The Author's Hangout Valentine's Day 2012 Support Thread

[ScouriesWorld]

[size=+2]YESSSSSS!​

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The LITEROTICA contest finally has one of the MOST FAVORITED ones…

My lovely boss…

yes, james r scouries is back with a romantic, sexy, quirky, kinky brother/sister story.

And I’d suggest you buy a copy before they’re all gone.

http://i.eprci.net/monkey-fellatio

[size=+3]

Auto Fellating Brother?

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[Darkniciad]

When entered in a themed contest ( or when the monthly winners are posted ) expect heartbreaking drops in your vote totals.

Coupled with that is usually a heartwarming increase in your score, though. If it goes down, you need to go on a serious campaign of telling your fans to only vote once and not try any shenanigans like down-voting other people's stories, etc.

20-35% loss is about average for every story in a themed contest. High and Low vote categories skew that a bit, though. If you're somewhere in the middle with Erotic Couplings, Lesbian Sex, etc., the percentage is usually lower.

Here's the final track from the Halloween Contest in 2011. OSWP is the total number of swept votes I observed, and there's a sweep percentage column.

http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/halloween_2011_y.htm

And the same for Earth Day 2011

http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/earth_day_2011_final.htm

You can find links to other tracks by clicking the "Lit Stats Home" link, and travel through the daily tracks with the Prev/Next links.

That should give you some idea of how the sweeps act in a themed contest.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Coupled with that is usually a heartwarming increase in your score, though. If it goes down, you need to go on a serious campaign of telling your fans to only vote once and not try any shenanigans like down-voting other people's stories, etc.

You can find links to other tracks by clicking the "Lit Stats Home" link, and travel through the daily tracks with the Prev/Next links.

That should give you some idea of how the sweeps act in a themed contest.

Thanks Dark, I can see the differences the sweeps make, but maybe I didn't phrase the question right. What's being swept away? I've seen references to contestant votes being swept away, so I haven't bothered to vote on any stories I've read. As for voting multiple times, doesn't Lit.com limit votes to one per IP address? I've noticed the votes I make on non-contest stories seem to be persistent.

Maybe it's better to keep the precise system nebulous to avoid giving nefarious contestants a recipe for how to defeat the system? I don't know. I'm not expecting to win, I just like the attention participating seems to bring.

As for lobbying my fans, that's a blank area for me, too. I mean, aside from noting my entry in my signature line, it's not as if I have a mailing list of people to contact.

Running an internet popularity contest is fraught with automatic charges of people who don't play fair, which is part of the reason why I don't expect to win. I'm too lazy/honest (your choice) to go through the trouble of cheating. People either like my writing or they don't - and so far - enough people seem to like enough of my writing to keep me posting.

Also, I tend to be a very easy audience for the things I read on lit. As a writer, I respect how much time/work someone has put into a story. Also, as a writer, I value the warm fuzzy of high scores. So, unless a story is dreadful, if I read it to the end, I tend to give it an automatic 5. That was my system before I joined, too. Even if the person's authorship is an embarrassment to the English language, I'm more likely to just not vote than I am to give someone a 1 bomb. (Blame my mom drilling into me, "if you can't say anything nice...")

Am I guilty of asking instead of searching?

 

[Darkniciad]

No, the criteria of the sweeps are kept secret, so the people trying to circumvent them have a harder time.

The only known and confirmed criteria are:

Multiple votes from the same IP/ID ( Which unfortunately means that roomies/spouses can't both vote, even if they both have accounts )

Getting past the controls that prevent multi-voting by "locking out" the stars is something your average 8-year-old can get past, with minimal googling.

Votes inconsistent with the voting pattern of the story ( more or less, the 1-bomb sniffer )

I don't know for sure that contestant votes are removed, but my research would indicate such. Same for all my other speculation about what triggers a vote to be removed such as problem voters having all their votes wiped. It's just observing patterns and guessing what would be logical.

 

[lovecraft68]

No, the criteria of the sweeps are kept secret, so the people trying to circumvent them have a harder time.

The only known and confirmed criteria are:

Multiple votes from the same IP/ID ( Which unfortunately means that roomies/spouses can't both vote, even if they both have accounts )

Getting past the controls that prevent multi-voting by "locking out" the stars is something your average 8-year-old can get past, with minimal googling.

Votes inconsistent with the voting pattern of the story ( more or less, the 1-bomb sniffer )

I don't know for sure that contestant votes are removed, but my research would indicate such. Same for all my other speculation about what triggers a vote to be removed such as problem voters having all their votes wiped. It's just observing patterns and guessing what would be logical.

I had another contestant leave me a nice comment on my story and mention that she voted even though it will most likely be removed. It's too bad it's like that, but I understand why. There are a few authors on this site who would stoop to one bombing,

 

[Darkniciad]

I always roll my eyes when people talk about "cabals" and "incestuous voting" because of this. I'm as convinced as I can be that it would be pointless, because the votes aren't going to stick anyway.

