Have You Seen Any [+++++/1,000+] Fics in the Fandom?

[Guest WanderingEllipses]

I'm curious to see how many five-plus rated stories my fellow readers have stumbled across, stories which have over one thousand total "votes" (or whatever the right word is). It's rather tragic that AFF doesn't have a feature to sort stories by their number of hits, reviews or highest rating. Alas, I find myself only able to discover a story's rating when it gets updated and displayed on the 'Latest' webpage, since the new AFF author profile doesn't show the ratings anymore.

Soooo does anyone know which stories are the best of the best and have the rating to prove it? Or maybe someone possesses the covert knowledge to locate highly rated fanfics on this website? Because I am unfortunately unaware of any methods

I currently have only found one story which has an over 1,000 five-plus rating, but it's inconceivable to assume that there is only story out there to meet this requirement! It is;

The Rise of the Drackens
Harry comes into a very surprising inheritance. He is a creature both rare and beautiful. Now he has dominant males trying to pin him to every available surface. What's a boy to do? Draco/Harry/Blaise. Adopted from Jayde Alyxandre. 3 , Anal, BDSM, D/s, Dom, DP, Exhib, Fet, Fingering, H/C, HJ, M/M, MPreg, Oral, Rim, Solo, Spank, Toys, Voy, WIP
Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes
Rated [Adult+] -:- Chapters [69] -:- Published [2011-05-26] -:- Updated [2013-02-20 11:33:05] -:- Edited [2013-02-20] -:- Hits [360268] -:- Reviews [2330] -:- Average / Total Vote [+++++ / 2224]

See the -------> (Average / Total Vote [+++++ / 2224]) this is what i'm babbling about. Please share the love with me, don't be shy! I have no qualifications about the content, just the rating. Mod help would be greatly appreciated as well.

[RogueMudblood]

Okay, first, let me point you to this, then I'll give you examples of what Bronx is referring to:

If I'm recalling correctly, the entire ratings system that we have now is going to be eliminated in the code rewrite once it gets to that stage. I believe it will be replaced with a recommendation option, to allow readers to recommend a fiction that they like.

One of the ongoing issues we've had with the current system is that it is easy to abuse it. Authors have had stories rated down because readers objected to a pairing or to a story line, even if the story was well written, while another fiction that has a favored pairing is highly rated despite not being so much as spellchecked.

It isn't a reliable indicator of a story's worth to me as a reader, and as an author, it tells me even less. I'd rather know that readers would recommend my story. I might get fewer of those, but it would mean so much more.

Examples:

June 16, 2010

June 17, 2010

Aug 8, 2010

Nov 30, 2010

Dec 28, 2010

June 4, 2011

And a discussion about how ineffective the ratings actually are can be found here.

My point is, relying on ratings, no matter how prolific, may not be the best indicator of a good story.

[Guest Guest]

Check out stories by Traxie, she has over 1,000 votes, this is the link to her author page http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/authors.php?no=1296839160 and I agree with Rogue and don't pass on reading a good story just cause the ratings are less than 1000 because you are seriously missing out by doing that.

[magicmau5]

Rogue do you know when the code rewrite will be finished? I'm not a fan of the ratings system, it doesn't give any reliable indication of a story's quality. I've checked out some highly rated stories that have bad grammar, presentation and punctuation, and I'm like, wtf? It doesn't help a reader if you rate a poor quality story highly.

[RogueMudblood]

From the current news post:

Software rewrite
The coder has hit a snag with part of it, where the changes she wants to make, should she do it now, will break the archive. While she works out this issue, we thank you for your continued patience.

[BronxWench]

Another factor that can make looking for such an extreme number of votes is that some fandoms simply do not generate that level of participation by readers.

Harry Potter, Naruto, or anything in Originals involving vampires, weres or both will have a large number of readers. But there are many wonderfully written works in smaller fandoms where getting a dozen votes is high praise indeed.

Your mileage may vary, but I prefer quality over popularity. Not that there aren't good fictions in those popular categories, but they're not as prevalent at the ratings would have you believe.

[Guest WanderingEllipses]

Hello and thank you all for your responses! I do agree that the rating system is not an indicator of quality and a story's worth and I personally support recs over ratings. However the rating system is still on this site and for curiosity's sake, my question was designed to reap some worth from the established (albeit not indefinitely, as it seems) votes readers here on AFF have taken the time and made the effort to participate in.

