Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

I'm a loooong time reader of Westerns. Yours rank right up there with best of them in my book, and that's no BS at all.

Heh. I've read a bunch of your stuff already. :) Will go through your list again though. Looks like a few that I've missed.

My all time favorites are Lazlo Zalezac's Service Society.....

I'm not so sure that is a "hidden gem" which is what this thread is about. The story has over 380,000 downloads so it isn't exactly hidden. But I join you in having it as one of my all time favorites here at SOL. Another one of Lazlo's that I would add is "Fighting For Family". There are far fewer downloads (still a respectable 47,000 though) and it has a respectable 8.53 rating, so it too probably doesn't qualify as "hidden". But it is a gem.

Update: Another thread made the point that downloads aren't really a good measure of a stories popularity as the number of chapters can vary. Now the statistician in me can't let that type of knowledge pass.

"Fighting For Family" has 2750 downloads/chapter; "Service Society" has more than 5460 downloads/chapter. So it appears Fighting is somewhat more hidden than Service. In any case, both are gems.

I am not sure how we should define hidden gem.

To me it meets Anomandaris ‎definition of a hidden gem.

Given Anomandaris' original definition, which admittedly I didn't consider in my response, it strongly implies a story that should be in the top 50 due to it's quality but isn't. In any case, both stories are gems, hidden or not. IMHO.

I would add that, given that criteria, there are a ton of hidden gems at SOL.

Another thread made the point that downloads aren't really a good measure of a stories popularity as the number of chapters can vary.

True. Also affecting the downloads is how long ago the story completed.

https://storiesonline.net/a/Rare_Dream

Bowling for Hearts completed 12 years ago, and used to be on the top list, but since then newer stories have hidden it. A story completed 12 yrs ago will get more downloads than one finished 6 yrs ago, though the extra isn't going to double it.

For downloads to be a more accurate indicator, it should be a number that counts only downloads after it completes to avoid people downloading the 104 Bowling chapters one at a time. Also, it would be adjusted downward to penalize stories who've been available for download more years, as well as those spending time on the top-stories list.

I have the impression that there will never be a perfect answer to the popularity and or scoring of any story. There are too many variables made up of both individual readers and calculation methods. Reader variables are due to every possible like/dislike a person could possible have even those which will never be coded for.

Best advice is to basically write the story in a manner you would enjoy reading it. Use editors, proofreaders and all your skills and talent to your best ability. Use the lessons learned in writing one story to improve the next story's creation.

Score is most certainly subjective. Write a flawless story, and toss in a few squicks that the reader doesn't like, and your great story is average in score.

My only suggestion is to write the best story you can regardless of genre then move on to the next story applying any new knowledge of skills to the current story. Some readers will hate whatever you wrote, yet others will love it. I have found even those writers I enjoy a great deal sometimes have stories I can't stand so I move onto another story.

Heck someone would probably read it regardless of sex activity and enjoy it. The only hard lines I try and draw are when forcing someone or hate themes are the major topic regardless of genre. Those I try my best to ignore. The ones I like the most tend to be those where I wind up asking how I could act better or treat others better, not easy but it makes me think.

My all time favorites are Lazlo Zalezac's Service Society

Indeed. Very good story!

Man, thank you for posting this link. I happened to click on it and from the very first word I was hooked. I hadn't looked at his other stuff because I didn't think he could top "DANCE OF A LIFETIME". Yes, stupid I know.

But, regardless this story has made my top five very quickly. Highly recommended.

Yeah, that one hits pretty hard.

Anyhow,

These two count. I had never seen these mentioned on a top list or anywhere else. Good read, if slightly OTT.

https://storiesonline.net/series/628/ike-blacktower-stories

@G Younger

A Blossom Fell... by Dag123

A story about Blossom and her friends tripping on acid? :-D

No.

Silver wings is great, and always worth reading. :)

I'll look at the other two. Haven't read either of them.

pigs41, I'm not usually into stuff with a gay protagonist, but I'll take a look at one or two and let you know in a day or so.

Kew

I fully agree on Eyeliner.

"I Thought She Made You Up" by qhml1

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've already read 4 of his stories and I rate him very highly, every one of them either very good to excellent. Wonder why I hadn't come across him so far, ... maybe it's his unpronounceable name compared to a Don Lockwood or Jay Cantrell or an Argon. He's certainly comparable to them in terms of story telling quality or character development and style.
Chris aka 1111

I've already read 4 of his stories

Since I came across his stories, I've lost a good bit of sleep. It's hard to stop reading some of them once you've started.

I agree on qhml1. I eagerly await his next story.

It is number 72 on the Author's Favorites list.

