Vote Thread for Ack's Omake Corner

[BigaBadaEnda]

[X] slippery slope - 6
[X] Recoil - 5

 

[Ack]

Have a new chapter for A Darker Path.

 

[Neko Tamo]

Have a new chapter for A Darker Path.

Click to shrink...

Again? I'm starting to feel neglected

More seriously how do you decide what these seeming bonus/unvoted chapters are going to be? Just what you feel like writing at the moment or is there some method to the madness I'm not seeing

PS. Maybe it's a good idea to let excess votes for each winner overflow into the next round? Must suck to see dozens of votes potentially going to waste once your fav wins. Or worse people will start to vote strategically, shortchanging their favorite so it doesn't win too much and waste their vote. We don't want this democratic system to be as flawed as First Past The Post do we?

 

[Sleepyfoo]

PS. Maybe it's a good idea to let excess votes for each winner overflow into the next round? Must suck to see dozens of votes potentially going to waste once your fav wins. Or worse people will start to vote strategically, shortchanging their favorite so it doesn't win too much and waste their vote. We don't want this democratic system to be as flawed as First Past The Post do we?

Click to shrink...

This would just result in the most common winners (Recoil, Wyvern) winning more often and everything else falling even further behind.

Why is strategic voting bad?

Also, it would make my spreadsheet slightly more complicated.

 

[Robert Stadler]

I'm happy with most any story that Ack chooses to give us. He doesn't have to, you know?

The vote is a general way for us to signal which stories we want more of, but it's not really binding. Ack can, and should, write what he's interested in.

 

[Dalxein]

More seriously how do you decide what these seeming bonus/unvoted chapters are going to be? Just what you feel like writing at the moment or is there some method to the madness I'm not seeing

Click to shrink...

The votes determine which of the stories that can be voted on will be prioritized over the other stories on the vote list. I don't know their schedule, maybe they set aside a day of the week and say "today, if I write, it's the voted story" or maybe they do just write what they feel like, unless it'd be a voted story. There's stuff that's been taken off the vote list in the past, or added when one of the stories finishes. A couple of stories are definitely in the "I'm going to write more of this despite the votes, so it doesn't go on the list." camp, while I can only assume others need more planning or have limited motivation to be continued at the moment.

Vote stuff is somewhere between, and we get what we get.

 

[Neko Tamo]

Why is strategic voting bad?

Click to shrink...

In short because it feels bad. It means you are more likely to want to vote for what is most practical increase of voting for what you love. Best voting systems are designed so that what you love and what is most practical are one and the same. Vote overflow would achieve that in this small country

 

[Sleepyfoo]

In short because it feels bad. It means you are more likely to want to vote for what is most practical increase of voting for what you love. Best voting systems are designed so that what you love and what is most practical are one and the same. Vote overflow would achieve that in this small country

Click to shrink...

Vote overflow makes the winning stories more winning. This is bad for anyone that wants any other stories to ever update before the winning stories end.

I personally vote a bit strategically because while I really like the stories that win the most, I also want some other stories I really like to update sometime this decade, so I put more votes toward those. This gets me what I want, or close to it, in that a spread of stories I like update, even if I like the stories that win the most more in general.

If I put all my votes toward the stories that win the most, it might update a little more often (or significantly more often with overflow), but in contrast the other stories I like essentially wouldn't update. Hence I vote such that they get a little bit of a boost (as much as any one person doing so can, anyway).

This doesn't feel bad to me, but then I'm don't feel like I'm slighting the popular story either, so maybe it's just an unresolvable difference of perspective or opinion.

 

[Ack]

Have a new chapter for A Darker Path.

(There may be more before next month, but that's up in the air right now).

Again? I'm starting to feel neglected

More seriously how do you decide what these seeming bonus/unvoted chapters are going to be? Just what you feel like writing at the moment or is there some method to the madness I'm not seeing

PS. Maybe it's a good idea to let excess votes for each winner overflow into the next round? Must suck to see dozens of votes potentially going to waste once your fav wins. Or worse people will start to vote strategically, shortchanging their favorite so it doesn't win too much and waste their vote. We don't want this democratic system to be as flawed as First Past The Post do we?

Click to shrink...

<snip>

Click to shrink...

