[Talltova]

...which means, what, about 2,000 stories?

I've seen a couple that are truly excellent.

But there are a whole lot - no offense to anyone - that are a little sub-par. Like, they're extremely short, or they're written with a tenuous grasp of English, or they appeal to a very narrow audience, or... well, you all know what I'm talking about.

So my question is: is there any way to figure out the best ones to read? Has anyone tried making any kind of list of the very best stories? Would sorting by total views help, or is that really just telling me which ones are the oldest?

Any thoughts?

[nova1274]

Try not being so lazy and skim through them with a quickness. I've done that and its not hard. You will cover distance quicker then you think.

[DogWithABone]

Or if you think people's stories on here are subpar then write your own the way you would want to read it.

Or most of the stories here really are subpar, at best, and it would be helpful to have a way to identify them that makes it easier to ignore the dreck.

I've actually contemplated sorting through them all and trying to organize something by author, but it takes more time than I've got and it would require a sticky here to make it useful.

[peccavi]

Leroy its very easy to sort by author. All you need do is  click on the tab at the top of the index page "started by".

[York]

...it all depends from the reader's personal taste...
What I like it is not what another user can like....and viceversa...
I prefer some authors on this board, cos their stories meet my fetish and preferences....

Therefore I find your question pretty impossible to be answered......

[Nutmeg]

The danger of using views or "popularity" as a judge of quality is that such stats can be stilted or quite simply not be a measure of how well written a story is, but rather how well it goes over the public at large. Based on sheer dollars Michael Bay is a far better director than say Alfred Hitchcock since he blows stuff up well.

One thing that can affect the number of views is the number of posts by the author. If a story is posted in one part it may get less views than one posted in multiple parts because 500 people viewing a thread 4 times will have more views than 1000 viewing it once.

Another factor is the ‘sizzle’ factor of a story.  All the reader sees at first is the story threads name.  A story named “My wife vs neighbor “ may be a piece of masterful erotica that turns gay men straight and deserve the sales of the 50 shades of Grey series, but the name may not get a lot of ‘must see’ feeling from readers.  Whereas the promise of the catfight that should have been in Logan’s Run between Farrah Fawcett and Jenny Agutter in story title may get views aplenty despite it being the catfight equivalent of an Uwe Boll video game movie. You can’t unview a thread no matter how much one may wish to. And I am unsure how much word of mouth there is here, since no one has ever  rushed to tell me to see or avoid any story here.  So you could have 5000 views..and everyone hated it.

Even a rating system is not a great solution since as seen on many internet rating systems, being anonymous tends to create a lot of jerkish behavior.  An example from Boardgame Geek: there are people who will search for games that had a 10 out 10 rating from a review and rate that game a 1. Never played it before. The 1 is to “make things balanced “ since in their minds no game could be that good. On a site where people allegedly create IDs to affect a cyber poll result, I can see this happening quite easily.

Best suggestion might be to find an author you like and ask who they like to read here. Their taste may not match yours but it may also broaden your horizons. So much here is taste although I know some will read a well written story on a subject they dislike just to see the writing.

[LoveSexyJobbers]

I don't think there are that many bad writers on here.  As for people writing about stuff that doesn't fit my interest, well that is another thing.  I am not into reading about 2 fat chicks fighting, bloody violence fighting, incest stories, mixed matches, someone's mom fighting and that person getting hard over seeing his mom defeated etc...

Just because those aren't my cup of tea - doesn't mean that this person isn't a good writer.  I know there are many that have no interest in reading about my girlfriend's wrestling matches.  This is a story page - as long as people aren't writing stuff that is illegal like underage stuff etc I have no problem with what people write.  If I know the author writes something that isn't to my cup of tea, I just don't read it.

Pretty much echo what Boeing said

[DogWithABone]

Leroy its very easy to sort by author. All you need do is  click on the tab at the top of the index page "started by".

I was thinking something more like a post that has links to stories by author.  Something where it's all gathered into one section instead of requiring clicking until your hand falls off.  I wish I had time to do it.

[Ravenstein]

Grammar, spelling, word choice, and punctuation are important. It makes a story much easier to read, understand, and picture in the mind. However, the right content is even more important. I love catfights that aren't set up in a ring, fought between two experienced ladies in boxing gloves, and consists of a combination of punching, wrestling, hairpulling, strangling, etc... instead of just pure wrestling.

[Gale]

     Absolutely to the point Meg, and for so much more than just the posts here, for so much of life.  Of course some writers may be better than others.  Some people are the same.  We are ALL different, different likes, tastes, etc. The stories, and all, here are not meant for all, we are too varied.  They are meant to please all that are interested.  You put it much better than I ever could, well done.

[DogWithABone]

Grammar, spelling, word choice, and punctuation are important. It makes a story much easier to read, understand, and picture in the mind. However, the right content is even more important. I love catfights that aren't set up in a ring, fought between two experienced ladies in boxing gloves, and consists of a combination of punching, wrestling, hairpulling, strangling, etc... instead of just pure wrestling.

I'm in the opposite camp.  I'll read a well written and formatted story about nearly anything.  But, if an author doesn't care enough about their story to get basic grammar and spelling right, or to format it with simple things like paragraph breaks, then I don't care enough to read it.

[CA Sleeper]

There is some great advice here.  I love a well-written story that has great grammar and formatting and also pushes my buttons.  I  can definitely look past some grammar/format/spelling issues if the content is great.  Not one for bones breaking or blood and gore, so that's where I tune out on a story typically.  That said it takes a lot of time and courage to post something here and there is no reward other than perhaps a few kind words, so I am grateful if someone posted something even if it does not appeal to me.   And I try to remember to let an author know when I really like his or her work.  :-)

[LoveSexyJobbers]

Folks here on right on point , " Different Strokes for Different Folks " it's a mixed bag here & as I tell new writers , don't expect to write a story , have 100 views & 30 to 50 replies , if you look at the average on everything , you might get a reply once every 250 or so reads , maybe , but again , folks here like different subjects , one person wanted 2 stories , 1 a pro wrestling like story where a hot blonde Barbie like girl gets crushed by a mean heel , " who can do that " Me LoveSexyJobbers can do it --- the other story , a knockdown dragout catfight , where my current girl fights my ex & my girl gets off to a great start before the ex takes control gets cocky & allows my new babe to regain control & go psycho on my ex leaving her scratched , bloodied , crying & SCREAMING at the top of her lungs for mercy as her hair is literally pulled out of her scalp leaving her bald & bleeding , NOT ME , not into that at all nor do I like reading stories like it , but there are people here who care less about pro wrestling & don't read those , but the catfight thing with blood & all that is oh yeah to others