Subject: In Serious Need of Pep Talk
Posted by: shorthumbz
Date: Jun 17 13
I've been perking along doing my quizzes and trying to improve. Was tickled to receive the "5 Quizzes" badge. Now, however, I just saw that two of my quizzes fall below the 1/2 cutoff for quality quizzes. Am totally bummed and feel that for every step I take forward fate pulls me two steps back. Help!
Posted by: shorthumbz
Date: Jun 17 13
I've been perking along doing my quizzes and trying to improve. Was tickled to receive the "5 Quizzes" badge. Now, however, I just saw that two of my quizzes fall below the 1/2 cutoff for quality quizzes. Am totally bummed and feel that for every step I take forward fate pulls me two steps back. Help!
23 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
kyleisalive
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Unfortunately that is the wax and wane of quiz-writing; player ratings are the one thing we can't really control. It doesn't mean that your quizzes are bad per se-- it could be any number of factors ranging from difficulty, timing, the player's score, etc. The more you write the less you'll worry about the numbers. I still check every week (out of curiosity) and I check others' as well; we all end up rising and falling all the time though. Keep up the good work and enjoy what you write and the rewards will come to you. :) If the only reason you're writing is to fulfill the requirements for a badge or a challenge and the writing is secondary to the completion of said challenge, you're going to find it much more difficult to sit back and enjoy it. Although much of the Lounge is based around challenges, I'm hoping that people are writing for the enjoyment of writing moreso than (but as well as) the challenges. Reply #1. Jun 17 13, 8:45 AM |
salami_swami 
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I would just say to persevere. Write the quizzes because you enjoy writing them, not to get a certain rating. Some of my favorite quizzes have ratings over 80,000. Don't worry about the badges. Those will come with time. Just keep writing, ignoring the badges, and one day you'll find them magically fall into your profile, and you'll think "whoa, when did that happen?" It's rewarding to get good ratings, of course, but write because you love to do it. I find it is much more rewarding to get a highly rated quiz if you're not stressing over doing so. When it simply happens, it is a wonderful feeling. When I'm stressing over it and watching the ratings closely, it isn't as exciting. Keep writing, but only because you love it. :) Reply #2. Jun 17 13, 8:47 AM |
rossian
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There are so many factors coming into play with quiz ratings, as Kyle has already mentioned. I can remember feeling very despondent myself when I first started writing quizzes and found the ratings dropping. Not every quiz can be in the top 20%, though, and it doesn't mean that they are not good quizzes. The more you write the less the ratings seem to matter - and I never thought I'd find myself writing those words! I usually have a look on Mondays to see where my most recent quizzes have ranked and then don't bother again. Keep on writing what you enjoy doing and that time will arrive for you, too. Reply #3. Jun 17 13, 9:23 AM |
shorthumbz
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Well, I didn't start writing quizzes to get badges. (I didn't think I'd be good enough, frankly) It just seemed like the next step in the logical progression of the FT site. I thought the AinA challenge would be a good way to learn; and that's when the "5 Quizzes" badge appeared. I suppose it lulled me into a false sense of security. However, if kyle, salami, and rossian say to perservere, that is what I'll do! Reply #4. Jun 17 13, 9:43 AM |
| kyleisalive
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Don't get me wrong-- the badges are a great incentive. ;) Reply #5. Jun 17 13, 9:46 AM |
looney_tunes
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My lowest-ranked quiz was about 88,000 last time I checked it, and it once had sunnies shortly after going online. I have watched its fall from grace with a bit of nostalgic sadness, but no regret - I wrote it to explore a particular way of using images in photo quizzes, and I learned a lot about that in the process. I usually check my newest quizzes to see which ones have been ranked, and record that for my records, but I rarely even see the bulk of them. At long intervals I do go through the entire list and record their latest ranking, but it is too time consuming to be worth the effort on a regular basis any more, and I have correspondingly stopped worrying about their fate. A reasonable first ranking is the only thing I worry about - if a quiz's first ranking is very low, I do take the time to look at it and see if I can pinpoint what might have caused its unfavorable reception, so that I can write more well-received quizzes in the future. Sometimes I can learn, sometimes I don't see why, and just go on with my writing. Reply #6. Jun 17 13, 12:53 PM |
SisterSeagull
