Well, it sucks. Just received my first 1-star rating out of the blue and it pommeled me down by a few thousand ranks. It's fine if people give a reason or criticism while giving such ratings but just giving them without justifying feels somewhat hateful. Though it isn't going to discourage me from continuing but it still sucks

oh yeah those kind of ratings do suck without explanation. I mean one could improve with feedback. 

Completely understandable to feel that way. Ideally, you'd at least get some feedback out of it to either improve or justify why they rated it so lowly. Just do your best to keep soldiering on.

On the flip side, how do you feel about the opposite? Say a 5-star rating with no context? Personally, while it is great, I'd have liked to know why and what they liked so much.

But hey, I'm primarily here for feedback so I suppose that's where my mind goes automatically, regardless of negative/positive ratings.

Usually 1 Star doesn't have a lot of context or meaning behind it. In a venue where 5 is good, 4 is average, and 3 is less than average (as it seems to be here, with the way things eventually skew), I can only imagine a 1-star worthy work as being more or less unreadable and utter nonsense (not yours, I checked :P). There probably wasn't a lot to warrant such a score, or at most, it was a disproportionate reaction to a singular thing that stuck in their craw in which openly justifying such a score would have seemed equally ridiculous.

I did, however, check your fiction page, and your stuff here, at least, the newer one and the one I assumed got hit, is still early on in its development and those stat hits *always* hit harder in the beginning. Eventually your stats will absorb that kind of rando drop and it won't hit as hard. I promise. It'll level out. Just keep doing you. <3

Knightraveness Wrote: I did, however, check your fiction page, and your stuff here, at least, the newer one and the one I assumed got hit, is still early on in its development and those stat hits *always* hit harder in the beginning. Eventually your stats will absorb that kind of rando drop and it won't hit as hard. I promise. It'll level out. Just keep doing you. <3

Yes. It was the newer one that got hit. But don't readers read a story by first seeing the ratings that the fiction has acquired? Since my rating now lies at 3.62 (was 4.62), will the current ratings become a variable when new readers read my story?

Primordia Wrote:

Knightraveness Wrote: I did, however, check your fiction page, and your stuff here, at least, the newer one and the one I assumed got hit, is still early on in its development and those stat hits *always* hit harder in the beginning. Eventually your stats will absorb that kind of rando drop and it won't hit as hard. I promise. It'll level out. Just keep doing you. <3

Yes. It was the newer one that got hit. But don't readers read a story by first seeing the ratings that the fiction has acquired? Since my rating now lies at 3.62 (was 4.62), will the current ratings become a variable when new readers read my story?

Not as much as you'd think. Especially given how early it is. Most readers seem to know the system. If you're worried about it, a few review swaps would help balance it out sooner, for sure. And ranking (which you mentioned above, rather than rating) hardly matters as all. At least not until the top 20 slots or so.

Some click when they see it in "recently updated". Some choose on cover, or blurb. Genre search. Some straight up won't click until you have over 100 pages or 100,000 words, in which, by that time, that one dropped rating will be well buried.

And honestly, considering some of the dirge I've read with 5 stars, I usually actually open something up and skim the first three paragraphs before making any (even passing) judgements myself. Totally independent of ratings. Maybe not everyone does that. But surely others. Enough to overcome!

You have some decent reviews, all above 3.6. So, maybe doing a couple swaps will result in more and help perk ya up a little bit. ;)

Achievement unlocked: Low Blow to the Ego

A somewhat glib way of saying everyone who posts their work publicly will get negative commentary/ratings eventually. The faster you get it over with, the better. A good way to feel better would be to post a new chapter for your other readers to appreciate.

unfortunately rr is full of trolls that leave half/1 star ratings for anything, from small spelling typos to having main characters of certain races

it's just a feature of rr that's not going to change

Primordia Wrote: It's fine if people give a reason or criticism while giving such ratings but just giving them without justifying feels somewhat hateful. Though it isn't going to discourage me from continuing but it still sucks

This is how I felt too after my first poor rating, so you're not alone in that respect. Just remember to enjoy the story and the journey of writing that comes with it. Good luck!

Pillage Wrote:

Primordia Wrote: It's fine if people give a reason or criticism while giving such ratings but just giving them without justifying feels somewhat hateful. Though it isn't going to discourage me from continuing but it still sucks

This is how I felt too after my first poor rating, so you're not alone in that respect. Just remember to enjoy the story and the journey of writing that comes with it. Good luck!

Thanks mate :)

Cymas Wrote: Achievement unlocked: Low Blow to the Ego

A somewhat glib way of saying everyone who posts their work publicly will get negative commentary/ratings eventually. The faster you get it over with, the better. A good way to feel better would be to post a new chapter for your other readers to appreciate.

Does Everyone get this sort of negative rating? It's hard to imagine someone like Rhaegar, Zogarth or Shirtaloon to have such a negative rating on their works. 