All the sneering about supporting each other with reads, votes, and comments has turned everyone off from it, and that's a big loss. One of the things you could always count on back in the old days was that this thread would provide you plenty of reads and comments.

Now, nobody wants to deal with the hassle of the resulting attacks that supporting your fellow contestants always causes.

 

[lovecraft68]

I always roll my eyes when people talk about "cabals" and "incestuous voting" because of this. I'm as convinced as I can be that it would be pointless, because the votes aren't going to stick anyway.

All the sneering about supporting each other with reads, votes, and comments has turned everyone off from it, and that's a big loss. One of the things you could always count on back in the old days was that this thread would provide you plenty of reads and comments.

Now, nobody wants to deal with the hassle of the resulting attacks that supporting your fellow contestants always causes.

Sigh. Porn site politics.

 

[Dual_Triode]

I always roll my eyes when people talk about "cabals" and "incestuous voting" because of this. I'm as convinced as I can be that it would be pointless, because the votes aren't going to stick anyway.

All the sneering about supporting each other with reads, votes, and comments has turned everyone off from it, and that's a big loss. One of the things you could always count on back in the old days was that this thread would provide you plenty of reads and comments.

Now, nobody wants to deal with the hassle of the resulting attacks that supporting your fellow contestants always causes.

Perhaps I am too new, or maybe even naive, but why is reading, voting, and commenting on other author's works deemed prejudicial?

 

[Darkniciad]

There's a few who believe the AH is out to get them as a whole, with a giant conspiracy to boost each other and destroy those pesky "outsiders"

Therefore, every read, vote, and comment is nothing more than part of a conspiracy, and anyone who does so or accepts a comment immediately becomes part of the conspiracy ( and is usually branded an "alt" )

Unfortunately, these people are so loud and annoying that a once prevelant and positive practice is practically extinct.

 

[lovecraft68]

There's a few who believe the AH is out to get them as a whole, with a giant conspiracy to boost each other and destroy those pesky "outsiders"

Therefore, every read, vote, and comment is nothing more than part of a conspiracy, and anyone who does so or accepts a comment immediately becomes part of the conspiracy ( and is usually branded an "alt" )

Unfortunately, these people are so loud and annoying that a once prevelant and positive practice is practically extinct.

Yeah, it sucks its like that. I left remarks on a couple of stories here, but did so as anonymous so it wouldn't cause any hassle. I did however send the author a message via feedback separately.

I always take more from a remark when made by another author over a reader so it is a shame that it creates a hassle.

 

[PennLady]

I must be so oblivious. Things like this would never occur to me. I'd make a terrible conspiracy theorist, obviously. I'm afraid my only excuse for not reading/voting/commenting is the mundane lack of time.

 

[Dual_Triode]

There's a few who believe the AH is out to get them as a whole, with a giant conspiracy to boost each other and destroy those pesky "outsiders"

Therefore, every read, vote, and comment is nothing more than part of a conspiracy, and anyone who does so or accepts a comment immediately becomes part of the conspiracy ( and is usually branded an "alt" )

Unfortunately, these people are so loud and annoying that a once prevelant and positive practice is practically extinct.

That's just ... irrational.

I am, of course, guilty of reading, commenting, and voting on a few of the V-day contest submissions. I sure hope my naivety causes no harm to those fine contestants.

 

[lovecraft68]

That's just ... irrational.

I am, of course, guilty of reading, commenting, and voting on a few of the V-day contest submissions. I sure hope my naivety causes no harm to those fine contestants.

Honestly, and I hope I bring nothing about by saying this, the person who seems to cause a lot of trouble seems strangely absent from this contest.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Wow that's a drop. Then again, if I'm not mistaken that category does not get a lot of votes so a couple of bombs can do a number on you.

Is "Mingled" in the contest? I didn't see it on the list?

No, it's not. It's just a new story that got one-bombed, but from what I understand, when sweeps are done for the contests, that are across the board; this helped last time during the Halloween contest, to get some of my works that had been one bombed back into the 4.5 and above range. I hoping for the same bounce back when the sweeps are done for the Valentine Contest.

 

[Darkniciad]

My guess from observance is that what's happening when other stories lose votes during a contest sweep is that "problem voters" who have been one-bombing every story ( or every story but their favorite ) or excessive multi-voting have all of the votes from that IP/ID in the database nuked by a follow-up script.

Always a good idea to stress this with your fans. Never underestimate the fanbase's desire to "help you out" with multi-votes or bombing the competition. If they do, and I'm right, all they're accomplishing is getting all their votes annihilated -- including the positive votes on your work back to the very first vote they cast when they discovered you.

As I say ( usually several times *laugh* ) during every contest. Tell your fans to only vote once, and not low-vote other stories, because they're not helping your score or your chances of winning, they're hurting them.

The number of votes and percentage of 5 votes swept from my stories has dramatically decreased since doing this on a regular basis in comment responses, on my website, and in closing notes on my stories.

 

[beatrice_dreams]

Just curious...have you noticed in the past if non-contest stories get bumped to the bottom of the approvals list in terms of priority (i.e. take longer to post?)?

