Please, someone explain this to me!

[metropolinational]

I could be wrong though

yes that's what happened. the question was why?

 

[metropolinational]

Have you checked to see if he is actually following you and didn't just fat-finger the icon and then change his mind? It's happened to me both ways and unfollows don't show up in the feed.

another good thought, but I've noticed my followers don't show up in chronological order. no way im scrolling.

 

[metropolinational]

Hate... leads to suffering.

There is a widely held belief in my Botched comments section that I get off on making my readers suffer. Anon often openly advocates for others to stop commenting because that is what is feeding my continuing to publish the story. That if they stop confessing their suffering, I will stop, move on, and their suffering can finally stop.

 

[metropolinational]

And then I started to feel bad that someone out there was being made to read my stuff under duress.

this is the only explanation that makes sense for many of the comments I get!

 

[IWroteThis]

Not to be the one to point out the obvious, but…

That comment is specific to one story. Or, rather, one chapter of one story. It wasn't even that harsh of a comment, just a bit of a critque. With the 12 minute time difference, they quite possibly read the next chapter to see if it improved, or maybe read a different story to see if that one was an anomaly. Then, based on whatever else they read, they decided to follow you.

If the time stamps were closer together, the accidental click or glutton for punishment ideas would have more merit.

 

[metropolinational]

@IWroteThis makes a good point.

 

[EmilyMiller]

View attachment 2611344

You’re not @Djmac1031’s alt, are you?

 

[anthrodisiac]

You’re not @Djmac1031’s alt, are you?

What? No. That's crazy! Why would you even think that?

I'm clearly your alt.

 

[EmilyMiller]

What? No. That's crazy! Why would you even think that?

I'm clearly your alt.

Everyone is my alt, it’s the equivalent of the single electron theory. Even those who actively dislike me are actually my alts, they just don’t realize it. Authors’ Hangout, c’est moi!

 

[Lifestyle66]

When someone follows you but hates your story, they're doing so to be alerted to your next story. They'll 1-bomb that without even reading it.

If they're following you, that alert that you posted the new story reminds them that they don't like your stories and they don't accidently read them.

I have TWO such trolls (at least two, but others are in different time zones) who 1-bomb my stories within the first ten minutes of them going live to the public! They can't possibly read any significant part of a 25K word story in ten minutes!

 

[TheLobster]

When someone follows you but hates your story, they're doing so to be alerted to your next story. They'll 1-bomb that without even reading it.

That’s a great argument that you should be able to boot followers if you want to.

 

[metropolinational]

they're doing so to be alerted to your next story. They'll 1-bomb that without even reading it.

I agree this happens. I get about a dozen 1s right away every time I post. As I have often said here, my scores start in the 1.5 range and slowly climb up from there.

 

[metropolinational]

That’s a great argument that you should be able to boot followers if you want to.

I think a better solution would be to attach specific actions to each rating:

1 or 2. That author's other stories become invisible to you. You have to clear your cache for them to show up again.
3. The author is down weighted in searches, and you can't click on the author's page.
4. nothing happens
5. The author is up weighted in searches, and you automatically add the story to your favorites

then the ratings would mean something!

 

[EmilyMiller]

I think a better solution would be to attach specific actions to each rating:

1 or 2. That author's other stories become invisible to you. You have to clear your cache for them to show up again.
3. The author is down weighted in searches, and you can't click on the author's page.
4. nothing happens
5. The author is up weighted in searches, and you automatically add the story to your favorites

then the ratings would mean something!

I’ve had readers post a glowing and detailed review saying how much they loved a story and ended it with, “4️s, well done!”

Every reader has their own meaning ascribed to how they vote. With the above one, he presumably reserves 5️ for Joseph Conrad’s revered Gay Male series.

 

[NotWise]

In LW? Maybe he loved your story, but the culture there required a negative comment.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I think a better solution would be to attach specific actions to each rating:

1 or 2. That author's other stories become invisible to you. You have to clear your cache for them to show up again.
3. The author is down weighted in searches, and you can't click on the author's page.
4. nothing happens
5. The author is up weighted in searches, and you automatically add the story to your favorites

then the ratings would mean something!

Sure, buddy, and then we all get a pet skunk from Laurel and Manu. That'll probably happen first, honestly. At least, I sure hope so

The problem with that is that what if you just really thought the author didn't do a good job on that one story, but you normally like their other stuff? Sometimes authors swing and miss, or try something really experimental, or include a kink/fetish you don't like, or the story just outright sucks. You introduce additional friction for checking out their other works, which won't really deter trolls, but it will deter people who don't care enough, and might have enjoyed the other works by that author, except now you've made it harder for that person to read them. Someone who's really pissed off enough to bother trolling wouldn't let something like that deter them.

The other problem is in the positive direction: namely, how do you determine weighting, if someone gives a 5 on everything? Is it based on how many of that author's stories that person 5'd? That disadvantages new authors, who only have a couple stories, while ones who've been around for a while get jacked up the lists because they have 100 stories that the reader gave 5s to. Is it most recently 5'd? That advantages people who post more regularly, and people who don't post as regularly have fewer opportunities for their story to be recently read and voted on.

 

[metropolinational]

Every reader has their own meaning ascribed to how they vote. With the above one, he presumably reserves 5️ for Joseph Conrad’s revered Gay Male series.

I mean, I think it's pretty clear that outside of LW, you guys have a problem with a major ceiling effect at 5. Having less 5s would be good, as long as its fair.

 

[cadeauxxx]

Why are you wasting your time and energy on negative comments? Either leave it or delete it. So much of your energy is wasted on a troll that does not matter. I just delete the trolls I get and don't give them the attention they are craving. Making threads like this to complain about their opinions is just giving them the attention that they so desperately want.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I mean, I think it's pretty clear that outside of LW, you guys have a problem with a major ceiling effect at 5. Having less 5s would be good, as long as its fair.

Many seem to treat the ratings as binary. I came = 5️, Mr. Woody said bye bye = 1️.

 

[metropolinational]

Sure, buddy, and then we all get a pet skunk from Laurel and Manu.

haha. I mean, obviously, all of this is pie in the sky nonsense because it doesn't seem like anything that gets here reaches the site owners.

that's like replying to a sci fi story with: sure buddy, wake me up when we can fly across the Atlantic in four hours again, like we could in the 1970s....

 

[metropolinational]

Why are you wasting your time and energy on negative comments?

if you must know... I'm editing a story. which, of course, means I've found a sudden interest in doing things like rearranging my closets, organizing the files on my desktop, and reviewing my story comments.

 

[anthrodisiac]

haha. I mean, obviously, all of this is pie in the sky nonsense because it doesn't seem like anything that gets here reaches the site owners.

that's like replying to a sci fi story with: sure buddy, wake me up when we can fly across the Atlantic in four hours again, like we could in the 1970s....

Oh, you read my comment on The Time Machine? That H.G., so absurd. Time machines. Pfff. Nobody could make a time machine

 

[HelenL]

I had somebody follow me after he posted the following on my loving wives story: "Don't do this again."

Looking forward to seeing what they make of the story I have coming out tomorrow.

Maybe they're following you to ensure you don't

 

[metropolinational]

H.G.

a total cuck. if some troll like asshole had tried to eat my child size pedophilic love interest, I would have put him six feet under first and asked questions later. just pathetic.

 

[metropolinational]

Maybe they're following you to ensure you don't

sure, but my therapist says she has to report when I say those sorts of things.