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I'd agree with all the points so far. It's nice to get the badges but the thing that I get the most encouragement from is getting messages in my mailbox from players saying how much they enjoyed my quiz and whether or not they took some benefit away from playing it. That, to my mind, is what authoring quizzes is all about! Reply #7. Jun 17 13, 1:49 PM |
Buddy1
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The same thing that happened to looney_tunes happened to me with one of my Literature quizzes. Once sunnies; now it has a rank of 80,387. My second (and only other) Literature quiz had sunnies; now it has a rank of 85,568. Additionally, my Celebrities quiz (the only one I have on-line at the moment) is so close to that 50%. The current cut-off is 59,471; my quiz ranking is 60,855.Both were once in the top 50%, now they aren't and I no longer have those two categories in the "quizzes in the top 50% to get the Fifteen Categories badge". Not to mention I have two quizzes within 300 rankings of getting sunnies. As others have said, just keeping on writing and things will get better. Reply #8. Jun 17 13, 1:51 PM |
| salami_swami
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One of my all-time favorite quizzes to write is now rated 84283. It's very low down my list, but it is still one of my favorites. I found it to be clever and unique, and it's fun, in my opinion. It isn't rated well, but every now and again, I'll get a message about it. It is very rewarding to know that, even if only one person gets any enjoyment out of the quiz at all, it has done its job. That's all that matters; if you can make ONE person happy, it's all worth it. Reply #9. Jun 17 13, 2:38 PM |
satguru
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I think there are only a small group of writers who are nearly all in the top half, while I'd expect everyone else to be fairly evenly spread out as I am. I like to get sunglasses but otherwise know people play the quizzes regardless and don't get concerned by how the total are distributed. I'd only start worrying if the majority are in the lower half, if the other way round you're doing well. Reply #10. Jun 17 13, 3:20 PM |
CmdrK
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The first time one of my quizzes lost its sunnies I was bummed. (I think it was the first quiz of mine to get them.) But I got over it and the more I wrote the easier it became. One of my favorite quizzes that wasn't well received when it came out two years ago is now looking pretty cool with its red-framed shades. And it took three tries before I could get a quiz to stick in the top half of the World category. So don't get discouraged. Things change monthly, or even weekly, here and you'll find some surprises along the way. You may not like them all but you'll get used to it. Reply #11. Jun 17 13, 3:36 PM |
Lpez
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So far, I have 34 quizzes online. Out of all of them, only 1 has received sunnies, and it only lasted one week. I understand that player ratings are impossible to control, however, I think sometimes they are unfair. For example, a couple weeks ago I played the quiz of the hour, which was a Justin Beiber quiz. The quiz had only one line of interesting information per question and it wasn't at all complete, in my opinion. I was startled, as quizzes of mine which have three paragraphs of original interesting info and have new content for the site are ranked in the 80000's. Don't take me wrong, I am not complaining at all. I'm just saying that sometimes quizzes are not ranked completely fair and square. But I keep writing quizzes! I like to write them, I like to help people from all over the World learn something new, I enjoy writing them and learning myself, and at the same time I help in the Author's Lounge. So don't be discouraged, the most important judge of how good your quiz is, is you! Reply #12. Jun 17 13, 3:42 PM |
| Lpez
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Just realized it's spelled Bieber :p Reply #13. Jun 17 13, 4:10 PM |
| SisterSeagull
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Like Lpez, I have 37 quizzes on-line, 17 of which are sunnied. Of those 17 I think 3 or 4 of them haven't been out of the top 1500 quizzes since they went on-line over two years ago. As CmdrK says; things can change weekly. My poorest rated quiz was at around 82,000 last week but this week it has risen to just over 75,000... I was amazed when I saw that earlier today! Reply #14. Jun 17 13, 4:23 PM |
| SisterSeagull
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Actually that should read just over 78,000! Reply #15. Jun 17 13, 4:24 PM |
nannywoo
