You just bought Literotica...what do you change?

[MelissaBaby]

Well, yeah, exactly... What would stop them is the author being able to turn off anonymous voting. Then, it doesn't matter where you are, or what computer you are using. Every vote would be tied to an actual account. The solution is not perfect, sure, but I believe it is better than what we have now.

No, it wouldn’t, they’d just need to create a couple of alts.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

No, it wouldn’t, they’d just need to create a couple of alts.

Creating an alt requires creating a new email and then registering on Lit and then waiting for several hours until the account gets approved. Only then you can use that account to vote. But the votes are now clearly tied to that account and it takes just one click from an admin to ban that same account if it is repeatedly used to bomb someone's stories. I truly doubt someone would be that obsessive and borderline insane to invest so much time, only to get banned so easily.

It all comes down to making it hard for the basement-dwellers to do their thing, and when they realize they are putting a lot of effort into something that doesn't pay off because it is easily countered, they will stop. The way things are now, it is just too easy for them to do their petty shit.

 

[Leglover1234]

I would match the users avatar color (if no picture is present) with their sex. Sometimes dudes have feminine colored avatar colors

I would also have an option to see all the pics in the thread in a gallery and not have to scroll through 50 pages of comments and replies

 

[MelissaBaby]

Creating an alt requires creating a new email and then registering on Lit and then waiting for several hours until the account gets approved. Only then you can use that account to vote. But the votes are now clearly tied to that account and it takes just one click from an admin to ban that same account if it is repeatedly used to bomb someone's stories. I truly doubt someone would be that obsessive and borderline insane to invest so much time, only to get banned so easily.

It all comes down to making it hard for the basement-dwellers to do their thing, and when they realize they are putting a lot of effort into something that doesn't pay off because it is easily countered, they will stop. The way things are now, it is just too easy for them to do their petty shit.

I think you really don't understand how relentless and resourceful trolls can be.

 

[djrip]

Well, yeah, exactly... What would stop them is the author being able to turn off anonymous voting. Then, it doesn't matter where you are, or what computer you are using. Every vote would be tied to an actual account. The solution is not perfect, sure, but I believe it is better than what we have now.

Long as turning off anon voting eliminates the story from contests. Wouldn't be fair to have anon vote off stories competing with anyone vote on stories.

 

[MelissaBaby]

In a way, everyone is anonymous. Nobody is using their real name. So the issue is mandating (or not) the one-time requirement to create an account and adopt a screen-name (if that’s the correct term for it) - IF you want to comment or vote (or just to vote).
Plenty of websites do mandate that you have an account if you want to go beyond merely reading. If I get motivated enough to drop a comment - whether it‘s WaPo or Breitbart or a gazillion other websites - I’ve got to make an account (while maintaining my anonymity - like everyone else - behind a screen name). The folks who just read the articles (that aren’t paywalled) are free to do so - without making an account. The site still benefits from their traffic.

So I’m not sure it’s fair to predict a huge drop-off in readership if Lit mandated logging in to drop a comment or vote. Agree that there would be less comments - which would suck. But a precipitous drop in readership? I guess I’m not seeing why that would happen.

A middle ground position would be to require this for voting while still allowing anon comments.

For my part, over time I’ve slowly gravitated toward the ”don’t change anything” position although I can see the appeal of barring anon voting for the usual reasons cited.

One reason that I haven’t seen raised is that barring anon voting would serve to nudge the more motivated few to bite the bullet, join us, and create a Lit account, even if it makes their teeth grind. And that’s a reader you really wanna hear from.

Perhaps you are right, and there would not be a significant drop in readership, but why risk it?

As far as voting, it's obvious that the majority of anonymous voters are not one bombers. If they were, no one would ever come near a 4.5 rating. Why take the votes away from the majority because of a minority of jerks? And as I have pointed out earlier, there is no reason to assume that one bombing is specifically an anonymity problem. Strategic bombing on contests and top lists is more likely to be done by, or in support of, authors.

On comments, they are moderated already, and authors have the backup of being able to delete comments. There is no problem there to be solved.

In fact, there is no significant problem with anonymous users in most categories. A problem in one category should not dictate policy for all categories.

 

[SimonDoom]

Here's another thing I would do. I've thought about this for a long time and if I owned the site and had the means I'd do it.

