Flash insight on voting chicanery

[StillStunned]

I know what you mean by this. And there is enough stuff and range of tastes and styles here that the evaluation is moot. That said, I have a personal eye out that, in my personal book, I would call good literature. Someone has taken the time to write well, with originality and creative language. May not be the best formula for giving one hand Mary a workout. But I could see a sitch in which the editors and guest judges pick out some stories with surpassing creativity.

From the site's point of view, craft and literary quality come second (and third) to the readers' enjoyment. We're essentially here to meet a demand, and the contests (and scoring in general) are a measure of how well we do that.

 

[LargoKitt]

The minimum requirement for eligibility is 25 votes, so even more niche stories have a shot.

This sounds like low bar, but I'm often seeing one vote for three or four hundred views on my stuff. So maybe ten thousand views to get 25 votes, at best. And these days I'm seeing more like two or three thousand views in a week or two and a coon's age to top ten votes. I have a few hundred followers, but they don't seem to vote on my stuff more than regular folks. Now that's an ordinary story, not something submitted for a contest. I'm curious whether reader's flock to contests more than regular. Dunno.

 

[LargoKitt]

A story with 100 views and a 4.90 score will beat one with 1,000 views and a 4.80 score so it isn't just popularity.

But the first doesn't ever happen and even the second would be rare. Like I say elsewhere, it usually takes several thousand views to tip the hot button.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'm curious whether reader's flock to contests more than regular. Dunno.

The first couple contests I entered, I definitely felt like I saw a lot more readers than I would've gotten otherwise. My followers jumped maybe twice as much as when I would release a non-contest story. But Summer Lovin' seemed like a number of people didn't see the same benefits that they used to, myself included. My stories landed about the same as if I hadn't put them in the contest at all, and I suspect it's because there were over 200 entries, so you just don't stand out as much.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It's Laurel who decides contests winners, period.

I always feel amused when I see people arguing otherwise, although some of their arguments are sensible and they do contribute, up to a point.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I suspect that campaigning, in order to be effective, would need to be fairly widespread and obvious. It’s a near-certainty that the rest of us would be likely to pick up on it.

One approach to campaigning would be for an author to update their profile with a request for votes on their contest story. If they have enough followers, this could influence a swing in their favor.

 

[Trionyx]

Consider this:

View attachment 2697201

That's what you get when you have people actually vote, rather than base the winner on scores.

40 voters. 18 votes was an easy win.

Well deserved, though. That story is fucking hilarious.

(RIP Ogg)

This was from a readers favorite vote for best of the year. That was stopped a few years ago for reasons I am unaware of. The monthly contests were also stopped (a post recently suggested those may be coming back) so the number of blue W’s has dropped by (12 + 1) times the number of categories (33) per year, or a potential total of 429 fewer. Currently there are only 18 blue W’s per year awarded.

The ‘WOW factor’ for a blue W now is certainly far greater than when nearly 450 were awarded per year. Add to that the fact that the contests draw many more entries than they used to.

 

[bmeyem8]

If it were about the money and score wouldn’t we all post incest stories? And voting scores are a lso driven by the category you post in. I’m a loving wives/group sex kind of gal. So no way I’m getting paid.

Those of us with avid LW 1-bomb trolls have virtually no chance in contests. Multiple 1-bombs in the first 10 votes ruins any prospect of the coveted Red H or higher.

 

[Voboy]

I have a few hundred followers, but they don't seem to vote on my stuff more than regular folks. Now that's an ordinary story, not something submitted for a contest. I'm curious whether reader's flock to contests more than regular. Dunno.

Some of us have already told you: they do not, as a rule.

 

[Voboy]

But I could see a sitch in which the editors and guest judges pick out some stories with surpassing creativity.

I could not.

How is that in Laurel’s interest? Why would it be worth her effort? The status quo works for her.

 

[MelissaBaby]

But the first doesn't ever happen and even the second would be rare. Like I say elsewhere, it usually takes several thousand views to tip the hot button.

It happened often in the monthlies. Stories that were published at the end of the month came in ahead of stories that had been up the whole month and accrued many more votes. So much so that, as mentioned above, some people believed it was best to release your stories near the end of the month, so it would peak close to the contest cutoff.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Some of us have already told you: they do not, as a rule.

Entering a contest doesn't give you much of a boost, but it does put your work in front of readers who might otherwise never read you, because they don't frequent your usual categories.

But winning a contest can net you a bonanza of views. My Winter Holidays winner has more than twice as many views as any of my other stories.

 

[Imstillfun]

Those of us with avid LW 1-bomb trolls have virtually no chance in contests. Multiple 1-bombs in the first 10 votes ruins any prospect of the coveted Red H or higher.

Very true. But I sometimes get enough vote to counteract that. Not always. But sometimes. I thought maybe if I skipped LW and tried group.

 

[Trionyx]

It happened often in the monthlies. Stories that were published at the end of the month came in ahead of stories that had been up the whole month and accrued many more votes. So much so that, as mentioned above, some people believed it was best to release your stories near the end of the month, so it would peak close to the contest cutoff.

One way to get around this would be to close off entries at the end of the month but not do any vote counting until the middle or the end of the following month. This would allow the votes to settle to their average level before doing any counting.

