Comments vs scoring vs Author's feelings

[SimonDoom]

Perhaps literotica should implement a 2 tier rating system. Use the stars for the quality of the work and perhaps eggplant (males), peach (non binary) and taco (females) icons for "sticky fingers" ratings.

Somewhere, Manu and Laurel are reading that and doing tequila shots.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Tequila, instant hangover!

Somewhere, Manu and Laurel are reading that and doing tequila shots.

 

[WCSGarland]

 

[SmilingLez]

Somewhere, Manu and Laurel are reading that and doing tequila shots.

I hope so. It IS Friday

 

[MillieDynamite]

When you're a self-employed ghostwriter (and piddling authoress in erotica), Friday night is just another sleep period before you have work again.

I hope so. It IS Friday

 

[DHerbert]

On scores, it’s tempting to say that if someone votes three, that’s a neutral vote. But it isn’t. In the same way, a score just over four doesn’t mean that your story is in the top 20% of stories.

Okay, I'm missing something here. I give a 3 when I think the story is average as I'm rating from 1-5, and is that not the intention?

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Okay, I'm missing something here. I give a 3 when I think the story is average as I'm rating from 1-5, and is that not the intention?

It's exactly the intention.
For purposes of contests where you need to be in the 4.9 range to win, a rating of 3 takes a lot of 5s to average back up.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Okay, I'm missing something here. I give a 3 when I think the story is average as I'm rating from 1-5, and is that not the intention?

It's the intention of the admin, but unfortunately the flaw in the system design is that it does not take into account that the vast majority of the voters do not share that intention at all.

Most voters vote 5 or nothing.
Then there is a group who vote 5 or 1.
Then there is a group who will vote 5 or 4 or maybe 1.
Waaaay down the list some of us vote 3 for average, 4 for good, 2 for bleh, 5 for awesome and 1 for terrible.

 

[DHerbert]

It's the intention of the admin, but unfortunately the flaw in the system design is that it does not take into account that the vast majority of the voters do not share that intention at all.

Most voters vote 5 or nothing.
Then there is a group who vote 5 or 1.
Then there is a group who will vote 5 or 4 or maybe 1.
Waaaay down the list some of us vote 3 for average, 4 for good, 2 for bleh, 5 for awesome and 1 for terrible.

Ah. I'm an oddity then, not that this is a surprise. I'm an accountant, and I give 1-5 depending on what I think of the story, and always vote on everything I read. Partly to leave feedback, but also as it marks a story as having been read so I don't come back to it again later - if I'm not sure I'll look to the rating at the end and skip it if I've already rated.

 

[Voboy]

Okay, I'm missing something here. I give a 3 when I think the story is average as I'm rating from 1-5, and is that not the intention?

That's the intention, but of note is that the site has a red H that it pins onto stories whose mean score is above 4.5. MANY writers feel that the red H is a driver of eyes to their stories, meaning that any score below 5 (since you can't rate in decimals) is a de facto punishment in that it creates an uphill climb to get them back to the red H, and thus increase that story's visibility.

As a reader, I confess that I do gravitate toward red-H stories in particular categories. So, as a writer, I naturally value my own red Hs.

It took me quite awhile to grasp this dynamic. Obviously, if you gave the story a 3, you don't think it deserves the red H. Well and good. But if you think the story or its writer had some redeeming qualities, a 4 might have been kinder and achieved the same result as far as you keeping it out of red-H territory.

Some writers probably don't care about red Hs, at which point? None of the numbers have much meaning, other than contributing to whatever motivates that writer. They'll have their own ideas about how they view their numbers, as is their prerogative.

 

[DHerbert]

That's the intention, but of note is that the site has a red H that it pins onto stories whose mean score is above 4.5. MANY writers feel that the red H is a driver of eyes to their stories, meaning that any score below 5 (since you can't rate in decimals) is a de facto punishment in that it creates an uphill climb to get them back to the red H, and thus increase that story's visibility.

As a reader, I confess that I do gravitate toward red-H stories in particular categories. So, as a writer, I naturally value my own red Hs.

It took me quite awhile to grasp this dynamic. Obviously, if you gave the story a 3, you don't think it deserves the red H. Well and good. But if you think the story or its writer had some redeeming qualities, a 4 might have been kinder and achieved the same result as far as you keeping it out of red-H territory.

Some writers probably don't care about red Hs, at which point? None of the numbers have much meaning, other than contributing to whatever motivates that writer. They'll have their own ideas about how they view their numbers, as is their prerogative.

I can see how a writer wants higher rating - I am one and would like lots of 5's myself, and the red H is pleasing! However, I give what seems fair, although I very rarely go below 3. I'll also round up, so if I'm swithering between a 3 and 4 I'll give the higher rating.