Okay, this is how it works.

I have three different systems for choosing what I'm writing for next.

First is the voting round. (Note that no matter what kind of voting system I use, people will find a way to game it, unless I make it needlessly complex on my end. Thus, I've made it so that if a story gets any votes at all, it will eventually get a chapter. It won't be cut off forever.) I post for one story from the voting round per month, either 1 long (7K+) chapter, or two short (3.5k chapters), depending on the story.

Second is the commissioning system. I have two slots (both full) and I don't intend to open any more up. One of my commissioners has a list of my fics that they rotate through on a monthly basis, one long chapter for any given month. The other has two that I write short chapters for, one for each of the stories (Snek is a Good Boy and Earning Her Stripes).

Third is basically anything else I feel like writing for. Right now, A Darker Path is my go-to, so as soon as I've sorted out the other four, I spend the rest of the month writing that one. I also write chapters each month for (non-fanfic; sci-fi or fantasy) stories I have going on my Reddit page.

So yes, there is madness, but there is also method.

 

[Neko Tamo]

Thank you for the answer @Ack that is more than fair, and thank you for the explanation.

But because I am an argumentative nerd on the internet, what possible gamer move do you see for that system I proposed? And it is simple to boot

 

[mouse]

In terms of simple - needing to subtract the difference to work out the next starting value is always going to be more complex than 'it won, set to 0'.
And then, what do you subtract? The current second place? What do you do if that value is less than the winner started with this round? A whole lot of unnecessary complexity vs just 'won -> set to 0'.

In terms of strategic voting, one unintended consequence I can see is the exact effect you maligned with the 'don't want something as flawed as First Past the Post': a concentration of voting into a single 'most popular' title that can repeatedly use the overflow to win again, rather than the current practice of giving out the lower value points to 'better than nothing, but not my favourite' options. If your favourite can start at 60-80 (based on the last three results), why bother inflating the overall vote pool vs further reducing the cooldown on the best option?
I mean, as a Recoil fan I wouldn't be complaining, but yeah, it would absolutely change the way I vote to the detriment of all the non-Recoil stories I currently vote for (admittedly in a semi-strategic manner for some).

edit: nvm I see you only voted for one thing anyway. In that case, I'd simply say that the current system is better than your proposed system for exactly the same reason that multi-member constituencies are better than first past the post: it's just a much more democratic outcome.

 

[Ack]

Thank you for the answer @Ack that is more than fair, and thank you for the explanation.

But because I am an argumentative nerd on the internet, what possible gamer move do you see for that system I proposed? And it is simple to boot

Click to shrink...

It's very simple.

Political voting systems are designed to get the same person in over and over if they are universally decided to be the best person for the job; that is, a majority will keep voting them back in.

I want all my stories to have a chance. If anyone votes for other than the favourites, they will have a chance to get in eventually.

 

[SlickRCBD]

Vote overflow makes the winning stories more winning. This is bad for anyone that wants any other stories to ever update before the winning stories end.

I personally vote a bit strategically because while I really like the stories that win the most, I also want some other stories I really like to update sometime this decade, so I put more votes toward those. This gets me what I want, or close to it, in that a spread of stories I like update, even if I like the stories that win the most more in general.

If I put all my votes toward the stories that win the most, it might update a little more often (or significantly more often with overflow), but in contrast the other stories I like essentially wouldn't update. Hence I vote such that they get a little bit of a boost (as much as any one person doing so can, anyway).

This doesn't feel bad to me, but then I'm don't feel like I'm slighting the popular story either, so maybe it's just an unresolvable difference of perspective or opinion.

Click to shrink...

Except that the winning stories will eventually reach their endings, and thus make room for another story to fit into a winning slot.

 

[Ack]

Have another chapter for War Games.

Voting is CLOSED.

 

[Ack]

Thanks, as always, for voting.

Voting points this round: 611

Announcements
Throne3d 's vote counting system seems to not be working, so it's back to hand counting. Any mistakes are mine.


Novel is PUBLISHED. [Welcome to Utopia]
Link to get, if interested: https://books2read.com/u/b68xeZ
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=welcome+to+utopia&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Sequel (part 2 of 4) is PUBLISHED: Shadows Over Utopia
Link to get, if interested: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1146304
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Over-Utopia-Utopian-Dreams/dp/0648729664/

Also, I have a free novel on Smashwords, called The Uncle Tal Stories.

