How accurate are the "top lists"?

[kreemi_pi]

LOL If we didn't have big egos we wouldn;t dare put our stories in front of readers to be abused, ridiculed and downvoted - and then come back and pyblish the next one LOL

Ok that's fair.

 

[Erozetta]

Wait, hold up - is anyone on here getting anything out of posting their work besides pleasure and satisfaction? Has my check gotten lost in the mail? Am I owed a gift card to McDonalds? I could go for a McFlurry right now. And a large Diet Coke to offset it, obviously.

I get a severe case of imposter syndrome with every story I post.

 

[Nightaelf]

Wait, hold up - is anyone on here getting anything out of posting their work besides pleasure and satisfaction?

Well, from what I’m reading, it seems like it’s about more than just pleasure and satisfaction, otherwise, why would people care so much about it?

As I said, until I read this thread, I didn’t even have a clue it existed.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Okay, the rating system. I mean, I did understand my own ratings, that part made sense. And I thought, fine, whatever. I’d also noticed that there are favorites, of course. But what this topic is about, I had no idea. I’d never really looked into it.

So I took a look, and apparently, in the past twelve months, one of my stories is ranked number 34 and another one number 86 in the Lesbian Sex category. And… now what? What does that actually mean? What’s the advantage? I get that people want to be number one, sure, but what do you actually get from it? You get read a lot, yes, but what do you get out of it besides pleasure and satisfaction? It doesn’t earn you anything, unless you join a contest, as far as I understand. So how important is it, really?

That’s honestly something I’ve been wondering since I read this thread. Because up until now, I’ve never paid any attention to it. When I give stars to a writer, I always feel like I’m giving them to the writer, not to some ranking. That’s just how I’ve always seen it. And I think it’s silly to give stars to a story I didn’t really like; I’d rather just give none at all.

So, yeah. That’s my view. I honestly have no idea what the real benefit of those rankings is. For some people, it’s probably very important, though.

You mean, you don't care whether 500 or 5000 people read your story? You don't need Literotica at all then.

The Hall of Fame list brings views. Authors care about being read more.
More views means more feedback. Authors care about getting feedback.

There's nothing complicated about this. Once again, if you don't care about being read or getting feedback, then I'd say you're in the wrong place.

 

[cw5523729]

I get a severe case of imposter syndrome with every story I post.

Good thing for anonymity. You can pretend it's not your story and say to someone else "Can you believe what kind of drivel this is?"

 

[Nightaelf]

You mean, you don't care whether 500 or 5000 people read your story? You don't need Literotica at all then.

The Hall of Fame list brings views. Authors care about being read more.
More views means more feedback. Authors care about getting feedback.

There's nothing complicated about this. Once again, if you don't care about being read or getting feedback, then I'd say you're in the wrong place.

Wait a second. We’re talking about the rating system, right? Not about the number of readers? Because not every reader leaves a rating, right? So that’s not the same thing. Or am I mixing everything up now?

Like I said before, until today I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a “number one” or whatever. Of course, I like it when people read my stories. But I’m also happy if three people read them. Or ten. It doesn’t have to be five thousand, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand.

What I’m wondering about isn’t whether my story gets read, because I don’t think that necessarily has anything to do with the rating system. What I’m trying to understand is why there seems to be so much importance attached to it. That some people even go around, almost like trolls, trying to bring others down.

Then I start wondering, is there some kind of profit model behind it? Or what’s the point?

Also, I don’t think anyone else gets to decide whether I’m in the right or wrong place just because I don’t care about the rating system, or because I don’t think it’s important to have hundreds of thousands of readers.

 

[kreemi_pi]

By and large they don't know and/or don't care about any literary quality. What they do define is popularity of a story. If you write a story and it scores a 4.2 and then you write another story and it scores a 4.7, this does not mean that you wrote it better or worse or the same. What it does mean is that you wrote a more popular story. The scores can be a highly accurate measure of popularity. In fact in the absence if troll downvoting, they are a perfectly accurate indicator. However, they are a horribly inaccurate indicator of literary quality. You can tell by the comments of many stories that sing the praises of such well developed characters when the characters were actually drawn up on and cut out from a box of Rice Krispies.

There's no doubt the rating system on Lit has flaws, and those flaws may create inherent biases.

That bring said...why are you even worried about what your ratings are if you think your readers are too stupid to recognize the amazing quality of your editing? Why are you bestowing the priceless gift of your writing on these unworthy cretins?

Well, no point in arguing with you. I'm sure you understand this stuff better than I do.

 

[Erozetta]

Good thing for anonymity. You can pretend it's not your story and say to someone else "Can you believe what kind of drivel this is?"

Except it's attached to my username and my username is more me than my IRL identity is.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Wait a second. We’re talking about the rating system, right? Not about the number of readers? Because not every reader leaves a rating, right? So that’s not the same thing. Or am I mixing everything up now?

Like I said before, until today I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a “number one” or whatever. Of course, I like it when people read my stories. But I’m also happy if three people read them. Or ten. It doesn’t have to be five thousand, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand.

What I’m wondering about isn’t whether my story gets read, because I don’t think that necessarily has anything to do with the rating system. What I’m trying to understand is why there seems to be so much importance attached to it. That some people even go around, almost like trolls, trying to bring others down.

Then I start wondering, is there some kind of profit model behind it? Or what’s the point?

Also, I don’t think anyone else gets to decide whether I’m in the right or wrong place just because I don’t care about the rating system, or because I don’t think it’s important to have hundreds of thousands of readers.

I get that you're confused about all of this if you haven't thought about it before. But it's not complicated.

The higher rated your story is, the more likely it is that it will be picked up for reading by someone, and also the less likely that the reader will drop it at the first moment they encounter something they don't like in your story. I don't think anyone here would dispute this.