I would offer a feature for authors to have blogs at this site. I know many authors post stories at other sites, and some have blogs at other locations. I would offer a full-featured blog page so authors would be encouraged to blog here, write about their stories, let readers get to know them a little better if they liked.

My focus as owner would be more, more, more rather than less, less. I wouldn't eliminate things or make it tougher to do things. I would make it easier and offer more functionality. Imagine if you had several million dollars to pump into the functionality and interface of this site. It could be amazing. I think you could get it all back in terms of the added value of the site.

Speaking of which, I wonder what the value of this site is. I imagine it is somewhat under-monetized but based on sheer traffic has considerable value.

 

[Tedfkats]

Remove the politics section of the bulletin board

Yup. Job 1.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Here's another thing I would do. I've thought about this for a long time and if I owned the site and had the means I'd do it.

I would offer a feature for authors to have blogs at this site. I know many authors post stories at other sites, and some have blogs at other locations. I would offer a full-featured blog page so authors would be encouraged to blog here, write about their stories, let readers get to know them a little better if they liked.

My focus as owner would be more, more, more rather than less, less. I wouldn't eliminate things or make it tougher to do things. I would make it easier and offer more functionality. Imagine if you had several million dollars to pump into the functionality and interface of this site. It could be amazing. I think you could get it all back in terms of the added value of the site.

Speaking of which, I wonder what the value of this site is. I imagine it is somewhat under-monetized but based on sheer traffic has considerable value.

I loved this idea even when you first voiced it, and it plays right into my own idea of improving communication. A blog would give us a new and exciting way to communicate with our readers in real time. As it is now, the communication channels just plain suck.

 

[SimonDoom]

I loved this idea even when you first voiced it, and it plays right into my own idea of improving communication. A blog would give us a new and exciting way to communicate with our readers in real time. As it is now, the communication channels just plain suck.

I really like Literotica. I get huge entertainment value from it at no cost whatsoever. So I don't like to complain too much, because it's not like I'm paying them anything for what I'm getting (except in the form of my wonderful stories, of course). But after 25 years it is still, in a number of ways, a diamond in the rough. With a pile of cash to retain some skilled web developers and content editors this place could do some amazing things to upgrade the experience for both readers and authors.

I think people who focus on taking things away -- like the politics board, or categories, or certain types of stories -- are on completely the wrong track. The goal should be to ADD things, not take things away.

Taking away the politics board is a terrible idea. The politics board is a safety valve, and it's one that everyone is perfectly free to ignore. Take it away and we're more likely to see toxic political posts in the Author's Hangout, which currently, despite its issues, is relatively free of insufferable political bloviating.

Of course, you are correct about communication. It's . . . uh . . . intermittent at best. If I were the poobah with tons of cash, I'd instantly improve communication from all the moderators of all the forums so everybody knows what the rules are and can be confident they're being enforced. I'd improve communication regarding the acceptance or rejection of stories. I'd have a dedicated ombudsman to field complaints and requests for changes, and make sure complaints were responded to quickly. I would add significantly to the explanation of content rules, with more examples to clear up the confusion.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I really like Literotica. I get huge entertainment value from it at no cost whatsoever. So I don't like to complain too much, because it's not like I'm paying them anything for what I'm getting (except in the form of my wonderful stories, of course). But after 25 years it is still, in a number of ways, a diamond in the rough. With a pile of cash to retain some skilled web developers and content editors this place could do some amazing things to upgrade the experience for both readers and authors.

I think people who focus on taking things away -- like the politics board, or categories, or certain types of stories -- are on completely the wrong track. The goal should be to ADD things, not take things away.

Taking away the politics board is a terrible idea. The politics board is a safety valve, and it's one that everyone is perfectly free to ignore. Take it away and we're more likely to see toxic political posts in the Author's Hangout, which currently, despite its issues, is relatively free of insufferable political bloviating.

Of course, you are correct about communication. It's . . . uh . . . intermittent at best. If I were the poobah with tons of cash, I'd instantly improve communication from all the moderators of all the forums so everybody knows what the rules are and can be confident they're being enforced. I'd improve communication regarding the acceptance or rejection of stories. I'd have a dedicated ombudsman to field complaints and requests for changes, and make sure complaints were responded to quickly. I would add significantly to the explanation of content rules, with more examples to clear up the confusion.

