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.