Do readers retract their votes?

[CountGustaf]

My submission, my first and only http://www.literotica.com/s/hot-shower-7
has reached 3.95, the highest since it was approved three days ago. But the number of votes seems to have dropped. It's now 22, and I remember it being 27 or 28 yesterday. Maybe 26, at least over 25.
Can it be that readers, who iniitially gave me low scores, on second thought have retracted them. Is it technically possible?

 

[lovecraft68]

My submission, my first and only http://www.literotica.com/s/hot-shower-7
has reached 3.95, the highest since it was approved three days ago. But the number of votes seems to have dropped. It's now 22, and I remember it being 27 or 28 yesterday. Maybe 26, at least over 25.
Can it be that readers, who iniitially gave me low scores, on second thought have retracted them. Is it technically possible?

Readers can't take back votes.

This is the result of a "sweep" once a week and more often during contests(and one is about to finish up) the site goes through the stories and removes what they consider fraudulent votes.

If you ask what constitutes a fraudulent vote you will get many different answers as no one knows for sure. Most of the time its a one bomb that may have come from the same user more than once and your score will rise.

 

[oggbashan]

You have experienced the effects of a sweep.

A sweep purports to remove duplicate and suspicious votes, but the mechanics are deliberately obscure. The Winter Holiday Contest is reaching its end, so there will be a couple of sweeps in the next couple of days.

 

[CountGustaf]

Readers can't take back votes.

This is the result of a "sweep" once a week and more often during contests(and one is about to finish up) the site goes through the stories and removes what they consider fraudulent votes.

If you ask what constitutes a fraudulent vote you will get many different answers as no one knows for sure. Most of the time its a one bomb that may have come from the same user more than once and your score will rise.

I can barely fathom the concept of one-bombing, and that's only because I've a brilliant mind. I'm a virgin, remember? This is all virgin territory.

What I can't fathom is the point of one-bombing a virgin's first submission. Someone who's threatening your position, but a virgin. That I don't get.

I'm glad they sweep, though.

 

[lovecraft68]

I can barely fathom the concept of one-bombing, and that's only because I've a brilliant mind. I'm a virgin, remember? This is all virgin territory.

What I can't fathom is the point of one-bombing a virgin's first submission. Someone who's threatening your position, but a virgin. That I don't get.

I'm glad they sweep, though.

You'll learn the ropes soon enough (bad BDSM joke)

But you walked into one of my pet peeves here. The stubborn refusal by authors to acknowledge someone would dislike their story enough to give them a one.

Trolling is usually when some one does not like you, the category, or the story to the point they will drop multiple one votes on your story and really bring it down. Multiple one votes can be seen as coming from the same computer by the site and they will erase it which I think is fair.

But a random one vote to me does not have to be malicious it could mean the person disliked your story. Some here seem to have a hard time believing that is possible.

 

[CountGustaf]

I can barely fathom the concept of one-bombing, and that's only because I've a brilliant mind. I'm a virgin, remember? This is all virgin territory.

What I can't fathom is the point of one-bombing a virgin's first submission. Someone who's threatening your position, but a virgin. That I don't get.

I'm glad they sweep, though.

More precisely, it doesn't seem likely that my little story, cute and funny, is the designated target of a one-bombing. It seems more likely that it happened to be within a wider target range. But what is the target? And why?
Such are questions that I ask, when situations like this arise. Being on virgin territory, I listen keenly to those more experienced in the terrain.
That's how us officers do our stuff.

 

[lovecraft68]

More precisely, it doesn't seem likely that my little story, cute and funny, is the designated target of a one-bombing. It seems more likely that it happened to be within a wider target range. But what is the target? And why?
Such are questions that I ask, when situations like this arise. Being on virgin territory, I listen keenly to those more experienced in the terrain.
That's how us officers do our stuff.

You'll never get a truly correct answer unless you hunt down voters and ask them.

Some people will click on the new story link and go up and down bombing every story in a category they don;t like. Some seek out certain authors they dislike(that would not be you, you're brand new) some do it because it gives them this cheap thrill. They feel "empowered" to be able to beat on your story. Some few probably just did not like the story.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

You'll learn the ropes soon enough (bad BDSM joke)

But you walked into one of my pet peeves here. The stubborn refusal by authors to acknowledge someone would dislike their story enough to give them a one.

Trolling is usually when some one does not like you, the category, or the story to the point they will drop multiple one votes on your story and really bring it down. Multiple one votes can be seen as coming from the same computer by the site and they will erase it which I think is fair.

But a random one vote to me does not have to be malicious it could mean the person disliked your story. Some here seem to have a hard time believing that is possible.

I've learned to appreciate the one bomber who's so outraged he demands negative scores to blast me with. That's a guy I touched with a harpoon.

 

[CountGustaf]

You'll learn the ropes soon enough (bad BDSM joke)

But you walked into one of my pet peeves here. The stubborn refusal by authors to acknowledge someone would dislike their story enough to give them a one.

