The Official Authors' Hangout Halloween 2023 Contest Support Thread

[NoTalentHack]

Can someone explain what's meant by the 'sweeps'? Do these get pared down to the ones that qualify at some point?

They're a semi-automated process that removes likely "fake" votes from the pool. We don't know what constitutes a fake vote, since the admins are very tight-lipped about it and discourage discussion about the process. However, on other sites, it's usually some combination of a pattern of similar votes from the same IP range, or from VPNs, or that happen at the same time every day, or... There's a lot that goes into it, and it's an ongoing war between the votebombers and the staff of any large site with a rating system.

 

[yowser]

Stats time, here's how Halloween stands:

213 stories total from 164 authors*, in 23 categories.

Unsurprisingly, Erotic Horror is the big winner with 57 entries.

After that, in descending order:

20 Sci-Fi
12 EC, GS, IT, LW
11 Lesbian
10 Romance
9 Gay Male
7 Non-human
6 BDSM, Trans/Cross
5 EV, Humor, Mature, Non-consent
4 Anal, First time
3 Fetish, Illustrated, Mind Control
1 each Non-erotic, Novel

30 authors have more than one story (*numbers not quite accurate since there is at least one alt-account involved) and a dozen have done three or more (one over-achiever emptied their quiver with 6, and of course, there is the one NOVEL here too.)

Overall, lots to read, an impressive output. May all participants enjoy success in whatever form preferred. Thanks everyone.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Stats time, here's how Halloween stands:

213 stories total from 164 authors*, in 23 categories.

Unsurprisingly, Erotic Horror is the big winner with 57 entries.

After that, in descending order:

20 Sci-Fi
12 EC, GS, IT, LW
11 Lesbian
10 Romance
9 Gay Male
7 Non-human
6 BDSM, Trans/Cross
5 EV, Humor, Mature, Non-consent
4 Anal, First time
3 Fetish, Illustrated, Mind Control
1 each Non-erotic, Novel

30 authors have more than one story (*numbers not quite accurate since there is at least one alt-account involved) and a dozen have done three or more (one over-achiever emptied their quiver with 6, and of course, there is the one NOVEL here too.)

Overall, lots to read, an impressive output. May all participants enjoy success in whatever form preferred. Thanks everyone.

I'm happy as a clam in muddy sand, a stiff prick in warm, wet pussy, a lesbian with her lover's tongue buried deep inside her love tunnel. Happy as Rabi with a knife in one hand and a stretched foreskin in the other.

 

[StillStunned]

I think there has been a bit of a sweep. Both my entries seem to have lost one vote and now have slightly higher scores.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I think there has been a bit of a sweep. Both my entries seem to have lost one vote and now have slightly higher scores.

In the past I think the sweep has been closer to the end of scoring, but it takes some time to complete them, and with so many entries, Laurel may have started sooner than usual.

 

[Voboy]

In the past I think the sweep has been closer to the end of scoring, but it takes some time to complete them, and with so many entries, Laurel may have started sooner than usual.

Many contests have featured more than one sweep. For awhile there a couple of years ago, it seemed like there was a small sweep once the submission window closed, another small one sometime about midway through the week, then the Deep Sweep right before the end.

Who knows how it's going down this time?

 

[samhasstories]

I keep seeing 4.9k views when I check my dashboard and thinking I’ve gotten a significant bump to a 4.9 rating (I haven’t).

 

[gordo12]

Stats time, here's how Halloween stands:

213 stories total from 164 authors*, in 23 categories.

Unsurprisingly, Erotic Horror is the big winner with 57 entries.

After that, in descending order:

20 Sci-Fi
12 EC, GS, IT, LW
11 Lesbian
10 Romance
9 Gay Male
7 Non-human
6 BDSM, Trans/Cross
5 EV, Humor, Mature, Non-consent
4 Anal, First time
3 Fetish, Illustrated, Mind Control
1 each Non-erotic, Novel

30 authors have more than one story (*numbers not quite accurate since there is at least one alt-account involved) and a dozen have done three or more (one over-achiever emptied their quiver with 6, and of course, there is the one NOVEL here too.)

Overall, lots to read, an impressive output. May all participants enjoy success in whatever form preferred. Thanks everyone.

213 stories, WOW! I'm afraid I blew right past the deadline, not realizing it. My bad! I guess I'm set for next year!

