not know which will be which.

 

[lovecraft68]

Generalizations become that by large sample sizes. Same for stereotypes, at the core of every stereotype there is truth.

So, one side, no you can never say "all and you can never say none" about anything or anyone.

But what you can do, over time, is see what does well here and what does not, and in whatever category you write in because the readership in each is different.

But look at the How to section, so many essays about how to write a popular story in a specific category by authors who have a lot of experience here. There is a formula to max a score and its discovered by knowing the readership.

So, it can be said that "this is what people like" it does not mean all people, but if you have a story with a 4.89 on 1500 votes and mostly positive comments...I think you can say people liked it.

I can write two stories in any category. One will get a decent score because I'll go by what I know works. One I can turn into a total bomb, by giving them what they don't like.

I think you can say you know what most people want in a given category providing you've read/written there for a period of time.

 

[Athalia]

It is an indication that people LIKE the story, not necessarily that it is 'Hot'.

True. My highest rated submission to this site is an essay which has nothing in the way of stroke material, unless the reader is truly desperate:

https://www.literotica.com/s/i-want-to-make-love-to-you-1

I've heard that when a story finally achieves that red "H," an author will sometimes turn off the voting on the story to prevent it from slipping down in the ratings again. Is that true?

 

[NotWise]

True. My highest rated submission to this site is an essay which has nothing in the way of stroke material, unless the reader is truly desperate:

https://www.literotica.com/s/i-want-to-make-love-to-you-1

I've heard that when a story finally achieves that red "H," an author will sometimes turn off the voting on the story to prevent it from slipping down in the ratings again. Is that true?

I've heard of that. I think I've even heard from people who did it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've heard that when a story finally achieves that red "H," an author will sometimes turn off the voting on the story to prevent it from slipping down in the ratings again. Is that true?

Some do, yes.

If it's in a contest though, it's no longer eligible for a place, nor a prize.

 

[SimonDoom]

True. My highest rated submission to this site is an essay which has nothing in the way of stroke material, unless the reader is truly desperate:

https://www.literotica.com/s/i-want-to-make-love-to-you-1

I've heard that when a story finally achieves that red "H," an author will sometimes turn off the voting on the story to prevent it from slipping down in the ratings again. Is that true?

That's a flaw in the system. The score ought to disappear if someone turns off voting.

 

[water_moutina]

A sure shot way to get the hot badge is to have a story that takes place in summer.

More experienced authors would say I'm wrong but they are just jelly and they don't want you to know this loop hole

 

[LAHomedog]

Write a compelling story.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

Write a compelling story.

THIS!

If its a good story that pulls the reader in, follows the rules of the universe you created, and doesn't burst the bubble of suspension of disbelief, people will upvote it.

There's a couple of exceptions to this. First, trolls who constantly down vote stuff they don't like. Example " I really like your writing but I gave it one star because calling women slave cunts is demeaning to women " My stories are alt history where criminals are sentenced to terms of penal slavery. The slang term for convicts is slave cunt or slave cock. Incarceration is pretty demeaning.

The second is the Loving Wives category. Ratings there are akin to playing Russian roulette with one empty chamber as far as I can tell.

 

[LAHomedog]

THIS!

If its a good story that pulls the reader in, follows the rules of the universe you created, and doesn't burst the bubble of suspension of disbelief, people will upvote it.

There's a couple of exceptions to this. First, trolls who constantly down vote stuff they don't like. Example " I really like your writing but I gave it one star because calling women slave cunts is demeaning to women "

Yeah! I wrote a story about blow jobs and deepthroating. It was in the tags. A troll gives me a comment, "I don't like any story that includes deepthroat. 1-star."

If that is the case, why read the the damn story. Or was he just searching the tags for "deepthroat" and 1-bombing without reading the story? That would be my guess.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That's a flaw in the system. The score ought to disappear if someone turns off voting.

I know several authors who locked their whole story file down after massive troll attacks - their decision to do so was legit, I think. Their scores are still valid - why should they lose their score visibility under those circumstances?

You can also unlock a score once trolltards have left you alone - that knocks you out of any contest prize, which is appropriate, but readers can keep voting, once the story is unlocked. That's also a fair use of the site's tools.

 

[MelissaBaby]

That's a flaw in the system. The score ought to disappear if someone turns off voting.

