Someone just went through and 1'd all my stuff, how stupid is that?

[HSWriter]

I wonder if the idiots would stop doing it if they couldn't see how their pathetic little retaliations affected the list. Keep the First page of lists and remove the totals on everything else, maybe that would help? Maybe not.

I noticed that Pastorale and Coming Home keep nosediving, despite the fact that I get nothing but wonderful feedback about the both of them. I tracked it for the past few days, and after doing the math, it's pretty much 1's for like a day, then it goes up, then 1's again. It makes me wonder.

KM- Don't strain yourself with the wondering... it's obvious someone has it out for you.. it sucks big time, I've had it happen to me... And I sympathize with you... it should get better though...

 

[Madame Pandora]

Hmmm...

KM. I don't understand what you mean about only keeping the first page.

I think once Laurel gets it operating that you have to be registered to vote, that will make a lot of difference. Just keep saying “patience is a virtue…patience is a virtue…” and eat more chocolate. LOL

If it’s any consolation, my stories also continue to plummet, so you’re not alone. Janie & Dell, which has over 400 votes and which I have NEVER gotten a negative word about has been dropping steadily for a week now. It’s at an all time low. Same with Uncle Beau. I’m not even going to tell you about my poems. Do I find it hard to believe that all of a sudden...after 400 votes a whole mess of people have decided I'm a 1? Sure. Can I do anything about it? No.

When I first started writing here, I told a friend of mine about my stories. She voted for my story and asked me if I wanted her to "play it up." I didn't. But I was curious as to what she meant.

First, she said she could vote down everything ahead of me, and then she could ply me with 5 votes. She works in a normal office. There are 40+ computers, all with DSL hookups. It would take maybe a minute at each computer. Then, she has her home computer, her friends' computers and anyone she wanted to email a link to.

Potentially, she had 50-80 votes at her disposal. Not just to add to my rating, but to detract from the ratings of others.

Really, I think she was just kidding. Like me, my friends spend a lot of time pondering “ifs” (hell, we once spent a week figuring out how we could have pulled off a bank robbery just for kicks). But, like I've said, because this is a porn site, I think that some people don't apply the same code of ethics to it as they do other things so the “ifs” become viable.

Popularity on the boards is a factor in it, too. When you post something unpopular, you get a string of 1s on occasion. Last week, after posting something, I checked my numbers the next morning and EACH of my submission (poems and stories) had exactly 1 more vote than the night before. On the ones where 1 vote could make the difference, this had lowered the scores. You can’t make it much more obvious than that. I have, from time to time, gone to visit people’s works because of what I’ve seen of them on the board. I always try to give feedback when I do this, and I rarely give 1s. I do give them, though. I have two main criteria. The feeling/idea of the piece and the writer’s skill. Both good get a 5…both bad get a 1. One good the other bad get a 3. I use 2s and 4s when a 5 or a 1 just doesn’t feel right. Just my personal system.

There is no way to deduce the motives of voters. I mean...lol...we can't have a little cartoon conscience pop up on their shoulder and say "Now, X, are you SURE about that 1?" (Although, Laurel, if you can do that with your magic wand thiny…that would be way cool)

Unfortunately, we're always going to have to live with some of the childish crap.

However, I think if someone had to go to the trouble of registering a new handle to vote another 1 and then had to register again to vote another...that would at least add a little bit of hindrance to their antics. At least they’re being slightly inconvenienced for their stupidity.

HOWEVER

It's important to realize that that is also going to cut back in the overall numbers we'll get. It really doesn't take much effort right now to click a number...and considering the activities some of our readers are up to...well...the less effort the better.

Personally, I will trade volume for accuracy. But, we have to realize we don't know how big the difference is going to be.

I also like the idea of a pop-up option, as long as it has a "cancel" feature. We don't want the voters to think of voting as a hassle.

My worry is that Laurel will then get flooded by a gazillion "new members" who are only generated for these purposes. That is foreseeable. It may have to go a step further with an email verified password to register a new member. A lot of sites do that, so I don't think that would be too much of an imposition to detract from potential members.

All this is just brainstorming out loud. These can't be minor changes and there's a lot of considerations as far as the capability of the systems and costs of upgrading. Not to mention Laurel and her team’s time and efforts.

For the record, I think this thread is great. Even if we are just venting, at least we're doing so with other authors who understand the frustration. LOL. You never know when something positive or constructive will come from venting. ;-) Isn't that what they teach you in psyche class?

