Would you vote down the story of a person you had a spat with on the boards?

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

It's a devilish question, I know- but I can't help wondering when I see some of the fireworks fly. What's too low of a blow? This is purely from a point of brimstone and sulfur advocacy, by the way....

 

[bridgeburner]

Only if the person in question were truly a lousy writer. I've voted down stories of people I don't know. Why should I not vote my conscience regardless of my personal relationship with the author?



On edit: so it was only a typo, but I couldn't let it sit there once I saw that I'd misspelled conscience. I misspell a lot of stuff but not that dangit!

 

[bridgeburner]

Oh, well. duh. Scratch my vote because I'm an idiot. Would I vote vindictively? Absolutely not. I totally misread the question and have now skewed the results of the poll.


Which way to the blindfold and last cigarette?


--B

 

[Madame Manga]

Not JUST for a fight--frankly, I don't think I've had a genuine fight with anyone on the boards. If I'm wrong, someone please inform me. ;-)

But I recall some kid a long time ago who raised a ruckus here about getting too much short and nasty negative feedback--''your stuff stinks, go away, you're a pervert." He was an angry little guy who liked to blame other people for just about anything, but he claimed that he wouldn't mind bad reviews if they would only give details. He could take it--why wouldn't anyone give it to him? They must just be jealous, hostile and untalented.

So I looked his stuff up, read a couple of his stories, and gave him the details. And a couple of 1 votes, which I thought (with utter objectivity and impartial deliberation, natch) those stories richly deserved.

Never heard back from him, not even in public.

MM

 

[oggbashan]

No.

I rarely vote any story down. If I don't like it, I hit the back button.

If I read a story by someone I'd had a "spat" with, I'd treat it the same as any story.

Arguments on Lit are words on a screen which can be misinterpreted, misunderstood and are sometimes written in the heat of the moment. It is very easy to upset someone and difficult to retrieve the situation once a "spat" has started.

The next day should bring a different viewpoint and might show what an idiot you have been. Should I then vote against a good story just because I feel guilty?

If you are an author you should appreciate how much effort and emotion has gone into something that you might think is absolute rubbish. The story is someone else's beautiful baby. Why should I destroy their illusion?

If the story is good but could be better or has a couple of typos then feedback is the way to give the message.

Og

 

[jfinn]

There's a writer I know from another site that I had a huge blow out with for one stupid reason or another. We don't talk anymore, at all, but he's a great writer and I have no problem reading his stories and giving them highest marks. He deserves that even if I do think he's a pain in the butt personally. So no, I'd never vote someone down because of my dislike of him or her.

Jayne

 

[Couture]

If I dislike them then why the hell would I even bother to read their stories? My time is more valuable than that.

 

[SexySoBeChick]

No, I wouldn't "1" them for that reason. I'd like to think I wouldn't be that nasty. I probably just wouldn't read their stuff or vote at all. Actually, I don't think I've "1"-ed anybody yet. Mostly, I vote a "5" or don't vote at all. Although, now that I think about it, that's probably not very helpful to the system. Oh, well.

 

[sirhugs]

I seldom vote stories down. If I do its because I think the story deserves it.

 

[gauchecritic]

Paranoia

Personally I can't recall voting any story below a three. If they deserve lower than that I don't vote, usually because I haven't read to the end.

From the other perspective I'm pretty sure a few of my stories have been oned because of my sarcasm and vicious backstabbing on the boards. Finding lower scores after the stories had been 'archived' for several months and only days after I've had a stand-up free-for-all on the boards seems like more than co-incidence.

The only time it bothered me was when they managed to knock my only red 'H' off with one vote. Bastards.

Most of the time I'm not even sure who the author of the story I'm reading is.

Gauche

 

[bridgeburner]

Yet another reason to submit stories under a name other than the one I use on the boards. Not that I've engaged in any hair pulling here, but it could happen.


--B

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

It had crossed my mind...different monikers, that is. I mean- it was a rheteorical poll from the outset...what kind of gomer is going to come out and say "yes. yes I would."

At present I think I have a petty vindicator on my hands- unrelated to the board- a guy that I "discouraged" [in technicolor] from IMing me. I'm sure he's set himself up to be notified every time a new submission of mine pops up, and he immediately smacks me with a 1- conspicuous only because the rest are generally an initial "5" across the board.

If only the lowest and highest scores got ditched. That would be nice *laugh*.

 

[bridgeburner]

Lord save us from vengeful dweebs.

yeesh.