Agreed. The 30 Days Toplist has no qualifying minimum vote count. Nearly every submission I make starts out with a score over 4.90 for the first ten to twenty votes. What is to stop me from turning off voting at the end of the first day, and locking it the #1 spot for the month? I'd forfeit the right to be in any contests, but I'd probably increase my views significantly.

 

[oggbashan]

Agreed. The 30 Days Toplist has no qualifying minimum vote count. Nearly every submission I make starts out with a score over 4.90 for the first ten to twenty votes. What is to stop me from turning off voting at the end of the first day, and locking it the #1 spot for the month? I'd forfeit the right to be in any contests, but I'd probably increase my views significantly.

I have had several stories over the years reach ten votes with a perfect 5.00. But when that is visible, reality takes over. It is usually hit with several 1 votes within hours. Eventually, it settles down to a more accurate rating.

But as I have said above - a story that gets a rating of 4.5 and Hot need not have ANY sex at all. Some of my Hs in Romance have no sex. The rating shows whether voters like the story, not how erotic it is.

 

[SimonDoom]

I know several authors who locked their whole story file down after massive troll attacks - their decision to do so was legit, I think. Their scores are still valid - why should they lose their score visibility under those circumstances?

You can also unlock a score once trolltards have left you alone - that knocks you out of any contest prize, which is appropriate, but readers can keep voting, once the story is unlocked. That's also a fair use of the site's tools.

If you lock in your vote after it's spiked, it's not legitimate. I feel for people who've had their stories attacked by trolls, but it doesn't change the fact that their score, if they lock it in, isn't subject to the same rules and doesn't mean the same thing as the score of someone who never does that. I've never once turned off voting, for instance. I've had scores sometimes spike a bit and then drop. I'm at a disadvantage relative to the person whose score artificially appears higher than mine because they locked in the score. Also, their score is less accurate for the readers who use the scores.

If we get rid of the red H, then there is likely to be somewhat trolling of stories hovering right over that number, I think.

I think people worry too much about high scores, and getting rid of the red H also would give people less reason to worry about scores.

 

[rescatooor]

I know that turning off voting disqualifies you for the contests but these stories still appear on the top lists. Imagine I wrote a LW story, managed to get enough people to vote 5* on it (friends and family, etc.) and then as soon as I have reached 10 votes I turn it off. People don't see how many people have voted on the story and often they don't even see if the voting has been turned off. I'm going to be living at the top of the top lists indefinitely, assuming the trick worked. I do not think that is right.

 

[oggbashan]

I know that turning off voting disqualifies you for the contests but these stories still appear on the top lists. Imagine I wrote a LW story, managed to get enough people to vote 5* on it (friends and family, etc.) and then as soon as I have reached 10 votes I turn it off. People don't see how many people have voted on the story and often they don't even see if the voting has been turned off. I'm going to be living at the top of the top lists indefinitely, assuming the trick worked. I do not think that is right.

What annoys me more about the Top Lists is the prevalence of chapters of stories, not complete works.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I know that turning off voting disqualifies you for the contests but these stories still appear on the top lists. Imagine I wrote a LW story, managed to get enough people to vote 5* on it (friends and family, etc.) and then as soon as I have reached 10 votes I turn it off. People don't see how many people have voted on the story and often they don't even see if the voting has been turned off. I'm going to be living at the top of the top lists indefinitely, assuming the trick worked. I do not think that is right.

Yeah, I just said that.

 

[rescatooor]

Yeah, I just said that.

Ah sorry!

 

[MelissaBaby]

Ah sorry!

It's fine. That we both thought of it proves that it's something people would think of doing.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I know that turning off voting disqualifies you for the contests but these stories still appear on the top lists. Imagine I wrote a LW story, managed to get enough people to vote 5* on it (friends and family, etc.) and then as soon as I have reached 10 votes I turn it off. People don't see how many people have voted on the story and often they don't even see if the voting has been turned off. I'm going to be living at the top of the top lists indefinitely, assuming the trick worked. I do not think that is right.

Do they though? I thought switching off voting made stories ineligible for top lists. Anybody have an example of a top-list story with voting disabled?

 

[MelissaBaby]

Do they though? I thought switching off voting made stories ineligible for top lists. Anybody have an example of a top-list story with voting disabled?

I have not heard that it does, but it's not like I researched it, either. You may very well be right.