I find myself agreeing with this post in its entirety, both in its spirit and the contents.

I remember being the one who argued for the removal of categories and focusing completely on tags. I am not ashamed to say that over time my perspective changed somewhat, mostly after seeing the way some other sites that do focus on tags work. There is a certain chaotic quality to them, mostly because tags are not regulated in any way.

I also like Lit, and I do think it is a good place. I am not that bothered by the fact that Lit's owners are so set in their ways. Their site, their rules, I said it more than once. The only thing that truly bothers me is this vehement refusal of communication, this complete denial of service when it comes to anything that is outside their usual practice. You have trouble publishing a story? Your Control Panel options do not work? You need a sweep? Sure, they will reply politely and they will try to be helpful... but ask anything outside of these common tasks that they perform, and yeah, good luck getting even a one-word reply from them.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

... and your home IP tends to change now and again anyway, at least in the UK.

There are roaming and static IPs. Routers and computers tend to be static, cell phones have both.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

No, it wouldn’t, they’d just need to create a couple of alts.

Yeah. I went through quite the lil issue trying to log into this account when I made it, though. The site kept logging me into my other one. Took about five minutes of playing around to get it to not do that. I log into my other one with a private tab.
.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Agreed. At least that’s been my experience.
The vast majority of my anonymous comments received have been positive, some even lengthy, and some even masturbatory(!).

In fact, this is probably my worst comment ever:
(Anonymous)
“OK premise continues.
But all the anal-related activities simply weren't erotic.
Boring, actually.
Two stars.”

I laugh about it now but at the time that comment really annoyed me. Why’s this guy - who didn’t like Chapter 1 - bothering to read Chapter 2 and dunk on it??
Now I realize he was at least giving me a chance...
Story sits at 4.64 so I’m thinking it surpassed “boring” for a number of readers. Overall, not one for the ages, but it’s a W and that includes his comment.

Then there are the comments that are just perplexing. I just had one from a reader who liked The Adventures of Ranger Ramona but thought "a little more storyline might have been nice." Poor Ramona, she juggles three lovers, has to prove herself to a hostile boss and survives being caught in a forest fire, but I just didn't give her enough to do.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I loved this idea even when you first voiced it, and it plays right into my own idea of improving communication. A blog would give us a new and exciting way to communicate with our readers in real time. As it is now, the communication channels just plain suck.

At the very least ao3 style comment section

 

[colddiesel]

Couple of observations:

Getting rid of the Politics Board is a bad idea, it is like throwing out the trash can with the trash. The trash remains to gum up the place. One or two sub boards could go - the General Board Lounge for example.

I suspect that the better writers get more 1 bombs and that an exceptional writer, like Melissa Baby, gets heaps more. Any research done on that?

 

[ronde]

View attachment 2287584
Not sure whether this sort of functionality is technically challenging and/or prohibitively expensive to implement, but, given the choice, I’d prefer having it than not.

It's not at all technically challenging as your example points out. I think the only challenge would be implementing it on an existing site and if that required much of a re-write, it could get expensive in a hurry. I would like the functionality though. I'm an engineer and engineers can never get enough data. I do wonder how useful it could be unless your stories consistently are rated pretty low. After 50 votes have been cast, a 1 vote only drops the average by about 0.01.

 

[AchtungNight]

Go big or go home…

I lower the age of consent for characters to 16 and keep it there. To match my personal standards. If necessary I move the home servers to a country with appropriate laws.

I replace the stars and tags systems with a kudos and tags system similar to those enjoyed by AO3. Tag suggestions and wranglers are empowered.

I judge the contests by number of kudos, not number scores. A favorite, comment, or private message to the author using the Lit system also counts as a kudos.

I do not invite celebrities or their more vocal fans to read the stories here, but I make it clear that their attention is welcome. Positive appreciated, negative hopefully avoided. Same is true for every other person on whom characters in Lit’s stories might be based, no matter their kinks. If said kinks are legal, consensual, and acceptable per current Lit guidelines, they are acceptable to me.

I give Laurel and Manu an enormous amount of money for putting up with us authors and readers all these years. I also reward the more senior authors of high quality with free vacations if they are interested.

I make an effort to find and ban every person who dares to leave shaming negative comments on authors’ work at that author’s request. I employ skilled hackers to help me find such reviewers and counter any masking tactics. Let such commenters beware!

