Why ratings don't matter: trolls

[Cly_Anders]

Over on Inkitt, they removed the score. Instead of scores, they have emojis. replacing scores with emojis would help writers immensely. Some emojis are "good writing, solid plot, cool character, emotional, spicy" among others. I asked for help on a chapter for almost 3 years. When I posted it on Inkitt with a chapter note about my insecurities, I received several "good writing" emojis. Turned out, I was stressing too much. People liked it just fine. The emojis are my favorite part of Inkitt. I really dislike Inkitt, but those emojis are the best thing any story site ever created. Readers can give much more detailed feedback without having to say anything, and no scores to bomb!

 

[crimfolk]

I'd always urge people to write to please themselves. If others like it and it scores well it is a bonus. If trolls trash it then you'll soon spot all the signs. If people genuinely struggle with your story then at least you enjoyed writing it. We don't get paid so we don't need to suffer for out art!

 

[THBGato]

If I read someone else's work, I'm going to comment so I have to make sure I have the time.

Good for you. I'm the same. 1,700 comments and counting.

 

[alohadave]

I'm new, and my story just came up today. I don't get it. Why would anyone ruin the rating? Is it that bad? I even got help from a kind editor @kenjisato, to proofread it.

I mean, if it's that bad, wouldn't it be helpful to leave a comment on what could be improved rather than just rate-bomb it?

Pardon the rant; thank you for sharing your experience.

I'm in the mood to rate up stories today.

Best regards,
Kumi

First day downvoted happen to everyone. Don't take it personally, and don't take it as a legitimate critique of your story.

These people camp out waiting for the new stories to post every day and downvote them just because they are there.

Other votes, from actual readers will balance the score out to where it should be.

 

[Dark_Kumiko]

First day downvoted happen to everyone. Don't take it personally, and don't take it as a legitimate critique of your story.

These people camp out waiting for the new stories to post every day and downvote them just because they are there.

Other votes, from actual readers will balance the score out to where it should be.

Thank you so much for the kind words.

I did realize, based on my observation reading the forum, most of the writers, if not all, are friendly and encouraging.

I even get help from the editors ( @kenjisato ), like, whoa, I never had that kind of luxury from any other writing site. I won't fly away anytime soon and will camp the forum while editing my drafts.

Have a super nice day o/

Kumi

 

[Gamblnluck]

This is why I don't read much. If I read someone else's work, I'm going to comment so I have to make sure I have the time.

So you want to produce but not see what others are writing. Then if a person who does comment is a troll (as per the OP's idea). You want to be appreciated for your efforts but not exactly how it compares or even if the target audience likes it. As a famous comedian used to say, "HMMMMMM"

 

[Gamblnluck]

I'd always urge people to write to please themselves. If others like it and it scores well it is a bonus. If trolls trash it then you'll soon spot all the signs. If people genuinely struggle with your story then at least you enjoyed writing it. We don't get paid so we don't need to suffer for out art!

Perfect definition of masturbation. "The girl doesn't need to know I love her, think of her all the time. I'll pull my pud and dream." Okay.

 

[ashbb]

But when I get negative feedback/ratings, it feels unfair and disheartening.

I'm a grad student so get a lot of feedback in waves. When I get negative feedback, it's an opportunity to improve but most importantly, it's feedback. My work impacts people in some way so I get feedback. The alternative would be so much worse.

 

[Dark_Kumiko]

I'm a grad student so get a lot of feedback in waves. When I get negative feedback, it's an opportunity to improve but most importantly, it's feedback. My work impacts people in some way so I get feedback. The alternative would be so much worse.

True. I agree. But if it's an anonymous one, it's hard to gauge their motivations.

 

[Cly_Anders]

So you want to produce but not see what others are writing. Then if a person who does comment is a troll (as per the OP's idea). You want to be appreciated for your efforts but not exactly how it compares or even if the target audience likes it. As a famous comedian used to say, "HMMMMMM"

Uh, I don't think I understood this? I read what other people write, I just don't read often. Sometimes I can go months between. But then again, I can go a month without writing. Have a lot going on in life. Since I like to help other writers, it can take me a long time to go through their work. I pointed out to one writer that if the character couldn't get their knees under them to get up in their position, then they couldn't pull their knees to their chest in such a narrow spot and they updated the scene with appreciation because no one else had pointed that out. I won't simply read to read. Not online. If I want to read to read, I read any one of my couple hundred paperbacks. If writers post online, they are looking for feedback, unless they remove commenting.