Trolling is usually when some one does not like you, the category, or the story to the point they will drop multiple one votes on your story and really bring it down. Multiple one votes can be seen as coming from the same computer by the site and they will erase it which I think is fair.

But a random one vote to me does not have to be malicious it could mean the person disliked your story. Some here seem to have a hard time believing that is possible.

If I understand you correctly, someone or some people didn't like my story and therefore, quite correctly, gave it value 1. I have no problem with that. I don't expect to please everyone. Then, being a little sinister, they go back and give me a 1 again, and maybe again. That's naughty.

But Lit has a tool, some kind of sniffer, that recognises their IP adresses or suchlike, and erases their votes. Sounds reasonable.

My much more sinister mind envisaged one-bombing as some sort of app that kept hammering a posting with 1s. In aftermath I realize that in that case my story would be rated 1 instead of 3.95. Tank you for making it clearer!

 

[patientlee]

My favorite was the idiot that told me that my story wasn't good enough for a 1, so he wasn't going to vote. I think that guy forgot how an average works.

 

[lovecraft68]

My favorite was the idiot that told me that my story wasn't good enough for a 1, so he wasn't going to vote. I think that guy forgot how an average works.

He showed you!!

 

[kimbalee]

My favorite was the idiot that told me that my story wasn't good enough for a 1, so he wasn't going to vote. I think that guy forgot how an average works.

chuckling. gotta love that (absence of) thinking.

 

[MatthewVett]

I can barely fathom the concept of one-bombing, and that's only because I've a brilliant mind. I'm a virgin, remember? This is all virgin territory.

What I can't fathom is the point of one-bombing a virgin's first submission. Someone who's threatening your position, but a virgin. That I don't get.

I'm glad they sweep, though.

This may help you understand: http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/325/699/4fc.jpg

 

[MatthewVett]

My favorite was the idiot that told me that my story wasn't good enough for a 1, so he wasn't going to vote. I think that guy forgot how an average works.

You gotta admit, he stuck to his stupid, stupid principles!

 

[BonnevilleFlats]

Right now your story is showing a 3.88.

After the sweeps are finished, stories that score below a 4 often have problems with the writing itself. But that is something a writer can improve upon.

Participating on this bulletin board can have a detrimental effect on your scores. So can commenting on other writers' stories. Even complimenting or favoriting a story by a writer who has made enemies on lit can result in said enemies one bombing your stories. Petty? Yes.

In the end, worry less about your scores and more about becoming the best writer you can possibly be. The real reward comes when you work hard and come up with a passage that three months earlier you could have never written.

 

[lovecraft68]

Right now your story is showing a 3.88.

After the sweeps are finished, stories that score below a 4 often have problems with the writing itself. But that is something a writer can improve upon.

Participating on this bulletin board can have a detrimental effect on your scores. So can commenting on other writers' stories. Even complimenting or favoriting a story by a writer who has made enemies on lit can result in said enemies one bombing your stories. Petty? Yes.

In the end, worry less about your scores and more about becoming the best writer you can possibly be. The real reward comes when you work hard and come up with a passage that three months earlier you could have never written.

Just curious as to what leads you to believe this? Especially when afterwards you gave several other reasons a score could stay below 4.

I'm not saying you're wrong, its as good a theory as any, just wondering where you get that feeling from.

 

[oggbashan]

...

After the sweeps are finished, stories that score below a 4 often have problems with the writing itself. But that is something a writer can improve upon.

...

While that statement can be true, the usual explanation is that the story is unpopular.

Apart from poor writing, other reasons for unpopularity can be:

- Wrong category. If any story includes incest or anal and is not in those categories it can attract low votes. Or if a story should be in Fetish but isn't.

- Fetish (my speciality) is a difficult category. If you get the story right it will appeal, but only to those who share that particular fetish, or sub-set of fetish. For example, some of my stories are about a fairly rare fetish Unbirth which is a sub-set of Vore. Even those who like Vore might not like Unbirth. The votes for Unbirth are likely to be at the extremes, 5s from those who like Unbirth and 1s or 2s from those whose response is Yeuck!.

- Plot problems. You might be a competent writer technically, but if your plot has obvious holes in it and the reader cannot suspend disbelief, the vote could be low.

- Experimental stories. I like to experiment with different styles, techniques and plots. When the experiment works it can get reasonable votes. When it doesn't? 1s and 2s. Some of my experiments - Breathless Stargazing; Getting Nude With Chairman Mao; Just So Elephant; Donna; White Scut. According to the ratings, the last two are stinkers.

- Last of my list, but not least. Voters do not necessarily understand Literotica's voting system. When a Red H is gained with 4.5, the voting spread of 1 to 5 is too large. Any vote below a 4 has a significant impact on the rating when vote numbers are small. But some voters think that a 3 means a reasonable story, 4 a good one, and 5 a great one. If they consistently vote 3 for a reasonable story, they will depress the rating of that story.