What do you vote for?

[Dildo_Baggins]

What do you vote for? The author or the story?

I was reading through the toplists and read the #2 rated story called Breaking Him Down.

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=72041

The author gives a link to another story from a different author it was based on called Breaking and Entering.

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=46029

Do you vote on how much work was required to make a few changes in the story? Or should you vote on the merits of the story?

 

[BigTexan]

If I vote (rarely) I vote on the merit of the story. I only vote if I feel the story deserves a good vote and even then usually only if the author has somehow indicated they wish to have votes.

I know my way is probably wrong and I hope others do it differently, but I just cannot bring myself to give out low votes. After all, who am I to judge.

I will, however cycle through the feedback requests in the story feedback forum occasionally. If I find a story I feel I can make constructive comments about then I'll try to do just that.

I would never vote for an author. I would never go to all of Earl's stories and vote 5 just because he said something clever on the boards. Neither would I go and vote an author's stories all 1's just because he said something rude. Even if I became best friends with someone, I wouldn't vote up their stories, not even if they asked me too.

BigTexan

 

[sirhugs]

I shamelessly vote for my friend's stories. I like to give them the encouragement. Otherwise, I vote for strangers stories if I like them, for the same reason.

 

[English Lady]

if i finish a story i vote on it. so basically it has to be a pretty good story for me to get to the end so i imagine i give mostly high votes. If i vote i tend to send some feedback too because i know how much authors value peoples views on their work. Until i started using the boards i never voted or sent feedback , i was reading for one purpose only

 

[Omni]

I vote only on the merit of the story and if the story has kept me reading until the end. However, my voting rates are 3,4, or 5. The ones and the twos are the stories I would not finish. It works out well because I would not want to vote a one or a two on a story.
I will look at stories of my friends more readily or authors I have read and liked in the past. But, I still vote according to the stories merit in my eyes, friend or not. And if I cannot finish a friends story, I do not vote.


Ahh, anonymous voting, they never know if it was you or not!


Omni

 

[Sabledrake]

I don't have much time to read, but when I do, I vote based on story merit. Actually, I only vote for the ones I like, so I never give low votes. It's either a 4 or 5, or I skip voting altogether (if I stumble across something so wretched I'd give it a 1, I wouldn't even finish reading it).

However, I often will read based on the author -- either because he or she has written stories I've liked in the past, or because I'm intrigued by how he or she presents on these boards. Someone whose posts are articulate and intelligent is someone I'm more inclined to trust to produce a compelling story.

Sabledrake

 

[TheEarl]

To be honest, I rarely actually notice the author. I may notice it when I get to the bottom and recognise the name, but 90% of the time, I don't really see it.

Unobservant? Moi?

The Earl

 

[gauchecritic]

I would never go to all of Earl's stories and vote 5 just because he said something clever on the boards. Neither would I go and vote an author's stories all 1's just because he said something rude

BigTexan

Think I'd best cancel all my votes now.

Gauche

 

[Dirt Man]

I no longer vote on stories here...

My reasons for the most part are my own, but the biggest one is that some of the best story telling posted here has more than its share of grammatical, and spelling mistakes, while on the other hand some of the stories that are impecably written without mistakes are rather tiresome to the point of putting me to sleep before they get to the point. I mean really, seven pages of rhetoric in an eight page manuscript is outlandish even in an erotic story telling format. I believe in plot, and character build up, but one of the greatest principles in writing is to never to be redundant. So if I were to vote in either case the vote would end up low, and I don't feel that would help the authors at all. Instead I now send feedback.

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[MaxSebastian]

I won't vote if I don't get through to the end of a story. Unless it's shockingly bad, and then I will give it a one or two - but that's pretty rare.

Usually when I vote, it's 3 - 5. Unless something else catches my interest, like spectacularly bad spelling and so on, I will usually vote based on three principles of the story:

- its plot (original idea of story, pace of events)

- its characterisation (likability of characters)

- its eroticism (hell, that's what the site's for)

If the story is good on one of these, but useless at the others, I will give it 3.