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"The current cut-off is 59,471" - that's good information to know. Where do you find the numbers and percentages? I know a couple of places to look at my own quizzes, and I usually choose that pull down menu "Me" and "My Quizzes: Edit" to find out how mine are doing. Is that the best place to check? Since my first quiz was written in November 2011 and I've only become really active since Adventures in Authoring began, my quizzes aren't old enough to have dropped too far. Twenty of the 38-39 that have been rated have sunnies right now, so I'm thinking that's pretty good. According to the cut-off Buddy gave above, I only have two below the mark, with one soon to be slip-sliding away. I'll give you three guesses which category two out of my bottom three are! One great thing about writing quizzes is the conversation here. I love my team, and I stand on my head trying to get chats going, but there's not as much give and take there as I'd like. It was exciting to find AinA and the Author's Lounge. So, I guess I value the feedback from other authors most. I like the give and take with editors, too. And as others have said, I love exchanging those notes. Still, all those sunnies do make a body smile. Reply #16. Jun 17 13, 5:46 PM |
| looney_tunes
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I always use My Quizzes: Edit to get information about my quizzes. It has all the information I need to see, and if I open a quiz for editing I can check on the percentage correct for each question. That can be useful in trying to see what went wrong - when Q10 has 10% right, you know players are finishing on a bad note. Player ratings are based on how much the players enjoyed your quiz, not necessarily how thorough, entertaining and informative it is. A Justin Bieber quiz will probably only (or at least mostly) have been played by his fans, who will be so excited to find the quiz they will rate it Excellent just because it is about him. A round of Quiz of the Hour might redress this somewhat, because players are less likely to be blindly enthusiastic, but then again many, like me, would just avoid that hour's quiz. Reply #17. Jun 17 13, 6:22 PM |
tazman6619
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Some of it depends on subject matter that you write about. Some subjects just do not rate well no matter what but I like writing some of those subjects so I write quizzes in them. I would like it if they rated better but it seems clear they never will. Then every once in a while you get a note from someone who likes the subject as much as you and that makes it worth it. For me that category is poker. Poker quizzes just do not rate well period. Since I have about 40 online that means 40 low rated quizzes. Such is life but it won't stop me from writing them, especially now that I can do them as photo quizzes. Reply #18. Jun 17 13, 6:31 PM |
| Lpez
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I completely agree with you, tazman. I tend to write quizzes about Mexico sometimes and they usually don't do well in ratings. I assume this is because few people are interested on the topic and only people who are really interested in the topic play it (which is great!). My quiz "Give It Up For The Great Raul Di Blasio", which can be found at: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizdetails.cfm?quiz=357132 has been online since March 4, 2013. It has been played 48 times and only received 13 ratings. This is probably because Di Blasio is not a well-known musician and people might not be interested in playing. If I wait patiently, though, someday it will get rated, and if it gets a very low rank, it won't stop me from writing! I enjoy writing and won't let any rankings change that... Reply #19. Jun 17 13, 6:40 PM |
| nannywoo
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It will be interesting to see how the ability to do photo quizzes changes the ratings and the site itself. Right now, my highest rated quiz is "Ur Illustrated" - a photo quiz about a world site in ancient Mesopotamia, which I wouldn't think would be wildly popular. So it may be that photo quizzes would be helpful in getting good ratings, at least for now? I'm not sure how others rate quizzes, but for me the Excellents go to authors whose personalities shine through, especially if there's a sense of humor or a distinctive voice combined with intelligence that teaches me something or (even better) makes me feel smart. I am a fan of some quiz writers, and I'm already biased in their favor going into the quiz, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be a good playing experience. My questions tend to be long (too long probably) because I try to give good hints and enough information in the question for a well-read person to figure out what to eliminate, at least. I hope with more experience I can still give good hints but tighten up the sentence (or sentences) in the question. I really like questions that have good "distractors" too - not too easy, but possible to be thought out. I don't know if that helps with the original question or if it constitutes a pep talk. Maybe, it would help if when we send those compliments we tell the author specifically what the BEST thing about the quiz was for us as players. Then, maybe, specifically, where we stumbled? Reply #20. Jun 17 13, 7:10 PM |
23 replies. On page 1 of 2 pages. 1 2
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