 

[Voboy]

One way to get around this would be to close off entries at the end of the month but not do any vote counting until the middle or the end of the following month. This would allow the votes to settle to their average level before doing any counting.

I think they tried a bunch of things like that.

I take Laurel at her word that the monthlies are labor-intensive and, overall, a pain in the ass. My recollection is that at the time my stories were doing well enough to win, they took the scores near mid-month and at least for awhile, there did seem to be a cutoff.

 

[MelissaBaby]

One way to get around this would be to close off entries at the end of the month but not do any vote counting until the middle or the end of the following month. This would allow the votes to settle to their average level before doing any counting.

That's exactly how it was done. Bear in mind, the monthly were not voted on, it was highest rated story. I had a story that was above 4.90 at the end of the month and was, by a good amount, the highest rated story of the month in its category. By the time the awards were announced, it was at about 4.85, not nearly a winning score. I messaged Laurel and asked how it worked, and she explained that the cut off was the 15th of the following month.

 

[LargoKitt]

I could not.

How is that in Laurel’s interest? Why would it be worth her effort? The status quo works for her.

Why is this worth quarreling about? I have sent other writing to contest where there are 'expert judges.' Or you can do it like the Oscars where it is a combo popularity contest, honest reflection of industry appreciation and campaign. And here that could be totally apart from whether the story really lights people's fires.

 

[LargoKitt]

Those of us with avid LW 1-bomb trolls have virtually no chance in contests. Multiple 1-bombs in the first 10 votes ruins any prospect of the coveted Red H or higher.

Very true. But I sometimes get enough vote to counteract that. Not always. But sometimes. I thought maybe if I skipped LW and tried group.






I am curious about why a writer would have a target on their back. I can imagine a situation where one got into a pissing match on a forum and that person now favorites you and trashes every story. Sad. Some people need to get a life.

 

[Imstillfun]

I get bombed because I’m so popular and about 1/2 my stories are wife sharing and cuckold stories. I have a squadron of bombers and commenters.

 

[Imstillfun]

From the site's point of view, craft and literary quality come second (and third) to the readers' enjoyment. We're essentially here to meet a demand, and the contests (and scoring in general) are a measure of how well we do that.

If that were true #of wouldn’t viewers be part of the equation.

 

[SmilingLez]

I bet the contests would still get as many entries if there were no prize money and the back stabbing and one bombing would still continue.

100% agree. On any anonymous porn/no porn social media platform, bad behavior (one/two bombing, bullying, harassment, narcissism, etc ad nauseam) runs rampant without any consequences. Makes for an interesting study (for my dissertation) on herd behavior

 

[Kelliezgirl]

If it were about the money and score wouldn’t we all post incest stories? And voting scores are a lso driven by the category you post in. I’m a loving wives/group sex kind of gal. So no way I’m getting paid.

Post incest stories for views and votes.
Post lesbian stories for high scores.

 

[Trionyx]

Bear in mind, the monthly were not voted on, it was highest rated story.

Aw shucks, Mz. Melissa, whenever I click on one of the five stars, dat’s my vote.

But you are correct, the monthly contest was based on the rating. The Readers Favorite (or whatever it was called), on the other hand, was a straight up vote for the favorite of the year.

 

[LargoKitt]

Post incest stories for views and votes.
Post lesbian stories for high scores.

Yes, but lesbian stories have to be about the relationship and it doesn't hurt to describe the clothes down to the buttons. Too much graphic sex spoils the broth. And incest stories can't just be a great bang; the couple has to have uncontrollable feelings for each other. Unless mom is riding you in the back seat or sis has never seen a cock as big as yours.

 

[RejectReality]

1. Votes for the month’s stories will be tallied after the 15th of the following month. (i.e. The voting on stories submitted during April will be closed on May 15th.) Literotica will determine the winners based on the voting score and number of votes the story has accumulated from the first of the contest month to the sometime after 15th of the following month.

There's fifteen days from the end of the month until the last day votes are counted toward the monthlies. More than enough time for late stories to get the same amount of trolling as the day-1 stories.

( From the toplists, because contenders will always be there, and that's where the trolling is going to come from. Even when the monthly contests were happening regularly on the above mentioned schedule, the number of people who were aware of them was vanishingly small. Beyond authors and a few superfans, most had no idea they existed to manipulate them, and they end up being a drop in the bucket compared to the toplist trolling anyway. )

Raw numbers.

YEAR: 1-7, 8-14, 15-21, 22-end, removed from site
2019: 5, 11, 11, 7, 2
2020: 11, 9, 5, 6, 5
2021: 6,7,7,15,3 ( + 2 HM )
2022: 7,8,16,13,2 (+1 tie + 9 HM )
2023: 4,0,0,4,0 ( Only two months + 2 HM )

Hm = Honorable mention which would have placed if not for recent wins. Tie = tie, two winners in the same slot.

33,35,39,45
21.7%, 23.0%, 25.6%, 29.6%

So, yeah, I guess there's technically a bias toward the latter half of the month in the years checked, but I suspect it's not remotely what people believed it to be. ( Also, the final column has bonus days in any month with more than 28 days )