Literotica: the Microsoft of Erotic Fiction

[bradley_stoke]

In the two years that I have been contributing stories to Literotica, I have seen the site grow in terms of the number of readers and contributors to become the Microsoft of Erotic Fiction on the Net. It quite simply has more stories, a greater turnover of them, more readers and a much more active bulletin board than any of its competitors. And by quite a margin. Whether this dominance is a good thing, it is a fact and one that I personally believe is deserved. However, this fact presents quite a dilemma to writers whose fiction is showcased on Literotica.

Quite simply, the problem is that every writer of erotic fiction who wants to be read will want to get published on Literotica. There is a huge readership and a much better chance of feedback. However, there are so many stories printed, that within a day or two of appearing a story vanishes from the list of new stories. How then do readers decide which stories to read? How does the reader sort out those stories of merit from the others?

The solution that Laurel and Manu have devised is a voting system. The idea is that those stories that are voted the highest will feature most prominently on the list of top stories by category. This system is not perfect. It is open to manipulation, as much of the discussion on the bulletin boards has made clear. This is illustrated by the strategic use of the ‘1’ vote, which has gained so much attention. Furthermore, the popularity of a story is no necessary indicator of its literary quality.

However, I don’t know that anyone has been able devise a better way by which a reader can find quality stories in Literotica’s enormous library. Does anyone have a better solution?

Related link: http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=18840

 

[P. B. Walker]

Two ideas I've had...

1) Instead of just one "new" list, have a new list for each category (e.g., New Anal, New Erotic Couplings, etc.). That would allow some stories to at least stay on the first page of the list longer, except maybe in the more popular categories.

2) Allow each user to have a "favorite authors" list. Kind of like the buddy list on the Discussion Board. I'm sure some of us like to follow certain authors. By adding this and having some indication when that author has posted a new story would be great.

ok.. one other thought.

Mabye a New Authors section for authors that have posted their first story in the last month or so, and have only one or two stories. Once they post more than two stories they go off the list.

My two cents as usual...

- PBW

 

[P. B. Walker]

Additional Thought...

coming up with some sort of incentive to make people vote more. Literotica bucks?

- PBW

 

[Laurel]

Hi Bradley,

Your comments on the site are much appreciated, and the Microsoft comparison made me smile. I guess we're lucky Bush is in office after all.

I do agree that having more ways for readers to find stories would be beneficial. We're open to any ideas. Here are a couple that have come up at one time or another:

1) Allowing users to view the "E" stories via a list. The problem with this is that it ends up giving so much weight to my personal opinion. "E" stories are not better stories than others - they are simply ones that affected me personally.

2) As P. B. Walker touched on, we have considered allowing each member to have their own list of favorite stories. There are many ways this could be implemented - some complex and some simple. For example, on each member page we could simply have a list of that member's "favorite" stories. This would allow readers to find out which stories their own favorite authors like.

The system could be taken one step further, and you could compile a list of stories that most often appear on people's lists. Like the voting, this system would be open to manipulation, as some authors would almost certainly "trade" favorites. Also, that system only really works for authors, as very few people will view a reader's profile page while looking for a story.

There are many features, like the one I just mentioned, which are in various stages of planning and/or thinking about. Most good Lit ideas are born of discussions with our fellow Literoticans, and I would love to hear from people who have suggestions on this. Thanks again for your wonderful comments, and please know that we'll keep trying to improve the site for as long as we're still kickin'.

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

2) As P. B. Walker touched on, we have considered allowing each member to have their own list of favorite stories. There are many ways this could be implemented - some complex and some simple. For example, on each member page we could simply have a list of that member's "favorite" stories. This would allow readers to find out which stories their own favorite authors like.

How about combining the profiles with submissions. That way your buddy list could also be a link to your favorite authors.

And I would like to see the poems appear in two different colors on my member profile, one color for erotic and one for non.

 

[Guest]

How would coloring poem submissions help readers find new stories? My suggestion is to have a way to choose a random story in any catagory.

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

How would coloring poem submissions help readers find new stories? My suggestion is to have a way to choose a random story in any catagory.

And if you were looking at a particular authors work, wouldn't it be nice to be able to tell which works were erotic and which were not? People who know my poetry don't know me as an erotic poet. I've only recently started writing erotic poetry. Some people only read on type of poetry and may read a couple of my non erotic one's and decide I don't write erotic poetry and stop reading.