Just like in real life, popularity does not always equate to a decent story or person, and its favoritism does depend on where it is located. But there is always some spark which entices readers to a story and that is clearly displayed with voter participation. RougeMudblood, magicmau5 and BronxWench, I concede and support your points, but I really am interested to see if any other stories have an [+++++/1,000+] rating. Interested is the key word, not dependent or basing my decision to read the story or not upon the rating. All opinions regarding the rating system and its imperfections aside, please post a response if anyone has simply seen this rare occurrence- without qualifications regarding quality or fandom.

-Anonymous guest, I would never dream of passing up on a story purely do to its rating, and I appreciate you're helpful comment!

-BTW Staff, thank you for educating me about the faults in the rating system.

[DemonGoddess]

I'm going to give you some examples of excellent writers, who because of what fanverse they wrote in, certainly didn't get those kinds of rates, even though they're excellent writers and deserve 'em

Tisienne Blue

LitGal

jameschick

That's just from Buffy 'verse. I KNOW I can point you to many more who certainly are deserving of high ratings on their stories, yet often don't get them. Why? Because it's either an older 'verse or a 'verse with a small following.

[pittwitch]

I find the rating system to be highly unreliable. One person with an honest opinion can rate a ++ and two fanpoodles rate +++++ and the system shows three rated +++++.

IMHO stories with those super high ratings are rated up unnaturally.

I agree with DG -- there are hugely talented writers on this site across all of the fandoms who don't encourage or rely on their cohorts for the popularity ego-stroke.

[magicmau5]

Hello and thank you all for your responses! I do agree that the rating system is not an indicator of quality and a story's worth and I personally support recs over ratings. However the rating system is still on this site and for curiosity's sake, my question was designed to reap some worth from the established (albeit not indefinitely, as it seems) votes readers here on AFF have taken the time and made the effort to participate in.

Just like in real life, popularity does not always equate to a decent story or person, and its favoritism does depend on where it is located. But there is always some spark which entices readers to a story and that is clearly displayed with voter participation. RougeMudblood, magicmau5 and BronxWench, I concede and support your points, but I really am interested to see if any other stories have an [+++++/1,000+] rating. Interested is the key word, not dependent or basing my decision to read the story or not upon the rating. All opinions regarding the rating system and its imperfections aside, please post a response if anyone has simply seen this rare occurrence- without qualifications regarding quality or fandom.

-Anonymous guest, I would never dream of passing up on a story purely do to its rating, and I appreciate you're helpful comment!

-BTW Staff, thank you for educating me about the faults in the rating system.

I know I have seen some authors with 1000+ ratings. At first I read them, because Goodreads recommended them highly (which is also based on a popularity rating system), but then I stopped reading them because they didn't live up to the hype. Out of three M/M stories published online that Goodreads highly recommends, I found that only one left me desperate to finish the story, and to stay up late at night to reach the end of it. I think it is not found on AFF. The two I did not like as much are highly rated here on AFF. I am fearful of saying that I don't recommend them - the authors are good, and the writing quality is high, but I did not like the plot or characters. (The latter statements are in no way intended to offend fans or authors!)

They are:

The Carnalli Complex by Passhenette1 and

The Last Pure Human by Twisted Hilarity (also available at twistedhilarity.com)

Edited March 11, 2013 by magicmau5

[Guest WanderingEllipses]

Yes, I understand what you all are saying, and it's wonderful to know how passionate every author in AFF is being recognized, regardless of its rating (which does not validate its punctuality, plot or greatness). I was simply wondering if there were any other works on AFF with a four-digit rating. When I posted this question, it was more of an experiment to see what other stories received such a rare number of votes in the website's rating system, even if it has proven to be broken, disproportionate, corrupt and unfair.

Quality no doubt triumphs over popularity, but honestly this post was just an idle thought being voiced over the forums. Please don't take offense to this query and if I ruffled anybody's feathers, it was truly unintentional. I had no idea the rating system was so controversial.

Yet I would appreciate volunteers to share a discovered story with [+++++/1,000+] votes in this discussion, purely to satisfy the original goal of this posting. Or even a story which should have such face-value recognition and has been neglected by the rating system. We are all adults here, united under a love for unpublished fiction. To rephrase the original question;

"Have You Seen Any Fics Equal or Deserving [+++++/1,000+] Votes?" #imagine a perfect rating system or the currently established one #your choice

[Guest WanderingEllipses]

I also challenge every person who has commented on this thread to answer the rephrased question.