Primordia Wrote:

Cymas Wrote: Achievement unlocked: Low Blow to the Ego

A somewhat glib way of saying everyone who posts their work publicly will get negative commentary/ratings eventually. The faster you get it over with, the better. A good way to feel better would be to post a new chapter for your other readers to appreciate.

Does Everyone get this sort of negative rating? It's hard to imagine someone like Rhaegar, Zogarth or Shirtaloon to have such a negative rating on their works.

Yeah, we all do. Not everyone has the premium account to see exactly when and on what chapter they were given such a rating, but it happens. Inevitably. It's like a club. Welcome to the club. lol. Especially the popular ones. Being contrary is the allure of trolldom, after all.

Primordia Wrote: Does Everyone get this sort of negative rating? It's hard to imagine someone like Rhaegar, Zogarth or Shirtaloon to have such a negative rating on their works.

Oh bless your heart.

Different types of readers use different types of stars. It's less about the story quality and more about who you attracted to read it.


5 star:  "I had a great time, and I don't overthink things. Fun is fun."
5 star: "I'm an author with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate a story unless I can give it 5 stars."
5 star: "I'm an objective critic with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate under 5 stars, but I'll leave my critiques in the review. My critiques are generally the best advice you'll find on the site."

4 star:  "I had a great time, and I believe I'm using the rating system as it should be used. My critiques are generally fair too."
4 star: "Even if this story changed my life's purpose, I'll still rate it a 4.5 at the absolute best, because no story can ever be a true 5/5."

3 star:  "The MC is getting on my nerves because he's having human emotions/losing/did not kill orphans for +5 XP when he had the chance. I'm a psychopath."
3 star:  "Story has promise, but I've got nit-picks and I've made my identity as a harsh critic. It's 50/50 if I'm actually a good critic with a point or a terrible one."

2 star:  "Story is terribly written in all things - grammar, characters, setting. Stopped reading after a few chapters because I genuinely didn't enjoy it. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings because of that, and you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star:  "Story has some flaws I noticed, and then I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be really sneaky about it. I'll still get caught eventually."

1 star:  "Story quality does not matter, I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. I am not an objective person and will dig heels in if contested. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
1 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be somewhat sneaky about it. I'll usually get caught anyhow."

.5 star: "I don't take ratings seriously and I just want to hurt people when they don't write what I want them to."
.5 star: "I'm outright morally bankrupt and downvoting the story for my own agenda. In addition, I'm not smart enough to think about being subtle." 
.5 star: "I consider myself the enforcer on this site and it is my community duty to nuke the trash I don't like into oblivion. I'm also a psychopath."

Bresandor Wrote: Different types of readers use different types of stars.


5 star:  "I had a great time, and I don't overthink things. Fun is fun."
5 star: "I'm an author with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate a story unless I can give it 5 stars."
5 star: "I'm an objective critic with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate under 5 stars, but I'll leave my critiques in the review. My critiques are generally the best advice you'll find on the site."

4 star:  "I had a great time, and I naively believe I'm using the rating system as it should be used. My critiques are generally fair too."
4 star: "Even if this story changed my life's purpose, I'll still rate it a 4.5, because no story can ever be a true 5/5."

3 star:  "The MC is getting on my nerves because he's having human emotions/losing/did not kill orphans for +5 XP when he had the chance. I'm a psychopath."
3 star:  "Story has promise, but I've got nit-picks and I've made my identity as a harsh critic. It's 50/50 if I'm actually a good critic with a point or a terrible one."

2 star:  "Story is terribly written in all things - grammar, characters, setting. Stopped reading after a few chapters because I genuinely didn't enjoy it. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings because of that, and you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be really sneaky about it. I'll still get caught eventually."

1 star:  "Story could be an actual objective masterpiece but I hit a single pet peeve and have no impulse control. I could have had hours of absolute amazing entertainment, but this one thing invalidates everything. I am not an objective person and will dig heels in if contested. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
1 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be somewhat sneaky about it. I'll usually get caught anyhow."

.5 star: "I don't take ratings seriously and I just want to hurt people when they don't write what I want them to."
.5 star: "I'm outright morally bankrupt and downvoting the story for my own agenda. In addition, I'm not smart enough to think about being subtle." 
.5 star: "I consider myself the enforcer on this site and it is my community duty to nuke the trash I don't like into oblivion. I'm also a psychopath."

Disturbingly accurate AF. 

Bresandor Wrote: Different types of readers use different types of stars. It's less about the story quality and more about who you attracted to read it.


5 star:  "I had a great time, and I don't overthink things. Fun is fun."
5 star: "I'm an author with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate a story unless I can give it 5 stars."
5 star: "I'm an objective critic with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate under 5 stars, but I'll leave my critiques in the review. My critiques are generally the best advice you'll find on the site."

4 star:  "I had a great time, and I believe I'm using the rating system as it should be used. My critiques are generally fair too."
4 star: "Even if this story changed my life's purpose, I'll still rate it a 4.5 at the absolute best, because no story can ever be a true 5/5."