 

[Voboy]

I can see how a writer wants higher rating - I am one and would like lots of 5's myself, and the red H is pleasing! However, I give what seems fair, although I very rarely go below 3. I'll also round up, so if I'm swithering between a 3 and 4 I'll give the higher rating.

More of us should use "swithering."

 

[WCSGarland]

More of us should use "swithering."

Some of us prefer our quandaries over swithering.

 

[FrancesScott]

Okay, I'm missing something here. I give a 3 when I think the story is average as I'm rating from 1-5, and is that not the intention?

Not everyone else does. This is not rocket science. It’s a J curve as has been pointed out by me and others many times.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_curve

 

[designatedvictim]

More of us should use "swithering."

You're right.

I usually dither, but this has a better flavor to it.

 

[DeMont]

If you mean that one reader scored your piece as a 4, then yes, that is a positive feedback. but if you mean an average score of 4, actually no, that is a bad score. A fair amount hated it and most didn't like it all that much. Someone crunched the numbers a few months ago and the mean score on lit is around 4.4. This means that a score of 4.0 is well below average. The same data showed that a score of approx 3.75 was the 10th percentile, so a score of 4.0 is probably around the 20th percentile. That's pretty bad.

For the record, my average score is between 3.8 and 3.9, which is appalling. Big deal. (shrug)

Now, I know most of you have your opinions of me and my opinions on scores, but once in a blue moon a knowledgeable or otherwise talented writer will check out something that I wrote and and remark, "How the fuck did this get such a shit score like 3.9?"

The reasons are:
1 ~ I don't recite porn fantasies (nothing against them, they just bore me to death).
2 ~ I don't write unicorns (same reasons).
3 ~ I don't write incest (that's a big one).
4 ~ I write sexy assertive charming men (a turn off for many male porn readers).
5 ~ My stories have plot with motive and conflict - two downsides to this, readers who want porn don't want conflict, extra plot drives down the smut ratio.
These 5 basically amount to the fact that I don't pander. Now there are other authors who score well without pandering, but I don't even come close to accidentally pandering. My tastes just do not align with the masses. That's my problem, not the readership's. But I'm also aware that it means that the scores have nothing to do with my actual ability as a writer, so I need another metric for that. Basically, feedback through comments and peer review.
6 ~ There are childish fucktards in this forum who get butthurt when I speak the truth and some of them take it out on my catalog.
7 ~ Due to my low popularity, I don't have a following to offset the downvotes, so the bombers win.

Except that they don't win because I might be the only person on this forum who doesn't attach emotions to my scores.

@pink_silk_glove
Good evening my dear colleague, if you don't mind I am going to copy this entry and paste it into my "Guides to Lit" folder. You seem to be able to hit every nail square on the head, every time, without the aid of a nail-gun.

The top five, basically amounting to the fact that you don't pander especially.

I am very much a writer who writes what I want to write. If it rates highly, great, if it doesn't rate, fine. As long as it's what I WANT my story to be then I'm fine with it. I only put it out because I think it may hold some interest for someone out there, be it 1,2,3,4 or 5 people or whatever.
Thank you for your succinct message.
Deepest respects,
D.

 

[IWroteThis]

the scores slowly creep up and the number who have saved it goes up, as others find them.

I have observed this as well, although the sweeps that remove a bunch of 1* ratings play into that as well.

However, it doesn't always work. What was once my highest rated story by a good margin is in BDSM. I wrote an alternate version in response to a reader challenge, but those are my only two stories in the category. Every time I post a story in another category, the rating on that story drops. It's now my sixth-highest rated story and will probably loose the H icon within a few more of my stories getting published. It won't be the first H I've lost, but it will hurt the worst.

My lowest rated story is a rush job I did for the 750 Word Project when I first created my account here. It's my only story in NonConsent, and it is definitely the worst story I've posted. It's the one story I've seriously thought about deleting and/or rewriting.

Still, it's frustrating, as both are dropping because people like my stories enough to read them all, no matter which category they're in.

 

[IWroteThis]

We all know that LW is the special case.

The truth is that Loving Wives is a category that shouldn't even exist. It's an aggregate that is more aggravating than purposeful. You take some Fetish, NonConsent, Group Sex, Romance, Non-Erotic, Interracial, and BDSM, season with dashes of Incest, Mature, Lesbian, and Gay, then blend until nobody likes the flavor.

That's Loving Wives in a nutshell.

 

[IWroteThis]

They in no way reflect quality of the writing or story telling. The score is so heavily weighted by content, it removes the honesty of the vote...

Sorry, but this is an adult entertainment web site. The words under the stars should make it clear that ratings are about enjoyment, not classroom grades. If a score isn't heavily weighted by content, that's the dishonest vote!

