I've written a few stories on here and as someone who is not a professional author and therefore not motivated to write to keep the lights on, you have to WANT to write for free. Feedback, especially positive feedback, is essential to that. When I get the sense that people are digging what I'm writing, it makes me want to write more. If the interest seems low (I've written some that apparently only I like, haha), it's hard to want to write more. That means fewer stories for people to read and less practice as a writer, meaning you don't get better. It costs nothing to close out of a story you don't like. So, while feedback is important, I worry about a rating system having the unintended consequence of disenfranchising a new writer from getting better. Comments, especially constructive ones, are good. People tell me what they like and don't like, offer suggestion, etc., and I really appreciate that. But at the end of the day, if what they want isn't what makes sense to me, I'm not going to be able to accomodate it. This area of writing is so individual that you just can't make a story that is perfect for everybody. So I would say have a comment section, but don't allow people to just thumbs-up/thumbs-down or give a star rating. You're going to get a lot of 1 star reviews just because someone wanted a story to go a different way than it did based on their individual preference, and that is going to kill participation from authors. Conversly, the more you can do to incentivize writing, the more stories (and better) you'll get, which is good for everybody!
