I just peeked at "Top 50 Stories, by Weekly Downloads" list.
There was something fascinating for me - Rlfj's "A Fresh Start" at the moment of my writing has 7777 votes !!!
Congratulations for Rlfj :)
I just peeked at "Top 50 Stories, by Weekly Downloads" list.
There was something fascinating for me - Rlfj's "A Fresh Start" at the moment of my writing has 7777 votes !!!
Congratulations for Rlfj :)
It's interesting reading through the list. The entries seem to fall into a few classes: most are fairly recently completed stories, so obviously people who don't start the story 'til it's finished (I'm lumping SpacerX's Six Times... in with these, as it's so bigit's quite possible people are still reading it for the for the first time). There are quite a few entries for early parts of a series which has a new part currently posting (OSL and Stupid Boy by BlueDragon and GYounger respectively). Jay Cantrell and Dual Writer have quite a few entries which would seem to be inspired by readers seeking out others of their stories after a recently completed story, an indication of quality I'd assume. But Rlfj's A Fresh Start is the highest on the list that's not from this year, and the only story from before this year not to have a reasonable explanation for its presence, apart from its appeal to readers. Oddly, I was recently thinking of re-reading it myself.
ETA: I'd missed Grim Reaper on the list as it's from this year, but January, so not really influencing current weekly downloads.
I'd missed Grim Reaper on the list as it's from this year, but January, so not really influencing current weekly downloads.
I'd rate Grim Reaper a better story and far closer to a commercial prospect, but readers attach a premium to length.
AJ
I'd rate Grim Reaper a better story and far closer to a commercial prospect, but readers attach a premium to length.
AJ
Agreed. Some of the moments with Grim dealing with PTSD and survivors guilt are amazingly powerful writing.
I'd rate Grim Reaper a better story...
I gave, like more readers, better grades to "A Fresh Start".
Maybe it's because we here are mostly older, and more intrigued in politics and power and might...
Also for major part of population it seams that war in Iraq and Afghanistan is something in range of war in Vietnam (never ending, with body count that does not stops, and price is every day higher) ...
And, does anybody here know for another story with more votes?
There were several aspects to the war in Vietnam (and probably other wars) that many of us are unaware of:
1) Munitions have a shelf life and need to be disposed of and replaced. War is one method of doing so without incurring significant cost of dismantling and disposing of the munitions' components.
Tax payers also don't like it when their tax dollars are tossed into the local dump or wasted in other means.
2) R&D leads to new weapons. A war zone is a good place to test prototypes of the new weapons and determine if they are suitable for future use. If flaws are found in the design, they can be corrected, before a significant acquisition contract is signed.
Neither of the above is a reason for engaging in warfare. The only justifiable reason I consider valid for engaging in warfare is to defend yourself when attacked.
1) About munition - I participated in one (awful, fucking and idiotic) war.
There we used munition older than 50 years - without any problem. It must only be properly stored. So, anybody who told you this is either moron, or sociopath, or plain fu***** politician, or idiot salesman from munition factory :(
2) R&D can lead to something good too. It's not necessary to directly or indirectly kill couple of millions people to justify some R&D...
It must only be properly stored.
I won't dispute that properly stored munitions can be successfully used long after their date of manufacture.
You may not be aware of it, but in the military supply system, every stocked item is assigned a shelf life. It may be 10, 50, or 100 years, but it does have a shelf life.
The supply system also has a policy that directs disposal of the item, when it exceeds its shelf life.
My personal experience with the military supply system is it is logical, but at the same time ludicrous.
I worked as a field representative with an Army unit. Their repairmen were not allowed to maintain 'bench stock'. They had to go to the supply section and be issued a repair part.
If it turned out that the $10K module they were issued as a spare part did not fix the problem, the supply system would not accept the item back into their inventory. The repairman had to destroy the item and dispose of its remains. That is one of the stupid reasons our taxes are so high.
However, there is a valid reason for not just putting the item back on the shelf. Once again, policy requires that an item be recertified as operational before being reintroduced into the supply system. That process is more expensive than replacing the item with a newly purchased item. The cost tradeoff does allow very expensive items to be recertified and reintroduced into the supply system.
No, that is just one of the reasons we can't afford to fight the war the way it should be fought.
Maybe it's because we here are mostly older, and more intrigued in politics and power and might...
I seem to recall that the protagonist's move into politics received significant amounts of negative comment from readers. Perhaps they didn't transfer those vibes into scores.
AJ
It may also be because although he selected a party for the character, he managed to stay away from a lot of political posturing so it wasn't overtly supporting one particular side.
I believe I also gave a higher vote to "A Fresh Start", but it would be hard to identify exactly why I thought it a better story.
I believe I also gave a higher vote to "A Fresh Start", but it would be hard to identify exactly why I thought it a better story.
Hopefully because you enjoyed it more :)
AJ
If the USA was to fight like the Jade Force then it would be over quickly, but we have become too civilized and politically correct.
I agree. American's like to think of themselves wearing a 'white hat'; I think its grey.
Jade Force doesn't care what others think of them. Their outlook is to get the job done as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
They hold the political leaders of the opposing country responsible for what the country's military forces are doing. Therefore, the politicians are viable targets.
Jade Force doesn't care what others think of them. Their outlook is to get the job done as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
They hold the political leaders of the opposing country responsible for what the country's military forces are doing. Therefore, the politicians are viable targets.
One of the main difficulties is that countries starting a war do not look realistically at what should happen if they win. All too often a vacuum is left, the existing leaders are totally outed when they understand the local customs and, under supervision, could reinforce the victor's role.
Vietnam; the military wanted to win but were handcuffed by the US polliticians
Iraq mark 1; the politicians stopped the war before it was won
Iraq mark s; the politicians could not accept that arab leaders are expected to use force to keep the country in order - they imprisoned SH
and hanged him along with the rest who had held Iraq together. They then got rid of the military leaders expecting them to roll over and be quiet; they got ISIS instead.
Yes; it is politicians who give permission for war so they are viable targets
One of the main difficulties is that countries starting a war do not look realistically at what should happen if they win. All too often a vacuum is left, the existing leaders are totally outed
It's only a recent the concept of not taking over control of the losing country started happening. For most of history the winner took control of the losing country, so there was no power vacuum.
Yes; it is politicians who give permission for war so they are viable targets
I agree.
However, from a historical standpoint, a country's political/military leaders did not intentionally target their opponent's political leaders. Not saying it didn't happen, but that was the 'gentleman's' agreement.
The espoused reason for that agreement was your opponent's political leaders would be needed to end the war.
I think the actual reason was the leaders didn't want to be a target.
Now we are seeing some more numbers - now 8.000 votes.
I think it's much more than next story by number of votes -> "Doing it all Over" by All Steiner.
And "Doing it all Over" is here more than 18 years...
I will ask anybody who recently voted for this story - what do you think about it?
How is time fast flying by...
Rlfj's "A Fresh Start" at this moment has 8888 votes!
Really a lot of people have voted, and score of this story is now even greater than before.
Let me congratulate to Rlfj for most voted story on this site - again :)
But not only this story - here are every day more and more stories with such high count of votes.
Some ten years ago good story could collect maybe 1000 votes, now much more. For me it looks that here is now much more readers and I think this is very positive for this site - and for us too :)
But not only this story - here are every day more and more stories with such high count of votes.
Some ten years ago good story could collect maybe 1000 votes, now much more. For me it looks that here is now much more readers and I think this is very positive for this site - and for us too :)
Not only more readers. I have seen the number of high quality stories rise significantly over the years. Better quality encourages to make your appreciation known by voting. So, not only more readers but also more readers that actually vote.