The Earth Day 2011 Contest Support Thread

[TxRad]

Welcome to the real Literotica Earth Day Contest Thread. Don't be fooled by any Fake contest you might hear about.

 

[Darkniciad]

I've found that Monday has become a pretty good day for reads.

As long as it ain't Sunday, I'm good *laugh* I've been aiming for Thursday night at midnight of late, but we'll see how Monday does.

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

Submitted!

 

[Boxlicker101]

As long as it ain't Sunday, I'm good *laugh* I've been aiming for Thursday night at midnight of late, but we'll see how Monday does.

I hope you're aware Thursday at midnight would be after the deadline.

 

[Darkniciad]

I hope you're aware Thursday at midnight would be after the deadline.

*facepalm*

I submitted several hours ago. I'm discussing the day I've been aiming for with regular stories.

A little quick on the reply button there, Boxie. Take a little advice from the railroad crossings. Stop, look, and listen before you proceed

 

[Darkniciad]

And now, the results of the nightly track, for the stat obsessed

Two new stories ( including one new category ) bring us up to 61

The average score is now 3.98 and the median 4.03

9313 votes have been cast, for an average of 158 and a median of 65

Contest stories have been viewed 772,642 times, for an average of 12,877 and a median of 6,772

Contest stories have accumulated 123 favorites and 479 comments.

Closing in on the 10k vote mark and getting closer to a million views

 

[Boxlicker101]

v

And now, the results of the nightly track, for the stat obsessed

Two new stories ( including one new category ) bring us up to 61

The average score is now 3.98 and the median 4.03

9313 votes have been cast, for an average of 158 and a median of 65

Contest stories have been viewed 772,642 times, for an average of 12,877 and a median of 6,772

Contest stories have accumulated 123 favorites and 479 comments.

Closing in on the 10k vote mark and getting closer to a million views

It's rather gratifying that my first story, although not even close to being a contender, has a score that is at least better than average.

I have finally finished the first draft of my second story. Unfortunately, the characters in it have been in other stories and the connection to Earth Day is tenuous, at best, so Scouries probably won't allow it in his A. I. R. Contest. I believe I will survive.

 

[Darkniciad]

Praying Laurel waits until the regular midnight posting to put mine up now, rather than posting it later today. I don't mind waiting another day at all compared to losing 8 hours ( and counting if it gets posted later ) on the New list.

It's happened to me before, and it's a death blow for readership.

Edit: So much for hope

Mine's up

http://www.literotica.com/s/heart-of-the-wood

 

[LunaEroticaMystica]

My story posted. Didn't make it to midnight, but oh well, at least I'm not late!

Please READ, VOTE, COMMENT and ENJOY! THANKS!

http://www.literotica.com/s/heartwood

~HeartWood~

 

[MatthewVett]

Is there any way to link stories as a series without them having the same title?

 

[Firebrain]

Mine's up too:

http://www.literotica.com/s/cider-webs

I'll try and get around to reading some of these by the weekend.

 

[TxRad]

Is there any way to link stories as a series without them having the same title?

Manu said there would be a way to do that but I'm not sure how. On your submission page there is a change link that allows you to change the title but Nothing to do with series that i can see at a quick glance.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidMatthew
Is there any way to link stories as a series without them having the same title?

Manu said there would be a way to do that but I'm not sure how. On your submission page there is a change link that allows you to change the title but Nothing to do with series that i can see at a quick glance.

There should be a way of doing it for the idea of series to mean anything. I suppose putting the info in the notes section when posting would do it. The idea of having individual series of stories isolated is a good one, but it should be controlled by the individual authors.

 

[MatthewVett]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidMatthew
Is there any way to link stories as a series without them having the same title?




There should be a way of doing it for the idea of series to mean anything. I suppose putting the info in the notes section when posting would do it. The idea of having individual series of stories isolated is a good one, but it should be controlled by the individual authors.

Well I tried it once and it failed. I'd just like to be able to link stories that are stand-alone but inhabit the same universe and have recurring characters.

 

[PennLady]

Well I tried it once and it failed. I'd just like to be able to link stories that are stand-alone but inhabit the same universe and have recurring characters.

I have to say that this is one area where SOL (StoriesOnline.net) has an advantage over Lit.

 

[Darkniciad]

There isn't any way to do it yet, but that's part of what is planned with the series coding already in place. In time, we're supposed to get the ability to designate our own series'.

