[ SECRET POST #5925 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5925 ⌋

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


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[Eurovision 2023]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 40 secrets from Secret Submission Post #848.
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]

05. https://i.imgur.com/GswsAfJ.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

Probably the commenter hasn't been even sure if you were going to read their comment or not. Like I am not even sure how exactly anon on AO3 works.

[(Anonymous)]

You still get email alerts on anon works because they're still posted through your account, they just don't show up publicly on your profile. There's a "collections" tab where you type in "anon" and it labels the fic as by anonymous.

[(Anonymous)]

I guess if that was literally all they posted, then I can see why it bugged you. But if they left any sort of additional positive feedback on the fic itself, then I feel like there's no reason to be negative about what is definitely a compliment.

[(Anonymous)]

Not OP/DA

TBH I don't know how OP could see it as a backhanded compliment? Am I missing out on something (legit question, I'm neurodivergent so often when I don't understand a comment or statement I feel like I missed out on a context clue?)?

[(Anonymous)]

OP's issue is not that it's backhanded, but that the person's entire feedback is basically, "I want more." Yes, there is a compliment implicit in someone liking your fic enough to want more of it, but that doesn't mean that the person who spent anywhere from several to hundreds of hours writing it feels particularly seen or valued by "I want more."

Honestly? If it were me I would probably roll my eyes, focus on the implicit compliment of it, and move on. However, I can also see where OP is coming from. If one is going to ask for more content, or even just express a desire for more content where the OP is expected to see it, then saying something nice about the actual fic you're commenting on is a very advisable way of prefacing that. Even if it's just, "Ahh, this was so good!" or something to that effect.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

Thanks for explaining! I understand better now. It's more content the commenter wants, that's not an explicit compliment to the writer. I understand how it can come off entitled/insensitive.

Op

[(Anonymous)]

I was just being over dramatic.
Also I should just stop writing fanfics if I get too sensitive about not getting comments.

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

If it's genuinely something that affects you negatively, is there an option to turn comments off? Making the choice yourself might relieve some of the anxiety around posting. Doesn't really work if you want/need positive feedback. (No shade, I think most people do.)

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT
I get how it can hurt your feelings. Honestly, I can relate as a writer. I used to take requests but stopped because I would just get fic requests, but never any comments about what anyone thought of my fics. I couldn't express why it made me feel so discouraged though. But I understand now, it feels like they just want more fics to read, it's not an outright compliment to you/your fics.

Please keep writing if it brings you joy. The crappy feelings around feedback can be rough, you can't help feeling your feelings. IMO it's way more normal for a lot of writers to feel bad/discouraged over seemingly small things than we tend to let on.

Op

[(Anonymous)]

Yup that was all they wrote. Nothing else like what they did or didn't like, just that they wanted more to read.

Admittedly maybe i'm overreacting, but it felt like being more of a content-providing machine than someone who wrote something out of interest in the thing me and the reader are enjoying.

Guess I'm being stupidly bummed out for not getting a 'good fic' or 'its alright'.

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

Except this comment is nothing like those comments that just say 'write more!' without saying what they liked-- this comment is about wishing they were able to find your other fic! They aren't demanding more work out of you, they just want to see everything else you've already put out. Sounds pretty complimentary to me, though the way it's phrased sounds like they might not grasp the difference between anonymous and orphaned, if they weren't sure you would actually see the comment.

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

ok.

[(Anonymous)]

It doesn't read as a backhanded compliment nor rude to me. How would you have wanted them to express the same sentiment? Or was it the lack of direct praise for the specific fic that's bumming you out?

(Since the praise is implicit: if the reader hadn't liked the fic, they wouldn't be interested in reading more of your writing.)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah I'm genuinely confused by how a comment like that could possibly be seen in a negative light.

"I want more" = "I loved this so much that I want to read more like it"

I would be flattered as hell if someone left a comment like that on one of my fics!

[(Anonymous)]

Is there a possibility that they thought you didn't want to be addressed directly? Since you were Anon?

Sometimes attempts at politeness can backfire, esp. on the internet.

[(Anonymous)]

And responses like this is why I quit leaving comments.

[(Anonymous)]

Haha I don't. But omg it triggers MY social anxiety. Am I doing it wrong? People hate short comments. Oh no maybe I am rude. Maybe my English isn't good enough? Oh no I shouldn't comment when I am sleepy (while reading fanfiction before bed). Etc.

[(Anonymous)]

DA

SAME!!!
I always overthink what to comment because I imagine all the different reaction on author can have from what I write > I get anxiety > I don't comment at all > repeat the process

I think I've commented only 10 times in my 20 years of reading fics. I hate it :)

[(Anonymous)]

If it helps, there are also people who don't really care. For me, it's the acknowledgement that people read the fic that's enough. That's why I don't mind the "Thank you"s and "write more" at all. More in-depth comments are nice, but it all scratches the same itch in my hindbrain.

Same with kudos! I personally love kudos.

Op

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't mean for it to sound like I was bitching about not getting a high praise comment... Just that the only interaction I got out of a fic was not a minimum 'this was ok' - just felt butt hurt over nothing I guess and wanted to vent about it in fs.

Please don't let my over-dramatic ass get in the way of you commenting.

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

For the record, I would say you got a lot more than just a basic "this was ok" out of it. The person liked your fic so much that they wanted to check out the rest of your writing! That's a huge compliment.

If I read a fic that was just ok, I'd just close the tab and move on. I only check out the author's other fics if I loved the fic I was reading. I think your anxiety is putting a very negative spin on what is actually high praise. Would you check out an author's other writing if you didn't enjoy what you've read so far?

Re: Op

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, OP, it's okay.

Everyone feels a bit raw sometimes and needs to vent.

[(Anonymous)]

You just say 'I want more' and nothing else?

[(Anonymous)]

Well good news, you can be part of the growing mass who don't bother to leave comments anyways because consuming content matters more than community - so keep up the good work!