puzzling

I'm curious about feedback on my story. Yesterday there was a rather brief, negative public comment that does not exist when I try to find it today. I did not remove it, does the comment author have the ability to withdraw his comment on a story?

Naturally, I don't like negative comments but I'd rather leave it in place, at least I got a strong reaction from a reader and that's a big part of why I try to tell my story.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have

Someone might have reported the comment to the site owners and they might have removed it. That's about the only thing I can think of.

And no, once you've left a comment, I don't believe you can delete it. The author of the story can, but not the commenter.

thank you, PennLady. I wondered if such a thing might be the case but I'm still quite the novice.

Update: when checking the 'recent activity' regarding this story it now shows that the comment was removed by administration.

Thanks for your help, PennLady

This appears to be a new activity by the Web site administration--deleting identified abusive posts. Previously, it was spam that would be deleted this way.

sr71plt said:

This appears to be a new activity by the Web site administration--deleting identified abusive posts. Previously, it was spam that would be deleted this way.

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I see a fair number of deletions of comments that are negative but not responsive to the story. They don't have to be abusive, but just trolls.

Laurel said:

We'll remove any reported comments containing racial/sexual orientation slurs, that advocate violence/death, or that contain spam. We won't remove comments that are argumentative but don't contain hate speech/violence/adverts.

For example:
"Die faggot die!"
"A nigger wrote this"
"If that were my wife I'd shoot her in the face and dismember her"
"You all should go to RandomSite.com"
would all be removed if reported to us.

But:
"You're an idiot"
"I hate this story"
"Your comment is stupid"
would not be removed by us.

Authors are free to remove any comments they wish from any story for any reason.

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So a quick question. I have no issue with the comments being removed or the reasons for which they are.

But...

What is the difference in your eyes between a story comment and the boards?

Nigger, Faggot and the all time GB favorite cunt are racist, homophobic and sexist slurs, but are all over the boards.

I know you will counter with this is a freedom of speech site so my question again, why okay on the boards and not in a story comments? Especially seeing that on the boards they are directed at specific people from specific people whereas in a comment on a story its kind of faceless?

Plus as you said, we authors have a right to keep/delete any comment we want, but now that is changing to we can keep what we want as long as you approve.

The examples you gave? I have all those comments on some of my stories, I keep them because I choose to let others roll their eyes at the ignorance of the posters.

But I guess I lose that right now and freedom of speech is only that is you approve.

I know you will discount this as me being argumentative, but there is a hell of a lot more ignorant things said on these boards and the harassment there is real, its not a one time nasty remark on a story it is continuous.

I am all about those things not being around, but picking and choosing where they can and cannot be isn't right.

And now I will be snarky and say that the one word motto of the GB is pretty much cunt and its funny there, but not in a story comment? Please.

This looks interesting.

Where'd I keep my popcorn?

TheSoulfulBard said:

This looks interesting.

Where'd I keep my popcorn?

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Well, I've all to say that it's pretty hit or miss that a full story posted to the forum is somehow deleted and that anyone who suggests on the thread that it should be deleted gets a bit of shit from some other posters for saying it should be deleted.

I'll certainly index this statement by Laurel for the next time that Elfin appears and says it's just fine for full stories to be slapped on the forum.

Laurel said:

Let me get this straight: you are complaining that we remove comments from stories - that we're violating your free speech as an author etc - while simultaneously complaining that we do NOT remove those same comments from the forum?

And you wonder why I think you're trolling?

As I've said many times, I'm totally open to readers and writers input, and their genuine concerns and issues with the site.

I have no interest in someone who spends his time finding new and often contradictory reasons to pick fights with me for the purpose of getting my attention.

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No, I think you misunderstood me or I m not expressing myself right.

If you want to delete that stuff because you find it offensive and not what you want to see represented here, that's fine.

personally I have no issue with any example you gave being deleted

My point is that if you feel those statements shouldn't be here on the story comments then why is it tolerated on the boards?

Here is how I see it. A nasty comment on a story is some asshole reacting more to the story then the author. But even if its at the author, whatever, they do not know me, I don't know them, its noise and as you said you have given us the ability to keep it or not. I keep them because it shows their stupidity means nothing to me. But that is me.

But on the forums where people are calling each other racist, sexist, homophobic slurs, threatening each other, harassing each other....

That is far more personal. Yes, we are still anon to each other, but this is direct interaction and people deliberately taunting a person they are having direct correspondence with and in some forums, GB and Playground especially it turns into a pack of people attacking another person.

