The Lone Score of 3 or Lower

Quote by Metilda
Everyone doesn't have to like everything.
I actually feel that people are too nice when it comes to scoring on sex story websites - Some are scoring on arousal and overall pleasure derived. Others score on friendship basis. Other score based on quality and error free stories.

Very few people give their genuine opinions if that opinion is negative (and a 3 isn't really a negative - it's just 'this wasn't quite my thing')

Now - go to Amazon and publish a story. There - that stings. I wrote my novella and an online friend read it and scored it with 3 stars - but then gave a review full of positives. So I didn't even know how to take it. 3 stars but it was GREAT? LOL

So - whatever. Lift the rug and sweep it under.

Lush is a very author-friendly and writer-positive place, honestly. It was a bit difficult for me to publish my work at places like All Romance - or even post it for critical critique at a writer's workshop - and then see the real opinions come through.

But I'm an author - and I need these critical elements to improve my writing (That's why I actually sought out a good writing community - so I would have unbiased opinion on the quality of my work - I've benefited from it 100%).

So trolling? No - just a few HONEST people who don't happen to like a story here or there. And that's FINE - that's how it's supposed to be.

Quote by dpw

Well said.
The problem with a critical review is you end up being blocked if the author throws their toys out of the pram.
This has happened twice to me, both Gold Members and both Gay Male stories. If you can't take criticism then DON'T PUBLISH!
As far as a low score goes, you can't please all of the people all of the time. I would rather have a low score than no score. At least the reader was interested enough to give a score.

Quote by dpw

Well said.
The problem with a critical review is you end up being blocked if the author throws their toys out of the pram.
This has happened twice to me, both Gold Members and both Gay Male stories. If you can't take criticism then DON'T PUBLISH!
As far as a low score goes, you can't please all of the people all of the time. I would rather have a low score than no score. At least the reader was interested enough to give a score.

Quote by B0swell0x
Nevertheless, Kal-E185 does have a valid point. I have seen, though obviously not experienced this several times. Knowing the author well enough to pass comment, the reasons for the malicious scoring were then forthcoming.
As anywhere on line some nasty trolls lurk out there.

Quote by Dirty_D


Feel free to vote on my stories as you feel so driven.

Quote by daddysweetheart
I've gotten 1's out of spite...

One because the poem was written for someone else.

And I knew who scored it like that, because he's my friend.

And same reason for someone else I added.

I unfriended and blocked both and friended and blocked and friended the other one again.

If you deliberately give a low score out of spite, that's not cool at all.

Was going to change my settings to have to leave a comment when scoring but changed my mind.

Quote by Kal-El85
"A 1-2 seems rude with no email as to why you have given such a low score."
~Mysteria27

This is my main reason for starting this thread. everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but when you give a well-received/well written story a low score with no explanation or private message to the author it comes off as spiteful. Thank you, Lady M!

Quote by Mysteria27
I know I have had a lot of very low scores to some of my stories and some very negative, nasty feedback from people that don't like me for whatever there reasons.

I will block if I'm insulted or if I see a pattern of people who just low vote me out of spite.

I don't mind if people don't like, but if I have 35 votes of a 5 and somebody gives me a 1-2 there is something wrong with that. I understand if you don't like it. But a 1-2 seems rude with no email as to why you have given such a low score. I'm just an amateur writer. Feedback is critical for my growth. A score does not tell me what I did wrong.

I love to write, I certainly have a lot to learn but it is a fun hobby. I've met some wonderful people on this site who have helped and guided me with my work.

The moderating staff also will help you whenever you need help. I feel my writing has come a long way. A lot of moderators have helped me. Given me tricks to help me with poetry. Given me information to read on how to write stuff. I'm thankful for that.

I understand people don't like my work and that is fine. I'm not going to be insulted or part of score bombing. Sometimes I will put forced commenting on. Other times I will remove the score all together.

If your on the top lists sometimes people will just low bomb you to keep you off.

This is just my situation with scoring and negative feedback. I am lucky that I have people that enjoy what I write. I have the best readers ever. Thanks to all the moderators who have helped me along my way.

Xoxox

Quote by dpw

Two stories read:
One comment, one score and I will openly say it was a two. I got blocked!

Quote by Mysteria27



I removed the block.....but you did insult me saying I wrote like a childlike gay author. Not the nicest comment. But, it's your opinion. I wrote a fantasy story and I wanted it to have a romantic feel to it. Most of my readers enjoyed it.

I'm trying to write in every category and I was very nervous about that category. I wanted it to be a fun loving story. Win some lose some. It's not going to ruin my day.

Hopefully the next time you read a poem or story of mine you might like it. Hoping you have a lovely weekend.

Xoxo

Quote by dpw

I read the bi story and enjoyed it. Maybe, because I am gay, I tend to be more critical in that category.