MP

 

[Softly]

Hidden Agenda

I wonder if what is really going on here is an attempt
to discourge the authors, both new and experienced, in addition to people that post on the boards.

Lets say that you were a "Little Fish" with some knowledge in the field of operation of a web site.

Literotica is going like gangbusters. So, you put virus in the systems, and try to run off the authors, hopeing to
buy the site from the owners for a song, when they tire of trying to solve the problems that you creat.

For the record, the score of the story "Mr. Billy Joe Cabot," in loving wives, went from 4.78 to 4.10 yesterday with seven one (1)votes. Several others stories got ones, also. Like you KM, my e-mail is all positive.

 

[Madame Pandora]

Softly...

You're kidding, right?

MP

 

[KillerMuffin]

I'm sure if Laurel pulled up voting records she'd see a correlation in 1 votes on stories that dropped like rocks, but that's a lot of work.

A conspiracy theory? That's different.

 

[Deborah]

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Hey Softly, are you seeing 1's in your sleep, or what?

You couldn't possible have received 7 of those dreaded 1 votes on your story "Mr. Billy Joe Cabot" which was #4 with a rating of 4.73 and 11 votes on 1/27. Reason I know is I had a story below it at #7, which of course got 1'd, and I was watching. So Softly, yesterday 1/28 your story went to a rating of 4.10 with 20 votes. You got 9 additional votes. If 7 of those 9 votes were 1, even if the other votes were both five, your rating would have been 3.55.

I had a story a month ago, "Time Out" which was #1 on the list with a rating of 5.00. The next day the rating was 3.28. That's what got me interested in this 1 business in the first place, as I said on Fred H's "Nominations" thread.

Here's a new twist. Yesterday I had a story "Where's MY Roger?" which was #1. It got 5 additional votes. Guess what they were? Nope. All were 2.

I'm really disappointed (fucking pissed actually) by these 2 votes. I was starting to view the accumulation of 1 votes as a mark of distinction, you know, like someone is paying a whole lot of attention to you, for whatever reason.

 

[Guest]

Just sing the Spice Girls song, '2 Become 1', and concentrate very hard, Dvora, and maybe your wishes will come true. It worked for me, anyway.

 

[christo]

I try to take the voting in stride, but it's hard. If some creature wants to screw you by voting your story a 1, there's not much you can do about it. I've never given a story a 1. The worst score I've given is a 3, because I really haven't read any stories that were so terrible they deserved it.

Remember, to give a story a 1, you have to read the entire thing, and still be willing to cast a vote. When I read a story I don't like I usually abandon it before I get to the end. If I finish a story and it really wasn't very good, it would have to be pretty bad, or offensive, to get me to vote below a 3.

A question for everyone-- when you read a good story, a story you really like, do you give it a 4 or a 5? Is the top score reserved for stories that really get your rocks off, or do you give out 5's liberally? Typically, if you ask people to vote according to a scale, they are often unwiling to cast votes at either end of the spectrum. Most marketing research companies don't use a 5 point scale, because it doesn't allow enough leeway. They use 7 or 9, so you have some gradation between the middle score and the extremes. I'm not saying that Literotica should go to a broader scale (technical headache #167), but it may help explain some of the bizarre changes in the scores people get.

Right now I have one story with a score of 4.49, and it's driving me nuts because I'd like to get to 4.50 so it gets the little H, but is that really important? No, but it's driving me nuts at the same time. Just a few 5 votes...but a 4 vote would hurt...you can twist yourself into the ground worrying about it. It's out of my control.

 

[simply_barbara]

I'm very new here. "Sex Club" is my first submission. I really wanted to guage how well it was received before I posted anything else. Jitters at this point would be an understatement! <grin>

I was shocked that I had over 20 votes the first two days. My first feedback suggested leaving out the lesbian scenes but after that my score climbed up to 4.5 and all my other feedback has been positive. The 30th vote just brought my score way down though. (And I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the bulletin boards because this is my first post!) If I hadn't been watching the score, I'd be disappointed and probably not post anything else for awhile. As it is, I'm going to sit back and watch a little longer before I commit myself to the site.

Someone asked about the rating scale. I'm curious about it too because my friend who sent me here said to rate everything decent a 3, stories I didn't skim through at all a 4, and only the totally awesome stories as a 5. Only after reading the postings so far, that hardly seems fair? I agree even though it would be an "accounting" nightmare, the point spread is too narrow. So do you reserve 5 for awesome or what?