The Hall of Fame list is a place that brings extra exposure to stories and thus brings more views and feedback. As I said, I would have a hard time imagining any author here not desiring to have more readers and more feedback for their stories.

I have a hard time believing that you don't care whether your story gets more readers and comments. I'm yet to meet an author who doesn't care about that.

But if you are that special author who truly doesn't care about how many people read and comment on your stories, then I was merely suggesting it would be the same for you if you wrote your stories and then kept them on your hard drive for your own occasional enjoyment.

I don't believe you're that person, hence I was pointing out the contradiction in your thoughts. I wasn't trying to make you feel unwelcome or anything.

 

[cw5523729]

Well, from what I’m reading, it seems like it’s about more than just pleasure and satisfaction, otherwise, why would people care so much about it?

As I said, until I read this thread, I didn’t even have a clue it existed.

I don't presume to speak for anyone else, but I know that I personally have a massive need for validation roughly the size of Jupiter. That's the one and only reason I sink thousands of hours into writing stuff I give away for free. As such, every time my rating on a story dips below 4.5, I cry two tiny little tears and hug my teddy bear harder while whispering to him "You're the only one who loves me, Ted"

Yes, he's named Ted. Not very original for a writer, I know. That's why I need one of those sites that makes up names for me. What was my point again?

 

[StillStunned]

You mean, you don't care whether 500 or 5000 people read your story? You don't need Literotica at all then.

The Hall of Fame list brings views. Authors care about being read more.
More views means more feedback. Authors care about getting feedback.

There's nothing complicated about this. Once again, if you don't care about being read or getting feedback, then I'd say you're in the wrong place.

If we really cared all that much, we'd all be writing incest stories.

 

[Nightaelf]

I get that you're confused about all of this if you haven't thought about it before. But it's not complicated.

The higher rated your story is, the more likely it is that it will be picked up for reading by someone, and also the less likely that the reader will drop it at the first moment they encounter something they don't like in your story. I don't think anyone here would dispute this.

The Hall of Fame list is a place that brings extra exposure to stories and thus brings more views and feedback. As I said, I would have a hard time imagining any author here not desiring to have more readers and more feedback for their stories.

I have a hard time believing that you don't care whether your story gets more readers and comments. I'm yet to meet an author who doesn't care about that.

But if you are that special author who truly doesn't care about how many people read and comment on your stories, then I was merely suggesting it would be the same for you if you wrote your stories and then kept them on your hard drive for your own occasional enjoyment.

I don't believe you're that person, hence I was pointing out the contradiction in your thoughts. I wasn't trying to be unwelcome or anything.

Of course I do like it when my stories are read, and I always appreciate feedback. If the rating system helps bring in more readers, then I understand that now.
But I still don’t really get why some people would try to manipulate the ratings just to keep a high position. That seems rather childish to me. That’s why I wondered whether, besides satisfaction and pleasure, there might also be some other kind of reward attached to it.

What I’ve learned over the course of my life and career is that the higher you fly, the harder you fall. So yes, you’re right that I enjoy it when people read my stories, but if it’s not 5,000 or 10,000 readers, I won’t lose any sleep over it.

And I don’t feel unwelcome at all. I just think you interpreted the intention of my post differently from how I meant it.

 

[cw5523729]

But I still don’t really get why some people would try to manipulate the ratings just to keep a high position. That seems rather childish to me.

For the same reason that some people will cheat at Solitaire

 

[AwkwardlySet]

If we really cared all that much, we'd all be writing incest stories.

You ARE writing incest.

 

[Nightaelf]

I don't presume to speak for anyone else, but I know that I personally have a massive need for validation roughly the size of Jupiter. That's the one and only reason I sink thousands of hours into writing stuff I give away for free. As such, every time my rating on a story dips below 4.5, I cry two tiny little tears and hug my teddy bear harder while whispering to him "You're the only one who loves me, Ted"

Yes, he's named Ted. Not very original for a writer, I know. That's why I need one of those sites that makes up names for me. What was my point again?

I sense a hint of sarcasm in your message. Two teardrops? Come on, that’s hardly convincing.

 

[iwatchus]

Wait, hold up - is anyone on here getting anything out of posting their work besides pleasure and satisfaction? Has my check gotten lost in the mail? Am I owed a gift card to McDonalds? I could go for a McFlurry right now. And a large Diet Coke to offset it, obviously.

If you get lucky, you can get a small actual prize in a contest. Cash if you are a SU citizen, gift cards of some kind if not. What kind of gift cards did they give you @Actingup?

 

[Nightaelf]

For the same reason that some people will cheat at Solitaire

So, for no reason at all.

 

[cw5523729]

I sense a hint of sarcasm in your message

No way!

. Two teardrops? Come on, that’s hardly convincing.

Should I have said three? I think I still have time to edit my post.

 

[cw5523729]

So, for no reason at all.

Exactly. And then they pat themselves on the back afterward for a job well-done.

 

[Nightaelf]

Cash if you are a SU citizen

What country is SU?

 

[Nightaelf]

Should I have said three? I think I still have time to edit my post.

No, you should have said "I cry all night".

 

[Areala-chan]

If we really cared all that much, we'd all be writing incest stories.

Did that already. Now I'm working on cracking a different nut.

 

[cw5523729]

No, you should have said "I cry all night".

Well, that just sounds over-the-top. How 'bout if we settle on cry myself to sleep after binging on a pint of rocky road ice cream?

 

[iwatchus]

What country is SU?

Damned fingers -- US

 

[StillStunned]

You ARE writing incest.

And SF&F, and E&V, and EC, and Reviews & Essays, and a few other categories. If views were really so important, I'd be writing endless sequels to Too Cold Not To Fuck and getting 100k views each time.