Ratings Purge?

[intim8]

I'm watching one of my recent stories that clearly had received some 1-bombing, and the average rating is going up while the count of the number of ratings is going down.

I thought I'd seen this before, but this is the first time I've been sure. Do they have an algo that somehow can identify non-legit or bad faith ratings or something? Does the site ever purge ratings? Or is this some kind of glitch, a DB cleanup or someting?

 

[Rustyoznail]

Yes, yes they do. Exactly how the sweep works is a mystery, and discussion on the specifics is frowned upon.

 

[Devinter]

Yes, yes they do. Exactly how the sweep works is a mystery, and discussion on the specifics is frowned upon.

I agree - it's important we do not pool our information and try to figure this out, because then the trolls might find some sort of loop-hole to the system that they could abuse. But I am glad that such a purging system exists, and I have faith that it is working correctly!

 

[intim8]

Yes, yes they do. Exactly how the sweep works is a mystery, and discussion on the specifics is frowned upon.

Warning taken. Vee vill not speak of ziss again...

 

[MillieDynamite]

Shh, type very, very quietly, and maybe they won't know we talking about it. We don't want no do we?

Yes, yes they do. Exactly how the sweep works is a mystery, and discussion on the specifics is frowned upon.

 

[mirafrida]

I've had a slow trickle of votes removed over the last week or so, and oddly it appeared to be a mix (2,3,4,5) with no 1s. Of course any time a vote is lost, it might be someone leaving the site, but the overall number and gradual dribs-and-drabs nature makes me think they're running some scripts

 

[Gamblnluck]

I have to ask.WHY do you think the site purges data? Who is behind it? I think this is the making of a "Lit urban myth'. Unless you write down the number of votes and scoring off your author page.

 

[alohadave]

I have to ask.WHY do you think the site purges data? Who is behind it? I think this is the making of a "Lit urban myth'. Unless you write down the number of votes and scoring off your author page.

Yes, none of us track stats, and we are all talking out of our asses.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I have to ask.WHY do you think the site purges data? Who is behind it? I think this is the making of a "Lit urban myth'. Unless you write down the number of votes and scoring off your author page.

Why? Because it's pretty clear that the system is open to being manipulated by unscrupulous authors and fans trying to boost scores and by one-bombing trolls, basement-dwellers who exist to tear down what others have done. As for writing down scores, quite a few people (myself included) keep their eyes on scores and such. If you go to your homepage and go to Works, you can pull up stats on all your stories, including views, scores, comments, etc.

I've had a slow trickle of votes removed over the last week or so, and oddly it appeared to be a mix (2,3,4,5) with no 1s. Of course any time a vote is lost, it might be someone leaving the site, but the overall number and gradual dribs-and-drabs nature makes me think they're running some scripts

Again, Laurel (the site owner) has requested that we do not publicly speculate on the how of it , lest the trolls and one-bombers find a work-around to the sweeps.

 

[PennameWombat]

I have to ask.WHY do you think the site purges data? Who is behind it? I think this is the making of a "Lit urban myth'. Unless you write down the number of votes and scoring off your author page.

You do realize that authors can download a spreadsheet view (csv file) of a variety of statistics for their stories from the 'Works' view of their Control Panel dashboard?

Current rating, number of votes, number of views, number of comments and counts of add to favorites and reading lists? You don't need to 'write' anything down. If you do this over time, you can maintain something of a history. It's not all that difficult to see changes over time, although the granularity depends on how often you do this.

OTOH, if your posting was performance art, solid job.

 

[mirafrida]

Again, Laurel (the site owner) has requested that we do not publicly speculate on the how of it , lest the trolls and one-bombers find a work-around to the sweeps.

Not to be bitchy, but i feel like the odds that any troll could make hay from what i posted are approximately zero. It's like saying "been drizzly lately" - doesn't tell anyone much about making rain...

 

[Zootonius]

Shh, type very, very quietly, and maybe they won't know we talking about it. We don't want no do we?

Be vewy qwiet!