Barbara

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
THIS WAY TO "SEX CLUB"
http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=7610

 

[Guest]

Re: Hidden Agenda

Originally posted by Softly
Literotica is going like gangbusters. So, you put virus in the systems, and try to run off the authors, hopeing to
buy the site from the owners for a song, when they tire of trying to solve the problems that you creat.

That reminds me of a movie I saw recently. The plot goes a little something like this:

Mr. Dittmeyer, the Brady's next door neighbor, is in charge of acquiring land for a new residential mini-mall, and the Bradys are the last hold-outs on selling their land. Unbeknownst to the Bradys, Dittmeyer has also been receiving, and concealing, their mail, which includes overdue notices on property taxes. $20,000 is necessary to save the Brady house from auction, and when the kids find out, they secretly go about raising money to save the homestead.

 

[Softly]

February 2. Updated report.

"Billy Joe Cabot" went from 4.78 to 4.05

"How to Prepare a Bride" stated today with 12 votes, and a score of 4.50. A one (1) was entered, so now the score is 4.23 with 13 votes. Pushed it right off the "Top Page."

"My First Wonderfuck" was 4.33 with 18 votes, and now is 4.21 with 19, for a vote of a two (2).

I know that most of my stories would rate at least .35 higher, if not for he/they.

I am getting so that I don't pay attention to the scores, once they have received the ten votes, and have made a list.If it is in the top ten of a story list, it is a sure thing that by the next day it will have been voted down to the rank of forty.

I know what the story received before it was attacked.

If several of us are receiving the same treatment, which takes he or them some effort, there must be a reason, other then a personal dislike for this person, or that.

 

[simply_barbara]

I agree. Day one my story was at #38 and the voting seemed fair. Today my story was at #8 and I got slammed with a 1. I watched "Sex Club" go from 4.5 to 4.36 after one person voted. It was literally the 30th vote on the story. Now, I don't know if it will ever be read enough to bring the score back up. No one could have a personal vendetta against me at this point because I haven't spoken with anyone on the site yet.

You put so much effort into your work, and you take a great deal of pride when you see them in the top slots, that it feels like a personal attack when you get slammed with a 1 or 2. I'm not sure the reasoning behind the score would make me feel all that much better. Granted my poetry is terrible and I probably deserve a 1 or 2 there, but 29 people I don't know felt my writing was worth a 4 or 5. And I've read the other stories that have been slammed and they all seem ok too?

As many complaints as I have read, the problem seems to be widespread. Since we are throwing out conspiracy theories, remember Phil Donahue? Donahue had a wonderful show until the "religious right" contacted his sponsors and literally drove him out of business. Maybe the person handing out the 1's and 2's thinks they're legitimate. After all the better the sex story, the worse the sin, right?

I don't know. I didn't want to get involved in politics. I just wanted to hideout behind a penname and find out if I really can write well. Erase that nagging doubt each one of us feels when we stop typing. Guess I failed on two counts! <LOL>


Barbara

 

[Ray Dario]

No failure

Barbara you did not fail, just because some schmoe gave your story a 1 does not reflect badly on you. In fact even if your story had three hundred votes with an averate of 1.0 you would still not have failed because you WROTE a story and had the courage to post it.

Remember that the chances are, the idiot that 1'd you probably has never written a story at all, may not even be able to read large words like "of" or "the". He is just an idiot who clicked his mouse.

Honestly if your story has an average rating of 4.0 or higher then you did a great job. The voters here can be pretty rough, so don't let one moron get you down.

Ray

 

[Whispersecret]

Double post. Sorry.

 

[Whispersecret]

Could it just be that people are confused and think that a ONE vote is the best, even though it's labeled? I mean, if you rate something from one to ten, usually one is the best. Just a thought.

 

[simply_barbara]

Never occured to me...it's a distinct possibility now that you mention it...because the rating scale looks funky in my browser...and why alternate between a 1 and a 2...if it was meant to be malicious it would probably always be a 1?

Very good point!

 

[Hecate]

OK - nothing much new I have to add - but I too second the "vote - feedback" linked idea. I too had a sudden "crash" of my story votes which I took more personal than I thought I would *sighs* .. and it struck me strange that the only votes I got on one day were ones after my story had so far only votes between 4 and 5 ... stranger even, though I submitted a non-english story and that one too in the same "wash" got the 1 vote ...