 

[Boxlicker101]

There isn't any way to do it yet, but that's part of what is planned with the series coding already in place. In time, we're supposed to get the ability to designate our own series'.

It has to be done by the individual authors, for a couple of rreasons. For one thing, stories in a series are now listed alphabetically, and they should be chronological for it to be done right.

For another, the stories don't always have similar names and are not always in the same category. For instance, I have a series going about Marian and Ryan. The first three stories have dissimilar names, but are part of the series. I wanted to name the next ones "Marian & Ryan 1" "Marian & Ryan 2" etc. but Lit. changed that to make it CH01, CH02, etc. Each is a standalone story, sometimes referencing its predecessors, but not chapters in one story. The last four episodes are in the Mature, First Time, Anal and Group categories, and the next one will also be Group and the one after that will be Lesbian. Marian is a versatile lady.

For a third, sometimes stories are listed as part of a series, even though they are not, but have similar names. "Angel Likes to Get on Top" is listed as being part of the Angel Jones series, even though there is no connection.

 

[Darkniciad]

It has to be done by the individual authors, for a couple of rreasons. For one thing, stories in a series are now listed alphabetically, and they should be chronological for it to be done right.

For another, the stories don't always have similar names and are not always in the same category. For instance, I have a series going about Marian and Ryan. The first three stories have dissimilar names, but are part of the series. I wanted to name the next ones "Marian & Ryan 1" "Marian & Ryan 2" etc. but Lit. changed that to make it CH01, CH02, etc. Each is a standalone story, sometimes referencing its predecessors, but not chapters in one story. The last four episodes are in the Mature, First Time, Anal and Group categories, and the next one will also be Group and the one after that will be Lesbian. Marian is a versatile lady.

For a third, sometimes stories are listed as part of a series, even though they are not, but have similar names. "Angel Likes to Get on Top" is listed as being part of the Angel Jones series, even though there is no connection.

*sigh*

In time, we're supposed to get the ability to designate our own series'.

Read the whole post/conversation before hitting the reply button, Box. Pretty please?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
It has to be done by the individual authors, for a couple of rreasons. For one thing, stories in a series are now listed alphabetically, and they should be chronological for it to be done right.

For another, the stories don't always have similar names and are not always in the same category. For instance, I have a series going about Marian and Ryan. The first three stories have dissimilar names, but are part of the series. I wanted to name the next ones "Marian & Ryan 1" "Marian & Ryan 2" etc. but Lit. changed that to make it CH01, CH02, etc. Each is a standalone story, sometimes referencing its predecessors, but not chapters in one story. The last four episodes are in the Mature, First Time, Anal and Group categories, and the next one will also be Group and the one after that will be Lesbian. Marian is a versatile lady.

For a third, sometimes stories are listed as part of a series, even though they are not, but have similar names. "Angel Likes to Get on Top" is listed as being part of the Angel Jones series, even though there is no connection.

*sigh*

Read the whole post/conversation before hitting the reply button, Box. Pretty please?

I have been following the whole thread, including where it veered off into series. I am merely presenting my opinion, which is in agreement with that of some others. I actually feel rather strongly about grouping stories by individual authors into series when that is feasible.

 

[Darkniciad]

Anyway, here's the nightly tracking.

4 new stories bring us up to 65

The average score is now 3.98 and the median 4.03

9722 votes have been cast for an average of 159 and a median of 66

Contest stories have been viewed 804,836 times for an average of 13,194 and a median of 7,063

130 favorites and 515 comments have been posted to contest stories.

Tomorrow at 11:59 PM EST is the deadline, everyone! Last call!

 

[MarlowBunny]

Any theory why votes are so low?

Anyway, here's the nightly tracking.

4 new stories bring us up to 65

The average score is now 3.98 and the median 4.03

9722 votes have been cast for an average of 159 and a median of 66

Contest stories have been viewed 804,836 times for an average of 13,194 and a median of 7,063

130 favorites and 515 comments have been posted to contest stories.

According to Owlwhisper's site-wide statistics, http://www.literotica.com/s/literotica-numbers, an average story at Literotica should score 4.2. In some categories, an average story should score 4.56. With an average score of 3.98, the "Earthday" stories must be considered dreck by the readers. In fact, if I read the numbers right, the average "Earthday" story is in the bottom 20% of all stories at the site.

