The Official Valentine’s Day Contest Support Thread 2026

[EmilyMiller]

How do you tell between a sweep and a genuine vote that brought your score down?

A few days ago I dropped from 4.82 to 4.80, which would have taken me out of the top ten (last 30 days) in my category, but then I went back up to 4.81

How is possible to tell what’s a sweep? Is it only by looking at all contest stories from a bird’s eye view to see a trend in the vote pattern? For me alone, it looks like and probably is just regular score fluctuation as people read.

The only way you know for sure is to track each vote as it comes in. With small clusters (say three votes) you can deduce what the individual votes must have been as well. There is no publicly available list.

 

[Voboy]

Often, your score will change but the number of votes will not seem to. This occurs because the sweep comes through, removes the votes, changes the score, and then someone comes and adds more votes before you get a chance to notice the sweep.

 

[IdahoExec]

Still no sign of ‘sweeping’ activity for my Valentine entry. The score drop remains intact. All quiet on the Western front. And no announcement of contest results, about which I’m curious after reading this thread. My entry isn’t in the running, of course.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Still no sign of ‘sweeping’ activity for my Valentine entry. The score drop remains intact. All quiet on the Western front. And no announcement of contest results, about which I’m curious after reading this thread. My entry isn’t in the running, of course.

The announcement time is kinda a moveable feast

 

[Voboy]

The announcement time is kinda a moveable feast

At this point, I wouldn't expect it until tonight. Perhaps even tomorrow morning early.

 

[CalBishForNow]

I’d anyone in the Comp notices a sweep going through, I’d be grateful if you could post the news here. I’d like to get back to the authors who contacted me to see whether or not it caught the troll activity on their stories.

I wasn't keeping track of the number of votes I got, but overnight my score jumped from 4.44 to 4.53, which I assumed was the result of a sweep.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I wasn't keeping track of the number of votes I got, but overnight my score jumped from 4.44 to 4.53, which I assumed was the result of a sweep.

Sounds like it, but it seems very non-uniform

 

[EmilyMiller]

At this point, I wouldn't expect it until tonight. Perhaps even tomorrow morning early.

Who the hell knows what goes on around here ?

 

[IdahoExec]

Who the hell knows what goes on around here ?

Well, that wouldn't be me. I made the assumption it would be routine and rational.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Well, that wouldn't be me. I made the assumption it would be routine and rational.

Pardon me while I…

 

[MelissaBaby]

The announcement time is kinda a moveable feast

It used to always be right around midnight PST. The last few times it's varied, but I would not expect it until late this evening at the earliest

First sweep removed one whole vote from my story. Fingers crossed for the late sweep.

 

[EmilyMiller]

First sweep removed one whole vote from my story. Fingers crossed for the late sweep.

It’s like waiting for The Rapture

 

[EmilyMiller]

My apologies if I seem flippant. It’s a whole different perspective being outside and looking through the window, than inside and biting your nails until they bleed

 

[BobbyBrandt]

My apologies if I seem flippant. It’s a whole different perspective being outside and looking through the window, than inside and biting your nails until they bleed

It's easier to take the long range view.

My entry in 2023 finished the contest at 4.32. Since then, it climbed and has been consistently around 4.7

I don't go into the contests to win, but to get more reader engagement to my entire portfolio of stories. It has worked so far.

 

[IdahoExec]

My apologies if I seem flippant. It’s a whole different perspective being outside and looking through the window, than inside and biting your nails until they bleed

::: pounding window ::: Lemme out !!

 

[MelissaBaby]

It's easier to take the long range view.

My entry in 2023 finished the contest at 4.32. Since then, it climbed and has been consistently around 4.7

I don't go into the contests to win, but to get more reader engagement to my entire portfolio of stories. It has worked so far.

I've won, I've lost close ones, I've had stories not come anywhere near winning. They were all positive experiences, from the perspective of writing them, and for the exposure they got, and by extension, they drew to my other stories.

 

[WittyUserName]

I've won, I've lost close ones, I've had stories not come anywhere near winning. They were all positive experiences, from the perspective of writing them, and for the exposure they got, and by extension, they drew to my other stories.

I agree. I only ever placed in one contest. That was amazing, but even the ones I've come in fourth in have been great. I got over 8,000 views on this one, 20 comments. A bunch of new followers. It's been great!

 

[old_prof]

Ironically, the story of mine that did win got very little attention during the contest. (Maybe keeping my head down avoided the more sophisticated haters, which et me win). It was also my first contest.

I actually got fewer new followers during the contest than I had been getting and no more views than I think I would have,

That all changed when I won and I more than double my follower count in the next two weeks. And the story became my most viewed.

My next contest entry got lots of views and I got a ton of new followers that first week (over a hundred but I had two other stories driving that as well). It did well ratings wise, especially for a story that many people complained they hated the FMC. She was kind of a bitch.

This is only my third contest and I think Oh Sweetie has done about as I expected. I will not win this one, but I got a fair amount of attention, not all of it positive,. It's in the 4.8's last I looked (after being down at 4.42 this morning).

 

[Voboy]

My apologies if I seem flippant. It’s a whole different perspective being outside and looking through the window, than inside and biting your nails until they bleed

Lol.

Some of us are flippant from the inside, as well.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Anyone else kinda sick of waiting for the results? At this rate I’m gonna have to actually go and write something to pass the time .

 

[MegaTank]

My story got swept up from about 4.27 to 4.49. Which in some ways feels a little infuriating: that's like my third story that's riding the line of the hot score. It also makes me die a little inside when people complain of ONLY having a score of 4.8, or only winning some of the time.

That said, it's better than my Christmas story. That one got a big sweep about a month after the contest. Also it got swept DOWN from 4.49 to 4.34 (yes, really).

 

[EmilyMiller]

My story got swept up from about 4.27 to 4.49. Which in some ways feels a little infuriating: that's like my third story that's riding the line of the hot score. It also makes me die a little inside when people complain of ONLY having a score of 4.8, or only winning some of the time.

That said, it's better than my Christmas story. That one got a big sweep about a month after the contest. Also it got swept DOWN from 4.49 to 4.34 (yes, really).

We all get a bit competitive and into our numbers. Excellent perspective

 

[YmaOHyd]

Neither of my entries will meet the minimum threshold, even with the couple ones they both got within an hour of going live. So that's nice.

 

[RoyalAuthor]

Never won, never placed, seemingly been right outside the top 3 a few times though. I'm just here for the exposure, and this one had a bit of a slow burn for me but the numbers are getting better. Still my least viewed contest entry but I chalk that up to the scifi/fantasy category.

I have learned that titles make a huge difference in viewership in these contests. 'Pierced' and my Christmas entry 'The Velvet Ribbon' don't bring in even a fraction of the viewers that my summer story (about a pretty neighbor whose AC fails and asks to use the pool to cool off) brought in, but I can see how 'Getting the Hot Neighbor Wet' might overperform on this site lol.

Going to try for more dirty pun titles in the future.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm just here for the exposure

https://www.literotica.com/c/exhibitionist-voyeur