I got lots of good feedback - some of it really made me feel all giddy *lol* - silly me - so it is even harder to figure out what exactly might be causing someone else to vote a 1.

Thinking about it - I even could accept the "wrong read" of the vote system - theory, in Germany for example the school grades go from 1(best) to 6(failed, worst), maybe that is a problem for some people after all ...

Sorry - just had to vent a little ....

 

[WriterDom]

I got a letter once from someone saying they were sorry, but they checked the 1st circle thinking it was the highest.
They aren't label very effectively

 

[Flagg]

I'm sure there is a certain degree of malice going on in the voting stakes, but I don't think we should blame all bad votes on people simply being mean.

Its quite possible that a majority of people love a story and yet someone else hates it.

Its interesting to see this phenomenon occuring on Literotica. During my absence I spent a brief time at eroticstories.com which has had a similar voting structure for years. Their BB is literally plagued by people moaning about malicious voting and accusations fly round all over the place and the whole atmosphere is a bit unpleasant.

I wonder if we actually benefit from seeing what votes we receive. We were, afterall, quite happy before the system was put in place. They do say that ignorance is bliss.

Despite being an amazing flawless writer I do expect to get low votes because I do my best to make the material as controversial as possible. If I wasn't getting low votes it would mean that I'm doing something wrong!

I suggest everyone chill out. It can't be doing your libidos any good frantically working out averages, scores and complex accountacy theories.

 

[Madame Pandora]

LAPA (Or, as Risia has called it, Long Assed Post Alert)

At the risk of getting read the riot act by Dom once more, I'm posting on this issue again.

Firstly, I really don't think the majority of the writers who have expressed an opinion on this subject are crying to the heavens for an answer. Sure, the votes are subjective. Sure, they're to be taken with a grain of salt. Duh.

Not every low vote is a conspiracy. This is a given. I wholeheartedly and completely accept that some people will be put off / offended / disinterested in my material or style. I think the vast majority of Lit’s writers feel the same.

Overall, my three stories are all rated above a 4.0, so even if someone has targeted me from time to time, I've done okay. I mean...the first 3 pages of the Top List (150 stories, if I'm not wrong) only goes to 4.5. That's still a very HIGH mark. Just because a pair of my stories aren't on the first page, that doesn't still mean they aren't highly ranked to my way of thinking.

There's nothing Laurel or anyone else can do about low votes. There is no way to determine their intent. The system of member voting will be a little more accurate to my thinking, and I'm sure the people who vote a story high just because they like the person will then balance out against the people who vote low just because they don't. The member voting doesn’t mean that “members” are better than anyone else. It just means that someone actually has to go through the procedure of registering in order to place a vote. So, it would be a little more effort it anyone wanted to plug a rash of high OR low votes.

I am a person who looks for holes in armor. THAT IS MY JOB. I am the annoying person who sits in the board room and tells people why an idea won’t work. I’m the one who has to try and look into the future and see the POSSIBILITIES of problems. I anticipate. I’m sure there are several others like me here. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the idea or like a system. It just means I am always looking at the “what if” - the worst case scenario – the safety net. I enjoy the sunshine and the beach, but I prepare for Hurricane season, too.

Sure you can roll your eyes and say that people like me are a stick in the mud or that we take things too seriously. Whatever. What I do IRL is out of concern for my company, and when I do it here it’s out of concern for my own work, another author’s work, or for the site itself, and often it’s nothing more than brainstorming off the hip. Anyone who doesn’t like it is free to bite me.

Here on the author's board I like to think we can discuss ideas, styles, and even vent a little. Does it stop the world from spinning when one of us gets a rash of low votes? No. Do I run out of my office crying to the skies weeping "why me? why me?" No. But it is a little irritating.

Killer started this thread to vent. So...we vent. I think at the end of the day we know this is an erotica site and we know that it’s all a crap shoot. Most of the people who bother to post here, however, put some valid thought and effort into their work. Some of them even write this type of work honing their skills for more serious material. None of us are calling our local news asking some watchdog reporter to investigate the “Literotica Conspiracy.” We’re just venting.

I am not saying there is some band of rogue hackers out there focused on Literotica, manipulating the votes like the Smoking Man in X Files. But there are at least a few people who use the voting system as a way to get back at authors they don't like. Nothing can be done about it. We can only shrug and take the votes for what they are. But, what's the harm in venting about it? Why - just because it's not a "shiny happy" post?

