New Feature: Pride Stickers

This is an idea engendered by THIS debate: in Essence I suggest that authors and readers have a very limited amount of a kind of 'Super Like' say one a year for most people and one more for each trophy you have.

This 'Super Like' is called a 'Pride Sticker' and shows up both in the story map and on the page itself right under the title.

Unlike a 'Like' you can put a pride sticker on your own work, but no more than once every 30 days, whereas you can hand out Pride Stickers like candy to OTHER authors work... (if you want to use all your pride stickers for the year on someone else's work, but if those new trophies are added...)

A pride sticker says one of five things all positve:

1: Love This Chapter!
2: I'm Proud I Wrote This!
3: I'm In Awe Of This Chapter!
4: ALL MY LIKES ARE BELONG TO THIS!
5: Everyone Comment!

Ah, but there's a catch...

Pride Stickers are always posted publicly, if you leave a pride sticker you are automatically saying "I think this Chapter is awesome and I don't care who knows!" Anyone can click on the pride sticker icon and see a list of whose posted them...

 

Not so sure about the name "pride stickers." I picture the gay, lesbian and transgender categories receiving the most.

 

Did somebody say Pride?



...I'll see myself out.


Edit: Decided to do a link. That image was huge...



edit edit:

On the topic at hand. I Like the idea, but I'd rather see it done in conjunction with likes not instead of.

 

Given that all but 2 and 5 are already communicated by Likes anyway, albeit less dramatically, why not stick with the years-old notion of simply making comment requirements for Likes? That already solves 5, carries the same catch, and could be vastly more personal than some stock phrase.

On top of that, having the quantity being derived from the number of Trophies makes Trophy Farming all the more tempting.

Additionally, it should not show up on the story map or through a search function. Otherwise, it becomes a great way to draw unwarranted attention to your own thread. The most honor it should be allowed is a special tab on the thread writer's home page or perhaps an automatic bump to the top of its writer's thread list.

Besides, my suggestion was entirely about showing off individual threads we wrote that we believe stand above the rest of our own work. Being able to apply it to others' work would defeat the purpose and just amounts to a new method that contributes nothing to the total Likes or the progress up the Top Rated lists. An eye-catching banner that says, "I'm especially proud to have written this thread" or something similar is all it should be.

 

Because it will have the opposite effect of what you predict. Rather than getting a flood of comments, we would get a drought of likes. People are afraid of putting their name on something on what is, let's face it, a porn site, even if it's a pseudonym. But, in my experience, even that tiny taste of anonymity provided by having to click on the sticker to identify who posted it makes an immense psychological difference, both to the issuer and the people reading. That one extra click will be surprisingly dissuading for the vast majority of readers especially if it loads a new page: but not for writers. Writers are desperate for any feedback at all which gives them more to work with than "The Hall of Gratuitous Praise" that is 'likes'. Likes communicate one thing. "I like this chapter.": OK... WHY? The suggestion above communicates more "I'm in awe." "I like this chapter so much I would keep liking it every time I see it if I could." "I think this chapter requires Commentary..." "I am proud of what I did here." "I don't merely like this chapter, I LOVE it!"

Could there be more options? Yes. Should there be more options? Probably. Did you suggest other options? NO.

And having a "top authors" section on the front page which is decided entirely by trophies doesn't do that already? In fact, if this is an objection, why have trophies AT ALL? Trophies exist to be earned, they incentivize being driven and productive. This suggestion enhances that driving force.

You do realize that all you have done is rephrase the entire point of one of the options in a negative context? There is no such thing as a tool that cannot be used for evil purposes: and that's all these options would be: tools. Sure, it could draw unwarranted attention to your own threads. It could also draw entirely warranted attention to an overlooked but worthy thread.

Why?

No.

This also allows us to give our fellow creators a shout out for work of theirs that we find sets a higher bar than a mere like. These ratings, because unlike the standard 'like' they are a limited resource, say "This is content that I feel is to a higher standard than your typical work: this is among the best content you've ever made. Aim for this level in the future." Since they are only available (For now at least) to authors, it's a peer review process.

Again: why?

I don't understand your logic here. Are you saying that the other users should not have a voice? Because, let me be frank, likes are not helpful in this regard and comments are rare to the point of non-existence. The average number of comments I receive is perhaps one every hundred chapters, and most of those contain only gratuitous praise. I already know that I can write well, mere praise does not help me: you have to go into detail about why you like what I've written. However, criticism in comments, especially constructive criticism, is equally unhelpful, because I will take them to heart, change what I've written, and they will no longer match what future readers see... So, how to deal with this problem?

What is proposed above is one answer: because the author can click through and see who left the 'super like', they can then message the person and ASK what they were so enthusiastic about: if the person didn't want to be contacted in this way they will never leave another, which is sad, but they still have the option of just leaving the anonymous 'like'. BUT: if they are serious about being that enthusiastic about the author's work, chances are this starts a dialogue and they then give feedback on the author's further chapters and stories, improving both the writer's work and the reader's experience. This is the core reason why no negative options are given, we don't want flame wars and fetish shaming: it is a tool to start a dialogue between reader and author, but somewhere more private than the permanent, unchanging, and forever visible comment's section...

So, you've heard my logic: I ask again: WHY?

 

Really? They don't seem to have much of a problem with that on the forum. I also notice discourse taking place across the comments section of various threads. Especially when it's particularly objectionable.

And what experience would that be? Given that you don't actually talk about this anecdotal evidence, how am I supposed to know it's even a legitimate fallacy?

