Scoring Question: Snipers

[Duleigh]

I didnt know this was a thing, but happened to me. My Halloween story with a 4.92 Within a week it was 1 bombed to a 4.86

It happens, my contest winner got 1 bombed down to 4.73 and I was told by an anonymous "fan" that whatever my score was (I only saw it for a moment), it was illegitimate. All of my contest entries get hammered I guess it's the price for writing well. What are we going to do? It's not like we can find out who it is and rig their cars to explode or something...

We can't, can we?

 

[ronde]

I remember the same discussion 20 years ago, so it's not a new thought. I can't vouch if anything has been done to remedy it or not.

There was also a second discussion at that time, except it wasn't really a discussion because of the consequences. What I remember is that most of the favorite authors of the time got scores between 4 and 5 with the majority in the area of 4.8. Then, seemingly all of a sudden, there were some pretty poorly written stories getting scores over 4.9. If you compared the two sets of authors, there was no real comparison as far as writing skills. There was some difference in the amount of sex, with the higher scoring stories tending toward mostly sex and very little story. Nobody really complained about the high scores, and there were some stories that did deserve the high scores, but many did not. The opinion then was that a group of people or even just one person had multiple accounts and were intentionally boosting a story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I remember the same discussion 20 years ago, so it's not a new thought. I can't vouch if anything has been done to remedy it or not.

The sweeps started running sometime in 2014, IIRC.

 

[Bazzle]

You’ve got some good scores, but most of your tales are in Fetish, which draws relatively few readers. A change of neighbourhood might change things - your call, of course.

Problem is my stories ARE fetish...they dont belong anywhere else!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Problem is my stories ARE fetish...they dont belong anywhere else!

I fully understand, but it's in the nature of the place that when writing Fetish (and I have), one has to accept lower views.

As a hint, I find most of my stories could go in a number of places. One story might legitimately be placed in any of First Time, Romance, Lesbian and BDSM. Unless your story's kink is well outside the norm, it's pretty much your call. I did one yarn, FP POV, narrated by a female sub. It had BDSM sprayed all over it, but I put it into Romance as an experiment, for the woman very deeply loved her dom. It wasn't the best-rated story I've posted, but it got a lot of reads.

Good luck.

 

[mirafrida]

The difference between 4.92 and 4.86 could be the difference between whether or not you get a Reader's Choice award.

Yeah, and the idea that 4.92 is "AWARD WINNER" whereas 4.86 is "a good story" is exactly why the current handling of scores is ludicrous. It's what drives all the authorial angst here regarding perfervid 1-bombers, to be sure. But I don't believe it serves the readers well either.

Lit "should" (i.e. I wish it would, but it won't) deemphasize features that present score as some objective ranking of quality (which is how it's currently treated, in practical terms), and emphasize features that help users find stories they will like.

If my story scores 4.4 instead of 4.6, some of that doubtless is "quality" but some of that is simply hitting a niche that represents a smaller set of people (even within that particular category). Why not help people who are in that niche find me more easily, instead of suggesting to them that stories they will be less-into are in some way objectively "better."

In short, the way scores are handled assumes a lowest-common-denominator reader, which is a good average assumption, but pretty poor in any particular case.

Likewise, for me as an author, I don't really want "visibility" in some absolute sense - I just want people who will enjoy my stuff to be able to find it.

 

[RejectReality]

The sweeps started running sometime in 2014, IIRC.

No, sweeps have been around since before me. It was a point of discussion in the contest support threads the very first year I was here. They've been around since at least '05.

Didn't realize how much search has been improved on the forum. Here's an example from '04.

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/national-nude-day-contest.252002/page-5

Best I can remember it was sometime in '03... Or at least that was the earliest post I could find mentioning removal of votes when I looked many, many moons ago.

 

[Bazzle]

I fully understand, but it's in the nature of the place that when writing Fetish (and I have), one has to accept lower views.