Any votes to any stories not on the list will not be applied to any stories, on or off the list. The stories that have been taken off the list will not be abandoned, just put on hiatus until I've actually finished a significant number of stories that are actually still on the list.

Spoiler: Inactive Stories plus Vote Totals

MirrorVerse 1140
Bait & Switch 1164
Junior Hero 140
Enter the Nemesis 161

Spoiler: Posted Stories Not on the Voting List

A Darker Path [0] (Taylor has triggered with a shard called Path to Ending. She can kill anyone or anything. Also, she has no more fucks to give. Have a nice day.)
Afraid of the Dark [0] (Danny is an expy of John Wick. Taylor just went through the Locker. Be very afraid.)
All Alone [25] (Emma dies in the alley, so Taylor makes a new friend. Sophia Hess. But after some very bad decisions. she's all alone again. Or is she?)
Another Way [0] (Marquis beat shit out of BBB, then spent the next eight years in Boston. Now that his daughter has triggered, he's come back. She's having a ball.)
Conflict [0] (It's 1980. Contessa managed to shank Eden without getting nerfed. Doctor Mother now has Eidolon's powerset, without the insecurity complex. They've got two years to prepare before Scion shows up.)
Earning Her Stripes [0] (Sophia has gotten three power vials. Emma and Madison took two, and they're aiming to make Taylor into a villain with the third.)
Entanglement [0] (Taylor has her bug powers. However, she is now randomly body-swapping with a Taylor from an Earth without super-powers. Both are rather confused.)
First Telkan [0] (A crossover with the massively popular Reddit serial First Contact, by Ralts Bloodthorne.)
Fuck Worm! [0] {NSFW} (A double SI, where a couple gets dropped into the Wormverse on opposite sides. Only just started.)
Gravitas [0] (A crossover fanfic with a novel I'm in the process of writing).
One Bad Day [0] (Sophia murders Grue. Taylor murders Sophia and Madison. Lisa murders her new team leader. Amy mindwipes Vicky. It's one hell of a bad day.)
Prodigal Daughter [0] (Taylor isn't quite right. But that's okay. She's Jack Slash's daughter. Brockton Bay is in for ... a time.)
Snek is a Good Boy [0] (The adorrifying adventures of a large snek in and around Brockton Bay.)
Yet Another Way [0] (A spin-off of Another Way, where Carol killed Amy. The BBB is now out of the picture, and Marquis has managed to adopt the Dallon and Pelham kids.)

Spoiler: Still in Development

A Friend At Winslow - Non-Taylor-centric, but involving Taylor.
The Centre Cannot Hold - Taylor gets a really weird power, and makes full use of it. Crack.
Dinah Alcott, Ruler of the World - Exactly what it says on the tin.
EverYthiNg YoU kNow iS WroNg - The Birdcage is a luxury resort. Marquis was sandbagging. It's all a LIE, I tell you! Pure crack.
Force Projection - A sequel to my original fiction Number Two.
Hostile Takeover - Marquis had a son. He's just come back to Brockton Bay.
Identity Theft - An international freelancer needs to hide out in Brockton Bay. Guess who she looks like?
Isel - Prequel to my original fiction King's Man
Parallel - A time travel story, involving Taylor's son from after Gold Morning.
Living in Brockton Bay is Suffering - A perfect storm of bad events happens, leaving Tagg in charge of the PRT, based in Brockton Bay.
Library Blues (working title) - A massive AU where Taylor is an adult, working in the library of Winslow High. Brian is the principal, and Sophia is the head coach.
Terminal: A cancer sufferer triggers with powers. His life does not improve. News at eleven.

User Errors: None.

On to the main event.

Alea Iacta Est 385
Collateral Damage 142
Hostage Situation 358
One More Trigger 0 (469)
Reality Intrudes 236
Recoil 217
Slippery Slope 265
War Games 40
World War Scion 174
Wyvern 255

One More Trigger has (predictably) hit the top spot this month, and Alea Iacta Est is pulling ahead of Hostage Situation for next month. Following them, Slippery Slope seems to be leading the pack, but do not discount Recoil for its ability to overtake the leaders.


