I love when...

[GinaeEvans]

The sweeps happen and your score goes up.

I know it's silly to be concerned about a one-bomb here and there, but it does bother me sometimes. Especially because I know no one actually deserves a one.
When I vote on stories, I automatically give a 2 if the story is god-awful terrible; at least they attempted something. You know?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Why is AT LEAST I TRIED! worthy of celebration?

 

[GinaeEvans]

Why is AT LEAST I TRIED! worthy of celebration?

Because most people nowadays are too apathetic and stupid to do even that. Might as well give the semi-literate ones as much as encouragement as possible.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Because most people nowadays are too apathetic and stupid to do even that. Might as well give the semi-literate ones as much as encouragement as possible.

But then you're giving a "1" to someone for having done nothing. Should we start handing out "non-participant" along with the particpant awards at marathons?

 

[GinaeEvans]

But then you're giving a "1" to someone for having done nothing. Should we start handing out "non-participant" along with the particpant awards at marathons?

So sorry. Making an effort to write something, post it and let people read it, takes guts.

Anyone who's a writer knows that. We all started somewhere and, at least for me, my first stories were god-awful. I never got an F on any of them, but my teachers did leave many, many comments on how to better myself.

I listened and eventually I did. If I had gotten nothing but failings and derision from people, I might've never continued.

Anyhow, as far as scores are concerned, a 2 opposed to a 1 is hardly something to get up in arms about.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

So sorry. Making an effort to write something, post it and let people read it, takes guts.

Anyone who's a writer knows that. We all started somewhere and, at least for me, my first stories were god-awful. I never got an F on any of them, but my teachers did leave many, many comments on how to better myself.

I listened and eventually I did. If I had gotten nothing but failings and derision from people, I might've never continued.

Anyhow, as far as scores are concerned, a 2 opposed to a 1 is hardly something to get up in arms about.

I'm not really up-in-arms about it (though that's always a nice place to be), and I do agree that effort should be rewarded, but only to a degree, and only if the effort is in the right direction.
But then, you might want to consider giving a 3 as your effort mark so it balances out with JBJ's 1.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Because most people nowadays are too apathetic and stupid to do even that. Might as well give the semi-literate ones as much as encouragement as possible.

Encouragement isnt the same as celebration. A '2' for '1' quality waters down the value of a real 2, in the end a 5 is really a 4.

 

[sr71plt]

I look forward to the sweeps too. The down voting is just too systematic to be natural. I just try to hold any emotional involvement until the sweeps have started to go through.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I'm not really up-in-arms about it (though that's always a nice place to be), and I do agree that effort should be rewarded, but only to a degree, and only if the effort is in the right direction.
But then, you might want to consider giving a 3 as your effort mark so it balances out with JBJ's 1.

I invented failure but how I handled failure was to do better. You grow thick skin and soldier on to a better place. The ridicule and laughing and insults stop when you get to where youre going.

 

[GinaeEvans]

I'm not really up-in-arms about it (though that's always a nice place to be), and I do agree that effort should be rewarded, but only to a degree, and only if the effort is in the right direction.
But then, you might want to consider giving a 3 as your effort mark so it balances out with JBJ's 1.

It's just a saying. I know no one is really angry about it, I just think it sounds neat. :3

Three is considered 'average'. If I don't feel the story is average (and I'm a little picky, I DO score hard) then, gad-dangit, they're not gonna get a 3.

And if it's obvious that the person is a troll and isn't serious about writing, (check out some fanfics sometime, troll stories abound) then maybe I'll fail 'em.

However, if it's apparent that the person is actually trying and just has no idea what they're doing, that's when I appear with my 2 and some helpful (I hope) advice.

 

[GinaeEvans]

Encouragement isnt the same as celebration. A '2' for '1' quality waters down the value of a real 2, in the end a 5 is really a 4.

Oh, trust me. I am not one to celebrate stupidity. That's why when I see someone who obviously has the drive, but little know how, I tend to pounce on 'em and prod them along.

Writing exercises the brain. I'm a big fan of people using their brains. Therefore, I use encouragement mixed with criticism to ensure they continue, but make them aware that they do need a lot of work.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

Anything which seems to be of quality 1-3 would be abandoned by me well before the end of the story and I would never vote. Maybe I am the only one who doesn't jump to the vote after getting walloped in the first paragraph by a wall of text summoned up from the murky depths of some misogynist's id, but I doubt it.

 

[sr71plt]

Anything which seems to be of quality 1-3 would be abandoned by me well before the end of the story and I would never vote. Maybe I am the only one who doesn't jump to the vote after getting walloped in the first paragraph by a wall of text summoned up from the murky depths of some misogynist's id, but I doubt it.

I normally won't give a 3 or below for anything that has not been requested for comment here on the forum. I don't assume that those who haven't asked for a critique want one, and this is a reading site more than a critique site. If a "take a look" is asked for, I'll feel free to give a 3 or 2 if I've taken the time and effort to look at it and think that's what it merits--especially if a I see comments gushing over something that's clearly substandard. If I'm reading something I picked out myself and can't give it a 4 or 5, I won't rate it at all.

 

[GinaeEvans]

Anything which seems to be of quality 1-3 would be abandoned by me well before the end of the story and I would never vote. Maybe I am the only one who doesn't jump to the vote after getting walloped in the first paragraph by a wall of text summoned up from the murky depths of some misogynist's id, but I doubt it.