Defend your arguments and give us all some EVIDENCE because you can never regret telling others about the things you love.

Please? Share the extraordinary, your favorites or something just good.

[magicmau5]

I also challenge every person who has commented on this thread to answer the rephrased question.

Defend your arguments and give us all some EVIDENCE because you can never regret telling others about the things you love.

Please? Share the extraordinary, your favorites or something just good.

I don't think you offended anyone. We were just giving personal opinions. I'm not going to go into details about why I disliked the two stories I mentioned, in order to avoid offending anyone. I think it's an interesting question about the 1000+ ratings, it's something I've been wondering about myself. So far I haven't found any AFF stories rated very highly that I like. But that is because the vast majority of what I read are published works (I mention a few authors I like on my profile). If I spent more time on AFF, I'm sure I would be able to answer your question more effectively. Sorry to disappoint you!

[RogueMudblood]

I also challenge every person who has commented on this thread to answer the rephrased question.

Defend your arguments and give us all some EVIDENCE because you can never regret telling others about the things you love.

Just a point of argument, I don't need to defend my tastes. Some of the stories I love are favorited on my profile (click link to left, click "Recommended Reading"). I've a list I'm saving for when certain elements of the new code go into effect so I have items with which to test it.

I'm not offended, but I am going to point that little quibble out for you.

Edited March 11, 2013 by RogueMudblood

[BronxWench]

I'm not offended, but I do think this question is so subjective as to become irrelevant. I don't think my opinions should carry such weight, on one hand, but on the other, I would not give anything such an extravagant rating. It's not telling anyone why I liked it.

I can only speak to things that please me. I like plot. I like complexity and authors that are in love with language. I like authors that respect and stay as close to canon concepts as possible, and who do not write a character so out of character as to be unrecognizable. I like dialogue that's realistic and fluid. I like authors that bother to research things they write about. I like authors that grasp that "adult" does not mean pornographic or filled with gratuitous violence. I like authors that don't feel the need to spoon feed me every detail, who encourage me to use my own vivid imagination and who paint word pictures capable of allowing me to do just that.

Obviously, if someone is only looking for something light, or just some PWP, my rating isn't going to help them very much.

[magicmau5]

I'm not offended, but I do think this question is so subjective as to become irrelevant. I don't think my opinions should carry such weight, on one hand, but on the other, I would not give anything such an extravagant rating. It's not telling anyone why I liked it.

I can only speak to things that please me. I like plot. I like complexity and authors that are in love with language. I like authors that respect and stay as close to canon concepts as possible, and who do not write a character so out of character as to be unrecognizable. I like dialogue that's realistic and fluid. I like authors that bother to research things they write about. I like authors that grasp that "adult" does not mean pornographic or filled with gratuitous violence. I like authors that don't feel the need to spoon feed me every detail, who encourage me to use my own vivid imagination and who paint word pictures capable of allowing me to do just that.

Obviously, if someone is only looking for something light, or just some PWP, my rating isn't going to help them very much.

I think BW has nailed it on the head here. Every reader's point of view is unique, and thus the ratings mean very little, because the aggregation of a heterogeneous audience into a single statistic gives both readers and authors an incredibly vague amount of information. Each has a different conception of what they desire in a story, and thus their rating will reflect that. Add to this impression some members have given voice to - that AFF "cliques" influence the number of ratings. It makes for a confusing medley for all involved. At this point, if I want to read a story, I skim through the description and first chapter to see if there is: a) a preponderance of errors, and b) whether the central concept is novel. I have read too much slash to want to read literary clones.

[pittwitch]

In all honesty, as much as I've been in and around the Archives, I've not seen anything reach the 1,000 mark.

I wasn't offended, just pointing out a serious weakness with the rating system.

I read along the same lines as BW. Oddly, we share very similar tastes in tales.

[DemonGoddess]

The only stories I've ever seen hit the 1,000 mark are those where it's rated up by buddies, and not rated on merit.

[RogueMudblood]

This is a prime example of why the ratings system is flawed:

Hits [3147] -:- Reviews -:- Average / Total Vote [+++++ / 10109]

More than three times the "rates" than it has views.