this place has gotten BORING.....

[drksideofthemoon]

drk,

I'm not sure, but I think the site is draconical with contest voting. Any second vote from the same IP gets trashed (1 or 5) and any vote below 3 gets killed - at least in the old system.

The problem with the contests is not with the management, or even the trolls. That's why I have lost a bit of enthusiasm.

I don't think anyone knows exactly what the criteria for sweeps are.

I had a story, Suzanne by the Sea, it peaked at 100 votes. Over a period of two months it had no new views, but would lose votes every week, 3 or 4 at a time until it bottomed out at about 67 votes.

If all votes below 3 get killed, why bother giving the reader the option to vote 1or 2, and there are stories that deserve 1's or 2's?

It would be perfectly legitimate for multiple votes to come from the same IP. A husband and wife sharing a internet connection, each with a Lit ID, if they both vote on the same story, at least one of the votes will be swept.

 

[Athena_e19]

I don't think the below 3 count thing is accurate.

I wrote a Loving Wives story about cuckolding which was absolutely trashed in voting. A lot of those negative votes did get swept away, but the overall score is still well below three.

There is definitely a kind of major obstruction to this site in that people are trying to use it to push commercial, i.e. professional, stories or careers. It seems like this site was at its best when it was genuinely amateur authors expressing their fantasies and tastes through writing.

Now the contests, the votes, the sig links to publishing companies- its all a different, less friendly game. Welcome to capitalism!

 

[TxRad]

On scores and voting in general.

There was a heavy sweep of some kind soon after the new voting system went into effect. I'm not sure if it was done in blocks by authors names, story names or categories but it was done.

Now things have changed. Votes come and votes go but the score doesn't change. It appears that the scores are held for a time even if new votes come in. Normally after a sweep the scores hold for a day or two and then they get nailed and drop wildly. That's not happening now.

I'm wondering if we have a new sweep bot that holds calculating votes until it has a chance to check the voter against a certain criteria. If it passes then the vote is calculated into the score. The movement of scores seems smoother now even if they are slightly lower across the board.

I have a feeling we have a new sweep bot with a brand new broom and a new plan. I for one sure hope it works.

 

[hmmnmm]

hmmnmm (I can only spell that when I'm sober), your metaphor is just perfect.

It's just that it's not just a 'someone' any more. The whole thing is getting too commercial. Some writers are now quoting lit contest success as part of commercial promotion. For good or bad, with that approach, the contests cannot remain the neighborhood clambake and have lost the happy street party ambience of former years.

psst: if you want, you can pronounce it with a T. Shhhhh...............

Clambake: great word. Great connection to the metaphor (I have this habit with metaphorical language).

Commercialized. That says something too. The way all good things seem to end up.

There must be a way to surmount (ah! surmount - good word? surmount) these unfortunate clambake blockades.

Just do it because it is fun for ourselves? Or try to?

Surmount

If I could go back and sign up anew, my handle would definitely be a play on Surmount - Sur Mount. Big Sur Mount. Oh well.

 

[sr71plt]

Surmount

If I could go back and sign up anew, my handle would definitely be a play on Surmount - Sur Mount. Big Sur Mount. Oh well.

Wouldn't "SirMount" be the natural Lit. spelling?

 

[hmmnmm]

Wouldn't "SirMount" be the natural Lit. spelling?

Ah! That precise alternative spelling did wave its hand. I almost called upon it. But no. Leave it open, leave it for someone to say, "shouldn't that be SirMount?"
Also, is not Sur a latin word for sea? or something like that? So... big seam-ount. Big mountain in the sea. Semount. A mountain of... Oh! no! Not sea. Beach or surf or coast or something. Whatever. Big something. Big mountainous something.

Please pardon the tone of these posts - just got off dialup. Amazing the liberty you feel with broadband - Hm, broad - band. A band of... chicks.