Anybody else's heart sink when they see their rating go down with no feedback?

[StillStunned]

Just went through your stories to see which ones were close. Only found one that was teetering and I'd already given you 5 stars on it

Thanks. I must have deserved it then.

 

[RainyDayPen]

Our stories are purely products of our mind, of who we are. When people don't like them, no matter what we tell ourselves, it feels personal, like people are downvoting us as persons.

This is so fucking true.

 

[SirAeghann]

As a reader, if it's well-written enough for me to finish it I give it five stars. The difficulty is some stories are just poorly written, but I try not to criticize or downvote those stories simply because I know how bad my writing was when I started, and how bad it is compared to what it might be one day. I've debated commenting, but sometimes it's just a fetish or something that wasn't my cup of tea, so nothing to really comment that would help, and sometimes it's that to constructively criticize each issue would take far too long. I'm also terrible at commenting when I really loved the story because I'm not sure what to say that the five star rating can't.

Writing wise, I notice my stories usually start out pretty high, and then get just enough low ratings to knock them off the top ten ranks once they get there. The first few times I was devestated when the ratings dropped, but then I recognized the pattern. Not sure what that's about, but it's a definite pattern. Though, I suppose I should be grateful the downvotes stop once they're off the top ten list.

That said, I absolutely adore comments when I get them from others, and I feel so esteemed at even the shortest "great story!" that it keeps me writing on days when I'm convinced my writing is garbage.

Reading this thread helped me realize the double standard I've been perpetrating, and that I'm not alone in how much comments mean to me. So in the future I'll hopefully be quicker to comment and encourage.

 

[BgDaddy33]

Someone recommended to stay off the forum to avoid trolls downvoting your stories. I didn't think much of that.
Then last night I started a new thread, just trying to spark some conversation and today I see that my stories have all been downvoted. I was keeping an eye on one that was on the cusp of returning to that coveted "H" and it is now back down. Pretty petty.

So much for trying to find a community.

 

[SirAeghann]

Someone recommended to stay off the forum to avoid trolls downvoting your stories. I didn't think much of that.
Then last night I started a new thread, just trying to spark some conversation and today I see that my stories have all been downvoted. I was keeping an eye on one that was on the cusp of returning to that coveted "H" and it is now back down. Pretty petty.

So much for trying to find a community.

Now you tell me. That was my first post in the forums above, I'll have to keep an eye on my ratings now to see if it happens to me.

 

[BgDaddy33]

As a reader, if it's well-written enough for me to finish it I give it five stars. The difficulty is some stories are just poorly written, but I try not to criticize or downvote those stories simply because I know how bad my writing was when I started, and how bad it is compared to what it might be one day. I've debated commenting, but sometimes it's just a fetish or something that wasn't my cup of tea, so nothing to really comment that would help, and sometimes it's that to constructively criticize each issue would take far too long. I'm also terrible at commenting when I really loved the story because I'm not sure what to say that the five star rating can't.

Someone gave me some nice criticism of my work, it was constructive while being encouraging, and they finished it by saying, "your story didn't appeal to me, so I didn't vote on it." and I thought that was a kind gesture.

I love to write, it is an entertaining hobby that I can do anywhere (and do.) I like the idea of sharing that hobby with other like minded perverts (saying it "with love" lol) so when I read a story, much like you said, if I can't finish it, I don't vote on it. If I enjoy it, I give it 5 stars. I don't downvote any. Likewise, I try to comment on any story that I read to the end. Some comments are shorter than others, some I comment on more than once because I remember something else that I wanted to comment on, usually something that made me laugh that I appreciated. All in an attempt to encourage.

I don't really understand coming here to bring negativity. Perhaps some people are territorial and they don't like others playing in their playground? I don't know. It's sad. It's petty.

 

[RainyDayPen]

I agree with the last couple above me, I never give less than 5 stars. It's 5 stars or it's no vote at all for me - unfortunately ANYTHING less than five is a punishment to the writer since 'hot' is at 4.5. As a writer myself I don't want to do that to any other people trying their best to put out enjoyable work.

I should comment more. I don't do that enough and I really should.

 

[Syzoth]

I think positive comments and my rating climbing makes me disproportionately happy .

I appreciate how criticism to improve (and it delivered well) can be really useful. However, it doesn't half give me a knock when my rating goes down and I've literally no idea why (e.g. no comments).

I always get so excited when I post something new, by the prospect of people reading and enjoying it. I guess part of me associates the rating lowering with the threat of readership decline.