Quote by Mysteria27
But a 1-2 seems rude with no email as to why you have given such a low score. I'm just an amateur writer. Feedback is critical for my growth. A score does not tell me what I did wrong.

Quote by Dani


I've always found it interesting how people want an explanation for 1-2 or maybe even 3 scores while I hardly ever see anyone wanting an explanation for a 4-5 score. I mean I get the whole 'Tell me what I did wrong' thing, and a 4-5 indicates that you did nothing wrong. But we all know that's not always the case. People track down low scorers all the time. It's rarely from a place of 'Tell me what I did wrong', and it's more along the lines of 'How dare you?!'

It's the main reason people don't vote honestly because people seem to feel the need to track them down seemingly for advice for improvement, but it's mostly to argue how their story was good. Some people are receptive to criticism and feedback, but a lot of them aren't and just think that they are. Others don't even like feedback unless it's positive. And they choose to gripe or make excuses and say things like, 'It's a sex story, who cares if it's good? At least I wrote something.' or 'I'm not here to impress anyone, I'm just doing this for me.' I'm talking SERIOUS denial. If that were the case they wouldn't puff up with pride at every high score and gripe and whine about every low score.

Everyone reserves the right to vote a story a 1 or 2 without having to engage in some back and forth as to why they did so. But that's seldom the case. And with the Timeline feature, it makes it even easier for authors to track people down and harass them about their scores.

And I get it, some people abuse the scoring system. I myself received a 1-vote from someone simply because she doesn't like me and needed some way to get back at me. I laughed my ass off, and then sent her a message thanking her for taking the time to read my measly poem and score it, although I highly doubt she even read it. I still laugh about it...hard. It's fucking hilarious. I could have gone the 'Give me feedback, why did it suck?' route but I just don't care about those things. There are always gonna be people who low-vote out of spite and have a chip on their shoulder. But in the grand scheme of things, what are you gonna do?


If I were an actual real-deal writer, I wouldn't lend much credibility to ANY score that was without feedback, whether it's a 1 or a 5. To hell with numbers, tell me what you think. If you don't do that the first go-round, I'm not gonna go through the effort of making you do it and I just won't give much regard to your scores in the future. It's really that simple.

It takes a lot of guts to provide a score less than a 4 because rest assured an author is gonna contact you, and more likely than not words will be exchanged. And some authors block low scorers and feel justified in doing so, but that's just not being honest with yourself. Accept a score for what it is and work on self. Always the best way to go.

Quote by Mysteria27





I agree with you. But, there are people on here that don't even read the stories and just give you a 1 to be mean an spiteful. I have also seen new accounts being set up to just score one story and they never log on ever again.

There is a lot of crap that goes on here with scoring and with nasty and rude comments being put on some stories.

I guess if you are not having it done to you then it wouldn't affect you as much.

I know on other sites there is voting where it is just Anonymous.

Quote by Dani


I know all of this goes on. Even with measures in place to catch rogue voting, there are ways to dupe the system and some things slip through the cracks. But that's all the more reason not to pay much attention to scores without feedback.

And it has happened to me before, it just doesn't affect me.

Quote by clum
Sadly, in my experience, authors don't ACTUALLY want to know why I felt their story deserved less than a 4.

Everyone claims to want constructive criticism, but they really just want people to blow smoke up their ass. Comments of mine have been labeled as negative and unnecessary when all I did was offer an opinion on how the story might have better captured me. I've even seen some of my more critical comments go missing.

Now, when I leave comments, I try to focus on the specific aspects of the story that I enjoyed (there's almost always at least one thing). That way, I'm still being constructive (because if I didn't comment on something, then it wasn't an outstanding aspect of the story) but running a lower risk of offending anyone, which is the last thing I want to do.

I don't think every 1 or 2 vote is "malicious" (which, in itself, if quite a dramatic word)—sometimes people just don't like it. I would NEVER assume someone had given me a low vote out of spite. I like to think I don't do things that would cause others to act so spitefully towards me. A story being awarded an RR doesn't exclude it from low votes from others—an RR is awarded by ONE person.

Bottom line, though, is that some people are cunts on the internet. You just gotta take the good with the bad, and remember that it doesn't really matter what your average score is—it doesn't actually change the quality of your story.

Quote by Kal-El85
Okay guys! First off, I wanna thank all of you for your honest feedback which is greatly appropriated.

Secondly, I want to bottomline that (this is for you Clum) I can't speak for everyone else, but with my writing I take constructive criticism seriously as a tool to help me grow as a writer and don't want people 'blowing smoke up my ass'.

Lastly, we're Lush Stories; rhe new standard in erotic writing and the mods have set out to make the site great. We as authors (most of us) gave our all in the tales we write, so basically as most of you have said, "Let's just write for the love of it! Lone 3s and lower scores be damned!"