3 star:  "The MC is getting on my nerves because he's having human emotions/losing/did not kill orphans for +5 XP when he had the chance. I'm a psychopath."
3 star:  "Story has promise, but I've got nit-picks and I've made my identity as a harsh critic. It's 50/50 if I'm actually a good critic with a point or a terrible one."

2 star:  "Story is terribly written in all things - grammar, characters, setting. Stopped reading after a few chapters because I genuinely didn't enjoy it. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings because of that, and you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star:  "Story has some flaws I noticed, and then I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be really sneaky about it. I'll still get caught eventually."

1 star:  "Story quality does not matter, I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. I am not an objective person and will dig heels in if contested. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
1 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be somewhat sneaky about it. I'll usually get caught anyhow."

.5 star: "I don't take ratings seriously and I just want to hurt people when they don't write what I want them to."
.5 star: "I'm outright morally bankrupt and downvoting the story for my own agenda. In addition, I'm not smart enough to think about being subtle." 
.5 star: "I consider myself the enforcer on this site and it is my community duty to nuke the trash I don't like into oblivion. I'm also a psychopath."

This should be in its own 'how to contextualise negative reviews' guide

Bresandor Wrote: Different types of readers use different types of stars. It's less about the story quality and more about who you attracted to read it.


5 star:  "I had a great time, and I don't overthink things. Fun is fun."
5 star: "I'm an author with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate a story unless I can give it 5 stars."
5 star: "I'm an objective critic with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate under 5 stars, but I'll leave my critiques in the review. My critiques are generally the best advice you'll find on the site."

4 star:  "I had a great time, and I believe I'm using the rating system as it should be used. My critiques are generally fair too."
4 star: "Even if this story changed my life's purpose, I'll still rate it a 4.5 at the absolute best, because no story can ever be a true 5/5."

3 star:  "The MC is getting on my nerves because he's having human emotions/losing/did not kill orphans for +5 XP when he had the chance. I'm a psychopath."
3 star:  "Story has promise, but I've got nit-picks and I've made my identity as a harsh critic. It's 50/50 if I'm actually a good critic with a point or a terrible one."

2 star:  "Story is terribly written in all things - grammar, characters, setting. Stopped reading after a few chapters because I genuinely didn't enjoy it. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings because of that, and you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star:  "Story has some flaws I noticed, and then I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be really sneaky about it. I'll still get caught eventually."

1 star:  "Story quality does not matter, I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. I am not an objective person and will dig heels in if contested. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
1 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be somewhat sneaky about it. I'll usually get caught anyhow."

.5 star: "I don't take ratings seriously and I just want to hurt people when they don't write what I want them to."
.5 star: "I'm outright morally bankrupt and downvoting the story for my own agenda. In addition, I'm not smart enough to think about being subtle." 
.5 star: "I consider myself the enforcer on this site and it is my community duty to nuke the trash I don't like into oblivion. I'm also a psychopath."

Bresandor Wrote: Different types of readers use different types of stars. It's less about the story quality and more about who you attracted to read it.


5 star:  "I had a great time, and I don't overthink things. Fun is fun."
5 star: "I'm an author with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate a story unless I can give it 5 stars."
5 star: "I'm an objective critic with a moral soft spot, I'll never rate under 5 stars, but I'll leave my critiques in the review. My critiques are generally the best advice you'll find on the site."

4 star:  "I had a great time, and I believe I'm using the rating system as it should be used. My critiques are generally fair too."
4 star: "Even if this story changed my life's purpose, I'll still rate it a 4.5 at the absolute best, because no story can ever be a true 5/5."

3 star:  "The MC is getting on my nerves because he's having human emotions/losing/did not kill orphans for +5 XP when he had the chance. I'm a psychopath."
3 star:  "Story has promise, but I've got nit-picks and I've made my identity as a harsh critic. It's 50/50 if I'm actually a good critic with a point or a terrible one."

2 star:  "Story is terribly written in all things - grammar, characters, setting. Stopped reading after a few chapters because I genuinely didn't enjoy it. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings because of that, and you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star:  "Story has some flaws I noticed, and then I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
2 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be really sneaky about it. I'll still get caught eventually."

1 star:  "Story quality does not matter, I hit a pet peeve and have no impulse control. I am not an objective person and will dig heels in if contested. My ratings are unfortunately legit ratings, even if they're extremely subjective, so you'll never be able to remove me." 
1 star: "I'm downvoting the story for my own agenda, but I'm trying to be somewhat sneaky about it. I'll usually get caught anyhow."

.5 star: "I don't take ratings seriously and I just want to hurt people when they don't write what I want them to."
.5 star: "I'm outright morally bankrupt and downvoting the story for my own agenda. In addition, I'm not smart enough to think about being subtle." 
.5 star: "I consider myself the enforcer on this site and it is my community duty to nuke the trash I don't like into oblivion. I'm also a psychopath."

That's a nice way of putting it

Primordia Wrote: Does Everyone get this sort of negative rating? It's hard to imagine someone like Rhaegar, Zogarth or Shirtaloon to have such a negative rating on their works.