I think most of the authors here appreciate both Literotica and Laurel in the best way possible. We trust this site and Laurel with our work. We participate in the site. When someone takes part in something, THAT is a compliment in itself. We know she is doing her best to maintain the integrity of this site, to let others enjoy it, and to continually improve it.

So let those vent who want to vent. Just because the voting has been used for something negative doesn't mean it's all bad.

Personally, I like the idea of a 1 - 10 system, not because I think it will solve any of the concerns expressed here, but I think that gives the reader a better range of choice. I like the idea of an expanded questionnaire/survey for those readers to fill out who wish to, but I think it should be user friendly so that readers don’t look upon voting as a hassle. I also like the idea that a reader could subscribe to an author the same way we subscribe to threads on the board to notify them when a new story by that author is posted.

I don't know the feasibility of any of these. I just like them. I may be the only one, or one of the few. Whatever.

Some people like to rant and post on the board because they're depressed about a holiday. Some want to argue about politics. Some people just want to wiggle their ass and see who sniffs it. A few authors want to vent about low votes.

Some continue to say "get over it" - well, venting is a way of doing just that. Even if one or two authors go a little loopy over it, where’s the harm? Is it really so much more offensive than some idiot posting 5 threads about what they had for breakfast?

Just because someone’s venting one minute doesn’t mean they’re not appreciating or enjoying the site the other 1439 minutes out of the day. Some people keep saying “take the voting for what it’s worth.” Well…why not then take the venting for what it’s worth, too?


MP

 

[circe!]

Yikes!

Someone help me with this math:

My newest story post had a "perfect" score of 5 with 13 votes. So it hit the Top List today at number 1. Now, three votes later, it's fallen to a 4.76 score. I hate being so paranoid. I hate the fact that this even bugs me! But I foresee my scores continue to pummult as soon as they get on the Top List. Why is that?

VENT-VENT-VENT-VENT-VENT-VENT-

WHINE-WHINE-WHINE-WHINE-WHINE-


But my stories are like my babies, and if you don't like them, I want to be knowing WHY?


circe!

 

[circe!]

Correction!

Correction: I had 15 votes with a perfect score of 5. Now, at 17 votes, it's down to 4.76. What were those last two evil votes???

 

[Madame Pandora]

Re: Correction!

Correction: I had 15 votes with a perfect score of 5. Now, at 17 votes, it's down to 4.76. What were those last two evil votes???

Cicre,

Deb will have to double check my numbers, but your last two votes had an average of 3.0 They could have been a 5 & 1 / 4 & 2 / or 2 3s.

Most likely it was a 5 & a 1. Which just goes to show you the effect a single ONE has. Just like in school...all those As can't counteract that Damn C...lol.

I have found that the minute that you hit the Top List, you tend to take a few 1s in both stories and poetry, so just look at it as someone who likes to knock off the current "Queen of the Hill."

Congrats and WOWZERS on getting 15 5s in a row though ;-) Bravi. My record so far is 9 5s in a row.

I gotta go read now ;-)

MP

 

[circe!]

Now I'm annoyed.

I just got 1 more vote which must have been another 1 because it knocked me from 4.76 to 4.56.

I get 16 votes of 5.0 and then 2 despicible excuses for humanity shoot me down. And I'm sure they're not done yet. Shit, is there a No Votes option in which I can enter my stories?

Whomever wants to can tell me that I'm taking this too seriously, that I'm being paranoid, whining, or whatever, but it's a low, ugly thing for someone to low vote out of spite or whatever.

A curse (!!!) on who ever is doing it! Believe me, if I really were the Circe of mythology, you'd be oinking in the mud right about now.

 

[bluntforcemama]

All right, I admit I get pretty darned excited when I check out the toplists, just to get my own kudos, and it varies... sometimes I'm nearing the top, sometimes I'm plummeting. No problem, I figured out that I'm not going to give it more than it's fair share of my time, because as we all now, life is precious (gosh I'm sounding like a twit), and I have a better way to spend it than worrying or fuming.. and this doesn't just go towards voting, I find myself fuming about lots of silly stuff.... like the freshman in my physics class this semester who has really big hair and always sits in front of me. LOL... it's a pity I even think of it! Just enjoy the little pleasures... sometimes those are the best of all. And YES I take a lot of medication to maintain this attitude... hee hee