Story Challenge - story order

Given that there's a lot of stories to read in the current photo challenge (and hopefully in any future contests or challenges we might run) I suspect that the majority of people will start at the top of the list and work down. This means of course that the stories at the top of the list will initially, in general at least, have more views than those further down. The list of stories is shown in the order that we received them.

So, my question is, would people prefer to see the list of stories sorted in a random fashion each time they visit the contest page? I had assumed that they might find this confusing and potentially an irritation so to date have not done things this way.

Probably not a good idea to mix them up especially as voting is by identifying by story number although I take your point. I too started at the top then from the bottom of the list. The problem I have is that the standard is pretty high and I could do with a few more points to award.

Good fun though.

On reflection, mix them up on a daily or at random times for maximum irritation.

Good idea.

I, no doubt like many others, wrote a story for the photo challenge firstly for my own pleasure and also in the hope that others might enjoy it too. I suppose what I mean to say is that it is a personal challenge rather than a competition with other writers. If no-one reads my story I won't be offended! Now I don't know how many 'a lot of stories to read' is, but my suggestion is to give each a number and stick to it. If readers just note the numbers of the stories they have read then they can read others on return visits, and if there are so many stories then yes, I suppose those at the back end of the list may suffer less viewings.

Readers should be aware of which stories they have read based on the document icon shown to the left of the story title (which changes once a story has been read) so shouldn't need to make a note of the numbers.

Potterstoke has the right idea when he says that for him (and I suspect for many others too) the contest is more of a personal challenge than a burning desire to win or get the most reads or comments.

I am working through the stories, reading and commenting on each one. And yes, I am starting from the top and working down to the bottom. If the order of the stories was randomly shuffled every day, it wouldn't bother me, because as has already been said, the icon on the left of the story shows me the ones I have already read. And because there are so many and the standard is so high, I'm making a few notes as I go re the ones I particularly enjoyed, and I shall revisit those when voting.

flops

I, like flopsy, am also working my way through the stories, as is Sebastian, I think. And, like flopsy, using the icon, I can tell at a glance which ones I have read, so a 'shuffle' wouldn't bother me at all.

I think it might actually be beneficial, since some people will never get through all of the stories, and the ones at the top will get most reads. While I agree it is more of a personal challenge than a 'competition' it would be a shame to see those stories always at the bottom of the list get more or less ignored.

Well as the awkward, left handed one, I am working from the bottom up

Again I am making a note of those that appeal so as to vote once I have got to the top.

I can see no real downside to muddling the stories up as it is easy to see which you have and have not read... and would give those lower down an equal chance of being at the top and even out the read totals...

I didn' t think anyone was being seriously competitive, or is there a cup of some sort?

On the order, I really can't see a problem with the way it is.

Random order would seem the best way to go, I think.

Whilst I understand that people are writing the stories for themselves in the first instance, I think people also enjoy sharing - that is, after all what the library is about. When there are 'challenges' such as with the picture story I think people work hard on their stories so it would seem fair to maximise the opportunity of them being read.

Here's to more 'challenges' and lost of good reading in the future!

In a horse race there is a blind draw for post position.

I hate to see it, but the numbers don't lie. There is a lopsided distribution of reads for stories at the top. I'd encourage readers who are just getting into looking at the entries--don't start at the top. Read randomly or in reverse or something. The little icon will tell you if you've read something so you don't have to keep track.