I normally won't give a 3 or below for anything that has not been requested for comment here on the forum. I don't assume that those who haven't asked for a critique want one, and this is a reading site more than a critique site. If a "take a look" is asked for, I'll feel free to give a 3 or 2 if I've taken the time and effort to look at it and think that's what it merits--especially if a I see comments gushing over something that's clearly substandard. If I'm reading something I picked out myself and can't give it a 4 or 5, I won't rate it at all.

I guess I have a soft-spot for people who need a little help. Granted, I will admit that it is a bit difficult to get through some of the substandard works here... Then I think of all the great, published authors who probably couldn't get anyone to give them the time of day at first, either.

I don't know how to describe it but there is a distinction between a piece that is thrown together by someone who just wanted to write a bunch of smutty words as compared to another who actually tries to give it their best shot. Not sure, maybe the attempt seems a little more sincere to me.

At any rate, that's my take on it.

 

[DeeZire]

Anything which seems to be of quality 1-3 would be abandoned by me well before the end of the story and I would never vote....

That's my approach. I don't have a lot of time in my day for reading, and I'm certainly not going to waste it on crap. I will give a non-perfect story a 5 if the effort is there, especially in the context of all the inane fluff that makes it into the top lists.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Oh, trust me. I am not one to celebrate stupidity. That's why when I see someone who obviously has the drive, but little know how, I tend to pounce on 'em and prod them along.

Writing exercises the brain. I'm a big fan of people using their brains. Therefore, I use encouragement mixed with criticism to ensure they continue, but make them aware that they do need a lot of work.

As I always say, YOU CANT FOOL YOUR ASS OR YOUR PURSE WITH BULLSHIT.

 

[GinaeEvans]

As I always say, YOU CANT FOOL YOUR ASS OR YOUR PURSE WITH BULLSHIT.

Gracious, you're a character. Gotta love ya, though.

And, yeah, I'm aware. But if the majority of us depended on our writing to fund our lives, we'd likely be out on the street. It's just a hard business to get ahead in.

Thus, I try to help whenever I can. Then again, I'm just sweet like that.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I guess I have a soft-spot for people who need a little help. Granted, I will admit that it is a bit difficult to get through some of the substandard works here... Then I think of all the great, published authors who probably couldn't get anyone to give them the time of day at first, either.

I don't know how to describe it but there is a distinction between a piece that is thrown together by someone who just wanted to write a bunch of smutty words as compared to another who actually tries to give it their best shot. Not sure, maybe the attempt seems a little more sincere to me.

At any rate, that's my take on it.

I think its okay to score hacks and newbies low, I recently read that the ancients usta kill people who wasted community resources (including time). Its not a bad idea; maybe you can do this: Allow the inspired newbie to live, and kill the hack.

 

[GinaeEvans]

I think its okay to score hacks and newbies low, I recently read that the ancients usta kill people who wasted community resources (including time). Its not a bad idea; maybe you can do this: Allow the inspired newbie to live, and kill the hack.

Deal. -nod-

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Gracious, you're a character. Gotta love ya, though.

And, yeah, I'm aware. But if the majority of us depended on our writing to fund our lives, we'd likely be out on the street. It's just a hard business to get ahead in.

Thus, I try to help whenever I can. Then again, I'm just sweet like that.

One of my supervisors paid me the compliment of saying, I KNOW YOU WONT BULLSHIT ME, IF YOU SAY IT CAN BE DONE IT CAN BE DONE, CAN WE DO IT?

 

[AngelBell]

The sweeps happen and your score goes up.

I know it's silly to be concerned about a one-bomb here and there, but it does bother me sometimes. Especially because I know no one actually deserves a one.
When I vote on stories, I automatically give a 2 if the story is god-awful terrible; at least they attempted something. You know?

I feel so stupid posting this but...what sweep? I've posted a few stories here and the score I have at the end of day 1 rarely changes even a .01 after the first few days.

 

[GinaeEvans]

I feel so stupid posting this but...what sweep? I've posted a few stories here and the score I have at the end of day 1 rarely changes even a .01 after the first few days.

A 1 will drag your score down much more than a 5 will enhance it. The sweeps are here to try and make sure that the voters are being somewhat fair.

If a story has, say, ten 5's, six 4's, and a 1, the sweep will likely abolish the 1 vote because it's a distinct difference from the voting pattern. Most often, it's just a troll who wanted to drag the score down.

It also depends on how many votes you've accrued. If you have less than twenty votes, another one is likely to impact it much more than if you have over a hundred of them.

EDIT: Also, the sweeps do away with voters who voted more than once on the same IP address, no matter what they gave you.

 

[AngelBell]

A 1 will drag your score down much more than a 5 will enhance it. The sweeps are here to try and make sure that the voters are being somewhat fair.

If a story has, say, ten 5's, six 4's, and a 1, the sweep will likely abolish the 1 vote because it's a distinct difference from the voting pattern. Most often, it's just a troll who wanted to drag the score down.

It also depends on how many votes you've accrued. If you have less than twenty votes, another one is likely to impact it much more than if you have over a hundred of them.

Thanks for the answer. I learned something today since I didn't know that happens and it does seem pretty fair and balanced. I usually max out around 300 votes or so and I have all 4's and above so maybe I just don't get many 1's so it never matters. Still glad to know that type of consideration goes into the scores. I always feel like it ends up being pretty close to what I would score myself on my stories.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LIT strives for equal outcomes. The LIT motto is: LIFE ISNT FAIR BUT LIT IS!

 

[sr71plt]

LIT strives for equal outcomes. The LIT motto is: LIFE ISNT FAIR BUT LIT IS!

Actually, that's quite wrong. Lit. is set up to give the slammers more than their fair slice of power.