I ask my reader to bear with me while I conduct an experiment.
The Great and the Good of SOL, those whose names appear most frequently on the Forum, maintain story scores are for the benefit of readers not authors, and should be seen in that context. I admit I try to ignore the less than stellar scores I get for my stuff, but when scores drop without any accompanying feedback it can be quite frustrating.
I am assuming the last chapter I posted, 'A shaggy dog story', has caused the plummeting score in my current tale, Demon and Demeanour. This may be due to more readers from Scunthorpe than I anticipated, or, the chapter is seen as an irrelevance. If the former ,'Sorry lads , it was only a joke ', if the latter then the reader(s) must have the Second Sight to know how the story will end, and how the various plot lines, contained in the chapters, work through the whole story.
Perhaps, to give a more accurate picture to readers, scores should only be awarded after posting the entire story. By then the reader will have seen how the various plot lines interact, and can judge with more certainty whether a chapter is surplus to requirements.
Accordingly, I have turned OFF voting for Demon and Demeanour until I post the last chapter. However I have turned ON anonymous feedback, realising I might have shot myself in the foot by not accepting 'anon' e mails, which more likely than not would have negative feedback, and so alert me to what gets up my reader's nose.
I welcome your comments on the above.
Regards
Jack G