The Official (Most likely) 2024 Literotica April Fool's Day Contest Support Thread!!!

[Duleigh]

Now, with 200 votes and 4.66 I wish it had stopped at 25 when I had a score of 4.96 . But I have never had so much interest, and comments +/- or new followers or favourites, and it is causing an uptick in readers, votes and comments on earlier works, particulalry my 1x (One off) stories. I have done most of my writing 'blind' working on my own preferences and what I have read from fellow writers I admire, so the feedback is like nectar and will keep me writing for a bit longer.

You have a 4.66? I started in the 4.9s too and now I'm wallowing around 4.4 on one story, 4.33 on the other.
Hold on, April Fools is always a wild ride. Wait until Laurel has her say.

 

[StillStunned]

You have a 4.66? I started in the 4.9s too and now I'm wallowing around 4.4 on one story, 4.33 on the other.
Hold on, April Fools is always a wild ride. Wait until Laurel has her say.

I hope she announces a wildly unlikely winner, and then an hour later says, "Fooled you! It's Duleigh again."

 

[Duleigh]

I hope she announces a wildly unlikely winner, and then an hour later says, "Fooled you! It's Duleigh again."

That's how I got it last time. Huge sweeps took me and Chloe to the top. it freaked out a few people and I got anonymous accusations of cheating. Those cowards instilled my utter hatred of anonymous messages.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

I'm hoping for a really huge sweep like Duleigh mentioned but it's going to take a sweeper/vac as big as the Mega Maid in Spaceballs to help my April Fools' story. It's still essentially tied for last place in all of my stories and will likely be my first contest story to not finish with a red H (though one other one has lost its H since that contest was completed).

I've learned my lesson: no more contests with LW entries for me.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm hoping for a really huge sweep like Duleigh mentioned but it's going to take a sweeper/vac as big as the Mega Maid in Spaceballs to help my April Fools' story. It's still essentially tied for last place in all of my stories and will likely be my first contest story to not finish with a red H (though one other one has lost its H since that contest was completed).

I've learned my lesson: no more contests with LW entries for me.

Same here. The story is doing OK, but to be competitive in the contest, I'd probably need to lose something like a hundred 3s.

But it was fun to write, so I consider myself a winner whatever happens.

(Note: I've never actually won anything in my life, so I'm just imagining what it feels like.)

 

[FreyaGersemi]

Same here. The story is doing OK, but to be competitive in the contest, I'd probably need to lose something like a hundred 3s.

Same here. In fact, ever since my entry posted, all of my stories have been taking a beating. It's the April Fools Story Contest Curse.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I’d like to see an end to anonymous voting and the author being notified about votes and their scores - e.g. “LoneMasturbator gave your story a 4” - like you get notified about favorites or comments. A control panel showing data about voting would also be cool. But it won’t happen.

You can always turn voting off for your stories (making them ineligible for Contests, though).

If anon voting was stopped, the little feedback there is would trend even further towards zero. I'd never ever want anyone turned away, either from voting or commenting. Anons are no different to account holders in that regard.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You can always turn voting off for your stories (making them ineligible for Contests, though).

If anon voting was stopped, the little feedback there is would trend even further towards zero. I'd never ever want anyone turned away, either from voting or commenting. Anons are no different to account holders in that regard.

Point.

What would be good is a dashboard where you had non-anonymous ratings attached to the user account and anonymous ratings tagged.

My analysis of comments is that anonymous ones are twice as likely to be negative as member ones. I see no reason why that pattern should be much different for anonymous rating.

You could at least then have a rating from people who are willing to stand by it separate from those who are not.

Emily

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

My analysis of comments is that anonymous ones are twice as likely to be negative as member ones. I see no reason why that pattern should be much different for anonymous rating.

That may be true as a whole but I think it varies greatly by category. Anonymous commenters on even half-decent stories in categories like Romance and Mature are generally much more positive and encouraging that those in some other categories and caustic or even derogatory comments are much less common.

While I sometimes question whether Mr. or Ms. Anon even read the story based on their comments, there are many other nice, encouraging, and sometimes even constructive anonymous comments that make me believe many people, whether signed in to an account or not, are looking for good, enjoyable stories.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My analysis of comments is that anonymous ones are twice as likely to be negative as member ones. I see no reason why that pattern should be much different for anonymous rating.

Your Comment data set is nothing like mine, then. But you have had a couple of forays into well-known minefields, and I never bother doing that.

Without counting them up, I reckon my Anon vs Account comments ratio is 50/50 - 60/40, and in all my time here, I reckon I've deleted maybe a dozen stupid comments (where the comment is just so dumb it doesn't warrant air time).

The bulk of my comments are overwhelmingly positive, and some of the best of all are from Anons, or account holders who are readers only, not writers. I'd never turn off Anon input, ever.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Your Comment data set is nothing like mine, then. But you have had a couple of forays into well-known minefields, and I never bother doing that.

Without counting them up, I reckon my Anon vs Account comments ratio is 50/50 - 60/40, and in all my time here, I reckon I've deleted maybe a dozen stupid comments (where the comment is just so dumb it doesn't warrant air time).

The bulk of my comments are overwhelmingly positive, and some of the best of all are from Anons, or account holders who are readers only, not writers. I'd never turn off Anon input, ever.