*Couldn't help myself

 

[Gamblnluck]

Why? Because it's pretty clear that the system is open to being manipulated by unscrupulous authors and fans trying to boost scores and by one-bombing trolls, basement-dwellers who exist to tear down what others have done. As for writing down scores, quite a few people (myself included) keep their eyes on scores and such. If you go to your homepage and go to Works, you can pull up stats on all your stories, including views, scores, comments, etc.

Oh, I follow my stats closely the first few days after publishing. I read all comments. And yes I know I get a number 1 bombs I am sure. And a 1 alters the score drastically.. (Just remember how difficult it was to overcome that one bad grade and raise your GPA back in school.) What caught my attention was the word PURGE. It made me think that somebody was taking votes away to alter the numbers.
I once wrote down all views of my older stories before publishing a new one. I saw an increase in readership across the board within a few days.

 

[Gamblnluck]

You do realize that authors can download a spreadsheet view (csv file) of a variety of statistics for their stories from the 'Works' view of their Control Panel dashboard?

I'd like to be able to do that. Easy download, I mean. I hand wrote the list but only used 3 numbers, views, votes and overall score. It was a pain in the ass to do it that way.

 

[Britva415]

any time a vote is lost, it might be someone leaving the site

Say what?

Are you talking about someone's account being deleted and about that causing their votes to disappear?

 

[StillStunned]

I'd like to be able to do that. Easy download, I mean. I hand wrote the list but only used 3 numbers, views, votes and overall score. It was a pain in the ass to do it that way.

On your Works page in the Control Panel, you'll see a row above your stories. It says Sort By, then Title A-Z, Date, etc. All the way on the right is a download button. That's the one you need.

I find that the version that downloads on my tablet is better than the one on my PC, because it sorts the data into columns. The version on my PC just puts everything in one column, so if I want to analyse it I have to sort it into columns myself.

 

[mirafrida]

Say what?

Are you talking about someone's account being deleted and about that causing their votes to disappear?

I'm no guru, but I'm pretty sure it's true. If you're logged in and rate something, it remembers who that rating belongs to. If you later delete your account (which people do occasionally) i believe ratings attached to that account are removed.

 

[madelinemasoch]

On your Works page in the Control Panel, you'll see a row above your stories. It says Sort By, then Title A-Z, Date, etc. All the way on the right is a download button. That's the one you need.

I find that the version that downloads on my tablet is better than the one on my PC, because it sorts the data into columns. The version on my PC just puts everything in one column, so if I want to analyse it I have to sort it into columns myself.

Out of "in reading lists" and "reading lists", which one is favorites?

 

[StillStunned]

Out of "in reading lists" and "reading lists", which one is favorites?

The lower number is favourites, I think. When a reader adds a story to their reading list, it's automatically favourited, but not necessarily the other way round.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

On a related subject...

Has anyone who publishes on Amazon evaluated their "Review Checker"?

I did so for a friend who self-publishes through a vanity publisher and discovered that all of his reviews on Amazon were graded as "F" for being unreliable.

Of course all of my reviews were graded "A".

 

[PennameWombat]

I'd like to be able to do that. Easy download, I mean. I hand wrote the list but only used 3 numbers, views, votes and overall score. It was a pain in the ass to do it that way.

Click on the 'downarrow' (or whatever you want to call this icon) on your Works page.

On your Works page in the Control Panel, you'll see a row above your stories. It says Sort By, then Title A-Z, Date, etc. All the way on the right is a download button. That's the one you need.

I find that the version that downloads on my tablet is better than the one on my PC, because it sorts the data into columns. The version on my PC just puts everything in one column, so if I want to analyse it I have to sort it into columns myself.

Not my experience. On both my Windows and Linux laptops, when I download the file it's saved in CSV (Comma-Separated Values) format. It's a standard format, but if you open it with a text editor you'll just see a bunch of titles and numbers separated by commas. But if you open the CSV file with any spreadsheet program, Libre Office Calc (I use), Microsoft Excel, etc., it'll display with multiple columns, assuming your spreadsheet app is set to recognize the default comma (',') separator. Calc pops up a dialog box, just confirm and it understands the headings and the data. You can save the result in an .ODS or XLS format, or do whatever else you want.

 

[PennameWombat]

Out of "in reading lists" and "reading lists", which one is favorites?

Favorites is "In reading lists".

No idea why they can't fix the header