If the queen had balls, she'd be king.

I'm done.

 

[Black_Bird]

Do the top lists reset?

Or does everybody have to compete against the same stories again and again... Just a question.

 

[tigerjen]

Not just about fiction anymore.....

Literotica is not just about fiction anymore.....the poems
posted up here are growing in number......I think for
a more broad readership the two categories of poems
(erotic and non-erotic) should be separated in regards
to the toplist, only because many terrific non-erotic
poems get "lost in the shuffle" among the vast number
of erotic poems.

I know there is some hot fiction on Lit...don't get me
wrong about that...I'm only saying that poems should
also be considered (and I am sure that I'm not the only
one saying it)....

TJ

 

[P. B. Walker]

Suggestion about voting

hey... well I got my first "1". Bastard! LOL

I had a perfect "5" going and then some bumble-fuck (excuse my french) comes along and tosses a "1" into the mix, probably didn't even read the damn story. And of course, no feedback at all. True, I only had 5 votes before that and I'm sure that "5" would have never lasted. But it's still very obvious that the "1" vote was just to bring down the average, no two ways about it.

My suggestion is simple. Only allow a person to submit a "1" vote if they provide feedback. At the very least they will have to type something into a form (which then gets emailed to the author) and their email addy will be recorded (and sent to the author). Seems fair to me. If they think a story is that poor, they should at least provide feedback as to why it's so poor to receive a "1".

Maybe the same should be done for a "5" vote also.

My two cents and a little extra too,

- PBW

 

[JUDO]

Augh!

Seeing the title of this thread, I quickly opened it and was ready to flame whomever agreed that Microsquish equaled Literotica.

But noticing that the intent was to praise the site for it's quality through participation put me back in my cage.

Microsoft equalling Literotica? *involuntarily wretches green gobs of goo into nearest wastebasket* The comparison conjurs up pictures of naked people with no "fiddly bits" feeding moldy white bread to millions of rats running on spinning treadmills.

Microsoft gives the public software full of holes that cause them to pay more money than necessary-nurturing through intimidation.

Literotica gives the public gentle caresses and the sting of the whip at just the right moment-nurturing through imagination.

Microsoft? ICK!

Literotica? Ahhhhhh...

 

[P. B. Walker]

LOL

Too damn funny, Judo.

 

[mlyn]

Super discussion

I don't know if I even have two cents here, but I like the idea that if some wants to vote a 1, or a 2, they should have to say why. It would only help us learn and grow.

I like the favorite author's list, but have no idea how to do that.

what I try and do is when people email me, I mail back and ask if they would like to receive my newsletter ( for my site) and I include in it, stories at the lit.com site and my web site. I also let them know a little about me.

Just keep up the amazingly fabulous work you do!

 

[JUDO]

Thanks, PB. I love an audience!

 

[KillerMuffin]

Things readers might like:

1. Making a favorite authors list in their member area so they can get to the profile easy.
2. Making a favorite stories list.
3. Adding reviews to the stories, perhaps.
4. Member area notification or email notification when one of their favorite authors has posted a new story.
5. Subcategories of the big categories, ie erotic couplings: outdoor, office, etc.
6. Being able to look at other users reviews and lists.
7. Subscribing to authors or categories like they do here in the boards for ease of navigation.
8. Easy navigation from the user member page to the stories/categories/authors through the site.
9. Some sort of tangible "perk" for signing up and having a member page. Lists and author accesibility are good ideas.

Things authors might like:

1. More contact with reader feedback and or ideas. Lists, email notifications, reviews.
2. For newbie writers, more contact with experienced writers who can give a little nudge in "how to write the story." Volunteer editors can't edit a story that hasn't been written yet.
3. A writers only area, perhaps?

 

[Dragonette]

I like......

My suggestion is simple. Only allow a person to submit a "1" vote if they provide feedback. At the very least they will have to type something into a form (which then gets emailed to the author) and their email addy will be recorded (and sent to the author). Seems fair to me. If they think a story is that poor, they should at least provide feedback as to why it's so poor to receive a "1".

Yes I agree, though I have not been hit by the dreaded '1'
Or I don't think so, I rarely check my votes.

I get the impression that stories that have been around for a while drop in votes, simply because they are not in any 'new' or 'top' list.

Also a better link between stories and threads, I have friends that often come to read the stories, never knew there was a thread part here also!
It seems like two seperate parts.

Maybe a link, that this author has said this in this thread?

