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This story may contain sensitive material or discuss topics that some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised. The views and opinions expressed in this story are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Vocal.

Why Didn't You Give Me A Top Story?

A Humorous, Imaginary, Fictional, ChatFiction With Support Staff

By Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished 3 months ago 3 min read
12
Screenshot Scribbled On By Author

Introduction

Obviously, this is fictional because the support person actually has a meaningful dialogue with the protagonist. The protagonist is dismissed, but you can see that this is a total slice of ham fiction.

The music is "What'd I Say?" by Ray Charles.

The Conversation

Me: "Why wasn't my story given a Top Story Award? I think it is a really good story, and all the comments have been incredibly complimentary, and a few of those are wondering why it hasn't been chosen"

S: "We are very busy and have seven hundred thousand members to cater for. We have thousands of stories to evaluate every day and cannot give feedback on individual stories. For you, it is one story, for us it is one in ten thousand. We give every story equal evaluation and time, and obviously only a tiny sample can be awarded a Top Story. We treat everybody fairly"

Me: "That is fine, so how come some stories are given Top Story status despite being published less than sixty minutes before they get the award? Surely they cannot have been properly evaluated. We also see the same creators continually getting Challenge and Top Story awards. Given the number of creators producing should the bonuses be to a wider variety of people?"

S: "Awards and bonuses are given solely on merit. If a story does not make it it is because it has not reached the requirements for an award. Keep trying and submitting your work and you might be considered. As I keep saying we have a lot of submissions to evaluate so sometimes it takes time to properly evaluate stories"

Me: "That goes completely against the virtually instant Top Stories that we see from certain creators, why have you ignored that question?"

S: "Running this platform is very complex, and I believe we do a very good job. Creators are satisfied with what we do otherwise they would not keep subscribing to us. We have no major issues and the platform runs almost perfectly"

Me: "I have two unanswered issues outstanding, your platform, in my opinion, is the best option, but has many flaws that you ignore or refuse to address, despite having the ability to resolve things"

S: "This is the best creator option in our opinion and we are always working on improving the platform, and know our subscribers are appreciative of the tremendous work that our teams put into our continual improvement"

Me: "You still haven't answered why I don't get Top Stories while others get multiple Top Stories for mainstream and bland content. Many of my stories have hundreds and thousands of reads but were not deemed worthy of a Top Story. Some Top Stories don't even have a heart until they are given a Top Syory status."

S: "Well the answer is obvious. Your work is not very good. I am surprised that you managed to get more than ten reads. You should be grateful that we allow you to share your stories here. Take the money you get for the reads and be grateful for it. This conversion is finished. Our time is too precious to waste on the likes of you".

Me: "You seem to forget that I pay a subscription for a service from you. I contribute to your salary. This is not a freebie for me. I deserve some respect"

S: "This is our platform, the rules are ours. Abide by them or leave, it is no skin off our nose. Every member loves being here, you are just a whiney complainer and not the sort of person we want with us.

VocalSatireSarcasmRoastParodyIronyGeneralFunnyCONTENT WARNINGComedyWriting
12

About the Creator

Mike Singleton - Mikeydred

Weaver of Tales, Poems, Music & Love

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Comments (7)

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  • Stephen A. Roddewig3 months ago

    I think the dialog cuts off here because that's when "M" hears a knock on the door and answers it, only to have a black bag slipped over their head and be dragged into the back of a van labeled "Thought Police." And all of this tragedy could have been avoided had he just read the incredibly insightful and illuminating piece "A Transparent Look into How Vocal Curates Top Stories" (https://vocal.media/resources/a-transparent-look-into-how-vocal-curates-top-stories) 😭😭

  • Are you sure this is fictional, Mike? It does seem a bit more like a transcript (perhaps with a little hyperbole thrown in).

  • Hey Mike, how were you able to get a "great" dialogue with Vocal. And if this dialogue is real I am mortified. But sadly a lot of companies are this way. We writers aren't exactly contracted by Vocal and who knows if we have our own rights to our blog material?

  • Judey Kalchik 3 months ago

    I am (almost) sure this is satirized and not true dialog. I hope that the writing is useful to you, Mike. Much of your recent work is so angry and pointedly so disgusted with Vocal. You have been a much appreciate part of my time here, and it brings me sorrow to see that you don’t seem to enjoy this experience in the same way. I am always glad to see your content, though.

  • That was so mean of them, to say someone's work is not very good and they're surprised it got more than 10 reads!

  • Kodah3 months ago

    Hahahaha Loved this Mike! 💓

  • Daphsam3 months ago

    Hahahahah! Very funny!

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