I create a scholarship for erotica writers and offer it to interested students. Call it the Ogg Memorial Scholarship or something else appropriate.

I make sure to select a worthy heir for Literotica when I pass from this world.

 

[ronde]

Couple of observations:

Getting rid of the Politics Board is a bad idea, it is like throwing out the trash can with the trash. The trash remains to gum up the place. One or two sub boards could go - the General Board Lounge for example.

I suspect that the better writers get more 1 bombs and that an exceptional writer, like Melissa Baby, gets heaps more. Any research done on that?

I haven't researched any authors stories but my own, but I think unless an author is writing in a few select categories well known for heavy criticism and low votes, the "1-bomb" is a myth unless the author is writing stories that probably wouldn't rate very high anyway. While my story average isn't as high as Melissa's, it's still pretty good and I haven't seen a plethora of 1-bombs.

I've been hearing about the dreaded "1-bombs" since my first story was published in 2001. I've also read that Laurel does a periodic "sweep" to take away those same 1-bombs. I've seen both a few apparent 1 votes on my stories and also the result of what I assume are those "sweeps", or at least I've seen a story or two "lose" votes and increase in rating. After the last apparent "sweep", I had one story that "lost" 11 votes and the rating rose by 0.1. The next highest loss was 6 votes and increased the rating of that story by 0.03. The total vote loss for that week was particularly high at 23 and changed my average story score by 0.002.

I'm not trying to be minimize writers who get low ratings on their stories. They're their stories and what publishing them means to the author should be more important than what rating is assigned by a bunch of readers who've never sweated through writing a story and submitting it. It's just that no story that gets over 50 or so votes and scores at least a 4 is going to be hurt much by a few 1 votes.

 

[Bramblethorn]

It's not at all technically challenging as your example points out. I think the only challenge would be implementing it on an existing site and if that required much of a re-write, it could get expensive in a hurry. I would like the functionality though. I'm an engineer and engineers can never get enough data. I do wonder how useful it could be unless your stories consistently are rated pretty low. After 50 votes have been cast, a 1 vote only drops the average by about 0.01.

That's way off. If a story has an average of 5.0 off 50 votes, a single 1 will drop that by 0.08; if it was on 4.0, a single 1 will still drop it by 0.06.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Go big or go home…

I lower the age of consent for characters to 16 and keep it there. To match my personal standards. If necessary I move the home servers to a country with appropriate laws.

The guy who ran the MrDouble site had those stories hosted on a server in the Netherlands. He was still convicted and jailed by a US court for violating US obscenity law with regard to those stories.

 

[BareAmy83]

One on One chatrooms would be able to post photos in-room...

 

[Bramblethorn]

Then there are the comments that are just perplexing. I just had one from a reader who liked The Adventures of Ranger Ramona but thought "a little more storyline might have been nice."

Yup, I certainly don't recall that one being short on story.

Still scratching my head over this one I got a few days ago:

Callum nor Cate,
Sadly, neither "the great"
A tale of woe, mayhaps spun from a foe,
Of LOVE, and instead, an agent of hate.
For history and victory, too true, are one,
But the truth, so rarely provided by those that "won",
Forsooth, indeed, 'tmight be,
The "pure of the marsh" is the most untrustworthy.
Uncomprehending and jealous, however poetic....
May still inevitably rhyme with the above.
Because rumors are tumors,
And light need not guide by force,
But likely, I take an unrelated course.
My thinking of what this poetry states,
Is so far from what Frosts Roads,
And the significance of the less traveled, of fates.
For within this travel, always, an abode,
Awaits.

 

[onehitwanda]

Yup, I certainly don't recall that one being short on story.

Still scratching my head over this one I got a few days ago:

Sorry, absinthe is a hell of a drug

 

[AchtungNight]

The guy who ran the MrDouble site had those stories hosted on a server in the Netherlands. He was still convicted and jailed by a US court for violating US obscenity law with regard to those stories.

Good to know. I was unaware. His stories may have depicted people younger than sixteen- I will consult legal experts and follow their advice. For now, I have never depicted a woman younger than sixteen in an erotic story- not all my stories are on Lit- and I intend to keep it that way. I hope karma will be ok with this. That is my ultimate concern.