-B

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Tempting, but no. What would actually happen is that if I read it and liked it I'd either refuse to give it its deserved 4 or 5, or I'd pick on some minor thing and knock it down to 3. If I read it and honestly thought it was bad it could knock a 3 down to a 2. So, yes, personal dislike could affect my perception by about a point.

In fact what I tend to do in these circumstances is ignore something. I read it, think damn, this person dissed me, but this is good. It deserves a 4 at least. So I just back out and don't vote. I deprive them of something but I'm not too unfair about it.

If only the lowest and highest scores got ditched. That would be nice *laugh*.

I'm on a website where this has been implemented for the main status thing. Votes are counted but your status rests on your middle two quartiles, so extreme highs and lows don't affect it so much. It gives a more robust measure of goodness.

 

[pop_54]

Ha

No wouldn't do that love, I'd be tempted in the event of a real big bust up, but know I'd feel shit about it later.
Disputes soon die out, crap votes cock a story position up for months.

Not on anyway, just not Cricket old girl, hehe!!

pops..........

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Re: Paranoia

Most of the time I'm not even sure who the author of the story I'm reading is.

Same here.

 

[Gabriel_Lee]

No.

GL

PS. After a number of 5s, I generally find that some little gnome gets in to push a few 1s my way. I think the gnome is trapped somewhere inside literotica and is trying to send some encoded message - but I have a generous nature and do not easily interprete malice or evil design.

I'm just a nice straight line type of guy.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I wanted to pick no, but I just can't think of you as a man.

No, I don't vote very often. I'm more the type to send feedback and skip clicking the votes. I used to be so competitive about it, it was awful. I don't like feeling that way and I don't like the person I was in those moments of caught up in smut story competition. So, I don't vote and I usually don't check my own votes. I'm much more zen happy these days. Well. At least when I look at stories I am.

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

Thank god, someone finally thinks I'm feminine *laugh*

Yeah, that was kind of my attempt at Robert Bloch/Edgar Allen Poe horrified exclamation-
you know-

"I tell you, Man- now he stands without the door!" *shudders ensue*

I just doesn't work as well with "woman." It always sounds a little too much like Barry White.

cheers,

Miz Blüpehn

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

Not cricket...not cricket-

Damn you, Pops...now I've got a loop tape of that sing-songey Squeeze song off "Cool for Cats" stuck in my head- and it's fucking relentless.

"I CAN't name names 'cuz that's not CRICKET! I ca'ant name names, that'll put me INNIT..."

agonised,

The Bitch with the Asphixi-Bic

 

[KillerMuffin]

Poe? Damn. The reference was totally lost on me. I was thinking of Bones. He had two phrases: "Dammit Jim" and "Good God Man!" depending on who he was talking to.

Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a bricklayer!

Good God Man, I'm a doctor not an astrophysist!


A sad, sad commentary on pop culture. . . .

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

I actually prefer your interpretation. The Poe thing was a reach.

Bones spent a lot of time being indignant, and I like that. My friend had a dog called Dammit Jim.

"Dammit Jim!" he said
I'm a doctor, not a whore
You can't beam me up!

 

[dr_mabeuse]

For the record, I don't vote. Never have, probably never will

I try to ignore ratings too, although that's hard. They're like horoscopes in the paper: you know they're bullshit, but still...

I know that ratings reflect a lot of different factors and I suppose that real quality is in there somewhere, but the realtionship is not at all clear to me. Everytime I look at the top rated stories I'm just baffled.

---dr.M.

 

[TheEarl]

I don't read that much Lit at the moment, but I never vote ones when I do. I always think of how much it hurts me to see my voting score torpedoed. If someone's done crap, then sending them feedback explaining what they've done wrong is a hell of a lot more helpful than a 1.

However if I don't like the person (and there is no-one on this site who I dislike) then I'd just hit back if the story didn't grab me.

The Earl

Edited to say: 'God Spock, Jim, This man's dying, Jim, it's me Bones, how long have you known me, Jim, God man, Spock.'

No-one else seen that Eddie Izzard sketch? Nobody at all?

Taxi!

 

[gauchecritic]

This has puzzled me for some time and I still can't see the why of it. "Take no notice of the votes they mean nothing", "I never check my scores", "Feedback is so much more important." Yet no one is so laid back about scoring to use the 'no voting' option when they submit.

TheEarl, I got it straight away. I luv Izzard and have extolled him before but no one is willing it seems. Set Phasers to icecream van.

Faced with a phasered guy lying prone and needing assistance:

"Dammit Jim I'm a Doctor not a Do- "

Gauche