For those that like votes, showing them in the Author profile, against their list of work.

I am often interested in seeing how stories I like are being voted on, it would be easier to check their profile and see the vote, instead of trying to search for it.

Oh well, by two cents worth (actually in Australia we no longer have single cents, the lowest coin now is a five cent piece!)

 

[Dragonette]

Another thought

In a poetry submission, you can't put in a description
Not if you submit as a poem, you can say erotic or non, but no description.

Yet checking it in View, in my profile, it's blank, it says there is a part for descriription:
Example:

Dragonette's Tears No Description.
4.33 3 56 Non-Erotic Poetry 12/01/01 approved
Should readers be allowed to vote on this submission: Yes No

I submitted it as a poem!

Poem Information:

Title:
Category: Choose A CategoryErotic PoetryNon-Erotic Poetry
Keywords:


See, no box for description!

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

Re: Another thought

See, no box for description!

But there's a box for pleasure ...lol

I like Muffins list the best. You could make the feedback like the boards, so rather than email the feedback itself, post it and email the link to it. Then you can link feedback to the story as well, and even give the author to turn on viewing of feedback the same way they can turn votes on or off.

But the most important point raised so far I think is getting from member page to stories. If you could tie this into the buddy list I think it would be great! One central place to check profile, stories etc.

 

[flawed_ethics]

Re: Suggestion about voting

hey... well I got my first "1". Bastard! LOL

My suggestion is simple. Only allow a person to submit a "1" vote if they provide feedback. ... If they think a story is that poor, they should at least provide feedback as to why it's so poor to receive a "1".

Maybe the same should be done for a "5" vote also.

I like the idea of providing feedback for voting the extremes of either end of the spectrum. Yes, a one is mean, and a five is nice - but too praiseworthy. I usually vote threes and fours, with the occassional fives. I almost always write feedbacks with my fours, and absoultly provide feedback with any five vote.

You do realize, that your feedbacks on your one votes would read:

{Anonymous wrote of 'Your Story'}
cuz your story suxxxx!"

Not as hopeful as we'd hope for, huh?

Also, if they were to open your story in a new window, and vote a one, they could then close the window when requested for feedback, thus scoring a vote of one while leaving you hanging, lest Laurel and Manu devised a system whereby it wouldn't count until the feedback was sent out.

 

[Laurel]

Any voting system involving human voters, as has been discussed ad naseum, is prone to human issues. You can look up old threads on voting to see my scoop on ideas brought up on this thread...but what we're really looking for is ways BESIDES the voting system to guide readers to some of the older stories.

The favorites list is a good one. Reviews - a la Amazon - is also a good idea. I'll run the other ideas past Manu so we can both chew on them. Keep the ideas coming!

 

[JUDO]

???

Manu has time to chew? I figured someone had to do that for him and he scheduled the swallowing.

 

[abashed-dreamer]

How to get stories noticed.
The viewed/read count was an interesting innovation. Any rating that gives a different slant on things. 1) Here's a couple variations. The older stories have an inherent advantage, of time. Neutralize that.

There are various ways. A) Have a ranking by number of views in the first week or month, for instance. Thus any new story would have a chance at besting Mrs. Steel, which is now pretty hard.

B) As in stocks, list the 'most active' in order, i.e. for each week look at the stories whose rank in views has changed the most.

2) Since about 97 of the top 100 views are incest stories, have a separate 'views' category for incest. The incest stories would be ranked against each other. All non-incest stories would be ranked on the other list. I've thought of informally compiling such a list, because it's not obvious: the top 10 in views NON incest.


Other concepts:

3)Besides 'views/reads' which are just clicks, I gather, have a rating that is based on actual reads. The read counter is only triggered according to exceeding a fixed time, computed, say, at 5 minutes per Literotica page (20K of text) of the story. So if your story has 2 Lit pages, only for cases where the story was clicked on and no other clicks (except for page advance) for 10 minutes is there a 'read' recorded.

4)Since comments go through the Lit. system, rank the new stories by how many comments are sent to the author. Perhaps like the consumer sites, make the comments accessible to the public, if the commenter at the time, says it's allowed.

5)There should be several reviewers. A video store I know has a blackboard with 'Jane's Picks' 'Jack's Picks' ... five different people. Constitute at committee of five, perhaps of those who've authored, and let them name picks each week and give reasons i a couple sentences. Change the committe every few months to prevent graft.