Is there a way to look up how scores are broken down by number? I would like to see what grades my stories are getting. I read the explanation of how the final score is calculated but it would be nice to know how a particular story did on a per rating basis. I.e. how many a, b, c etc. it got
There used to be. Our host got tired of authors complaining about the scoring system so he removed access to the raw votes.
One of the smartest things Lazeez ever did. This forum used to be flooded with people bitching about scores. Now those complaints are few and far between.
I would prefer transparency to opacity.
Transparency in this subject would be good only if everybody has the same level of math and logic understanding as Lazeez when it comes to the scores.
Most of the complaints boiled down to 'but I want the site to use the mean average because my scores would be better'.
Lazeez got tired of explaining why the mean average doesn't really work to people whose ego refused to allow them to understand.
Many authors understood the problem and as a result supported Lazeez's system, but too many didn't and caused a headache.
I was once in a similar situation to Lazeez. I compensated for various data inequalities with a complex algorithm. Like Lazeez, I had users who complained. But the algorithm and the raw data were available to users so they could check the calculations for their ratings and that there was no fiddling going on.
Where my situation was different was that the source data was objective, so I didn't have readers who abused the scoring system in the way that fanbois and trolls etc do on SOL.
AJ
You don't even need complexity to have these issues. I spent several years working customer support for a company that had "gambling" games on Facebook (not real gambling, obviously, just the usual f2p games).
Ignoring lack of basic browser maintenance which caused most technical issues, a large percentage of our emails can be summarized as:
The odds on ticket X say there's a 1 in 100 chance of winning prize Y. I played 100 tickets and didn't win prize why. The ticket is broken. Give me my prize!
I had multiple copy/paste responses of escalating complexity that I'd use and people still didn't get it. In a couple of instance our CEO (small startup) actually took over and explained, in detail, how statistics work. He was a former college professor in Discrete Mathematics, so when he talked statistics he could really get into it.
The Gambler's Fallacy is a well-known, well-understood problematic idea, and no amount of explanation will convince some people that with a balanced roulette wheel or balanced dice, there is no correlation from one spin or roll to the next.
See also the Monty Hall Problem.
Some people simply cannot understand stats, no matter what.
Look, let me begin by clarifying that I am not an author on this site. Also, we should all recognise that, from Netflix to Amazon to every other platform, no one has perfected the ideal scoring or feedback system. I know it's hard. I also don't underestimate how tiresome and frustrating people bleating about it must be to the site's owner.
Now that I've addressed these points, let's consider some other important facts. This site *trades* on the contributions of authors who share their work here, almost always without compensation. As with other similar platforms, there is an implicit agreement between the site owner and these authors.
At the very least, authors should expect their work to be accurately displayed and easily readable. A robust discovery system should be in place to help readers find their work. And the site has to have effective mechanisms for gathering feedback on their creations. Naturally, there are other requirements, but in my opinion, these (three) are non-negotiable.
Sure, the score is not the be-all-and-end-all of feedback (or anywhere near it). But, like it or lump it, the score matters. If I were in the author's shoes, I wouldn't be thrilled with an attitude that's somewhere between an apathetic shrug and chucking your toys out of the pram.
I wouldn't be thrilled with an attitude that's somewhere between an apathetic shrug and chucking your toys out of the pram.
It was an exasperated shrug and delivered with several cautions about not wanting further complaints. Certain authors apparently ignored Lazeez's comments.
The rating system may not be ideal, but it is applied to all stories. Authors can see how their stories rate relative to other stories. That is one of the main reasons for a rating system as far as I am concerned, and what we have satisfies that need.
Ah, I see. That is kind of frustrating.
He had already modified the scoring system several times based on author complaints. But he kept getting complaints. He finally said no more changes to the scoring system.
For a while you could get access to the raw votes if you promised not to complain about the scoring system.
But some continued to complain, so no more access to raw votes.
For a while you could get access to the raw votes if you promised not to complain about the scoring system.
But some continued to complain, so no more access to raw votes.
Ha! That sounds about right.
Thanks for the explanation.
If you want to have indisputable scores displayed there is only one way (with a ten-point system):
Display the count for each of the ten score options. That's an ugly line looking something like this:
1:3 2:0 3:0 4:0 5:3 6:10 7:8 8:5 9:1 10:5
Both readers and authors can easily see the obvious one-bombers and fan-boys. Both readers and authors can interpret it as they like and have no means to complain because that are the real numbers.
That said, there's a reason you don't see this type of score display on any site. It's ugly and people will still find a way to complain.
It's ugly and people will still find a way to complain.
Amen! I can hear it now: "I know I had more voters than that. Ten more people voted 9 and seven more voted 10. It's unfair!" That's the shit that will someday cause Lazeez to say "The hell with it", and close the site.
That's an ugly line looking something like this:
Were those the scores from an actual story? They certainly look as though they might be, for a first story from a new author.
AJ
Were those the scores from an actual story? They certainly look as though they might be, for a first story from a new author.
Nope, just a random guess to what the scores for a story with fans and one-bombers might look.
ETA: personally I would interpret those scores a little like this: Ignore the 1's, there are no votes on 2 or 3 so obviously one-bombers. Ignore the 10's, or rather, qualify them as 8's. For me that would be a pretty correct view of what the average score would look like.