What does the little red H mean?

[Penelope Street]

Sure, we all know it means the score is over 4.5; but what does that mean?

Perhaps a little red H does hint at an arousing story, but so far as quality of writing goes, it means nothing. Please consider a story rated only 4.24 as of this posting:

"Obstinate Stain" by Unsung Muse
http://english.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=232748

It may not be hot in an erotic way, but it sizzles in every other way a story can. In a mere 2500 words the author shows us a simple scene and a simple flashback, yet the tale is anything but simple. I'm still trying to figure it out days later.

 

[human_male]

I believe the little red H indicated "Hot" as in it's been viewed a lot. The 4.5 score is a rating out of 5 that people give it when they rate the story. I always wondered what the blue W is though.

 

[Varian P]

I believe the little red H indicated "Hot" as in it's been viewed a lot. The 4.5 score is a rating out of 5 that people give it when they rate the story. I always wondered what the blue W is though.

from the FAQ page

The red H's denote stories which have received 10 or more votes from readers, and maintain an average vote of 4.5 out of 5 or better.

The yellow E's denote "Editor's Choice" stories. These are pieces that we really like - just our opinion.

The green W's are next to stories that have been chosen by readers as winners in our Monthly, Yearly, or Special contests.

 

[Varian P]

Sure, we all know it means the score is over 4.5; but what does that mean?

Perhaps a little red H does hint at an arousing story, but so far as quality of writing goes, it means nothing. Please consider a story rated only 4.24 as of this posting:

"Obstinate Stain" by Unsung Muse
http://english.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=232748

It may not be hot in an erotic way, but it sizzles in every other way a story can. In a mere 2500 words the author shows us a simple scene and a simple flashback, yet the tale is anything but simple. I'm still trying to figure it out days later.

Thanks for pointing out this story, Penny. It's delicate, complex, and beautifully told. It also does something I long to do better: it subtly gets at the painful ways in which human culture and individual psyches intertwine with often painful effects.

And actually, I found it more arousing than most stories I've found branded with those little red H's.

 

[CopyCarver]

Sure, we all know it means the score is over 4.5; but what does that mean?

Perhaps a little red H does hint at an arousing story, but so far as quality of writing goes, it means nothing. Please consider a story rated only 4.24 as of this posting:

"Obstinate Stain" by Unsung Muse
http://english.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=232748

It may not be hot in an erotic way, but it sizzles in every other way a story can. In a mere 2500 words the author shows us a simple scene and a simple flashback, yet the tale is anything but simple. I'm still trying to figure it out days later.

You're right, of course, that a 4.24 is way too low for "Obstinate Stain," which is one of the relatively few pieces of true literature I've seen on Literotica. It's all too true also that quality of writing doesn't always inspire great ratings; worse, excellent writing often garners lower ratings than mediocre work, either because many readers simply don't "get the point" or because of jealousy from less talented writers. (Sadly, Unsung Muse has been "one bombed" by some hacks on at least one other recent occasion.)

I see this phenomena almost constantly, not only on this site but during my career in commercial and academic publishing. Danielle Steele outsells John Updike or Joyce Carol Oates by a wide margin. It's a sad but true fact of writing life, and there doesn't appear to be a solution to the problem.

Muse, if you read this thread, illegitimi non carbarundum.

 

[An Awful Cad]

You're right, of course, that a 4.24 is way too low for "Obstinate Stain," which is one of the relatively few pieces of true literature I've seen on Literotica. It's all too true also that quality of writing doesn't always inspire great ratings; worse, excellent writing often garners lower ratings than mediocre work, either because many readers simply don't "get the point" or because of jealousy from less talented writers.

I agree with your analysis of the merits of Obstinate Stain as well as the frequently inverse ratio between good writing and ratings. However, I think there may be another explanation of why that is. This phenomenon is easily observed in just about every "artistic" medium, as in the Danielle Steele reference. In most cases I think the bulk of the fans of the more popular artist just prefer what that person has created over the more critically aclaimed works.

It's not that they don't get it, or are jealous (although there are certainly some of those around). It's that they don't want to get it. In this case, they don't want to dilute the stream of easily digestible smut they are consuming with some high fiber literary writing. Many people may just prefer the same junk food smut over and over again. And that's why it garners more votes, just like McDonalds sells more burgers than The Palm.

 

[CopyCarver]

I agree with your analysis of the merits of Obstinate Stain as well as the frequently inverse ratio between good writing and ratings. However, I think there may be another explanation of why that is. This phenomenon is easily observed in just about every "artistic" medium, as in the Danielle Steele reference. In most cases I think the bulk of the fans of the more popular artist just prefer what that person has created over the more critically aclaimed works.

