[ SECRET POST #4161 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4161 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 42 secrets from Secret Submission Post #596.
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.

Comments

[fscom]

02. https://i.imgur.com/Pe01lDH.png

[(Anonymous)]

Unfortunately, I feel you on this. I'm generally pro-feedback, but fandom's attitude to it ATM is so aggressive as to turn people off leaving any at all. It's not enough to leave a kudo, you have to leave a comment too, but you can't just leave a generic comment or show any kind of enthusiasm that might come off as entitled whether it's intended that way or not, and if you don't reblog as well then you might as well have not read the fic at all. TBH, it's at the point where it's easier to just not bother, since nothing is good enough anyway.

[(Anonymous)]

I get you, but maybe those weren't good examples because those people don't really sound "pissed off" just... kind of needy and insecure and not managing their feelings well.

[(Anonymous)]

I see what you're saying, but like... I also don't think the points being made in the comments there are entirely unreasonable? I can get why they would react that way?

Like, the reality is, sometimes people say things that are well-intentioned but nevertheless rude. That's a general thing that happens in communication. It's not like this is the only place where well-intentioned enthusiasm, framed in the wrong way, can still be slightly rude. There's nothing particularly unique or noteworthy about it happening here.

[(Anonymous)]

This reminds me why I love the kudos-button. This is why I always make sure I'm logged out when I leave kudos, and I'm happy when people leave kudos to me as guests. Everybody gets what they want, the fics are liked, and nobody has to worry how to comment "properly".

Fandom commenting is just too much hassle these days, kudos is king.

[(Anonymous)]

These aren't unreasonable comments though. There ARE ways to say you'd read more without insulting a complete work, and that is how your comment could not be misconstrued. The guidance is right there.

[(Anonymous)]

Authors were "You're doing it wrong!" to commenters even before AO3 and kudos came along. I stopped leaving comments on the regular years ago after reading one too many complaints about how useless "I loved this" comments are, "either leave an in-depth analysis of what you liked or don't bother." So I stopped bothering. I will read your story and I will let you know that I liked your story but I'm not doing homework on it.

[silverr]

Huh, I guess I'm old school. I appreciate any and all, and try to reply to everything.

Short comments get short responses.
Long comments get long responses.
Comments with questions get answers.

[(Anonymous)]

yeah, same. i leave kudos all the time, but comments? nah, never. i've seen way too many writers criticizing their commenters to bother with something that 1) takes a lot of effort re: my social anxiety to come up with/submit properly worded compliments & 2) there's a chance whatever i say will just end up irritating them anyway. (i've even seen people complain about comments simply saying "I liked this", which is all i'd be able to come up with most of the time anyway, so)

it's a no-win scenario, as far as i'm concerned. so i'll stay quiet.

I don't know.

[(Anonymous)]

If I just get a comment that only says "More!", I mean, I guess I get that you liked it and want more, but without anything softening it, it seems kind of demanding.

It just has a different feel than "More, please" or "Yay! More!". Hell, if you only put a smiley face after it, that works.

But the first and second comments you have up don't really seem pissed off to me.

[(Anonymous)]

Meanwhilst...

[(Anonymous)]

I find both sides of this debate surprisingly ... sensitive? I've been in fandom a long time and I've never once gotten an enthusiastic review on a fic that actually offended me or I found rude.

Yes, I've gotten my share of "OMG MORE" or "I DEMAND U WRITE MORE" or "omg plssss next chapter or sequel before I go on [insert elaborate an unnecessary detail about personal vacation from a total stranger]" but I don't understand why that's offensive. It's kind of cute. Aw, someone liked the fic so much they couldn't help blurting out sheer enthusiasm for more of whatever you wrote, whether or not it makes logical sense for there to be more or not.

Literally zero of those people have checked back in a week being like "so where's the more I demanded from you that you owe me, slave?" And that didn't bother me because I understood (correctly, I might add) that these were not actually demands, and the probably very reasonable commenter probably moved onto the next fic they enjoyed and forgot about mine unless they favorited it or something.

The amount of irrationality being attributed to each side by the other side in this debate is so alien to me.

That's okay!

[(Anonymous)]

People like you are why I only share my fic with my discord friends so it all works out!

[nightscale]

To me there's a big difference between 'I liked this, I hope you continue writing more!' and 'Update now'.

The first one is nice and encouraging, the second is just plain rude and I will never respond to those types of comments(not that I get many of those these days thankfully).

But I generally try to leave some kind of comment on a fic if I like it and always kudos if I do as well, but I'm not good at anything long-winded so it tends to more along the lines of 'I liked this! Thanks for writing.' and my responses to comments on my fic are about the same too.

