Crazy? Star ratings, or am I missing something?

[other11]

This morning a new story of mine published. I looked over the info on my works page: zero stars/ zero ratings. I was signed in and gave this wonderful story 5 stars. The count went to 5/1.
I handed my phone to the person beside me in bed and she logged out and, as anonymous, read the story and also rated it 5 stars. But the ratings changed to 4/2. How is that? Within 15 minutes someone nformed me that they had read the story and also left 5 stars. But the rating had changed to 3/3. What am I missing( other than the expected 5/3 )? What can I do about it? Any explanation and help is appreciated.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Speculation: your rating your own story automatically lowered its score, because that's considered bad form?

I have no real knowledge, but I can imagine a world where the site did that.

 

[Duil2]

My guess would be because you gave it 2 votes of 5 stars from the same phone they may have done a downgrade. One showed them the phone was yours and then one as anonymous. It's only wild speculation, however.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Speculation: your rating your own story automatically lowered its score, because that's considered bad form?

You can rate your own stories, there's no prohibition against doing that.

I have no real knowledge, but I can imagine a world where the site did that.

Not this one, though.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This morning a new story of mine published. I looked over the info on my works page: zero stars/ zero ratings. I was signed in and gave this wonderful story 5 stars. The count went to 5/1.
I handed my phone to the person beside me in bed and she logged out and, as anonymous, read the story and also rated it 5 stars. But the ratings changed to 4/2. How is that? Within 15 minutes someone nformed me that they had read the story and also left 5 stars. But the rating had changed to 3/3. What am I missing( other than the expected 5/3 )? What can I do about it? Any explanation and help is appreciated.

Possibly other folk scoring at the same time, and there's a bit of a queue for the votes to register. Wait 24 hours for things to catch up.

 

[Duil2]

You can rate your own stories, there's no prohibition against doing that.

Not this one, though.

It may also just be because two fives came quickly together from the one phone and nothing like the site punishing the author for what is allowed but just seen as bad practice. It happened so quickly I'd say maybe an algorithm was triggered maybe

 

[ElectricBlue]

It may also just be because two fives came quickly together from the one phone and nothing like the site punishing the author for what is allowed but just seen as bad practice. It happened so quickly I'd say maybe an algorithm was triggered maybe

Best not to speculate.

 

[qidniz]

You can rate your own stories, there's no prohibition against doing that.

I'm not sure of the wisdom of that.

What are the arguments for and against?

 

[BeechLeaf]

It was extensively debated in this thread Do you vote on your own stories?
Many people do, many don't.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm not sure of the wisdom of that.

What are the arguments for and against?

A story is fresh out the gate and has nine votes, and you need ten to get a Red H, so give yourself a five. Despite the moans, Red H stories attract more readers, it really is that simple.

Against? I don't see any negatives, personally. Kick starting a story with one vote won't matter much after a month or two, but stories need visibility in the first day. Sometimes a story doesn't need any self help, sometimes they do.

 

[qidniz]

I don't see any negatives, personally. Kick starting a story with one vote won't matter much after a month or two, but stories need visibility in the first day.

One of my stories had an interesting start. There were close to 1500 views in the first day, 3 favorites, but only a single vote (a 5). Then in quick succession there was a 4 and a 1, dropping the rating to 3.33. By the end of the first daily cycle, it had staggered up to 4.17 on 6 votes for over 2000 views. Maybe I should have given it an early 5 to jump start things, but it really looks like the 1 killed the story, ratings-wise. My vote wouldn't have mattered.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Possibly other folk scoring at the same time, and there's a bit of a queue for the votes to register. Wait 24 hours for things to catch up.

I think EB has the right of it.

 

[other11]

I'm thinking maybe the anon ratings are being held up or scrutinized and it is a coincidence that username ratings are posting immediately.

 

[BeechLeaf]

I don't know anything about how votes are patrolled, and don't want to speculate, but I would just point out that going from 5/1 to 4/2 when you've now cast 2 votes (over a timespan) doesn't necessarily mean that those /2 are your 2. If something automatically patrols two close votes from the same machine, you might have gone from 5/1 to 0/0, then the 4/2 is from 2 other genuine votes.