It's not that they don't get it, or are jealous (although there are certainly some of those around). It's that they don't want to get it. In this case, they don't want to dilute the stream of easily digestible smut they are consuming with some high fiber literary writing. Many people may just prefer the same junk food smut over and over again. And that's why it garners more votes, just like McDonalds sells more burgers than The Palm.

I don't disagree with the concept of personal preference, nor do I have a problem with any individual's right to choose pork and beans over Chateaubriand. My problem is with the people who try to vandalize all alternatives to their own choice. At the risk of lapsing into cliche: live and let live. Everyone is entitled to choose whatever type of story they like and to rate it as highly as they like by whatever yardstick they choose as a measure; saboutaging other types of stories is a different ball game together. In essence, I guess I'm saying that the fact that I love classic Mustangs doesn't give me grounds to sneak into a parking lot late at night and trash someone else's beautifully restored Camaro.

 

[Penelope Street]

Thanks for pointing out this story, Penny. It's delicate, complex, and beautifully told. It also does something I long to do better: it subtly gets at the painful ways in which human culture and individual psyches intertwine with often painful effects.

Happy you enjoyed it. I had much the same reaction. The wasp, the locket, the blueberry stains; how the author wove all those together leaves me in awe.

It's all too true also that quality of writing doesn't always inspire great ratings; worse, excellent writing often garners lower ratings than mediocre work, either because many readers simply don't "get the point" or because of jealousy from less talented writers.

After reading this story, I admitted in my PC that I was jealous. One could be a fine writer and never write anything this good. While I wouldn't be surprised if there was some trolling involved, most stories attract a few, my intuition is that the majority of readers just didn't get it. That last line of dialogue is such a gem; I'm not even sure I got it.

It's not that they don't get it, or are jealous (although there are certainly some of those around). It's that they don't want to get it. In this case, they don't want to dilute the stream of easily digestible smut they are consuming with some high fiber literary writing. Many people may just prefer the same junk food smut over and over again. And that's why it garners more votes, just like McDonalds sells more burgers than The Palm.

Good point. This story defies the Litertocia category system. I imagine most readers of Erotic Couples are expecting joyful no-frills sex; easy to see how some might be put off by a somber tale designed to induce more thinking than stroking. Even so, I'm at a loss to imagine a more appropriate category.

 

[CopyCarver]

Good point. This story defies the Litertocia category system. I imagine most readers of Erotic Couples are expecting joyful no-frills sex; easy to see how some might be put off by a somber tale designed to induce more thinking than stroking. Even so, I'm at a loss to imagine a more appropriate category.

I know that Unsung Muse wrestled with the labeling issue, and I was no help to her because there simply wasn't a "right" niche among the available choices. My answer would be to start a "Literature" category, by whatever name. No doubt, some writers would avoid it simply because it would (presumably) have lower readership than the genre fiction; other people would probably post stories that don't really belong there. Nevertheless, it could be made available as an alternative.

 

[elbieh]

I read the story you mentioned.........

I think you were absolutely right. Great story. Thanks for bringing it to others attentions.

 

[WindWraith]

I find, although I may be mistaken, that the novels/novellas and romance sections are generally decent bets for proper literary work receiving its due. One piece of advice I'd give you when looking for stories (and most of you will already have figured this) is that if you find something you like then check the other submissions by the same author (I generally bookmark the submissions pages of authors I like). Probably obvious, but useful for finding good stuff.

 

[ledier]

Well, my first story got (currently) 4.55 from 195 votes but with 72005 views. I thought myself that is was an okay story and I'm happy with that score because it's not that low. But, there are a lot of much better stores that appear on this site that get a similar score or worse. It had the H next to it very soon after it was approved for the site. The H doesn't mean all that much really.

I think that a percentage of the readers on this site are probably under 18 and just want a good ol' fuck story with some 'alright' details/descriptions. The further your delve into more professional and meaningful writing, the less the 'fuck story' crowd will respond.

 

[Bryce3D]

Honestly I wish my story had a little red H beside it

http://english.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=239743

 

[crazycatt]

from the FAQ page

The red H's denote stories which have received 10 or more votes from readers, and maintain an average vote of 4.5 out of 5 or better.

The yellow E's denote "Editor's Choice" stories. These are pieces that we really like - just our opinion.

The green W's are next to stories that have been chosen by readers as winners in our Monthly, Yearly, or Special contests.

Thank you so much, I've been wondering for some time what those meant. I had the assumption about the 'H'ot but had no ideas regarding the others.

I can sleep now!