All that is protected under freedom of speech or the famous "ignore" feature which I think you know, ignore does not solve the problem here. So its okay for cyber bullying to go on in the threads and forums, but not okay to say "some faggot wrote this" in a comment section?

If you want to "clean things up" that's fine, but the real harassment here is not on the story boards, there is a simple delete feature to stop that.

If you are fine with some GB nimrod calling someone a fucking faggot, then who cares if its said in a story comment?

I certainly would not want this place to be lush stories where saying Bo to the wrong person could get you booted, but there are extreme cases here and its all fun and games because its a free for all.

Scouries and Freddie still being here after that horrible thread about Kitt is a good example of that, personally I would rather have someone call me a name in a comment then put up with that BS.

Consistency is my point. Freedom of speech or not?

You want to remove words you don't like(and we agree, I do not like them either) but anything else is fine.

You think Cunt is hilarious. Its one of the most ignorant words there are. Just like many blacks fought for years not to hear the N word and now have to deal with a generation that treats it like a joke, how many women from back in the day fought not to be referred to as cunts?

But that's okay because it does not break your moral code, right? I tell all the little gang bangers to go call their grand father "My nigger" and see what they get, they are going to get a smack is what they will get.

Say cunt in front of your grandmother and see how funny she thinks it is.

Now....go ahead, "LC tell your grandmother you write incest stories" that will be the answer right?

Well my stories are here for anyone who wants to read them and to be ignored by anyone who doesn't want them, but the harassment that goes on here? Yeah that's hard to avoid unless one decides to leave and then of course they are babies, right?

The problem I see with freedom of speech is it has to be all encompassing not freedom of speech according to one person, and by running along picking and choosing what you deem is offensive, but leaving what does not bother you then that is not freedom of speech, that is "My site, I do what I want" and if that is the rule here then so be it, but its not freedom of speech.

^^^^^^troll

Guess James is looking to receive another rose from Laurel.

I think you left your popcorn next to the can of worms I opened

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

^^^^^^troll

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Look who's talking.

TheSoulfulBard said:

Look who's talking.

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You've been sucking dicks at the rest stop again. I can always tell.

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

You've been sucking dicks at the rest stop again. I can always tell.

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You wish.

sr71plt said:

Guess James is looking to receive another rose from Laurel.

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I have a bouquet of them. Eat your nasty heart out.

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

I have a bouquet of them. Eat your nasty heart out.

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Doing backdoor deals with Kitty Mama, eh?

Devil_Anonymous said:

Doing backdoor deals with Kitty Mama, eh?

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Its her site. I strive to respect her rules.

Folks like Lovecraft and Pilot piss and moan and troll about having navels.

*cough*

Well, whatever anyone says, the fact it's their site and they make the rules says it all. Personally I don't have a problem with it. But then except for a few LW stories I mostly put out non controversial pablum that doesn't generate a lot of comments.

I've removed a few comments, more when I first started than recently, but would remove the types that were mentioned.

Chilcoot said:

I'm curious about feedback on my story. Yesterday there was a rather brief, negative public comment that does not exist when I try to find it today. I did not remove it, does the comment author have the ability to withdraw his comment on a story?

Naturally, I don't like negative comments but I'd rather leave it in place, at least I got a strong reaction from a reader and that's a big part of why I try to tell my story.

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have

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I have also seen this in my stories. The bulk of the comments have been very positive and most criticism is constructive (grammar and spelling issues which I am striving to correct.)

I did have one comment about taking a sex scene to far. It was worded rather cruelly, but I ignored the tone and actually removed the extra crude portion of the story. It was my first story and I went a little overboard. A few days later, the comment disappeared. I have never deleted any comment.

I have to say - overall this site has been a enjoyable ego boost. I try not to take any comment personally. I'm just a hack trying to have fun.

Its useful to consider the nature of LIT readers.

Half are peasants & princes who want thrills & chills and don't care who knows. Cuz that's how they live their lives in most respects. Theyre the people who kick their dogs and constantly complain about their black neighbor.

The other half are the middle class who fret about everything, and anything that casts them in an unpopular light. Candy coated sin is what they want. Their limit is Mike, Carol, Alice, and Sam travelling to Cleveland to share a clean nigger dick at an obscure hotel in a safe neighborhood. No pix please. They go home, read the awful stories at LIT, then one-bomb the writers, to appease their conscience.

JAMESBJOHNSON said:

Their limit is Mike, Carol, Alice, and Sam travelling to Cleveland to share a clean nigger dick at an obscure hotel in a safe neighborhood.

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Read this before I logged in.

Thanks for reminding me why I keep you on Ignore.