Or it just deleted the second vote, so you're still on 5/1, then you got a 3.

 

[Voboy]

Best not to speculate.

This.

 

[SimonDoom]

One of my stories had an interesting start. There were close to 1500 views in the first day, 3 favorites, but only a single vote (a 5). Then in quick succession there was a 4 and a 1, dropping the rating to 3.33. By the end of the first daily cycle, it had staggered up to 4.17 on 6 votes for over 2000 views. Maybe I should have given it an early 5 to jump start things, but it really looks like the 1 killed the story, ratings-wise. My vote wouldn't have mattered.

I don't usually vote for my own stories, because I like the idea of the score reflecting my readers' point of view, not my own, plus in the case of most stories my vote is such a tiny drop in the ocean it doesn't make a difference.

But if my story is right on the cusp of a 4.5, i will sometimes vote for it to try to get it over that hump, because it is useful.

My attitude is that the site gives us tools to use, so feel free to use them. If you want to vote for your own story, do so.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

My attitude is that the site gives us tools to use, so feel free to use them. If you want to vote for your own story, do so.

The implicit assumption here is that the main or only goal is a high rating and/or a lot of readers.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Being a selfproclaimed expert on the subject, I can tell you that:

1. If votes go through, they instantly show up on your control panel, except in some very rare cases.

2. The website doesn't adjust scores in the sense that they change the value of any single vote. They can remove votes during a sweep. But that's not what happened to you.

What happened is that your second vote, which came from the same phone, and thus from the same IP, was rejected by the website. It's a protection against abuse.

What likely happened is that someone else voted on your story in the meantime, and gave you a 3, totalling a 4/2.

The third person simply lied and gave you a 2 instead of a 5, making your score 3/3.

 

[Writer61]

One of my stories had an interesting start. There were close to 1500 views in the first day, 3 favorites, but only a single vote (a 5). Then in quick succession there was a 4 and a 1, dropping the rating to 3.33. By the end of the first daily cycle, it had staggered up to 4.17 on 6 votes for over 2000 views. Maybe I should have given it an early 5 to jump start things, but it really looks like the 1 killed the story, ratings-wise. My vote wouldn't have mattered.

A 1* in the first ten really hurts when it comes to getting an H.

 

[qidniz]

A 1* in the first ten really hurts when it comes to getting an H.

Indeed. You need seven 5s for every 1 to get an average of 4.5.

I do find it odd that the 1 was the third vote, and after more than 1500 views (and zero comments). It smells like a 1-bomb from a troll.

 

[Writer61]

Indeed. You need seven 5s for every 1 to get an average of 4.5.

I do find it odd that the 1 was the third vote, and after more than 1500 views (and zero comments). It smells like a 1-bomb from a troll.

It does. IIRC, the third vote on one of my stories was a 1*. Subsequently, it was swept away, but the damage was done.

 

[other11]

Update: I reported my predicament to the AH Moderator and received a very polite and informative reply.
Some takeaways:
1. The stats you see on your works page are near-instant and accurate. The public stats are not.
2. Moderators can remove votes, but not alter the rating (they cannot change a '5' to a '4'.
3. They can and do do regular sweeps particularly 1s and 5s.
5. Votes cast from the same IP address will be deleted sooner or later ( in my case, sooner)
I asked if I could post his/her actual response, but so far he/she has not given me permission.
Thanks to all of you for your help.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Next time, save yourself the trouble and just listen to the self-proclaimed expert.

 

[other11]

Next time, save yourself the trouble and just listen to the self-proclaimed expert.

Ya done good .

 

[IWroteThis]

I do find it odd that the 1 was the third vote, and after more than 1500 views (and zero comments). It smells like a 1-bomb from a troll.

It's possible, but that wouldn't be my first guess.

The story doesn't have enough votes to show a rating, so it's not a juicy target to knock down. Also, the low vote count and no comments does not indicate the story was well received (or triggered anybody), so I don't find it hard to believe that it simply rolled a nat 1.