fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3317 ]

[ SECRET POST #3317 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3317 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[D.Gray-man - Miranda Lotto]

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[The Thick of It]

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[Golden Kamui]

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(The Lost Boys)

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[Marble Hornets/troyhasacamera]

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[@midnight with Chris Hardwick]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 037 secrets from Secret Submission Post #474.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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I always reply to comments then delete my reply after a couple of days, because I like to thank people for commenting but I don't like to inflate the comment count.

I was going to say it bugs me a little when authors respond to EVERY comment (unless there only a few) including ones that are just like "Nice story!" because it doubles the number of comments. I like seeing what the author has to say in response to comments that actually talk about something, though.

I'm not on AO3, but if I were, I would be the sort who would respond to every comment :p. Obviously if all someone said was "Nice story" I'd reply with a simple "Thanks!" and not go into some big long reply the way I would if someone left a more detailed comment/review.

But still, I'd want to reply to all the comments anyway 'cause I'd just feel bad about looking like I was ignoring someone. Plus, I wouldn't want to make it seem like I only cared about the commenters who had more to their comments or reviews than "Nice story!".

That said, of course, you make a good point about how that can look bad for the writer, too, as though they're trying to inflate the amount of comments.

This. I always reply to every comment, no matter how short. I don't care about inflating comment counts, though - people can just scroll and see i've replied and halve the count, if it means that much to them.

That's how I'd go about viewing it, too. Plus, as someone else noted below, I generally don't pay attention to the number of comments when looking up stories. If I see a story has LOTS of them, like into the hundreds or even thousands, I might be curious as to what all they're saying, but that'd be all.

Yup. People really *don't* leave a lot of comments on AO3 as a rule, since the kudos button gives them the choice not to. So yeah, comments just doesn't mean much to me as a number to look at.

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 01:35 (UTC) - Expand

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tabaqui - 2016-02-03 01:38 (UTC) - Expand

Me too. I kind of side-eye authors that do that because it artificially inflates the comment count.

I don't know about everyone else, but I don't judge a fic by comment count. I use kudos count, never comment count.

If a fic has a high comment count, I assume there are conversations going on in the comments. Fics on AO3 normally have fifth or less of the amount of comments to kudos, I've noticed. So, for every five kudos, I expect to get a least one comment. If there are more comments than that, than I expect that the author replies to comments.

I can only speak for me but it's not that I judge other fics by comment count, but that I feel judged by other people? Maybe it's because back when I got into fic there was this huge issue about comments on fics (that was before AO3, but to give a frame of reference, do you remember how much wank AO3's announcement about implementing kudos caused?), but I feel as though readers would look at my fic's comment count, see that half of them are my replies, and then think that I tried to make it seem as though my fic is better quality than it is by inflating the comment count.

I know that many comments =/= good quality fic, but in my mind that's what other people think and I feel as though they would dismiss my fic thinking I was a self-important author trying to pass my writing off as something better than it is. (I spent my formative years in fandom and on writing boards, and I think that left me with some issues regarding comments on fic. Everything regarding reviews devolved into wank back then.)

So, what do you think of storys where their are a lot of comments, a lot of views, and only a few kudos.

I think "Hey, that creepy Yuletide guy who's obsessed with Howl's Moving Castle wrote a new story!"

Usually that fic appeals to a specific set of people and there is probably some conversation in the comments section between the author and commenters or commenters and other commenters. I have a few fics that have higher comment to kudos ratio because I or other people have made comments unrelated to the story, like drive-by icon love, or chitchatted with each other about the canon or fic.

I'm not going to be a dick and not engage with my readers (many of whom I talk to other places besides AO3), especially if they took the time to comment on my fic. I don't care about inflating the comment count because the comments section of a fic is to comment and respond to comments. You shouldn't have to worry about using the comments section for its intended purpose.

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 09:13 (UTC) - Expand

Oooorrrr they don't care about the count, and they're trying to be polite? Because that's why I do it. The idea that there's something sneaky about actually replying to people is very strange to me.

I don't go back and read if the author replied to my braindead 2 word comments. The only time I even care if the author replied to me is if I left a long, thoughtful comment with questions. When the author has to thank every damn comment regardless of content then I just assume they want higher comment count.

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 01:42 (UTC) - Expand

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 01:43 (UTC) - Expand

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 01:57 (UTC) - Expand

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fingalsanteater - 2016-02-03 02:50 (UTC) - Expand

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(Anonymous) - 2016-02-03 04:18 (UTC) - Expand

If authors don't reply to comments, people whine that they're being standoffish. If authors do reply to comments, people whine that they're artificially inflating their comment count.

There really is no winning.

Some people on this thread are deeply petty.

But it's not why most authors do it so that's frankly silly and in fact rude of you. Someone pays a compliment, it's straightforward good manners to say thanks.

This is how I feel. I'm awkward answering comments that I don't have anything intelligent to say to, because I think I'm inflating the comment numbers, like you say. But any comment that has content I can really react to, I try to answer.
I wish Ao3 had a PM system.

As an author I like FFN's comment system best, where replies to reviews get sent to the (logged-in) reviewer as a PM.

But as a reader I actually prefer AO3/forum-style comment systems. If I want to know if an author is planning a sequel I don't have to be the 100th person to ask the author, but can instead skim the comment section and see if anyone already asked the question.

I just automatically halve any comment count I see. I assumed everybody replied? It seems only polite.

Same.

Exactly what I do, too. So anyone who thinks they're keeping their comment count "pure" by not thanking commenters are actually having their comment counts halved automatically by a goodly number of readers. Plus losing comments from those readers -- like the OP and also me -- who won't comment if the author doesn't show they care enough to say thanks.

Yeah, I do this too.

I mean obviously in a lot of cases, half the comments are going to be the author replying.

Because replying is the polite thing to do, FFS. I don't always manage to reply to all my comments, but I do try. And I do side-eye authors who never reply.

This whole thing about "inflating the comment count" is the dumbest thing I've heard in fandom this week, and I hear a lot of dumb things. I do not give two shits about that, never have and never will.

That's one thing I like about ff.net, that it's sent as a "review reply" and is just a PM.

That's a really nice feature. I wish AO3 would follow suit.

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