Forum: Editors/Reviewers Hangout

Newbie question

mrcurrie 🚫
Updated:

Hi, I just started submitting stories here and noticed that immediately upon posting a story, several votes will come in, the score being between 4 and 5. This is before I even have time to add chapters. When I get the email that the story is posted, I look at the stats and see the initial voting. They vote within a min or so, clearly not enough time to read it. When I looked at the site's scoring method, I can see that it's probably trolls keeping scores down and they refrain from voting a 1 or 2 in case they get thrown out from the lowest 5% of median. My concerns are that it has a lot more initial votes and it's around a 5. I realize my writing skills aren't the greatest, but I put a lot of effort into this story and my editor thought it was my best work. I'm just concerned there's something else wrong with my story or are there just more trolls out this evening?

Replies: Grant

Grant 🚫

@mrcurrie

Given that it's the weekend before Christmas, there's a good chance plenty of people are taking Friday off to get an early start to the long weekend and add an extra day on.
So it's very probable that there are a lot more tossers around than usual.

Replies: mrcurrie

mrcurrie 🚫

@Grant

First I've heard of the term - tosser. That's funny. I'd just as soon as turn off voting for all my stories, but haven't found a way to do it. They really have no functionality if a group of people can vote a 4 or 5, ensuring the score will never be much higher than a 7

Replies: Pixy Pixy madnige

Pixy 🚫
Updated:

@mrcurrie

I'd just as soon as turn off voting for all my stories,

You can't. Laz made it so everyone has an a equal chance for their nose to be rubbed in it...

As to the scoring, you don't need to read a story fully to get the gist of the writers ability, especially if that writer only appears to have one string to their bow. Also, some people are fast readers...

In your case though, I think voters are voting after reading the first few chapters, and in the voters mind, that is enough and there was no need to read further.

A further observation, your median score is (roughly) 7 so it's not that far removed from your average. The score itself may change when the rest of the world wakes up and reads it (Don't forget, it may be day time where you are, but for a large chunk of the readers here, it's going to be night- and vice versa).

:Edit for clarification: 'your median score is (roughly) 7 so the current score of your story, 6.22, is not that far removed from your average.'

Pixy 🚫

@mrcurrie

First I've heard of the term - tosser

It's a UK colloquialism. Given the time of your story posting and your unfamiliarity with the word 'tosser', the implication is that you are situated in the area of Canada/USA? I was thinking kangaroo land, but they use tosser as well.

Replies: mrcurrie

mrcurrie 🚫

@Pixy

Thanks for the explanation and yes, western US. The tossers seem to be less driven than the trolls on my last site. I would routinely receive emails explaining why I should immediately cease writing. I felt fortunate they weren't more violent, but then again, I didn't post in Loving Wives.

Replies: Switch Blayde

Switch Blayde 🚫

@mrcurrie

I would routinely receive emails explaining why I should immediately cease writing.

You need to grow thick skin to post stories. Let those tirades bounce off that thick skin. And keep in mind, it's not only the author's writing skills that come under attack, but often the subject matter of the story. Those people only want the types of stories THEY like to read to be written.

madnige 🚫

@mrcurrie

The site scoring system ensures a site-wide average reported score of 5 or 6 (or 5.5? - search the forum for descriptions of it in previous discussions) that is consistent over time to allow valid score comparisons between old and new stories, and so the 'good' scores are not all crammed into a 9.5-10 range. It does ensure that a few 'bum' or 'boost' scores will not have much effect on the score. Your score that Pixy reports shows slightly above average, so don't get despondent.

Replies: mrcurrie

mrcurrie 🚫

@madnige

I agree that it is a good system at maturity when a lot of readers have voted. The outliers will get weeded out eventually. The problem I see is when half a dozen trolls/tossers vote a low score within seconds of posting, most likely to do with the genre. Other readers, seeing the low scores, might pass over the story based on the score alone. It might help lessen this effect if the voting score wouldn't appear until 10-20 votes were tallied.

Replies: Switch Blayde Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Switch Blayde 🚫

@mrcurrie

It might help lessen this effect if the voting score wouldn't appear until 10-20 votes were tallied.

That is already in place. I don't remember the number, but a minimum number of votes has to occur for the score to be seen (by people other than the author himself).

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Switch Blayde

IIRC: It removes the top and bottom 5% It takes a minimum of 20 votes to hit a 1 vote for removal on both ends. An that's what the cutoff to show a score is.

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@mrcurrie

It might help lessen this effect if the voting score wouldn't appear until 10-20 votes were tallied.

The score is not shown to readers on Storiesonline until 16 votes have been cast.

Maybe I should change the threshold to 20 when the outlier removal kicks in.

It's lower on Finestories and Scifistories due to the much lower number of votes.

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