Path To Glory

Drama

by Brendan Buckley

R.J. Hartley is a small-town boy with big-time plans -- and the skills to make his dreams come true. The road to success is filled with ups and downs (and occasional ins and outs) until his goals finally meet reality.

[More Info]

Tags: Romantic, Tear Jerker, Sports, School

Sex Contents: No Sex

Posted: ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2008‎ ‎12‎:‎25‎:‎02‎ ‎PM Concluded: ‎9‎/‎21‎/‎2008‎ ‎10‎:‎02‎:‎43‎ ‎PM / (Review) 955 KB 146443 downloads 1406 votes Rating 8.81

Aggy is thinly veiled David Weber fanfic. I'm having a bit of fun reading it, but the 'fixes' keep breaking immersion for me. Would have been better off keeping it blatant fanfic and running with the right names. (IMO)

Aggy is thinly veiled David Weber fanfic. I'm having a bit of fun reading it, but the 'fixes' keep breaking immersion for me. Would have been better off keeping it blatant fanfic and running with the right names. (IMO)

It is, indeed, and it could stand a lot of editing. But if you can suspend your critical judgement, it's a lot of fun.

I found a lot of fiction can be more enjoyable not only with a suspension of disbelief, but also with avoiding any careful analysis. Reading quickly helps. Or maybe with a couple of beers.

For some books that works well. For others, the problems annoy me more and more, until I give up in disgust after a couple of chapters. I am still trying to figure out why my tolerance varies so much.

Or maybe with a couple of beers.

Oh, God! Never do this!

Reading SciFi while drinking leads pretty directly to "Hey! I could do that!" Which leads to "Hold my beer, and watch this!"

Reading SciFi while drinking leads pretty directly to "Hey! I could do that!" Which leads to "Hold my beer, and watch this!"

Whereas doing this while reading fantasy results in a summoning ritual, which leads to a voluptuous red-skinned demoness appearing, smiling at you seductively, and then biting your head off. Not recommended.

Whereas doing this while reading fantasy results in a summoning ritual

Fantasy has all kinds of "hold my beer and watch this" possibilities.

Replica melee weapon duels.

Attempts to shoot apples off your drunk friends head with a bow and arrow.

Of course it's not just the guys.

Drunk virginal Wiccan woman summons:

1. Male demon
2. Unicorn. Whereupon she finds out why unicorns are attracted to virgins. :)
3. Dragon. Do dragons eat virgins or do they want virgins for something else? :)
4. Tentacle monster.

David Weber

Thank you for pointing me to another good reading :)

Nurse: The first person you see after telling your buddy "Here, hold my beer and watch this!"

Doctor: The second person you see after telling your buddy "Here, hold my beer and watch this!"

Mortician: The person you hope you don't see after telling your buddy "Here, hold my beer and watch this!"

Mortician: The person you hope you don't see after telling your buddy "Here, hold my beer and watch this!"

Actually, to be pedantic about it, you will never see the mortician, but it does add to the joke.

Customer's remark to a passing waitress while holding out an empty coffee cup: "Plasma Nurse"

@Anomandaris

If you like David Weber, try Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan" series.

Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan" series.

I remember reading where one of her methods was to ask what the worst thing she could do to the MC in those stories for each individual story, then force him to solve the problems created.

Oh, if you are just discovering David Weber, I'm jealous

Ohhh...
You don't need to be jealous.

His reading is good, but just good.

I have now read all of his Honor Harrington novels (that's the reason I wasn't here last four weeks :D ).
But for me something is very wrong with his writing - he was writing this like just another soap opera - not any of his stories seems to be rounded and finished. All of them are offering this lousy soap opera feeling: "more to be seen in next episode (read novel)".
And, there is no conclusion even in last of them ("At All costs" if I'm correct).

So: don't read him if you want something very good or great :(

There's a few after At All Costs

I read some of these books too - only word I can say is grossssss :(

It feels like recycled plastic you are forced to eat at some (really bad) fast food places...

Oh jeahhh!

"Judgements" - it's really good read, and thank you to remind me to read this gem again :)

She was never afraid to tackle the weird.

She probably patented the genre. Some are stranger than others, but most of them make you think.

WTF is pretty much what she was going for, almost all the time. Her Really Big Vampire Story cycle (RBVS) is kind of the perfect example of how out there she could be. You used to be able to download her entire ASSTR website(s), all three iterations (the second one is my favorite). I know there are still links to all that on her current ASSTR website, but I'm not sure if the Mediafire account for the downloads is still active.

Oh, she was the life of the party wherever and whenever she posted (under whatever name she used). I think all the stuff we used to talk about is still on Google Groups but I haven't checked in a while.

One story that I think belongs to ElSOl, but I cannot find, has the mc traveling to a remote cabin in the dead of winter on a skidoo. When there, he finds that the cabin can move between two different universes. The other one is much more primitive and he has several interesting encounters and becomes a protector/bounty hunter using a crossbow.