Have you ever noticed how the various people's choice awards always differ from the corresponding industry insider awards? You see, insiders think like you. It's just about the technical details. The people, aka readers, on the other hand, care about whether or not they actually liked it. Technical details impact that, but are not the be-all and end-all to them.

Your attitude towards readers is exactly what's killing Disney…

 

[Cagivagurl]

Sorry, but this is an adult entertainment web site. The words under the stars should make it clear that ratings are about enjoyment, not classroom grades. If a score isn't heavily weighted by content, that's the dishonest vote!

Have you ever noticed how the various people's choice awards always differ from the corresponding industry insider awards? You see, insiders think like you. It's just about the technical details. The people, aka readers, on the other hand, care about whether or not they actually liked it. Technical details impact that, but are not the be-all and end-all to them.

Your attitude towards readers is exactly what's killing Disney…

OMG... Really.... I wish somebody had told me... Imagine that. Adult entertainment, Colour me shocked.

I struggle to see how the fact it is an "Adult" Site differentiates it from others????
Entertainment, is entertainment....

Scoring of anything should be unbiased. (And this is only my opinion).

Scoring should reflect every aspect of what is being judged. Regardless of the medium. Seeing, feeling, hearing, tasting...
To offer a score, you should first consider all aspects of the piece. As we are discussing writing, lets focus on that.

Any offered score should consider, Quality, construction, characters, plots, themes. Not just whether the (Content) Appealed to you.

I consider votes that did not include all aspects of a written piece as unbalanced, and yes dishonest.

You might say, "That was well written, good characters, interesting plot, and intriguing dialogue. But, I didn't care for the content matter. So perhaps a fair vote might be 4... It ticked 4 of the boxes...

Voting 1 based solely on content, is dishonest... You didn't like the content... Big deal, don't read it. If you were interested enough to read till the end. It must have at least held your attention.

Vote 1 if you thought it ticked none of the boxes.

My attitude to readers is...

I posted something... Like it or not. I don't care. Vote or don't vote. I don't care. I refuse to pander to particular groups, just to get (Good scores, or comments).
I am not silly enough to think everybody will like what I posted. Some stories I have posted, I did so knowing they would not be received well by certain groups...

I post them, because I enjoyed toying with a particular theme, or aspect.

Disney.... Who cares... Certainly not me....

Cagivagurl

 

[IWroteThis]

I struggle to see how the fact it is an "Adult" Site differentiates it from others????

Yeah, your problem is that "Adult" was not the key word in my comment, so there's really nothing to see if you focus on it.

Disney.... Who cares... Certainly not me....

Ah, once again, if only caring about Disney was the point of that comment…

 

[Cagivagurl]

Yeah, your problem is that "Adult" was not the key word in my comment, so there's really nothing to see if you focus on it.



Ah, once again, if only caring about Disney was the point of that comment…

Perhaps if you have a different point to make. You should make it clearer????

Cagivagurl

 

[Lifestyle66]

Some authors complain about the ratings, saying "If you don't LOVE it, then don't rate it!" Those authors seem to believe everyone must LOVE their work or "Shut up and get the fuck away from me!"

Others seem to think ratings should reflect other thing, giving a laundry list of different aspects of any story, almost like grading college papers in a literary course. "At the end of every story we need a rating score sheet, with a 1 to 5 rating line for each: quality, writing style, characters, plot, theme, dialogue, content, entertainment value, ... then a formula for averaging the list of individual scores for an honest grade."

When a reader offers their rating, they don't care about the writing. They are giving us one number within the range of one to five with their personal opinion of its entertainment value versus the time they spent to read our story, nothing more!

Believe it or not, for every view we receive for each of our stories, someone SPENT some of their time on this Earth to give us their attention.

And we struggle to get ANY of them to even take the time to click a star at the end of a story, maybe getting one in a hundred or one in fifty to give us one more second of a finger twitch to rate it.

To paraphrase the deceased U.S. President Kennedy: "Ask not what your reader can do for you. Rather ask what did YOU do for your reader?"

My attitude is "It's not worth agonizing over. I appreciate what I get from the few who give it, good or bad."

 

[redgarters]

My two bits.
Comments and feedback are my drug, the more detailed the better.

I care about ratings because a higher rating will bring me more readers and more comments. I'm simple like that.

I like interacting with people who take the time to send me an email with feedback. Have even made some friends/penpals through that, which I love.

Maybe I don't get some of the negative aspects mentioned in this thread because of the type of stories I mainly write. I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't have a very big readership or following.

But I mainly wrote this comment here to quote this:

Writing is like a magic spell allowing a human can get into another human's mind from any remove of time and space, feel what they feel and think what they think. Inhabit someone else's shoes, experience something outside of themselves. Knowing that this happened because of something I created is like a drug!

This is the magic of reading that I've always loved. And having found it in writing as well is amazing.