 

[ashbb]

Uh, I don't think I understood this? I read what other people write, I just don't read often. Sometimes I can go months between. But then again, I can go a month without writing. Have a lot going on in life. Since I like to help other writers, it can take me a long time to go through their work. I pointed out to one writer that if the character couldn't get their knees under them to get up in their position, then they couldn't pull their knees to their chest in such a narrow spot and they updated the scene with appreciation because no one else had pointed that out. I won't simply read to read. Not online. If I want to read to read, I read any one of my couple hundred paperbacks. If writers post online, they are looking for feedback, unless they remove commenting.

I didn't understand it either - your first post was clear and it sounds like you try to be helpful. I think that's great.

 

[PrevertOne]

Trying to remember: how often does the moderator do one bomb sweeps on the stories again?

 

[lovecraft68]

Trying to remember: how often does the moderator do one bomb sweeps on the stories again?

These days I think its only during contest sweeps and since the monthly contests have long been a thing of the past, its not that often

You can report one of your stories and request one, however.

 

[alohadave]

Trying to remember: how often does the moderator do one bomb sweeps on the stories again?

Semi-randomly, but also near the end of/after challenges and competitions. You can also request a sweep of your stories by reporting one of your stories and asking in the submission form.

Sweeps aren't for removing just 1 star votes, they remove suspicious votes. I've had 5 star votes removed.

 

[PrevertOne]

How does one request a one bomb sweep on a specific story?

 

[ElectricBlue]

How does one request a one bomb sweep on a specific story?

Report the story and ask for a single story sweep. Or wait for the next global sweep to go through.

 

[dct10538]

I have noticed that the initial rankings always seem to sink a little bit. Is that more common than having them rise or am I just seeing things that aren't there?

 

[alohadave]

I have noticed that the initial rankings always seem to sink a little bit. Is that more common than having them rise or am I just seeing things that aren't there?

Both happen. If you have enough active followers, you'll likely see a high initial score that drops as more votes come in.

I've seen stories in the new list start out relatively low, around 4-4.15 bump up over a few days.

 

[darkride]

Let the haters hate but remember you paint in colour with your words, they paint in black with theirs.

S xx

Oh my, I love that sentence.

Firstly, purely for the meaning behind it. We writers sit here pulling words out of our - imagination - crafting a story into existence, painting pictures into the reader's minds and building empires, or perhaps just single nights... And yet someone/s can come and tear that down with their blackness, erasing the hope we had that others would enjoy our craft by pulling down our scores - scores that people likely use to help gauge whether to spend their time inside our vision.

But I also love it because, when I was 17 my teacher told me I seem to always write in black and white. I have to remind myself to add colour to my words when writing. Colour is an element I don't seem to picture when I write, despite being obsessed with the amount of bits my computer screen could handle for about a decade of my earlier life.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I have noticed that the initial rankings always seem to sink a little bit. Is that more common than having them rise or am I just seeing things that aren't there?

My long term trend is a slow increase in score over all stories. But then, my portfolio has been written over an eleven year period, so there's been plenty of time for folk to find my back catalogue.

 

[StillStunned]

My long term trend is a slow increase in score over all stories. But then, my portfolio has been written over an eleven year period, so there's been plenty of time for folk to find my back catalogue.

My stories will generally see a dip after the first few days, and then stay stable or gradually rise. Until they find their way onto the category Top List, and then they're bombed into oblivion.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My stories will generally see a dip after the first few days, and then stay stable or gradually rise. Until they find their way onto the category Top List, and then they're bombed into oblivion.

I don't have the Top List problem - or if I do, I don't know about it. All the time I've been in Lit, I've never paid any attention to those lists.

 

[sirhugs]

My long term trend is a slow increase in score over all stories. But then, my portfolio has been written over an eleven year period, so there's been plenty of time for folk to find my back catalogue.

as long as it wasn't written by an eleven year old...

... sorry, I misread the reference on my first glance, and could not resist the jibe

 

[AgentDoiron]

First day downvoted happen to everyone. Don't take it personally, and don't take it as a legitimate critique of your story.

These people camp out waiting for the new stories to post every day and downvote them just because they are there.

Other votes, from actual readers will balance the score out to where it should be.

I don't understand the thinking behind the first day down votes. Are they trying to boost their own stories by lowering ours? Do they just hate the world? Really annoying...

 

[Adam_Sephenson]

I don't understand the thinking behind the first day down votes. Are they trying to boost their own stories by lowering ours? Do they just hate the world? Really annoying...

I was the same when I released the final chapter of my story, I saw it drop to about 3.8 in a few hours, and then when the actual readers came and read it, it rose and is now stable at a 4.8 =) just need to think about the readers from various timezones =D it took a while for me to grasp that concept.