Why is this? I think there are some great stories in the contest. Even the lower scoring stories in the contest aren't as bad as some higher scoring stories I have read elsewhere. Do readers just hate contests? Do contests fool readers into reading something outside their genre preferences? It this a sign that other authors are gaming the votes? Is this a sign that only authors are voting, and we have higher standards that other readers?

I put my best work forward for the contest. I am sure you did too. Why are the votes so low?

 

[MatthewVett]

According to Owlwhisper's site-wide statistics, http://www.literotica.com/s/literotica-numbers, an average story at Literotica should score 4.2. In some categories, an average story should score 4.56. With an average score of 3.98, the "Earthday" stories must be considered dreck by the readers. In fact, if I read the numbers right, the average "Earthday" story is in the bottom 20% of all stories at the site.

Why is this? I think there are some great stories in the contest. Even the lower scoring stories in the contest aren't as bad as some higher scoring stories I have read elsewhere. Do readers just hate contests? Do contests fool readers into reading something outside their genre preferences? It this a sign that other authors are gaming the votes? Is this a sign that only authors are voting, and we have higher standards that other readers?

I put my best work forward for the contest. I am sure you did too. Why are the votes so low?

First off, that's an awesome statistics page. Thanks Marlow.

As for the vote quality, I think it's caused by two things. Firstly, I think that for general readers, because it's a contest, their standards may be raised. No matter how well you write, it's hard to write better than someone else can imagine you'll write. If their standards are especially high, they may give the story a lower vote, despite the quality being similar to, or even greater than, the average story.

Secondly, as every single person who's read this thread knows, there's bad blood in contests. A large number of people are going to vote down stories, and if they vote them down with 3s, for example, rather than 1s, they probably won't get swept and will do more long-term damage.

A third possibility, which I don't consider quite as likely, as that, for contests, people just write loads and loads of crap, assuming that volume=quality, which brings it down. It might be useful to examine a per capita average of the stories, in which the average of each author's contest stories is averaged with equal weight. One author writing 20 fast, sloppy, crappy stories could easily drag down a contest. If anyone's more talented with using Literotica than I, and feels up to the challenge, could we get a per capita story average for the contest?

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

According to Owlwhisper's site-wide statistics, http://www.literotica.com/s/literotica-numbers, an average story at Literotica should score 4.2. In some categories, an average story should score 4.56. With an average score of 3.98, the "Earthday" stories must be considered dreck by the readers. In fact, if I read the numbers right, the average "Earthday" story is in the bottom 20% of all stories at the site.

Why is this? I think there are some great stories in the contest. Even the lower scoring stories in the contest aren't as bad as some higher scoring stories I have read elsewhere. Do readers just hate contests? Do contests fool readers into reading something outside their genre preferences? It this a sign that other authors are gaming the votes? Is this a sign that only authors are voting, and we have higher standards that other readers?

I put my best work forward for the contest. I am sure you did too. Why are the votes so low?

I think it's incorrect to compare the 3.98 to the 4.2, for a number of reasons.

First, the 4.2 includes entries that have been swept, multiple times. The 3.98 number reflects new stories that are still highly unstable, and full of potentially fraudish votes. Darkniciad's had a number of posts on this thread that talk about the final sweeps, and how much they change the final numbers. I think he even posted a spreadsheet from a former contest that reflects this.

Second and third, there are the confounding factors of chapters and categories. Later chapters have higher votes, which drives that 4.2 average up. And, as Owlwhisper's piece points out, categories have different vote totals. If the contest entries don't match that distribution, it will skew the numbers.

 

[Darkniciad]

Yep, Marlow. Take a look at the final tracks for the contests as compared to the ones pre-sweeps.

Main Lit stats menu

Here's a specific example, from last year's Winter Holiday contest.

http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/winter_holiday_2010_w.htm

Average of 3.95 median 3.96 Prior to the first observed, significant sweep.

http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/winter_holiday_2010_z_d.htm

Average of 4.17 median 4.16 at around the time of the winner's announcement.

As Owlwhisper already said, the "Numbers" stats, while still highly informative, are from a couple of years ago, and some things have changed since then. We've had a couple of years worth of the star voting system in place, for one, which everyone noticed to reduce scores on new stories almost immediately. The suspicion is the wording, which now lists 4 as a highly positive vote, is the factor there.