What does targeted, sweep-evading, story vandalism look like?

[SimonDoom]

Personally I’d be fine if they turned off ratings. But while they exist they need to be at least reasonably fair. They aren’t. And they are getting worse.

No, they don't. They just have to be useful, from the standpoint of readers. That's it. That's the sole important criterion. And the site is justified in believing that a relatively unregulated voting system will best express the views of all of its readers and result in a score that conveys useful information to other potential readers. You have to let go of the idea that the site has to be fair to you, or to me, or to anyone else. It doesn't.

 

[Comshaw]

It's called attention whoring. She couldn't top the lists because of the trolls, so she held a big press conference to announce that she was no longer publishing here (so yes, downvotes can stop you from enjoying writing and publishing ... if you choose). Then she hypes up her Nix novel, everybody read it! Then she starts a self-stroke thread where all of her friends chime in to tell her that her Nix novel is indeed the best story on lit. Okay great. She wins. She's topped all. She doesn't need scores. Everyone agrees that her story is best. Awesome, right? Nope. Not enough. Gotta keep bitching about her stories getting trolled on a site that she adamantly no longer publishes to (on this account at least).

Attention whoring 100%. There is no other reason for this behavior and it's as childish as the trolls themselves (which absolutely do exist no doubt).

You do know you can be a rather abrasive, arrogant, insufferable Ahole at times, right? But sometimes, sometimes, that abrasive arrogance gives birth to a very astute, insightful post. Sometimes our worst traits are also our best. Thank you for that.

On the point of "Why care?"

I think it's fair to give a shit about this if you're trying to pursue writing beyond a hobby. If your goal here is to gain a following and convert that following into some kind of monetary success like selling books or patreon/substack subscriptions, then getting 1-star bombed actually slows you down, and if done bad enough, can completely derail all your momentum.

That's where it matters in my opinion.

If you're just posting stories on here cause you enjoy writing and want to see if anyone else likes your story, then 1-star bombs are as meaningless as the overall ratings.

Really? You would give the power to someone else to control how you feel, react and accomplish things? I won't go into my personal history, but suffice it to say one lesson I learned WAAAAAY back was when you get knocked down you have two choices: lie in the mud and whine or get your ass back up and keep going. We all have things pulling us down. The key to it is to learn to stand and shed the ties that bind instead of letting it anchor you in place.

As far as EM's spreadsheet analysis, with the voting data that's available to authors, I doubt the accuracy of it. However, accurate or not, it makes little difference. Why? Aren't I concerned about trolls voting down my stories? Yes, as much as anyone else. BUUUUT, there are a couple of other things I consider.

The questions I'd ask myself in that instance are: Is there anything I can do about it? If I take all the actions I can to resolve the situation the way I want it to happen and they don't work, there are only two alternatives left: Let it gnaw on me until it causes ulcers, or accept that it can't be changed and move on to things I can do. The first choice is actually giving someone else the power to dictate the direction of my life. I ain't a gunna do that. The second is freedom to stroll down a path of my own choosing.

'nuff said

Comshaw

 

[pink_silk_glove]

You do know you can be a rather abrasive, arrogant, insufferable Ahole at times, right?

You would know. You've ben a major cunt to me on several occasions, some of them completely unprovoked.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

LOL wut?

This is a "touch grass" moment.

This whole thread is a touch grass moment.
"Look, I made a chart in excel to show I'm a victim on a website that I won't publish on anymore but refuse to leave."

That's about as "go touch grass" as it gets.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Maybe we should go visit stories like @EmilyMiller's that we know are being vandalized and vote 5 stars.

Because we don't actually know they are being vandalized. We have a chart, but no way to verify the data used to make the chart.

 

[Comshaw]

No, they don't. They just have to be useful, from the standpoint of readers. That's it. That's the sole important criterion. And the site is justified in believing that a relatively unregulated voting system will best express the views of all of its readers and result in a score that conveys useful information to other potential readers. You have to let go of the idea that the site has to be fair to you, or to me, or to anyone else. It doesn't.