I think this is by Warlord. The story is here on SOL (unfinished): https://storiesonline.net/s/46603/blood-and-iron

author: https://storiesonline.net/a/Warlord

Thank you for correcting me. That explains why I could not find the story on ElSol's page. Only needed to read the first sentence to see that I was wrong. Now to spend some time and read it all over again.

If I could just have a penny for each of my mistakes. I would be a very rich man, instead of just having enough to survive.

It's as short as poem could be

There are shorter poems. One was sung at the last birthday party I attended.

"This is your Birthday Song.
It isn't very long."

what is and is not available on kindle unlimited is up to the posting author.

This is slightly off to the side, but worth noting. I've recently scanned a shoebox full of black and white photo prints salvaged from my wife's childhood home in north Idaho. All were family photos; some were taken over 100 years ago. With scanning and enhancement, they display better than ever.

But... and this is a HUGE "but"... those old prints are about as close to "permanent" as we can reasonably expect. But the new digital scans are about as close to "fleeting" as could be, without actually vanishing from existence the moment they're loaded.

One hundred years from now, will anything exist to document your family activities, your history, your very existence? I seriously doubt it. Our consumer-grade digital record and storage systems are irretrievably, fatally flawed... all for the sake of convenience.

Sad.

One aspect you overlooked is that a hundred years from now today's technology will be archaic. Even if someone wanted to view those scanned photos, their technology may be incompatible.

Unless of course a diligent owner converts the formats as technology evolves.

Diligent owners seem to be a rarity.

True, but even hard copy paper records won't remain usable very long if not stored/maintained properly.

Digital records are neither more nor less likely to be lost over time than paper records.

If they aren't willing to take the time and effort to review the hard disk's contents,

I inherited an old computer from a friend who said 'it just quit working' so he bought a new one. I opened it up and found the power supply full of confetti where a capacitor had failed and exploded which, I assume, fried the motherboard. I pulled the HD and installed it in anther old computer to use as a data drive. Before I formatted it I looked through the folders and found tons of ws pictures, many including my friend who gave me the computer, his family, and several other families we both were friends with. I wiped the drive and never told him (or the others) I had seen it, but I sure didn't look at the subjects of the pics the same after that. Now I kinda wish I still had the files. ;)

I am not sure of the meaning, but from the context I assume they weren't the usual family photos.

I was initially trying to read it as "Work Safe" but the context was boggling me with the comment he made about it after that. "Water Sports" in the kink category makes more sense in the context given.

I though "Weird Shit" when I saw ws

Diligent owners seem to be a rarity. Per Graybyrd's comment the owners of the photos just shoved them in a shoebox that was then placed in a closet and apparently forgotten. If they hadn't been salvaged, they would probably be in the dump.

The flip-side is in other cases it makes it more likely the pictures will still be available to someone in 100 years. Whether or not they're related or even associate with/to the people in the pictures is another matter.

Before it was typical that photos would be taken, a few copies would be made, but the circle of distribution would be small. Now you can take a digital picture, and the circle of distribution goes from being only 2 to 4 copies in many cases, to potentially dozens of copies being made and widely dispersed.

This is even before we start looking at things like social media, and personal weblogs. Where for example, once you upload something to facebook, their TOS is such that even if you later delete the picture from your page, that doesn't mean they(Facebook) have to delete their copy of those same pictures. Likewise, there's nothing preventing other parties from vacuuming up those images should they have access in some form. Archive.org would be a big one known to many on this board in particular, as its often used to find older "lost" stories. It also grabs images a fair bit of the time.

Which isn't to mention what various governmental agencies and other largely unknown groups have likely picked up over the years and squirreled away in various datacenters.

As to future media compatibility, the only "iffy" scenarios are "early adopter" or proprietary media formats that never gained much traction. While Mpeg2 could be used as a counter-example to that already, as many consumer media devices on the market today can no longer natively handle that kind of encoding, which is the backbone of practically every Commercial DVD ever sold. There is no shortage of options available to re-encode that content to h.264 for use on the newer devices.

And given how common mpeg2 is, it is highly unlikely that utilities would be hard to come by in 100 years that could make such files viewable. Comparable story for gif's, png's, and jpg's as well. Some of the more esoteric picture formats are probably another matter however.

As to future media compatibility, the only "iffy" scenarios are "early adopter" or proprietary media formats that never gained much traction. While Mpeg2 could be used as a counter-example to that already, as many consumer media devices on the market today can no longer natively handle that kind of encoding, which is the backbone of practically every Commercial DVD ever sold. There is no shortage of options available to re-encode that content to h.264 for use on the newer devices.