Precisely why I said "include comment requirements." I find it amazing this doesn't click in your head.

Also, how does your proposition change that? As I said, you provided stock phrases. No individuality. No understanding of "WHY?" Nothing. It may be words, but it's just as hollow as a Like.

Yes: comment requirements! Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it does not exist.

No, because the trophy list has already become static. What little room for change exists is based almost entirely on the Patreon donations, due in no small part to the list being sorted chronologically in the event of ties. Unless a Veteran user makes a remarkable comeback, that list isn't changing any time soon. I've even posted a suggestion about this in the past, and reworked it to include room to encourage comments. I'd make a reference to it here, but then I'd rather be fair than just.

And cheapens the product we get for it. Not a good trade. Especially since Likes are among the things that can be used for trophy farming.

And you're going to rely on trust to ensure it's always used for the right reasons? That's entirely the point: all you did was focus on the positives and gave no thought whatsoever as to how it can be abused.

But why do they feel that way? What do they believe makes it stand above the rest? It still begs a comment, especially since you just wrote yet another stock phrase to put on it.

With zero communication besides the sticker? How does that work exactly?

Again, putting "I'm proud of this" on the story map circles us back to unfair attention. Especially if, despite their own degree of personal achievement, they believe these threads are inferior to other contributions for the same stories. They'd be left with the conundrum of distract from the better threads, or tell the world how much they enjoy these bits of their work. Not at all fair. Remove the story map highlight, and the conundrum vanishes.

And meanwhile I see stories that do better than that and have actual conversations. I wonder what the difference is between your comments sections and those? Perhaps answering that would be the better solution.

Neither does a stock phrase accomplish that.

Also, do you ask your commenters why they think they way they do? Do you PM them? Or do you just accept what you've gotten as the best you can get?

Fuck future readers. What matters is that you're happy with your own work.

Also, if your constructive criticism is leading to such drastic changes that the very future threads must change drastically as well, then odds are you did a shitty job in the first place and you wouldn't be getting a pride sticker.

And you can do this too with Likes.

Except the Like isn't anonymous. The notification the writer receives tells it explicitly who sent the Like. Also, the fact that it clicked Like will show up in its activity tab. The only degree of anonymity is that the thread page itself does not display the Likers.

Because you've offered only a lateral move. It's the same problem with new bells and whistles. All sorts of programming effort and processing speed being used to go nowhere.

The comment requirement at least shakes up the status quo. Maybe it increases comments, maybe it decreases Likes. Either way we got change and can regroup from their with new information.

 

I know what you're all thinking, so I'll save you guys some time.

DO NOT try applying these stickers in real life.

Getting them on? Easy. But if someone decides to remove it? It hurts more than just your feelings.

I'm trying to work out a similar system with glitter for an updated version, but current user feedback has not been promising.

 

You also cannot deny that only a tiny fraction of users speak on the forum at all: I, personally, do not feel this is a coincidence.

It does now: see the final comment below.

You have misinterpreted my statement: I was referring to options for other stickers. Your approach instead is to say "This is a bad idea, scrap it." without an analysis of your reasons extensive enough to allow me to gain an understanding of the logic. Naturally, this did not make me inclined to agree, however, this has just changed.

AH, and this is the analysis that was missing earlier. I see your logic now, and almost wholly agree. My one remaining reservation is the idea of option #2 above: I still feel this, or something similar: something more than a few words at the top or bottom of a chapter, is needed. It needs to be limited in scope, restricted in number, and meaningful. Most importantly it must be available for several chapters, but not all, and increasingly the more chapters you've written. As for the other ideas, they can now be scrapped, you have just illustrated that they are, in point of fact, not required. (Not helpful? I'm still not wholly convinced. Not helpful enough to be worth the effort required? That I am.)

That said, I strongly disagree with the recommendation that we require a comment for each like. Let me just ask you, what do you think the most common comment would be?

My stay in Anon-Land provides the answer. There this is an option: requiring comments for participation. The most common comment given in that situation is as follows: "Man-Com" which is short for "Manual-Comments". I therefore strongly suspect that the standard 'comment' given will be even fewer keystrokes and even less helpful: "like". Rather than encouraging engagement, we would be promoting spam. It was a worthy idea, as was the original post of this thread, but as we have both shown, they fail when it comes time to move them from theory to practice...

 

I had not intended them to be removable, but, this too is a good point.

EDIT: Additionally, kaitou1412, can you please lock the thread? A total revamp is now required.

 

I find your selective reading ability downright amazing:

This is even in the portion you quoted Nemo. There's no excuse for ignoring it.

Right. A false belief of anonymity is the only thing that made the comment potential apparent.

Why? Nothing I've written has changed. I said, from the start, that you've proposed the exact same thing and listed how. How you chose stock phrases over a personalized comment. How it is thus no different than a Like.

So your ignorance of the site is the only problem?

Can't be done. Once we take away the ability to personalize, there's no such thing as meaningful.

And allow me to reiterate: this suggestion comes about from my idea that writers should have something that communicates which pieces of their own work they are most proud of. That is all I will entertain.

Again: look up the post I made dealing with lack of comments, the want of new trophies, and the stasis of the top authors category. It solves all three problems. If you want a link, I'm going to have to request you actually provide sources for your anecdotal evidence.

Normally I would have left this unlocked since you just assumed I would read this post and didn't report the topic or PM me about it even after I ripped into you for misuse of forums and splayed this out for you once again. However, I'll indulge this ONCE.