Congrats to the 11th Annual Reader's Choice Winners!

[litfan10]

This contest actually used to mean something. Well, at least to the degree a Lit contest CAN mean something. I've been all for changes from the beginning but it's not my site so you kind of just have to go with it, after you've made your wishes known.

But in the past year or so, people have been pissing (among other things) in the Lit pool big-time in ways and degrees this community hasn't been subject to before. Some have stuck it out and talked around the problem-folks. Others have just left because they couldn't stand the stink.

But the lackluster response to this year's polls (which we all know, are mostly voted on by either AH writers or fans of Lit writers who have notified their fan base of the poll in the first place) is very telling about how people feel about the Author's Hangout.

And that's really sad.

You know I agree.

Now I'm fairly new to the place, but I love what I've found and I'm having an incredible time here and have no intentions of ever leaving.

So how do we make it better?

Can we identify what is keeping this place down? How do we beat this horrible sense of factions that's going on all over the place that keeps derailing things and keeping us from unifying and working together?

Any ideas what we do first?

I'm game to help in any way I can as I said - I absolutely love it here.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

You know I agree.

Now I'm fairly new to the place, but I love what I've found and I'm having an incredible time here and have no intentions of ever leaving.

So how do we make it better?

Can we identify what is keeping this place down? How do we beat this horrible sense of factions that's going on all over the place that keeps derailing things and keeping us from unifying and working together?

Any ideas what we do first?

I'm game to help in any way I can as I said - I absolutely love it here.

It's still valuable. There are good people here. And it's still the best place to really try your writing skillz out on the world, in terms of feedback volume.

But it's a shame that things have been so tainted over time by just a few. Maybe I'm just cynical. Or I'm being nostalgic. But I'm not sure what's broken is actually fixable.

 

[litfan10]

It's still valuable. There are good people here. And it's still the best place to really try your writing skillz out on the world, in terms of feedback volume.

But it's a shame that things have been so tainted over time by just a few. Maybe I'm just cynical. Or I'm being nostalgic. But I'm not sure what's broken is actually fixable.

Hi Selena,

first paragraph I agree completely - that's what made me decide to write here in the first place.

As for the second paragraph I agree and disagree - I play in a bunch of threads and a couple of them are an absolute blast, great time 24/7 - which tells me that it is a few that are tainting it - so definitely I agree with that. Now as for your second part, maybe you are cynical but you are still here so that in itself shows something positive. Maybe a total fix is unrealistic in a "rights of all" setting, but I believe some damage control is possible. We can certainly do things that can bring back a sense of camaraderie across the boards, which I believe will improve things like the Reader's Choice contest.

Don't give up, (and I really don't think you are anyways!) and let's see what we can do together!

As I said, I love it here, and I'm game to try things that positively improve the place!

 

[oggbashan]

I'm surprised to learn that I was nominated (most influential writer) but not surprised that I didn't win.

There are many others who influence other writers more than I do - by encouragement, by editing, by positive but critical feedback, by PMs...

Like many of the long-standing members of the Authors' Hangout I have less on-line time available than I used to have so can't contribute, or write, or help others, as much as I used to.

But some things have changed for the better. Newbies' questions tend to get sensible replies. Those seeking advice usually get it, even if, as always, the advice can be unpalatable.

We still debate politics. I still challenge misinterpretations of history. I learn a lot from the political threads, if only that US politics is dangerously polarised with neither side accepting that the other might have some reasonable ideas.

I value Literotica and its competitions even if they do have flaws. Do I think that this particular one gives representative results? If it doesn't, that is our fault, because we don't nominate enough, don't vote enough and don't think about other people's work enough. I include myself in that 'our'. Until the results were put in this thread I had forgotten that this contest existed.

But it is the 'Reader's Choice' contest. I don't read enough of other people's stories to form a balanced judgement on which to vote. Perhaps we need a Readers' Hangout as well as an Authors' Hangout. The Literotica authors are vastly outnumbered by the readers as any cursory scan of the Lit members lists will show.

Participation makes Literotica what it is. If more people participated in the voting for the Readers' Choice contests they would become harder to win, and winning would be seen as a greater achievement. I'll try to vote for the 2010 contest but we really need hundreds if not thousands of votes instead of handfuls.

Og

 

[litfan10]

I'm surprised to learn that I was nominated (most influential writer) but not surprised that I didn't win.

There are many others who influence other writers more than I do - by encouragement, by editing, by positive but critical feedback, by PMs...

Like many of the long-standing members of the Authors' Hangout I have less on-line time available than I used to have so can't contribute, or write, or help others, as much as I used to.

But some things have changed for the better. Newbies' questions tend to get sensible replies. Those seeking advice usually get it, even if, as always, the advice can be unpalatable.

We still debate politics. I still challenge misinterpretations of history. I learn a lot from the political threads, if only that US politics is dangerously polarised with neither side accepting that the other might have some reasonable ideas.