(Ps. Here's my latest short story: https://literotica.com/s/asleep-in-the-log-cabin-ch-02 )

I just messaged you directly.

 

[StillStunned]

Someone recommended to stay off the forum to avoid trolls downvoting your stories. I didn't think much of that.
Then last night I started a new thread, just trying to spark some conversation and today I see that my stories have all been downvoted. I was keeping an eye on one that was on the cusp of returning to that coveted "H" and it is now back down. Pretty petty.

So much for trying to find a community.

I'm not sure it has much to do with forum activity. I mostly limit myself to fairly innocuous discussions on the Authors' Hangout.

But last week I published a story in I/T, and since then several of my scores have taken a severe hit. Notably, this happened around the same time as the score on for the new story also took a plunge.

 

[Gamblnluck]

Of course an author is hurt when he works hard and has his work panned.
The forum does not really do anything, But the forum tends to make you have alternate expectations. Many of the authors on here do not understand their audience. They think all LW readers are idiots interested only in drawing and quartering their cheaters. When they write pages of verbose sex with little or no plot, they are upset. The readers there expect a plot, perhaps a little angst and most importantly a satisfactory resolution. (justice)
Those stories that are only scenes are best left to fetish or bdsm where the reader seems more interested in jerk off fodder. They also provide relatively little feedback to the author.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I agree with the last couple above me, I never give less than 5 stars. It's 5 stars or it's no vote at all for me - unfortunately ANYTHING less than five is a punishment to the writer since 'hot' is at 4.5. As a writer myself I don't want to do that to any other people trying their best to put out enjoyable work.

I don't. I am honest. If I think the story is a piece of crap and especially if the author cranks out a crap story every few days that is half edited, i am not going to reward him.
I tend to give a lot of 4's. I also tend to point out where the author messed up. stories i read and hate, I generally pass on both rating and commenting.
I am critical about what I start out reading. I look for stories above 3.3 unless it is an author I recognize and like. Then I read to find out why the score was low. I sometimes read a few comments beforehand, but always after the reading. Authors who do not allow comments generally get a passover.

 

[RainyDayPen]

I don't. I am honest. If I think the story is a piece of crap and especially if the author cranks out a crap story every few days that is half edited, i am not going to reward him.
I tend to give a lot of 4's. I also tend to point out where the author messed up. stories i read and hate, I generally pass on both rating and commenting.
I am critical about what I start out reading. I look for stories above 3.3 unless it is an author I recognize and like. Then I read to find out why the score was low. I sometimes read a few comments beforehand, but always after the reading. Authors who do not allow comments generally get a passover.

As long as you add constructive feedback along with a low score that's a useful thing. I find it annoying when someone dishes out a 1 on a piece that was edited well, matched its own tags and short description, and I took a lot of time to write - but they didn't say what exactly I had done wrong. That's just not helpful and feels like a slap in the face more than anything else.

I don't view this site as a writing-intensive site, though. It's not exactly meant for people learning the craft IMO. It's to share our sexuality with others in a way that isn't cheating and can stay anonymous if desired. I view it as a method to connect on a level we don't get in real life. So that's why I am often so easy-going on ratings. If this was a creative writing class in uni I'd be a lot less quick with the 5's.

 

[BgDaddy33]

I don't view this site as a writing-intensive site, though. It's not exactly meant for people learning the craft IMO. It's to share our sexuality with others in a way that isn't cheating and can stay anonymous if desired. I view it as a method to connect on a level we don't get in real life.

*This*

I understand that some of us have the strictest of inner critics when it comes to their own writing and perhaps expect others to do as them.. but I prefer to see this site as a community of like-minded sexual creatives first, expressing their daydreams, frustrations, kinks in words (though some do art as well as share pictures? Still learning how large this forum is)

According to the stats, one of my stories has accumulated 50K views and only a 377 votes and 29 comments, some of which may be mine answering to members.

I'd gladly change all votes for more constructive comments.

 

[LonRivers]

I find it normal to have my ratings go up and down. We cater to such a wide variety of people with different and similar sexual desires and beliefs. One person may find a story subject very arousing while others find it boring or not what they were looking for. I read the feedback posted on my stories or when I am emailed. I take all feedback into consideration unless it is just nitpicking and the user is going off on a tangent about why he or she dislikes something I wrote. I delete those comments.

What I find annoying is that I can have over 15K in views, but only 100 votes or a dozen "added to favorites". If I read a story, I try to give feedback. It could be a "favorite" or I let the author know if they wrote a good story.