I'm not very good at comments in general tbh. :P

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciate "pls write more!" comments because it's flattering that someone would want more of your work. But if you honestly can't see how it's a little rude to say only that, then yeah, maybe it's best to forgo commenting altogether.

Listen, you don't have to comment. We can go around the block all day about the worthiness of kudos and the right/wrong way to comment and those evil writers who obviously "don't appreciate!" feedback because they don't always reply to it. But the hard truth is that readers will get less quality fic if they don't comment on the quality fic they read. Comments are motivators and idea generators. It's as simple as that.

[tabaqui]

Wow, overreacting, much? 'MORE' as the only comment on a fic is rude. If you like a fic but you can't actually bring yourself to say more than 'give me more now', and you don't get the *difference*, then yeah, maybe don't comment.

But the discussion you used as your example isn't saying they're pissed off, just that they would prefer the 'more' be less of a demand and more of a 'yay this is cool if you wrote more that would be awesome' enthusiasm.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm both reader and author, and I comment on fic as I would like to receive comments on mine. I don't mind people asking for more when they tell me why, and I usually tell an author that I liked their version of events a lot and would love to spend more time in their universe.

[(Anonymous)]

Just say "thank you for the fic"?

[(Anonymous)]

I've gotten nasty comments with no constructive criticism on my fics and those are the only ones I've been annoyed by. Comments like "More!" and "Update please!" don't bug me, though I do appreciate the longer comments more because it means someone really, really enjoyed my fics and that's a nice ego boost. If someone asks why I haven't updated or why this or that happened, I'll answer them. I do my best to leave comments on all the fics I like, but sometimes all I can say is, "I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to read more by you. Thank you for sharing." I hope that's not considered rude.

[(Anonymous)]

and here I am in the other corner wondering why these authors think a scene where "the reader fills in the rest" IS doing it wrong and they're kind of dense for wondering why people want them to continue?

don't get me wrong, readers can be dumb as a bag of hammers. "next chapter soon?" on a one-shot marked as Complete comes to mind. but there are some authors that are really taking some of these comments waaaaaayyyy too seriously. If someone suggesting you should write more or flesh out this story is anxiety-inducing, you should see someone about that, not blame the commentators for triggering your anxiety for not giving you the "right" comment.

[(Anonymous)]

I get a bunch of different comments, and lemme tell you there is a difference between a comment saying "Update soon?" and "I really like this, I hope you update soon!" The first one is a demand, the second one is expressing love for the fic and an eagerness to read more. When people just put a comment asking where the next chapter is, that IS disheartening because I have things going on in my life and it feels like they want me to dedicate all my time to the fic. But if the request for an update is softened with comments on what they like about the fic, then I'm more likely to get a warm fuzzy feeling and be nice.

But at the end of the day, a 'More' comment is still appreciated more than no comment at all.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel you, OP. Those types of posts are so obnoxious. First they beg for commends then they get butthurt the comments are not up to standard. Just let people say whatever they want to say if/when they want to say it.

[(Anonymous)]

I hate those posts that say REBLOG don't LIKE. As if I don't have a choice and trying to guilt trip people as if they are hurting their feelings. Any posts that say reblog instead of like, I'm more likely to ignore completely.

[osidiano]

I think I'm with the other commenters: this exchange doesn't sound pissed off to me. This really looks like those "woe is us" Tumblr posts that writers send around to other writers when we feel like wallowing because words are hard. :\ If you read this as snotty or angry, maybe try reading it out loud in a different tone of voice?

None of that is to say that you, personally, HAVE to start leaving comments or anything. If you don't want to, don't, but also don't be surprised that authors are just as whiny and insecure as anyone else in fandom. I would sometimes get really defensive about my update schedule for one of my fics, mainly because I was using it as my vent-space for some pretty personal stuff I was going through. So sometimes weekly updates meant things were REALLY BAD and long breaks meant good things in my life.

[(Anonymous)]

It's so fucking difficult dealing with certain writers/artists. Sometimes they love the attention and the fact that people are eagerly awaiting more from them but sometimes they think of it as an insult as if people are trying to force them into doing something they don't want to do. I know some fans can be really entitled and rude but for the most part it's just people showing their enthusiasm. You can usually tell the difference but maybe some people can't differentiate.

I just hate those people who whine about not getting enough attention then get butthurt when people want to see new stuff from them. If I had a quarter for every time an author was all BOO HOO nobody cares about my story and then they get this really nice comment saying they enjoyed the story and ask when the next update only to have the author bite their head off with UMMM WHENEVER I FUCKING FEEL LIKE IT--- I'd be rich.