I value Literotica and its competitions even if they do have flaws. Do I think that this particular one gives representative results? If it doesn't, that is our fault, because we don't nominate enough, don't vote enough and don't think about other people's work enough. I include myself in that 'our'. Until the results were put in this thread I had forgotten that this contest existed.

But it is the 'Reader's Choice' contest. I don't read enough of other people's stories to form a balanced judgement on which to vote. Perhaps we need a Readers' Hangout as well as an Authors' Hangout. The Literotica authors are vastly outnumbered by the readers as any cursory scan of the Lit members lists will show.

Participation makes Literotica what it is. If more people participated in the voting for the Readers' Choice contests they would become harder to win, and winning would be seen as a greater achievement. I'll try to vote for the 2010 contest but we really need hundreds if not thousands of votes instead of handfuls.

Og

As TxRad has mentioned I believe, the AH makes up a very small faction of the readership here. And as Og has so bravely come forward, I too have to admit I didn't participate in the nominating, reading and voting. Partly because I'm new and am learning but also partly because I just didn't get around to it which is an insult to my fellow writers and a mistake I won't repeat!

It's easy to forget that there are multiple dimensions to Literotica. It most certainly is not only the AH nor the forums combined at all. Nor at this point of it's existence is it merely an erotic story site. There is an amazing amount offered to us here. It is what we make it.

Laurel and co. have given us an incredible playground, now it's up to us to play in it. Either we have the times of our lives, or we pass up on some/all of the fun, or we be destructive and break things and ruin it for others and ultimately ourselves - in the end it is what we do that counts.

And I'm very much ready to play! Who wants a push on the swings? Whoo hoo!

 

[Tarakin]

Congrats to all of you!

 

[sophia jane]

I agree with Og, that we don't all participate as much as we could, and I include myself in that as well. I did try to vote in some things, but I could have voted more than I did. From the other side of the coin, I can say as a writer who was nominated for something, it's discouraging to get so few votes, and to see an entire category with so few votes. It lessened the entire thing for me greatly, which is sad because I was (and am) very proud of the particular piece I had nominated. So yes, it would be nice if many more people participated more in the annual reader's choice, both writers and readers.

To Selena's point about the AH, in general, I think those issues are different from the problems of contests, though they are of course related by the people who bring negativity to both. As someone who was once very active here, and is much less so now, I think part of the difference in my presence is my life changes, but part of it really is that I don't feel as at "home" here as I once did. There are new faces I don't know, but there are also seems to be much more negativity overall, and that makes it hard to get too involved on the threads.

Which is sad because I miss my friends here.

 

[litfan10]

There are new faces I don't know, but there are also seems to be much more negativity overall, and that makes it hard to get too involved on the threads.

Which is sad because I miss my friends here.

Hey SJ. I'm meeting a lot of the new faces and loving them! (some quite literally) A lot of energy and passion abounds in many. As I mentioned above there are threads that the trolls and negativity are happily absent from to our benefit. Feel free to join us, I for one would love to meet you!

 

[grunabona]

I'm surprised to learn that I was nominated (most influential writer) but not surprised that I didn't win.

There are many others who influence other writers more than I do - by encouragement, by editing, by positive but critical feedback, by PMs...

Like many of the long-standing members of the Authors' Hangout I have less on-line time available than I used to have so can't contribute, or write, or help others, as much as I used to.

But some things have changed for the better. Newbies' questions tend to get sensible replies. Those seeking advice usually get it, even if, as always, the advice can be unpalatable.

We still debate politics. I still challenge misinterpretations of history. I learn a lot from the political threads, if only that US politics is dangerously polarised with neither side accepting that the other might have some reasonable ideas.

I value Literotica and its competitions even if they do have flaws. Do I think that this particular one gives representative results? If it doesn't, that is our fault, because we don't nominate enough, don't vote enough and don't think about other people's work enough. I include myself in that 'our'. Until the results were put in this thread I had forgotten that this contest existed.

But it is the 'Reader's Choice' contest. I don't read enough of other people's stories to form a balanced judgement on which to vote. Perhaps we need a Readers' Hangout as well as an Authors' Hangout. The Literotica authors are vastly outnumbered by the readers as any cursory scan of the Lit members lists will show.

Participation makes Literotica what it is. If more people participated in the voting for the Readers' Choice contests they would become harder to win, and winning would be seen as a greater achievement. I'll try to vote for the 2010 contest but we really need hundreds if not thousands of votes instead of handfuls.

