A few clicks later I opened the review to find a big fat 4. :-)
Yuk! It's a good job we writers don't take this kind of thing personally isn't it?

If there is one thing worse than being talked about, it is NOT being talked about. (Oscar Wilde)

The same applies to the stories. I'd rather receive negative comments and/or low ratings than absolutely nothing. Many of the regular authors habitually receive negative reviews/low ratings but they still keep posting new stories. Maybe it spurs them on, trying/hoping for better next time. I admire their persistance if not always their product!

Boccaccio: My incipient paranoia - which is never far from the surface - made me wonder if Marcus might not have been right a few weeks ago. Perhaps it might not be a good idea to write and review under the same name; I had dished out a number of low scores of my own. Was this retaliation from a disappointed author? (operating under another name, of course)
You doubted me?? When an author writes reviews under the same name I feel it is only a matter of time before a tit-for-tat review is posted. Human nature!

I maintain a separate name each for reviews, forums and forum posting. That way I can write objective reviews without their being referenced to my forum posts. It also enables me to give credit where due to stories written by forum members without a sense of mutual 'back scratching'. Believe me, I don't always give great reviews although I hope they are constructive.