I don't know if this was already proposed because it is so obvious but I post it anyway: I like the story of the week and I get why there is no direct voting for it but what about the story of the month? Let's just make a poll with the story of the week from one month. The winner of that poll becomes "Story of the Month" and is displayed on the main page for one whole month. After the year is finished, have another vote for "Story of the Year" with the 12 Stories of the Month. the Winner is displayed for the whole next year. Simple but fun and it brings the community together.
In my opinion a year is too long. Three whole segments of the front page rarely change as is. I wouldn't like another spot sitting static for a whole year. I admit it is good for newcomers, but it gets stale for us regular visitors. I don't mind the poll idea on its face, though I worry it would just become an author popularity contest or that certain 'main stream' categories or fetishes would get consistently favored over more niche stories. I'm all for fun and community interaction though. Someone in another thread mentioned chapter swaps, that might be a good start for the authors. Perhaps some different ways to interact with readers could be good too, in chapter polls perhaps. I'm not really sure honestly. My two cents.
I agree with grimbous about the Story of the Year, but the Story of the Month thing could be cool. My only real issue is how do you count edge weeks? Ones where the Story gets made SotW right at the end of the month and therefore hasn't had a full week to gain a following?