 

[PennameWombat]

213 stories, WOW! I'm afraid I blew right past the deadline, not realizing it. My bad! I guess I'm set for next year!

I knew about the deadline, a combination of my story getting a bit more complex than originally envisioned and Real Life hitting hard in the last few weeks meant it gets put off to later.

It would've been in E&V. I did Erotic Horror for Valentine's Day .

 

[SimonDoom]

I think there has been a bit of a sweep. Both my entries seem to have lost one vote and now have slightly higher scores.

Yes, this is what I've seen, too. I lost a vote or two and got a bump yesterday.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Yes, this is what I've seen, too. I lost a vote or two and got a bump yesterday.

Mine hasn't been swept. In the last 48 hours: three added votes and a big dip, then slight rise.

Either that, or all 21 of my votes are completely legitimate, including the 4 1*s (based on calculations)

 

[Rustyoznail]

Zero movement on mine.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Looking forward to reading some stories. I finally got an idea for one, so I'll bookmark it for next summers writing.

 

[Kethandra]

Wow! I just checked my score on Malleable and it’s 5.1! Yes, 5.1! I sure hope no vote-trolls see this and decide to do something about my contest-leading score. I knew it was pretty good, Chekhov’s Pistol and all, but I didn’t think it would be 5-point-friggin-1 good.
Alert 1: Trolls - no need to look below here. You already know everything you need to know.


Alert2: My score is not really 5 or more than 5. Just trying to drive some extra votes to a 4.5 story to get to 25.
https://literotica.com/s/malleable

 

[MillieDynamite]

LOL, I'll give it a gander Monday when I'm home and give you a vote or 15 dozen. Just kidding, a single vote.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Just trying to drive some extra votes to a 4.5 story to get to 25.

I gotchu

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Mine got bumped to 4.26.

 

[MillieDynamite]

haven't seen a creep upward or downward as votes disappear and reappear on any of my three entries. One stays just at stricking distance for H and others not so close.

 

[lovecraft68]

Interesting that I received a couple of comments and a feedback calling out they wished the people at the end who were 'cursed' had a happier ending.

I appreciate their opinion, but my thought is...A, this is a Halloween story so a light and fluffy ending didn't fit to me. B...have you ever known a curse to have a great effect on people?

 

[StillStunned]

By Voice and By Candle has crept up to a 4.4! I'm pretty sure it was 4.33 with the same number of votes earlier today. But I'm not complaining.

Lust Demon's Orgy is at 4.36, which I think is more or less steady.

Almost 12,000 views between the two stories, which by my standards and expectations is pretty good.

 

[Voboy]

By Voice and By Candle has crept up to a 4.4! I'm pretty sure it was 4.33 with the same number of votes earlier today. But I'm not complaining.

Lust Demon's Orgy is at 4.36, which I think is more or less steady.

Almost 12,000 views between the two stories, which by my standards and expectations is pretty good.

12k views is great! Mine's unlikely to break 5.5k before the end of the contest, lol.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

12k views is great! Mine's unlikely to break 5.5k before the end of the contest, lol.

Same here.
Definitely think this will be my least read story.
Oh, well. I learned a fair amount writing it, and I had some fun along the way. Which is pretty much all I ask for in a hobby.

 

[Kethandra]

Interesting that I received a couple of comments and a feedback calling out they wished the people at the end who were 'cursed' had a happier ending.

I appreciate their opinion, but my thought is...A, this is a Halloween story so a light and fluffy ending didn't fit to me. B...have you ever known a curse to have a great effect on people?

It’s Incest, my friend. No category’s readers - with the possible exception of Romance - demand more lovey-dovey warm feelings, especially at the end. What better to break a nasty curse than the deep and abiding love (and lust) of folks who share substantial genetic material?

 

[lovecraft68]

It’s Incest, my friend. No category’s readers - with the possible exception of Romance - demand more lovey-dovey warm feelings, especially at the end. What better to break a nasty curse than the deep and abiding love (and lust) of folks who share substantial genetic material?

True, and I give that to them in a lot of stories, but you'd think they'd realize once in a while I need to piss in their cheerios and remind them of how I debuted here which was with Siblings With benefits.

The dog can't get too soft in his dotage, now can he?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Unchanged on votes, totals, views, or scores for the past three or four days.