Malicious Voting?

[CorsetLvr]

Have any of you noticed this on any of your stories. I had a new story post this AM and was watching the voting to get some idea as to how it was being received. I was pretty happy with how it was going in the early stages until I noticed a sharp drop in the score of the new story. Curious as to how this happened, I did the math and figured out that someone had to have voted a 1 on a tory that was receiving primarily 5's with a few 4's.

Personally, I rarely vote anything less then a 5. If I feel like it deserves less, I simply don't vote. I guess I am letting the rest of the voters do my dirty work.

I'm trying to figure this out and understand the motivation of this person. I'm sure this is something you have discussed here in the past and if you can point me to a previous thread, I would appreciate it. I've seen some threads here that suggest some authors may sabotage a story's score due to some sort of competitive rationale. I only see myself competing against myself. It's sorta like golf. We compare scores, but our score has nothing to do with our competitors. I also couldn't help but ask myself whether the story set off some sort of knee jerk reaction in this voter. I guess you can't please all people all the time.

I know that if there are enough votes then this single voter will probably become statistically insignificant. However, if you look at the ratio of views to votes, it would seem that any such vote can have a major impact. I don't write for a score, it's more of a hobby for me. Like most writers I do have something of an ego and this does seem to strike deep.

Your thoughts and any simlar experiences would be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

It happens. Malicious voting, I mean.

We call them trolls.

They tend to seek out stories that are scoring well, and then drop 1-bombs at will.

The longer the story is on the site, the more votes it receives, the easier it will be for the low votes to average out.

Welcome to the club!

 

[bronzeage]

About a year ago there was a pissing contest on the GB. One of the prolific posters made a thread where he threatened to score a particular author's stories low and pull her rating down. It was kind of pointless, but he is good for pointlessness. He claimed to have pulled all his Lit stories to avoid retaliation.
To her credit, his victim told him to do his worst, it didn't bother her at all.
The ratio of views to votes is always low on Lit. I have gotten many more emails for my stories than the votes tallied.

I cant see any reason for a person to single out a particular author unless it was a personal problem, but I have seen stranger things on Lit.

 

[cloudy]

More than once I've had a rather heated disagreement here on the boards with someone, and, since I suppose they couldn't keep up with me here they retaliated by low-voting every single story and poem I have here at Lit. In fact, it's happened in the last couple of weeks, but most of mine have enough votes that it doesn't really matter. *shrug* Eventually you get to where it just doesn't really bother you anymore.

If you notice a suspicious pattern of voting - like the situation above where all my stories recieved votes of 1 within about 3 minutes (not long enough for anyone to read one story, much less all of them), you can click on the link at the bottom of your story that says "Report this story."

Once there, check "other" and put a note in there for Laurel to check your votes, that you've noticed a suspicious pattern. She's very good about fixing it if you let her know.

She also does vote sweeps pretty regularly, and she'll remove any duplicate or questionable votes, so you'll see your vote total go down, and usually your story rating go up - unless you have a rabid fan that gives you a 5 on a story every time s/he reads it, then it'll go down.

 

[R. Richard]

Have any of you noticed this on any of your stories. I had a new story post this AM and was watching the voting to get some idea as to how it was being received. I was pretty happy with how it was going in the early stages until I noticed a sharp drop in the score of the new story. Curious as to how this happened, I did the math and figured out that someone had to have voted a 1 on a story that was receiving primarily 5's with a few 4's.

Any author who has been on Literotica for any length of time has received the dreaded "1 bomb." In the normal course of events, Laurel will remove the 1 bomb, but a dtermeined troll may re-insert the vote again and again as it is deleted.

I'm trying to figure this out and understand the motivation of this person. I'm sure this is something you have discussed here in the past and if you can point me to a previous thread, I would appreciate it. I've seen some threads here that suggest some authors may sabotage a story's score due to some sort of competitive rationale. I only see myself competing against myself. It's sorta like golf. We compare scores, but our score has nothing to do with our competitors. I also couldn't help but ask myself whether the story set off some sort of knee jerk reaction in this voter. I guess you can't please all people all the time.

I think that the motivation for trolls is connected with their proclivity to eat excrement and bark at the moon. There have been countless past threads discussing trolls. You will not get much information from said threads and you can probably ignore the charges that trolls are the illegitimate ofspring of a mating between a human and a pig, although I am not completley discounting the idea.

JMNTHO.

 

[rgraham666]

Welcome to the AH, Corset.

Can't add anything that the people before me didn't say.

 

[Guest]

Richard -

Eating excrement???

 

[cloudy]

Richard -

Eating excrement???

....and I've been known to howl at the moon on occasion (sort of), but trolls and I are not even distantly related.

 

[Guest]

....and I've been known to howl at the moon on occasion (sort of), but trolls and I are not even distantly related.

 

[CorsetLvr]

Thanks to all of you for your input. My story is currently undergoing numerical recovery, slowly but surely.

I'm not real active socially on here so I think I can discount this being the result of any personal issues. So I would rather think this action is the result of disturbed personality. There could have been a hint of excrement in the air when it occured.

Tina

 

[R. Richard]

Richard -

Eating excrement???

A known characteristic of trolls!

