I’ve changed the settings for the “Popular Settings” widget in the sidebar so it only shows stories from the past three months (90 days) now.

Previously, it showed stories posted within the last year. I want to see a bit more turnover, so people get exposed to more recent stories and don’t just see the same high-rated stories in the sidebar constantly. Those stories will still be at the top of the lists on the Top Stories page, which is not time-limited, so this doesn’t make your ratings any less meaningful.

Thank you to everyone who rates stories. It’s a great way to get feedback from you, and I really appreciate it. The Top Stories page is the second-most popular page on the site, after the home page, of course, so your ratings really count on helping new and old readers alike find the best stories to read from FiftyWordStories.com’s large archive.