Og

I wasn't going to comment any further about the annual contest and the results of the nomination process and voting, but your very reasonable and civil comment prompts me to add a few thoughts. I'm glad to see you seem to realize the contest is primarily for the participation of readers, and is certainly not just for the participation of writers, except in the one category having to do with editing. That category was the only one in which the voting was limited to writers. Some people don't seem to get that, especially with regard to the one category which seems to really irk them most with its results, the 'Most Influential Writer' category. It appears, however, even you may not realize the rules of the contest make it very clear the influence which is to be considered in that category is that which has an effect on readers, not just on writers, and not primarily on writers, by any means. It would be good if some of the carpers would bother to read the rules before doing a lot of complaining about results that make perfectly good sense under the rules of the contest.

Again, I congratulate all who were nominated, and all who won, including you, kind sir. Your writing is excellent.

 

[sr71plt]

I wasn't going to comment any further about the annual contest and the results of the nomination process and voting, but your very reasonable and civil comment prompts me to add a few thoughts. I'm glad to see you seem to realize the contest is primarily for the participation of readers, and is certainly not just for the participation of writers, except in the one category having to do with editing. That category was the only one in which the voting was limited to writers. Some people don't seem to get that, especially with regard to the one category which seems to really irk them most with its results, the 'Most Influential Writer' category. It appears, however, even you may not realize the rules of the contest make it very clear the influence which is to be considered in that category is that which has an effect on readers, not just on writers, and not primarily on writers, by any means. It would be good if some of the carpers would bother to read the rules before doing a lot of complaining about results that make perfectly good sense under the rules of the contest.

Again, I congratulate all who were nominated, and all who won, including you, kind sir. Your writing is excellent.

OK, I'm game. Where does it say that “influential writer” isn’t about influencing ones own writing as opposed to some other nebulous influence to a reader to do “whatever”? I assume you pushed Solar as the most influential writer. What did Solar's paltry submissions in one minor category to the 2009 file influence you do do? Other than to corrupt the contest system, that is, by ignoring the importance of having a significant body of writing to be legitimately considered in this category at all. I asked before for those who pushed Solar to let us know what it influenced you to do, and none has

Perhaps the nomination process in the category should require a testimonial on what the nature of the influence was and the Site administers should weigh those for sense before settling on a final list.

Until then you are just playing corruption games with the system. I'm sure that Solar realizes what a hollow "victory" this one is. There is no "there" there in terms of this award in her body of work.

You can at least pretend that your pushing of her has anything to do with the category, can't you? Make something up if you have to to give a justification for her nomination. You could make at least that much of an effort, couldn't you? What has she influenced you to do so much more than any other author here in 2009. Anyone who nominated, pushed, and voted for her? Anyone at all?

 

[grunabona]

OK, I'm game. Where does it say that “influential writer” isn’t about influencing ones own writing as opposed to some other nebulous influence to a reader to do “whatever”? I assume you pushed Solar as the most influential writer. What did Solar's paltry submissions in one minor category to the 2009 file influence you do do? Other than to corrupt the contest system, that is, by ignoring the importance of having a significant body of writing to be legitimately considered in this category at all. I asked before for those who pushed Solar to let us know what it influenced you to do, and none has

Perhaps the nomination process in the category should require a testimonial on what the nature of the influence was and the Site administers should weigh those for sense before settling on a final list.

Until then you are just playing corruption games with the system. I'm sure that Solar realizes what a hollow "victory" this one is. There is no "there" there in terms of this award in her body of work.

You can at least pretend that your pushing of her has anything to do with the category, can't you? Make something up if you have to to give a justification for her nomination. You could make at least that much of an effort, couldn't you? What has she influenced you to do so much more than any other author here in 2009. Anyone who nominated, pushed, and voted for her? Anyone at all?

This should be self-explanatory:

Laurel
Kitty Mama

Laurel is offline
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Here & Now
Posts: 17,381

The 11th Annual Literotica Awards: Most Influential Writer
Please choose the writer from the list who affected you the most in 2009. Whose stories did you seek out and enjoy? Who made laugh/cry/etc.?
Note: Please do not post on this thread. To discuss the contest, please go here.

 

[sr71plt]

This should be self-explanatory:

Laurel
Kitty Mama

Laurel is offline
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Here & Now
Posts: 17,381

The 11th Annual Literotica Awards: Most Influential Writer
Please choose the writer from the list who affected you the most in 2009. Whose stories did you seek out and enjoy? Who made laugh/cry/etc.?
Note: Please do not post on this thread. To discuss the contest, please go here.

So Solar's two stories that were running in 2009 made you laugh/cry/etc. far more than anything else you read here from the entire 2009 file, heh?

You don't read much here, do you?

If you don't mind making a joke out of the contests here, I don't mind challenging you on it. You're the one who brought it up again.

 

[grunabona]

So Solar's two stories that were running in 2009 made you laugh/cry/etc. far more than anything else you read here from the entire 2009 file, heh?

You don't read much here, do you?

If you don't mind making a joke out of the contests here, I don't mind challenging you on it. You're the one who brought it up again.

You are a fool.