Do people really slam stories intentionally?

[pointless]

Changsha
Alone I stand in the autumn cold
On the tip of Orange Island,
The Xiang flowing northward;
I see a thousand hills crimsoned through
By their serried woods deep-dyed,
And a hundred barges vying
Over crystal blue waters.
Eagles cleave the air,
Fish glide under the shallow water;
Under freezing skies a million creatures contend in freedom.
Brooding over this immensity,
I ask, on this bondless land
Who rules over man's destiny?

I was here with a throng of companions,
Vivid yet those crowded months and years.
Young we were, schoolmates,
At life's full flowering;
Filled with student enthusiasm
Boldly we cast all restraints aside.
Pointing to our mountains and rivers,
Setting people afire with our words,
We counted the mighty no more than muck.
Remember still
How, venturing midstream, we struck the waters
And the waves stayed the speeding boats?


Mao Tse-Tung

 

[panpipes]

I submitted two stories before I realized there was competition going on. I check my ratings from time to time, just out of curiosity, and they've been fairly stable, around 4.5. But it's no big deal. I skim my feedback, never reply to it.

My rating scale:

1: This person read Penthouse Forum and said "Hell, I can do that!"

2: This person read Penthouse Forum and said "Hell, I can do that!" and actually could.

3: This person probably owns several years of "Best American Erotica" and knows what a subject and predicate are.

4: This person writes clean prose, knows that puctuation is not merely decorative, and has a sexual imagination that goes a bit beyond cliche.

5: This person writes elegant, evocative prose, and I almost came without touching myself.

I never grade anyone down for writing about things that don't turn me on--or at least I try not to.

"A gentleman writes not at all for the purpose of being read, but for the much more sensible reason that he plays solitaire."
---James Branch Cabell

 

[bearlee]

I know this post hasn't been responded to for awhile, but to the original question-sure they do! It hits us all the time, most recently last night when two stories in the same category each had pretty good scores and each got three 1-votes knocking them way down. One story-maybe a coincidence. Two(chapters 1 & 2)-doesn't seem like it. One had more votes on it so it didn't drop as much but the one with fewer votes(but enough to potentially win the category for March) went from 4.85 to 4.69.

See it in other categories too and other authors through email(no one seems to ever care about scores on these threads but they seem to mention it privately) mention it all the time and how unhappy they are about it.

I guess there's no defense against it except through the tireless efforts of Laurel, Am I bitching-yeah, a bit, but I know there isn't much I can do about it. I'm certainly not going to turn off voting. I love reading feedback, but there is less of that than there are votes so it's about all we have to let us know if something was okay with readers.

Okay, now somebody can come in slam me!

 

[Guest]

. . .Okay, now somebody can come in slam me!

 

[Guest]

Hey Sweetsub.........

You slam bear from the right, I'll take him from behind. No wait, maybe I'd better rephrase that.


I remain........(sympathetic).

 

[Guest]

Re: Hey Sweetsub.........

You slam bear from the right, I'll take him from behind. No wait, maybe I'd better rephrase that.


I remain........(sympathetic).

Laughing!

No, actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that!

 

[Guest]

New story ideas . . .

C'mere, Bear -

We wanna play!

 

[bearlee]

uhSandman
How 'bout I slam Sarah from behind and not you behind me

 

[bearlee]

Can we play without Thesandman-especially now that I know, kind of, what you look like

 

[Guest]

Can we play without Thesandman-especially now that I know, kind of, what you look like

Sounds as if we need a room . . .











(for three)

 

[bearlee]

Damn, now you wanna lose Thesandman and bring Dawn into this-well okay!

 

[HedbangerSA]

I'm Jealous!

Originally posted by Bearlee
Damn, now you wanna lose Thesandman and bring Dawn into this-well okay!

What do you know, Bearlee - getting those trash votes worked out pretty well!

 

[Guest]

OK........

Make it four...........

 

[Guest]

Re: OK........

Make it four...........

 

[bearlee]

No need to go eek nor be jealous
Sarah, it's okay and I understand your shrieks of horror, but Thesandman wasn't including himself when he said 'Four"-he was talking about you, me, Dawn and of course, HedbangerSA! he's kind of like a fifth wheel now-goes with the spare tire he sports around his...well, no need to get personal here I guess

 

[HedbangerSA]

Hey!!!

Originally posted by Bearlee
Sarah, it's okay and I understand your shrieks of horror, but Thesandman wasn't including himself when he said 'Four"-he was talking about you, me, Dawn and of course, HedbangerSA! he's kind of like a fifth wheel now-goes with the spare tire he sports around his...well, no need to get personal here I guess

Hey!! My midsection is nowhere near as hot looking as Sarah's, but 'spare tire' is overkill for sure! BTW, I'll be any kind of wheel you want me to be, to be involved in this setup - how about if I run the lights?.

 

[bearlee]

Uh, you wanna take my place in front of Thesandman so he can play too!

 

[Guest]

Re: Hey!!!

Hey!! My midsection is nowhere near as hot looking as Sarah's, but 'spare tire' is overkill for sure! BTW, I'll be any kind of wheel you want me to be, to be involved in this setup - how about if I run the lights?.

Actually, Hedbanger, I think Bear was referring to Thesandman as having a spare tire.

(I swear, those two are so competitive!!)

Next thing ya know they'll be posting pics of their "manhood" and asking us to compare and contrast!

Come to think of it, that's not a bad idea!!!

 

[Guest]

How about........

I just show you how my tongue curls.........<ewg>

I remain,

 

[HedbangerSA]

Okay, I guess!

Originally posted by Sweetsubsarahh
Actually, Hedbanger, I think Bear was referring to Thesandman as having a spare tire.

(I swear, those two are so competitive!!)

Ahh! the "he's" referred to Thesandman -- you really have to stay on your toes to keep up with this thread. Well, in that case if I'm the fourth wheel, then forget about running the lights!!

I'll let you do the comparing and contrasting, Sarah. If these guys are that competitive, I'll stay out of it - no sense making both of them feel bad.

 

[Guest]

Re: How about........

I just show you how my tongue curls.........<ewg>

I remain,

Oh my!

You certainly know how to make a girl squirm, don't you?

 

[Guest]

Re: Okay, I guess!

Ahh! the "he's" referred to Thesandman -- you really have to stay on your toes to keep up with this thread. Well, in that case if I'm the fourth wheel, then forget about running the lights!!

I'll let you do the comparing and contrasting, Sarah. If these guys are that competitive, I'll stay out of it - no sense making both of them feel bad.

Oh!

Laughing - that's wonderful - I think you win!

 

[bearlee]

Damn Sandman-do I have to dig up that anteater story again-Sarah, the man writes because he has no tongue! If you really want to squirm...shoot, my "manhood" is too big for this screen I'm writing in-let go lop off 13 inches and I'll be back

 

[Dirt Man]

I guess there's no defense against it except through the tireless efforts of Laurel, Am I bitching-yeah, a bit, but I know there isn't much I can do about it.

You could vote properly when you read other stories, but the truth is nobody here really gives a damn anymore. So I guess the thing to do is not feed the roosters any more stories. I know I'm not going to submit any more stories here for now.

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man