If the story is good on two of these, but useless on the others, it will get 4.

Good on all, it'll get 5.

If it's no good on any of these, usually I won't make it to the end, unless someone has specifically asked for feedback, in which case they are fair game.

These three aspects usually impact on each other - likeable/interesting characters will usually make for a more erotic story, for example. They aren't the only important things in stories, but they are usually the things I will think about when scoring.

 

[Chicklet]

hmm..

i always vote. i vote 4's and 5's, or 3's if i think it's bad, but never a 1 or 2 - those are just too harsh. i read a lot of stories that have FEW votes, small numbers, and try to add my vote to those.

Chicklet

 

[bridgeburner]

I only recently started voting --- since I started posting on the boards. To be honest I was reading with only myself in ha......er..mind and not interacting with other members so it never occurred to me to vote.

When I saw all the people looking for feedback I figured that the least I could do for those who took the trouble to write was to vote.

But I won't vote on stories if they rate less than a 3. Most votes I give are 3's or 4's. I reserve 5's for things that really blow me away on both a literary and erotic level.

 

[jfinn]

I vote for the story, but I do look for certain authors when choosing something to read. I'll read them first and then go on to something that catches my attention. For writers I've liked in the past, I'll always read the entire story, but for new writers I make up my mind pretty quickly, like the first couple of paragraphs. If it doesn't interest me by then I doubt it will later.

I also vote on any story I finish. I think it's the least I can do. I'm also, I think, I tougher grader than most of you, I think. In my mind I always start out reading with the idea that the story is a three. Then I'll either take points away for grammer and spelling and give points for story and eroticism. I don't give out that many ones, but I don't give out that many fives either.

I'm not as good at emails. I don't write nearly as often as I should. I'm trying to get better about it though.

Jayne

 

[bridgeburner]

I suppose I should vote on the stories I feel are sub-par (par being 3), but it just doesn't seem needful to me. Or maybe it's that I can't finish them so I don't vote becasue I didn't finish?

 

[deliciously_naughty]

I only vote if

a. I got all the way through the story (I've opened up plenty that didn't catch my eye, weren't what I enjoy, whathave you and moved on to the next one)

b. I would give it at least a 3

Points are taken away
1. for unrealistic dick size
2. lack of narrative (too much dialouge)

Points are added
1. for steamy sex that gets me hot
2. great characters
3. INteresting story

And then it usually makes sense

As for the author...I would never give a friend a five if the story sucked.

 

[sirhugs]

I only vote if

a. I got all the way through the story (I've opened up plenty that didn't catch my eye, weren't what I enjoy, whathave you and moved on to the next one)

b. I would give it at least a 3

Points are taken away
1. for unrealistic dick size
2. lack of narrative (too much dialouge)

Points are added
1. for steamy sex that gets me hot
2. great characters
3. INteresting story

And then it usually makes sense

As for the author...I would never give a friend a five if the story sucked.

so, you gave Twisted Snow the dreaded 1?

 

[SlickTony]

I vote pretty much the same way that DN votes. There have also been times that I refrained from voting on a story if the main thing it had going against it was that it just wasn't the kind of thing that I like.

BTW, does anybody else think that coprophagia stories belong in Extreme?

 

[jfinn]

BTW, does anybody else think that coprophagia stories belong in Extreme?

You mean they aren't there already???

Jayne

 

[SlickTony]

No, I've found them in Fetish. Well, I suppose coprophagia is a fetish. But an extreme one, IMHO.

 

[TheEarl]

Wow. I didn't notice that BT used me as an example of saying something clever until someone quoted it. I didn't think I ever said anything clever, or at least not oftne enough for it to be a character trait. Thanks BT.

I think I'll go and vote 5s on all his stories now .

The Earl