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

....and I've been known to howl at the moon on occasion (sort of),

Now that image will be in my head for a very very long while

 

[Nirvanadragones]

Thanks to all of you for your input. My story is currently undergoing numerical recovery, slowly but surely.

I'm not real active socially on here so I think I can discount this being the result of any personal issues. So I would rather think this action is the result of disturbed personality. There could have been a hint of excrement in the air when it occured.

Tina

Hey Sexy Stranger

 

[Guest]

 

[R. Richard]

Coprophagia.

Welcome to the AH, CorsetLvr.

Actually, I would have used coprophagous, however, I was afraid of generating confusion.

 

[TxRad]

Don't mind me..... I'm just stalking Jammies.......

Welcome to the AH, Corsetlvr.... to be trolled is a badge of honor, you can look at it as having made it.... Trolls only notice what is beyond their limited mental grasp.....

another Texan.... alright!! We're taking over slowly but surely.....

 

[Guest]

 

[TxRad]

*blush*

Is it stalking if I give you my schedule ahead of time?

Sorry, CL...I'll lead him off somewhere.

That's so cute....

No....

Use the convient handle.....

 

[CorsetLvr]

Welcome to the AH, CorsetLvr.

Thank you lilredjammies. I appreciate the welcome. I am, however, somewhat of a recycle. I was on here fairly often about a year or so ago and then the most terrible of things struck, real life.

The story I just posted has been in process for the last year. That dreaded real life as well as a certain degree of writers block struck me. I already have another chapter in the works. I finally came to the conclusion that the only time I can find to write is early in the AM. That seems to be working for me. I have 2-3 other projects waiting to be worked on, as well as finishing May/December which I put on the shelf. I'm also doing a little bit of editing for other writers.

Let me tap into the assembled wisdom and experience of this group. Am I to assume that those stories that reach the upper echelon of things like the top list and for contests and such are simply those that have been fortunate enough to not be struck down by trolls? Is it simply a matter of luck or popularity?

I just left a comment for another author that primarily writes in the same group as I do. I pointed out several issues concerning his stories that result in his stories being less then realistic, especially from a female POV. Obviously he is not writing from a stand point of any actual first hand experience. He does tell a good tale though and his stories are some of the highest scored in the group. I wonder if his ratings have more to do the with how good of a stroke story it is, especially among male readers, rather then how well it is written? I suspect this to be the case. What do you think?

 

[CorsetLvr]

Sorry, CL...I'll lead him off somewhere.

No problem, feel free. I'm pretty open minded. Mind if I watch?

 

[CorsetLvr]

Welcome to the AH, Corsetlvr.... to be trolled is a badge of honor, you can look at it as having made it.... Trolls only notice what is beyond their limited mental grasp.....

another Texan.... alright!! We're taking over slowly but surely.....

I'm slowly coming to that conclusion. While I have noticed sudden dips in scores before, I have never really watched post day voting closely in basically real time. because I managed to get the story posted on a weekend when I had a little free time I was able to watch it this time. The story's score is slowly but surely climbing. I'm somewhat amazed that its still getting votes todays.

I suppose the answer to all of this is just to take on a "Who gives a damn," attitude about the score and not let my ego get in the way.

Yes, I am a Texan, born and bred. A descendant of some of Stephen F Austin's first settlers in "Tejas." Daughter of the Alamo and the Texas Rangers, yada, yada, yada. Oil Field, TX. Hmmmm... Where could that be. I'll take a wild stab and guess its somewhere out west. One of those Friday Night Lights type towns.

 

[TxRad]

I'm slowly coming to that conclusion. While I have noticed sudden dips in scores before, I have never really watched post day voting closely in basically real time. because I managed to get the story posted on a weekend when I had a little free time I was able to watch it this time. The story's score is slowly but surely climbing. I'm somewhat amazed that its still getting votes todays.

I suppose the answer to all of this is just to take on a "Who gives a damn," attitude about the score and not let my ego get in the way.

Yes, I am a Texan, born and bred. A descendant of some of Stephen F Austin's first settlers in "Tejas." Daughter of the Alamo and the Texas Rangers, yada, yada, yada. Oil Field, TX. Hmmmm... Where could that be. I'll take a wild stab and guess its somewhere out west. One of those Friday Night Lights type towns.

Take more stock in the *signed* comments and e-mails.... a much better barometer of scores.... The little red H's are nice but.... sometimes they aren't on the stories they need to be on...

I live in central east Texas but work around Cureo, north of Victoria... for the most part. Our company has work from the Louisiana line to the Mexican border... nothing in West Texas though....

We have several more Texans around but I'll let them introduce themselves....

 

[Guest]

 

[CorsetLvr]

I live in central east Texas but work around Cureo, north of Victoria... for the most part. Our company has work from the Louisiana line to the Mexican border... nothing in West Texas though....

I'm from just outside of SA. I'm assuming you are based out of somewhere in the Austin Chalk area, B/CS?

 

[TxRad]

I'm from just outside of SA. I'm assuming you are based out of somewhere in the Austin Chalk area, B/CS?

Most of the Austin chalk (horizonal drilling) is done.... most everything we're doing around here is Lower Wilcox sands.....

B/CS?

Our main offices are in Alvin, south of Houston, with a service yard in Beeville....