 

[Darkniciad]

Just curious...have you noticed in the past if non-contest stories get bumped to the bottom of the approvals list in terms of priority (i.e. take longer to post?)?

It usually does slow down regular story posting a bit.

Lately, the regular story posting has been slow anyway. It's been around 4-5 days average instead of the 3 day average we've enjoyed for so long.

So if it goes 6-7 days for a regular story during the contest, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

I've started putting - one vote per reader in stories that I place author notes & thanks. I've also posted it when I "heavily" promoted my V-day story in my Playground thread.

 

[TxRad]

Just curious...have you noticed in the past if non-contest stories get bumped to the bottom of the approvals list in terms of priority (i.e. take longer to post?)?

There has been a noticeable increase in posting time for the last few months or more. Maybe the owners took some time off over Christmas and got behind. No one knows for sure.

 

[Darkniciad]

I've started putting - one vote per reader in stories that I place author notes & thanks. I've also posted it when I "heavily" promoted my V-day story in my Playground thread.

If you keep track of it ( or just notice a difference ) be sure to let me know if it has a positive effect on your sweeps. Always nice to have extra examples

If enough people start doing it, word may spread amongst the readers to discourage multi-voting and troll voting. That's good for everybody, even if I'm wrong

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

I had a How To - not a V-day story submitted on the 1st and it went up sometime today.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

If you keep track of it ( or just notice a difference ) be sure to let me know if it has a positive effect on your sweeps. Always nice to have extra examples

If enough people start doing it, word may spread amongst the readers to discourage multi-voting and troll voting. That's good for everybody, even if I'm wrong

I have noticed already, it takes a lot longer to reach ten votes than it ever has before. I started doing it when you mentioned it back during the Halloween contest. I wasn't entered in that one, but I did "lurk" and read some of the posts/stories while it was running.

I also picked up my newest troll around that time too, if memory serves me right and I'm sure she sits and waits for me to even mention a new story out.

 

[Darkniciad]

I have noticed already, it takes a lot longer to reach ten votes than it ever has before. I started doing it when you mentioned it back during the Halloween contest. I wasn't entered in that one, but I did "lurk" and read some of the posts/stories while it was running.

I also picked up my newest troll around that time too, if memory serves me right and I'm sure she sits and waits for me to even mention a new story out.

I hope at least that you're not seeing as many of those slower-arriving votes swept, and that sweeps tick your score up far more often than down.

What finally broke me was one of my LST3Ks. It kept getting swept, and swept, and swept, taking votes across the board down with it - many of them 5s. Most of the time, it had fewer surviving votes than signed comments.

At about the same time, I was talking with a fan who casually mentioned "helping me out". As the conversation evolved, I found out he had been multi-voting, down-voting other stories, and all sorts of evil things. I also discovered that the LST3K in question was one of his favorite stories, and that he voted on it at least once a week.

I asked him to please stop because it was killing me in sweeps, and kicked into high gear with the 1 story, 1 vote drive.

Worked a charm for me.

 

[beatrice_dreams]

I had a How To - not a V-day story submitted on the 1st and it went up sometime today.

I suppose that's not too far out from the usual 3-4 days I remember from last year. Hopefully mine's next as I also submitted on the first! Though it will likely be snowed under in the Romance category with V-day stories (and why not)

Good luck on your How To!

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

I hope at least that you're not seeing as many of those slower-arriving votes swept, and that sweeps tick your score up far more often than down.

What finally broke me was one of my LST3Ks. It kept getting swept, and swept, and swept, taking votes across the board down with it - many of them 5s. Most of the time, it had fewer surviving votes than signed comments.

At about the same time, I was talking with a fan who casually mentioned "helping me out". As the conversation evolved, I found out he had been multi-voting, down-voting other stories, and all sorts of evil things. I also discovered that the LST3K in question was one of his favorite stories, and that he voted on it at least once a week.

I asked him to please stop because it was killing me in sweeps, and kicked into high gear with the 1 story, 1 vote drive.

Worked a charm for me.

I'm not seeing the slow-voting stories, or scores losing too much ground. What I have noticed is that I'll get a story scored at 4.86 or 4.83 and sometime during the day, it drops and drops fast. That's when I figure the one bomber who loves me has stricken.

I won't lie, it's frustrating, especially if I truly think that story deserves a 5. Do I think all mine deserve 5s, no. I'd like them all to, but I know I don't produce perfection every time. I don't produce crap though - not anymore - when I was new to it, perhaps so.

When I honestly feel a story has been stomped on without a chance of seeing the 4.5 mark, then I heavily promote it on a couple threads, otherwise, I ride it out and wait for the sweeps, or for it to - in time - get enough readers to balance the low score.

I suppose that's not too far out from the usual 3-4 days I remember from last year. Hopefully mine's next as I also submitted on the first! Though it will likely be snowed under in the Romance category with V-day stories (and why not)

Good luck on your How To!

Good luck to your new submission as well and thanks. It was a fun write (in my opinion) and I got some ideas from other Lady Posters on Lit., so that made it even more enjoyable.