And given how common mpeg2 is, it is highly unlikely that utilities would be hard to come by in 100 years that could make such files viewable. Comparable story for gif's, png's, and jpg's as well. Some of the more esoteric picture formats are probably another matter however.

It is more likely to be a physical media problem than a format one. How many PCs have a diskette drive these days? Yet the first digital camera I owned used a diskette as its storage media. If I had not copied all those diskettes to disk, I would have to go to some lengths to be able to read them now.

Two more examples: First, back in the early 80s the department store I worked IT at kept a single tape drive that could read and write both 7-track and 9-track magnetic tape. The reason? They had a reader to read the punched cardboard tags used as the price labels on the garments the store sold. It recorded the tag data on a seven track tape. Every night at least one 7-track tape had to be converted to a 9-track tape so it could be submitted to the mainframe for processing.
Second example: NASA has gigabytes, if not terabytes of telemetry and sensor data from early lunar and other space missions, that is no longer readable by any current hardware, and the media is physically deteriorating. Luckily, one of the task force charged with preserving that data was able to find a couple of physical drives that were used to record the data originally. As far as I know, they are still busy copying all of the data unto current media. I could go on, as the list of examples is almost endless. Everyone should be thinking about these issues whenever anything is being recorded in any media.

Second example: NASA has gigabytes, if not terabytes of telemetry and sensor data from early lunar and other space missions, that is no longer readable by any current hardware, and the media is physically deteriorating. Luckily, one of the task force charged with preserving that data was able to find a couple of physical drives that were used to record the data originally. As far as I know, they are still busy copying all of the data unto current media. I could go on, as the list of examples is almost endless. Everyone should be thinking

I was speaking in terms of the data itself, not the media. Media obsolescence is another entirely. Zip drives and LS-120 drives are probably the two biggest examples that come to mind for me personally. As even trying to find the physical hardware to access those disks is damn near impossible already.

DV tapes for camcorders and few other the other non-vhs derivatives are other examples.

SD and XD cards are likely to be a present day example as well.

But at this point, for many/most people things are no longer tied to a physical computer. They're on a network drive that will likely be cloned/copied/etc as time moves along(assuming ransomware doesn't wipe it out in the interim), or otherwise being uploaded "to the cloud" where it's taking advantage of services that may never actually delete their content even if gives the appearance of having done so(such as Facebook does).

There's already been cases of people losing huge amounts of data and work due to Cloud Storage Service Suppliers closing down or having something happen to their storage.

Their have also been cases of Cloud Storage providers locking users out of their data and demanding ransom payments to get it back.

Has anyone stopped and asked themselves what "The Cloud" is?

It's jargon that is an extension of "Ethernet" which was literally a wordplay on "Networking over the Ether."

"The Cloud" is storage that exists in such a(n abstracted) state that is accessible on multiple devices, and where it's physical location doesn't(or shouldn't) really matter. But as pointed out, the reality of many such "cloud" service providers had indicated it can matter quite a lot.

As the data security people say, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

But yeah, it's "cloud storage" because you don't need to know it exists in Partition 1A on computer 5C2FDA in a Datacenter in San Antonio, Texas. All you need to know is when you launch a given application, it can access the relevant data.

One aspect you overlooked is that a hundred years from now today's technology will be archaic. Even if someone wanted to view those scanned photos, their technology may be incompatible.

The more technologically advanced the storage becomes, the less likely future 'archaeologists' will understand them. I think that they will believe that at some point in the near future, these same people will think we vanished for lack of physical records. Some photographs, old vinyl recordings, and printed material may survive and be recognizable, but can you imagine them finding a crapload of plastic disks? (Remember when we used to get the 'Free Month' AOL disks in the mail? I wonder what the future would think if they uncovered a stockpile of those. LOL) The disks themselves might survive, but the data layers probably won't. The surfaces would probably be severely damaged as well.

Removeable media - USB drives, 'thumb' drives, etc - are all vulnerable to corrosion and will eventually become unreadable as well. A strong magnetic field will practically obliterate data in a hard drive (not sure about the new SSDs).

If any do survive, then it becomes a matter of whether or not these future scientists even realize there is something there to recover and have the ability to recover it without destroying it in the attempt.

And hide the backups from censorious authorities ;)

Just backups?

Hide everything from authorities.

They are corrupt, they are big pieces of shit holding together with just a greed (specially in my country) - and every day they are worse.

Here on SOL you have many stories talking about corrupt governments. Learn from them and don't be surprised when everything told in these stories turn bland and not so bad as in real life :(

Edit:

Just found in "Lost stories" part of this forum one good example:

https://storiesonline.net/s/66338/carrying-on

https://storiesonline.net/a/Harold_Wainwright