Check out Sleepyfoo for a reasonable prediction.

Note: As Collateral Damage and Reality Intrudes are based on short, sharp chapters you'll be getting two 3-4K chapters each time either one comes up, instead of one 7K+ chapter.


Anyway, thanks again for voting, and I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoy writing them.


For anyone who hasn't voted on this thread before, the voting rules go as follows:

1) UP TO six votes. I will not count anything extra, and a write-in will likely be ignored (if I want to write a different story, I will, but at my own discretion). Suggestions are welcome, but I am under no obligation to carry them out. And just remember, the more stories I am writing, the longer it will take for your favourites to roll back around.
2) First vote is worth six points, second is worth five, and so on.
3) You can't vote twice on the same story. The voting code will count the last vote and ignore previous ones.
4) If I say "Voting is CLOSED", then this post comes up, with "Voting is OPEN" at the bottom, then you can vote again.
5) If I say "Voting will continue", it's still the same voting period. Voting has not restarted. You can not vote a second time.
6) When I have finished a few of the current fics, I will look at bringing stories back on to the list.

Click to shrink...

Vote format looks like this:

[X] Alea Iacta Est - 6
[X] World War Scion - 5
[X] War Games - 4
[X] Recoil - 3
[X] Hostage Situation - 2
[X] Reality Intrudes - 1

Specifically: SQUARE brackets around an X, one space, and please spell at least the first word of the name of the story properly. Number of voting points comes last. Please try to format your vote properly, so as not to confuse the vote counter.

Click to shrink...

Thank you.

Voting is OPEN.

 

[andriska97]

[X] Reality Intrudes - 6
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 5
[X] Wyvern - 4
[X] Hostage Situation - 3
[X] Collateral Damage - 2

 

[Twilight666]

[X] Recoil - 6
[X] Wyvern - 5
[X] Reality Intrudes - 4
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 3
[X] Collateral Damage - 2
[X] War Games - 1

 

[Corwyn-Ulhar]

[X] Recoil - 6
[X] Collateral Damage - 5
[X] Hostage Situation - 4
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 3
[X] Wyvern - 2
[X] One More Trigger - 1

 

[Aleh]

[X] One More Trigger - 6
[X] Collateral Damage - 5
[X] War Games - 4
[X] Wyvern - 3
[X] Hostage Situation - 2

 

[SilverEagle2121]

[X] Recoil - 6
[X] World War Scion - 5
[X] Wyvern - 4
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 3
[X] One More Trigger - 2
[X] Slippery Slope - 1

 

[anwan7]

[X] Reality Intrudes - 6
[X] Recoil - 5
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 4
[X] Wyvern - 3
[X] War Games - 2
[X] One More Trigger - 1

 

[BigaBadaEnda]

[X] Slippery Slope - 6
[X] Recoil - 5

 

[Visual Pun]

[X] Recoil - 6

 

[Dan Tobias]

[X] World War Scion - 6
[X] Recoil - 5
[X] Slippery Slope - 4
[X] Hostage Situation - 3
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 2
[X] One More Trigger - 1

Up for voting and I'd like to see it, just not quite enough to get a vote this time...
[] War Games
[] Wyvern

Not eligible for votes but I'd still like to see it:
[] Entanglement
[] Snek is a Good Boy
[] Taylor Hebert, Medhall Intern
[] MirrorVerse

 

[cl20]

[X] War Games - 6
[X] Wyvern - 5
[X] Reality Intrudes - 4
[X] Recoil - 3
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 2
[X] One More Trigger - 1

 

[Neko Tamo]

[X] Slippery Slope - 6

 

[V01D]

[X] Reality Intrudes - 5
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 2
[X] Wyvern - 3
[X] Hostage Situation - 4
[X] World War Scion - 6
[X] Recoil - 1


@andriska97 - FYI, you forgot/missed putting something in the 1 spot

 

[EJH]

[X] World War Scion - 6
[X] Alea Iacta Est - 5
[X] Reality Intrudes - 4
[X] Wyvern - 3
[X] War Games - 2
[X] One More Trigger - 1

 

[inky]

[X] Recoil - 6
[X] Wyvern - 5

 

[TJen]

[X] Recoil - 6