That’s a very valid point, and even as I was writing this request I had an inkling that it might be a principled choice rather than a forgotten feature.
I think for me as a user, the issue I have is that I feel like I’ve gone through everything. Ive been reading from this site since I realised I was gay, way back when I was 14 (24 now), and I used to keep my favourite stories on a notes app in my phone (I was too afraid to make my own account!).
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been through everything I like, and I’m just patiently (more accurately impatiently) waiting for the next great story to come along, checking every 6 hours. I think I use this site everyday. But the thing is, I know I’ve missed some great stuff out there.
So to try and find new material that might be older, I use authors I love and check who their favourite stories are, or I find their most loyal fans and then check their favourite stories or most highly rated stories etc.
It’s all such a hassle just to try and find some good quality hidden gens that work for my tastes, and even then it’s not that accurate because I’m banking on their tastes being very very aligned to mine.
I never use the top rated tab - because to me it’s honestly useless. For it to be useful you’d have to be into everything offered on this site, the works.
For me personally though, I don’t like it when older men (Like dads) are hypnotised as the victim, I don’t like furry stories, I don’t like latex stories, and I really don’t like severe transformation stories (old to young, young to old, hunk to twink, twink to hunk etc.). I’m partial to dick shrinking, I have to really be in the mood for it.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is perhaps you’re right, ratings being sorted would be a brutal way of doing things, and most definitely would reduce newer great stories from being exposed compared to old classics.
So maybe a good compromise is the option to sort searched by stories with the most favourites in proportion - that is, stories not just ranked by how many users have favourited them, but formulate that against the age of the story. An old classic with 5000 favourites might appear below a day old story that already has 500 favourites!
Thoughts?