Do you ever read stories with low ratings?

[WeShallUnclench]

I find it interesting that people here will say "I only read stories with an average rating above a 4.0 or with a Red-H."

Then they go on to admit "The rating system is flawed."

So, they knowingly allow a flawed rating system to direct or limit their reading choices?

I fear the issue is that there is just. So. Much. Material. Not just on Lit, but everywhere, in every category. And the days are so incredibly short. Especially once you're over 30 (I get the impression it only gets worse after).

So yes, you may say the most popular Marvel movies suck, but at the end of the day chances are you'll still rather watch That then some weird Serbian indie movie you've never heard of (even though it might secretly be the best film ever made).

Yes the big H might be flawed, but it's also one of the most obvious things to go by. It's a place to start.

And honestly, is there anyone here with at least one H story, who'd say that the story wasn't worth reading?

 

[Lifestyle66]

I often read stories from the Loving Wives category.

In the LW category, if you only read Red-H stories, almost everything will be a misogynistic BTB story! There are a few outliers. But MOST of those who rate the stories there give 5's to even poorly written BTB stories.

So, I think the effectiveness of the ratings are relative to the category. If you're browsing a more focused category like gay or lesbian, you can assume the majority of the audience who read the story were looking for a good gay or lesbian story. Their ratings may be indicative of the story's quality within that category.

But other categories such as LW, Erotic Couplings, or Mature might have a more diverse audience whose ratings are influenced by other factors which trigger any particular reader.

I tend to base my story choices on the author's choice of title and description. That often gives me a glimpse of both what is in the story, and whether the author put any thought into it.

EDIT: I mean, who would bother to open a story with the title "Part 1" and a description "The first part of a longer story," even if it had a Red-H?

 

[iwatchus]

I often read stories from the Loving Wives category.

In the LW category, if you only read Red-H stories, almost everything will be a misogynistic BTB story! There are a few outliers. But MOST of those who rate the stories there give 5's to even poorly written BTB stories.

I think the "best" way to find stories varies wildly based on category (and other aspects for each of us). It is really hard to draw generalities across them all. Romance is so different from LW in many ways, although they generate the most comments per view of any category I have posted in.

And T/I (a category I do not expect to ever post in) is equally different from E&V.

I imagine in Fetish, the tags would have to be much more important than the rating.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

I might check something out below 4.0 if the Title and Short Description speak to me. But if in the first couple paragraphs, the writing style doesn't personally compel me, I'll just back out. I have no doubt there are many sub-4.0 gems, but I think in those cases, it's probably a story that appeals to a reader's kinks/preferences more than expected.

 

[yowser]

Imaginative title + intriguing description + intelligent, provocative initial paragraphs and I'm in, regardless of the score.

I'll often factor in a writer's reputation, particularly if I have read them before, and while it is rare to find something in the three or below range that's decent, it has happened. Many low 4 stories in my lists are far superior to a lot of top list offerings with Scarlet 'Aitchs.

Show some intelligence and imagination and you're gold in my book.

 

[nice90sguy]

As my own writing quality is pretty consistent, and my stories range from 3.8 to over 4.8, I don't think H is always related to writing quality. My higher rated stories tend to have happy endings, while my lower rated ones are darker. The amount (and style) of the sexual content is pretty consistent in my stories.

 

[Rob_Royale]

It depends on the catagory. If it's a loving wives story or one that is tagged as a cheating story, I don't pay much attention, knowing how readers respond to such.

But yes, the rating of a story matters. But I don't use it as a go/no-go indicator. If there is a story that interests me that has a low score, I will check out the writers collected works. If they are low across the board, or only high in certain genres, I will give it a pass, knowing this writers work has been found wanting by most readers that were there before me.

But if the scores are good in his other works, I'll usually give it a try.

You may find this method rather elitist, but for a guy with limited time to read, I find it a time saver. Though to be honest, my to-read list is usually so full of stories from authors that I follow here, I scarcely have to time to look around much.

 

[SkyBubble]

I don't pay attention to teh ratings. Barely even notice them. I just read (and write) what seems interesting.

 

[AG31]

... And what are your experiences, with that?

For me, it is kinda frustrating, because yeah, in categories I'm interested in I go to "H" stories by default, then stories that got at minimum 4. But that is far from a guarantee I'll actually like them.
I go to under-4 stories, if they have a title and description that sounds promising, and more often than not they are very clunky up to and including bad grammar (though a H rating or over 4 doesn't protect you from that, either). But then I find under 4 stories that are actually well written and fun, but it's something like 2 in 10...

I never look at a story's ratings before reading. I'm either following a recommendation or I look at the intro and tags.

 

[billrokra]

If the topic appeals and the first couple of sentences are not terrible, I'll read regardless of the score.

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

When I do go in to read, I don't even look at ratings or anything. I open the category, browse through the new stuff and see what catches my eye.

Ratings and shit like that are too easy to manipulate in either direction.

 

[Actingup]

I'll begin to read a story with a score under 4 if the title and tagline promise an erotic concept that appeals to me, and usually I can tell within three paragraphs if the writing style is good enough to hold me. I will mentally adjust story scores based on the category, or if it has an oddball premise. For instance, knowing a Loving Wives story has a score under 4 tells me that the subject matter probably has drawn attacks rather than that the writing quality is poor.

I came here to say the same thing about category, but I'll also add in the reputation of the author. If somebody I respect drops a story into Loving Wives or a similarly problematic category, I'll probably give it a read even if the scores are down in the eighth circle of hell. Even better is reading it when it comes out and you don't know what scores other people are giving it.

 

[RetroFan]

Yes, my own in Loving Wives and Incest-Taboo.