I think many forget why this site is here. It's here for the owners to make money. To that end, they need to balance keeping the readers and the authors happy enough to keep coming back with a minimum of effort on their part. It's a cost/benefit thing. And for clarity, this isn't a defense of the site management. It's just an honest appraisal of what is important to those who own this place. There are a lot of things I see that need to be changed here. But if it isn't going to benefit the owners, it probably will never be done.

Comshaw

 

[metropolinational]

Where did you get the data for the vote distribution? I've seen the overall/calculated rating but not how or when the votes occurred.

Please someone answer this! Where do these graphs come from??

 

[Comshaw]

You would know. You've ben a major cunt to me on several occasions, some of them completely unprovoked.

To be totally honest, I have to admit I have been a bit of an Ahole at times. The difference twixt you and me is I claim my assholeness instead of defending it as honesty and integrity. I will disagree with the "unprovoked" assessment. Being provoked can come in many different forms and many different ways.

Comshaw

 

[EmilyMiller]

Miller Derrangement Syndrome in full effect here .

Why do some people care so much, I have no idea .

 

[MillieDynamite]

Any score that isn't a five or one stays on in sweeps. It doesn't take many of those, voted out of spite, 2s or 3s, to keep the H away or knock one out of contention in a competition. And those with VPNs or many accounts can vote with confidence that they will do what they want. Even a few well timed bombed 4s might prevent a win.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

The difference twixt you and me is I claim my assholeness instead of defending it as honesty and integrity.

Yea, there's a whole fucking pile I could say here about this bull but it would be a thread of its own and quite frankly, you aint worth it.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Any score that isn't a five or one stays on in sweeps.

Not true. I’ve had fours and threes swept.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Where do these graphs come from??

Excel ?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Hangs head, shakes it, slaps forehead. Sigh.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Then stop trying to keep someone from beating you,

Hangs head, shakes it, slaps forehead. Sigh.

 

[Comshaw]

Because we don't actually know they are being vandalized. We have a chart, but no way to verify the data used to make the chart.

Comshaw

 

[metropolinational]

Excel ?

The data. Where does the data come from? How do you get it?

 

[Comshaw]

Yea, there's a whole fucking pile I could say here about this bull but it would be a thread of its own and quite frankly, you aint worth it.

Please, be my guest. I have time and need some entertainment.

Comshaw

 

[MillieDynamite]

 

[EmilyMiller]

The data. Where does the data comes from? How do you get it?

I explain above. In low vote frequency categories I count the votes as they come in.

Say a story is 4.80 after ten votes and 4.45 after eleven, the last vote must have been a 1️.

If it’s 4.33 after twelve, the next vote was a 3️.

Obviously this doesn’t work if you get ten votes en masse (unless you drop only one vote in those, in which case it’s obviously nine 5️s and one 4️)

 

[Comshaw]

The data. Where does the data come from? How do you get it?

Damn but ya'll are on a tear today! "Winning!"


Comshaw

 

[StillStunned]

I explain above. In low vote frequency categories I count the votes as they come in.

Say a story is 4.80 after ten votes and 4.45 after eleven, the last vote must have been a 1️.

Yup. If you write SF&F, for instance, you can generally count the number of votes on the fingers of four tentacles.

 

[Comshaw]

I explain above. In low vote frequency categories I count the votes as they come in.

Say a story is 4.80 after ten votes and 4.45 after eleven, the last vote must have been a 1️.

My question as a thickheaded oldman, how are you keeping track of votes as they come in? I don't know of a way to do that.

Comshaw

 

[metropolinational]

I explain above. In low vote frequency categories I count the votes as they come in.

Say a story is 4.80 after ten votes and 4.45 after eleven, the last vote must have been a 1

you are sitting there, refreshing (I guess) your screen and taking furious notes over and over? I just want to make sure I'm getting this right. You've not found a way to download the actual data - you are getting the same average score I get, just saving it every few seconds?

 

[onehitwanda]