Votes, Comments and Sweeps

[starrkers]

It seems with the change to the voting system, if you vote AND leave a PC, the vote will be swept.

I have seen this on my stories and also noticed on other stories that I voted and PCed some time in the past that now they don't show my vote when I return.

I have also noticed that if I PC before I vote, the PC thermometer score is accepted as the starred vote.

Seems we need to be careful how we leave feedback, lest our efforts be for naught.

 

[Weird Harold]

It seems with the change to the voting system, if you vote AND leave a PC, the vote will be swept.

I have seen this on my stories and also noticed on other stories that I voted and PCed some time in the past that now they don't show my vote when I return.

I have also noticed that if I PC before I vote, the PC thermometer score is accepted as the starred vote.

Seems we need to be careful how we leave feedback, lest our efforts be for naught.

Make sure that Manu knows about this observation. I seriously doubt that's what was intended whenthey made the change.

 

[Belegon]

Hmmm... interesting.

For awhile, several of the "poets" were rebelling against the thermometer. This would throw a serious wrench there, if any still are...

 

[starrkers]

Make sure that Manu knows about this observation. I seriously doubt that's what was intended whenthey made the change.

Will do.

 

[Darkniciad]

Most likely too late. The Hoover has probably identified anyone leaving PCs as a "problem multi-voter" and blackballed us all anyway. Would explain why the sweeps have been so insanely large lately.

 

[oggbashan]

If my votes were in double figures perhaps I wouldn't mind the sweeps so much.

Stories with less than 10 votes are invisible in the ratings.

Og

 

[where]

It seems with the change to the voting system, if you vote AND leave a PC, the vote will be swept.

I have seen this on my stories and also noticed on other stories that I voted and PCed some time in the past that now they don't show my vote when I return.

I have also noticed that if I PC before I vote, the PC thermometer score is accepted as the starred vote.

Seems we need to be careful how we leave feedback, lest our efforts be for naught.

does this mean to avoid getting votes swept, one should turn off PCs?

 

[starrkers]

If my votes were in double figures perhaps I wouldn't mind the sweeps so much.

Stories with less than 10 votes are invisible in the ratings.

Og

It was mine hovering just over 10 votes that fell below that first drew my attention. I now have a couple with more comments than votes.

 

[starrkers]

does this mean to avoid getting votes swept, one should turn off PCs?

I think so, yes.

 

[where]

I think so, yes.

Damn! I like the feedback, even when it's a bit pervy and disturbing. Votes or feedback... which to go for huh?

 

[Darkniciad]

From what I've observed, anything with a PC attached is going to vanish the next time the Hoover comes around. I asked someone I know to leave a PC only on one old, more or less inactive story in my list, making sure to linger on each page for at least two minutes. He'd never even been to the site before, and the vote vanished in less than 24 hours. Had another online friend who'd never been here before do the same thing, but use the voting form first with the same results. Left a PC only on a low-vote, inactive story for someone else, and it vanished within 24 hours as well.

 

[starrkers]

From what I've observed, anything with a PC attached is going to vanish the next time the Hoover comes around. I asked someone I know to leave a PC only on one old, more or less inactive story in my list, making sure to linger on each page for at least two minutes. He'd never even been to the site before, and the vote vanished in less than 24 hours. Had another online friend who'd never been here before do the same thing, but use the voting form first with the same results. Left a PC only on a low-vote, inactive story for someone else, and it vanished within 24 hours as well.

Yep, similar experience. Thinking turning off PCs in contests particularly may be a good idea, sadly.

 

[rachlou]

Yep, similar experience. Thinking turning off PCs in contests particularly may be a good idea, sadly.

The worst of it is that the votes attached to PC's are usually the high votes! Very few bother to leave a PC attached to a 1 vote, unless it's in LW. Grr. I don't want to turn off my PC's cos I like receiving feedback that way.

 

[Darkniciad]

With the vote totals I've been picking up lately, it pretty much doesn't matter anyhow. My last ( and that word probably has dual meaning after the dismal showing of Ep. 7 & 8 ) LST3K has all of four votes.

I know I've quit leaving PCs at all, and probably won't change that pattern unless there's some announcement from the powers that be concerning PCs and sweeps.

 

[starrkers]

Yeah, I've turned off PCs for my (pending) How To. And I'm not going to leave PCs anymore either.

 

[3113]

Whoa! That's terrible and I don't like it! I think we should all write to Manu now about this. I like PC's and I don't want to shut them off. On the other hand, I hate the idea of it *looking* like the story was somehow unpopular just because the people who left the highest votes didn't get counted. How absurd is that?

 

[DesertPirate]

*Wonders how many good authors I've shot in the ass with well intended PC's? *

 

[Tricialen]

I wondered why, when I revisited a favorite story that my score was gone ... should I just not leave a comment/vote at all? And if I revote, will it be deleted?

 

[Emperor_Nero]

If this voting problem is working like we think it does, what does that do to the contest results? The monthly winners and catagory nominees for the annual contest were all decided after the first of the year and thus after the new system was put in -- and with some catagories separated by less than a tenth of a point for monthly nominee, some overall winners might not have even won their own month if not for a few 5s disappearing from one story because of PCs that were left.

Not meaning this as an attack against any winners, because they were all very worthy ... but just asking as what I see as a legitimate question

 

[3113]

Not meaning this as an attack against any winners, because they were all very worthy ... but just asking as what I see as a legitimate question

It's an excellent question.

I've already written to Manu that I'm not happy--I may be posting a new story soon and I don't want to have to decide whether to turn off the PC's or not just to get the votes!

Send your question to him, Nero. It's a good one.

 

[DesertPirate]

What a can of worms

Possible fix:
leave the voting system alone and change the sweeps criteria?

 

[Tarakin]

What about disabling the thermometer? So we'd have the score and the comment still.

 

[jomar]

What about disabling the thermometer? So we'd have the score and the comment still.

I don't think people would vote the star then leave a comment, if that's what you mean.

Has anybody PMd Manu about what appears to be a programming glitch?

 

[where]

*Wonders how many good authors I've shot in the ass with well intended PC's? *

Same here. If I read a story I like, I always vote and always leave a comment and I've been doing this since before I started writing them myself.

 

[starrkers]

I don't think people would vote the star then leave a comment, if that's what you mean.

Has anybody PMd Manu about what appears to be a programming glitch?

Yes, I have sent a PM to both Manu and Laurel, copying the first post of this thread and providing a link to the whole thread.