As a hint, I find most of my stories could go in a number of places. One story might legitimately be placed in any of First Time, Romance, Lesbian and BDSM. Unless your story's kink is well outside the norm, it's pretty much your call. I did one yarn, FP POV, narrated by a female sub. It had BDSM sprayed all over it, but I put it into Romance as an experiment, for the woman very deeply loved her dom. It wasn't the best-rated story I've posted, but it got a lot of reads.

Good luck.

Check out my stories... definitely fetish!

 

[SimonDoom]

Check out my stories... definitely fetish!

Man, you're not kidding. I scanned your story list. I had no idea the smoking fetish was such a thing. I did a search and there are 1359 stories that use "smoking" as a tag. This place truly has something for everyone.

 

[ElectricBlue]

No, sweeps have been around since before me. It was a point of discussion in the contest support threads the very first year I was here. They've been around since at least '05.

Didn't realize how much search has been improved on the forum. Here's an example from '04.

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/national-nude-day-contest.252002/page-5

Best I can remember it was sometime in '03... Or at least that was the earliest post I could find mentioning removal of votes when I looked many, many moons ago.

That long, huh? I could have sworn something new was introduced around 2014, maybe it was the AHMod. Whatever it was created a positive shift in behaviour, given the sewer it was then.

 

[RejectReality]

That long, huh? I could have sworn something new was introduced around 2014, maybe it was the AHMod. Whatever it was created a positive shift in behaviour, given the sewer it was then.

That was 2015, but 14... 15... Six of one, half a dozen of another. If you're talking about the forum, that's absolutely when the level of civility increased dramatically after years of decline.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That was 2015, but 14... 15... Six of one, half a dozen of another. If you're talking about the forum, that's absolutely when the level of civility increased dramatically after years of decline.

Yes, I came on board in May 2014, and my first six months was an eye opener; but as you say, it became more civil after that. Mind you, some never change, but the current Forum presentation with Ignore solves that, because there is near total invisibility - you don't see what they're saying unless curiosity gets you and you're silly enough to click on the toggle.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Another Litster shared something with me that seems just too bizarre to be true.

Around 1 Bombs. I understand the drama in LW around 1 Bombs. But is it a known practice/occurence for Lit Authors or their followers - the Litster used the term minion, which I love, but it suggests organization - to 1 Star a story to lower its performance in a category at some point in the month, for the purpose of helping the other author?

What would even be the point?

I don’t know but I just got a 1-bomb bastard to lower my score down for no good f’kin reason.

God, they piss me off. You put hours into something, loads of who you are, only for some utter shit-for-brains to come along and ruin your day.

I f’kin hate one-bombers. Shaggy had it right

Call them one-bomber bastards. That was the song, right?

 

[SamScribble]

I don’t know but I just got a 1-bomb bastard to lower my score down for no good f’kin reason.

God, they piss me off. You put hours into something, loads of who you are, only for some utter shit-for-brains to come along and ruin your day.

I f’kin hate one-bombers. Shaggy had it right

Call them one-bomber bastards. That was the song, right?

And breathe, Emily. Deep breath. That's right.

 

[lc69hunter]

I vote, and comment, on most stories I read. I do not give a 1, as I have been told they get wiped. but if I give a 2, I let the author know know why I gave it a 2 as opposed to a 4 or 5. It is only fair to the author

 

[Emilymcplugger]

I vote, and comment, on most stories I read. I do not give a 1, as I have been told they get wiped. but if I give a 2, I let the author know know why I gave it a 2 as opposed to a 4 or 5. It is only fair to the author

Here’s hoping as the 1-bombers have been busy this weekend with their sadistic ways.

 

[Grendelpuppy]

Man, you're not kidding. I scanned your story list. I had no idea the smoking fetish was such a thing. I did a search and there are 1359 stories that use "smoking" as a tag. This place truly has something for everyone.

Haven't you ever watched any of the classic movies where the characters make such a ritual out of smoking? Very common as a prelude, interlude or aftermath of a sexual encounter.

 

[Grendelpuppy]

Keep in mind that Literotica enables people to email each other. They do communicate privately to coordinate and organize. They put more time and effort into their 1 bombing campaigns and nasty commenting than authors put into actually writing stories. Pathetic.