Yeah certain categories certainly skew the data. I’ve not had anything bar a polite, “not my thing” comment in a long time.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

That may be true as a whole but I think it varies greatly by category. Anonymous commenters on even half-decent stories in categories like Romance and Mature are generally much more positive and encouraging that those in some other categories and caustic or even derogatory comments are much less common.

While I sometimes question whether Mr. or Ms. Anon even read the story based on their comments, there are many other nice, encouraging, and sometimes even constructive anonymous comments that make me believe many people, whether signed in to an account or not, are looking for good, enjoyable stories.

Yes I get nice Anon comments as well.

But, if I get a nasty one, it’s normally from Anon

Emily

 

[Duleigh]

But it was fun to write, so I consider myself a winner whatever happens.

(Note: I've never actually won anything in my life, so I'm just imagining what it feels like.)

I love that response! I passionately loved writing both stories that I submitted and they both got pounded but it was fun.

Believe me, if you win it's a shock. You won't discover it, somebody else will say, "Hey, you won!"

 

[EmilyMiller]

Same here. In fact, ever since my entry posted, all of my stories have been taking a beating. It's the April Fools Story Contest Curse.

Comps are a double-edged sword. You get more exposure, but a certain type of person also notices you. If your story does well at first, expect it to be beaten back down. It’s important that authors understand their proper status.

Emily

 

[Devinter]

Comps are a double-edged sword. You get more exposure, but a certain type of person also notices you. If your story does well at first, expect it to be beaten back down. It’s important that authors understand their proper status.

Emily

In that case, what's your proper status?

 

[EmilyMiller]

In that case, what's your proper status?

Subservient.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

Subservient.

Emily

Or maybe subscriptient.

Emily

 

[Devinter]

Subservient.

Or maybe subscriptient.

In both cases, I stopped reading after Sub.

 

[EmilyMiller]

In both cases, I stopped reading after Sub.

Subatomic
Subcutaneous
Subdomain
Subgroup
Subhuman
Subject
Subliminal
Submarine
Subnet
Subordinate
Subpoenaed
Subroutine
Subscribe
Subtle
Suburban
Subversion
Subway

 

[Devinter]

Subatomic
Subcutaneous
Subdomain
Subgroup
Subhuman
Subject
Subliminal
Submarine
Subnet
Subordinate
Subpoenaed
Subroutine
Subscribe
Subtle
Suburban
Subversion
Subway

Don't force me to spank you, Emily. Behave yourself.

 

[StillStunned]

Don't force me to spank you, Emily. Behave yourself.

Given how the conversation is going, that's probably the last thing you should be threatening her with.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Don't force me to spank you, Emily. Behave yourself.

 

[WendyTrilby]

I have a submission question that needs clarification. I have a series called PORTMANTEAU. I was considering entering my almost completed episode into this competition, but that seems to be a violation of the rules, which state:

• All submissions must be stand-alone stories created for this contest theme. We will not accept individual chapters of a larger work submitted separately. If you have a multi-chaptered contest-themed submission, please submit all chapters together as one story submission.

Yes, the story is created for this theme. Yes, it stands alone (all my Portmanteau stories stand alone), but it is part of an anthology series (but not a chapter). I won't submit it for this contest, but any clarification moving forward will help. I currently operate under the assumption if it is listed on my works page as part of a series, it is not eligible for the LE competitions. If anyone has a better understanding, please let me know.

 

[Deleted member 6736302]

I have a submission question that needs clarification. I have a series called PORTMANTEAU. I was considering entering my almost completed episode into this competition, but that seems to be a violation of the rules, which state:

Yes, the story is created for this theme. Yes, it stands alone (all my Portmanteau stories stand alone), but it is part of an anthology series (but not a chapter). I won't submit it for this contest, but any clarification moving forward will help. I currently operate under the assumption if it is listed on my works page as part of a series, it is not eligible for the LE competitions. If anyone has a better understanding, please let me know.

Damn. Looks like my story I submitted for the contest violates the rules. It’s a stand alone story using characters in a series I am writing.

 

[Duleigh]

I have a submission question that needs clarification. I have a series called PORTMANTEAU. I was considering entering my almost completed episode into this competition, but that seems to be a violation of the rules, which state:

Yes, the story is created for this theme. Yes, it stands alone (all my Portmanteau stories stand alone), but it is part of an anthology series (but not a chapter). I won't submit it for this contest, but any clarification moving forward will help. I currently operate under the assumption if it is listed on my works page as part of a series, it is not eligible for the LE competitions. If anyone has a better understanding, please let me know.

Is it a complete story with exposition, story line, and conclusion?

This rule is to keep chapters of stories out. Chapters don't have exposition so the reader doesn't know the characters and they have no idea what the world around the capter entails. A chapter has no defined story line because it's a portion of a story line, and a chapter has no conclusion because that happens in a different chapter.

If you can take characters from a series and write a story that is unique, has exposition that introduces the characters and starts the story line rolling, and the story line concludes in the narrative of your entry, I would say that's a stand alone story. You can say that these characters are from the PORTMANTEAU series but don't let the reader think that they have to read the series to understand what is going on in your contest entry.

I write series several series but each entry in my Enchantress and my Stormwatch series is a complete story, there's no overlying storyline. My WaWW series and my Andi's Dream series are both made up of chapters, but also side stories, some of which have been entered into contests. That's the nice thing about the series function here, you can write a series divided up into chapters, but you can add side stories and place them in the series timeline.