fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3354 ]

[ SECRET POST #3354 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3354 ⌋

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

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[Yu-Gi-Oh]

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09. [ warning for homophobia / transphobia / misogyny take your pick, people seem to be divided on this one ]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 009 secrets from Secret Submission Post #479.
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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I miss getting a buttload of comments on my fanfiction rather than just kudos. Back in the day, I'd get at least ten for the smallest of drabbles and sometimes dozens for a particularly popular fic. And I was a nothing writer writing rarepairs. Now, even writing popular pairings, I'll get maybe two or three. Hundreds of kudos but barely any comments.

I know write for the love of it and blah blah blah. But when I write original stuff I get money for it, so fanfic is increasingly starting to feel like a huge waste of time.

This is a genuine question - what is it that makes comments (even ones that just say "This is great I loved it!") more satisfying to you than kudos are?

Effort. The sense of human engagement. The 'vocalization' of thought makes the interaction more intimate and real between writer/reader.

A kudo is a great thing and I appreciate that AO3 puts that in - because I don't really know this wonderful land where people left comments. I have only ever known the comment graveyard. But people will push that simple button when they won't type encouragement or thank you, and it helps a lot.

OP. I don't know, really. I see a lot of people saying they only give comments if they think the fic is exceptional and kudos otherwise, so it might be that.

It's just me being butthurt and I recognise that.

Because tbh, a lot of people who write comments don't just write "this is great I loved it". They write personal anecdotes, or they tell me that they've read the fic 20 times, or that the day I updated was their birthday and they're so stoked, or they write tearful capslocks.
All of these let me know how they felt about the story, how it affected them, and it makes the reader a person I can communicate with.

da

Yes, I only leave comments that have a bit of meat on them...which sometimes I don't have the energy for, so I often end up just kudosing instead. Just commenting 'I loved it!' really doesn't feel like enough to me, so I end up falling into the kudos trap.

Trust me, saying "I love it" IS enough!

I wrote to the anon below you - please don't feel like that's "not enough"! While I love getting meaty comments, I've made friends also with people who just went and left "I love it!" on several fics, and I responded, and we struck up a conversation.

That's interesting. One of the things that I've heard in previous iterations of this conversation is that people prefer comments to kudos, even if that comment is just "this is great I loved it", so that's what I was trying to get at.

I do feel like - at least to me - it seems kind of unlikely that kudos are responsible for diminishing that kind of kudos? They seem like very different interactions to me.

Kudos, and Ao3 in general, are part of a less-commenting culture. Whether the kudos contribute directly or it has to do with generation, I don't know, but the fact is that to this day I receive more comments on fics I post on ff.net - even if there are far fewer hits.

I personally would still prefer an "I loved it" comment. I'll give you an example - if a person comments that on one fic, I probably won't have much to say, but if they comment on a few fics, I'll generally try to strike up a conversation and say that I'm happy they seem to be enjoying my fics. I've made friends that way.
With kudos, even if somebody goes and kudos every single thing I've written, there's no way for me to acknowledge it or respond to it. There's no option for communication.

It shows that the reader cared enough to write five words when I took the time to write 100xs as many words for them to enjoy.

Because no one is allowed to give reviews unless they are nothing but super sparkly rainbow barfing positive reviews. People are afraid to review these days because of super speshul snowflake attitudes.

OP. That's always been the case, though. I remember seeing tonnes of BNFs having tantrums because they didn't get a 300000% positive review, or because a plebian dared address them without the deference they required.

I hasten to add that I always appreciated concrit, but I certainly saw that same attitude back then too.

I think it's more likely because the format of fandom has changed a lot. It's moved to Tumblr mostly where replying and commenting is really difficult. It's inevitable that fandom changes, but I do miss (some of) it.

DA

Yeah, I saw a lot of this too. I also saw tantrums over reviews or comments not being long enough... the most baffling one being a BNF-artist who talked down or blocked anyone who dared to give her some constructive criticism.

I don't mind Tumblr that much, but I do wish you could create different friends-/followers list and choose if you wanted Tumblr, Disqus or LJ-style comments.

Same. I miss the interaction I'd get with readers. It used to be I'd strike up conversations with regular readers/reviewers, and they knew they could talk to me if they wanted. I made quite a few friends that way and it was so much fun. Now? All I get are kudos and no sense of connection whatsoever.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #3354 ]

I miss getting comments

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