Is a script a script?

[Boneryard]

Okay, so the voices in my head started talking to each other and I wrote this script:
https://www.literotica.com/s/the-poker-game-14

And I got this comment (between brackets) :
{Mary: "Penis?"

Joe: "Dooolllll. Am I going to have to spank you for you to learn some manners?"

That kind of formatting belongs in a script, not a story. Automatic rating of 1.}

I tagged it as both a "script" and an "audio script" and called it a script in the subtitle. Did I not check a box somewhere or is there a special area for scripts or something? Is this a troll who somehow figured out how to play on my OCD fears about not formatting things right? Or do they just hate me cause I'm beautiful?

I'm verklempt. Thanks.

 

[mildlyaroused]

They probably hate you because you're beautiful.

There is a Letters & Transcripts category, but as far as I'm aware, you're at perfect liberty to put a script wherever you want. Scripts can be erotic if well-crafted, and you'll get more readers in other categories. It's the reader's fault for ignoring all your labels and stating the obvious. There are some funny folk in LW.

If Laurel (the site owner) posted it in your preferred category, then she thinks it's allowed there. And she makes the rules.

 

[shelleycat1]

Well I thought it was funny and rated 5.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Is this a troll who somehow figured out how to play on my OCD fears about not formatting things right?

Correct. I'd delete the comment, since it's not useful.

 

[Boneryard]

Correct. I'd delete the comment, since it's not useful.

Done. Thanks for the encouragement. Usually I leave troll comments because it shows I'm really ignoring them by not deleting. However, I don't like that other people may see it and think it actually has merit.

 

[lovecraft68]

Done. Thanks for the encouragement. Usually I leave troll comments because it shows I'm really ignoring them by not deleting. However, I don't like that other people may see it and think it actually has merit.

Just another side to this. By deleting the comment, you gave the troll a win. They now know they got under your skin. Trolls often run back to see if you kept their comment, replied to it, or deleted it.

In my time here I have never removed a comment no matter how nasty. Why? Because it shows I don't care about them. They have no power over me.

Its also funny when other readers sometimes call them out for their stupidity.

You do you, but the person who gave you that advice is famously thin skinned.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, I can understand the reader's frustration as the format is an awkward read, to put it mildly. It would work nicely as an audio story, but like this? I don't know. It would make me abandon the story regardless of the appeal of the theme you were writing about. I understand that's the format that you deliberately wanted to present but everything has its price.
By the way, that comment wasn't a worthless one; it showed you the frustration of at least a part of the readership, even if the 1* was an unkind thing to do. If the format was that frustrating, the reader should have simply abandoned the story. Still, that comment gave you some useful information.

 

[Gamblnluck]

For myself, I put scripts just below a story told in the second person. I don't like them and rarely read one unless it got a very high rating. Then I'd read it to see why.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Done. Thanks for the encouragement. Usually I leave troll comments because it shows I'm really ignoring them by not deleting. However, I don't like that other people may see it and think it actually has merit.

I consider comments as part of the marketing of your story. They can be like dog shit on your lawn or graffiti tags on your fence. Would you leave dog shit on your lawn? Depends on the neighbourhood you live in, I guess.

Would you leave the graffiti? Depends what it's got to say and how well it's painted. Someone's opinion isn't necessarily art. There's nothing heroic about keeping all comments, just because someone has left them. It's one of the things the site does give authors, the ability to curate comments. Why wouldn't you use it, using whatever criteria you choose?

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'll have to text Mary (@theWollstonecraftWoman) to find out what, verklempt, means. It's got to be either German or Yiddish and she speaks both.

 

[MillieDynamite]

And the guy's just another hater. There is nothing wrong with a Script being a Script, and if he can't read the word Script, he's dumber than stump.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'll have to text Mary (@theWollstonecraftWoman) to find out what, verklempt, means. It's got to be either German or Yiddish and she speaks both.

Basically, "emotionally wrecked".

 

[MillieDynamite]

Ah, well, that's what she said, too.

Basically, "emotionally wrecked".

 

[Bramblethorn]

I tagged it as both a "script" and an "audio script" and called it a script in the subtitle. Did I not check a box somewhere or is there a special area for scripts or something? Is this a troll who somehow figured out how to play on my OCD fears about not formatting things right? Or do they just hate me cause I'm beautiful?

They're just being a dick. It's not my favourite style either, but it's a valid storytelling format and not hard to get used to if one chooses to read the story anyway.

 

[Boneryard]

Thanks all. It sounds like there isn't a set place for scripts or some box to check and that labeling like I did is the correct thing to do. I also appreciate your points of view on how to react.

 

[Britva415]

And I got this comment

Fuck'em.

 

[Comshaw]

Okay, so the voices in my head started talking to each other and I wrote this script:
https://www.literotica.com/s/the-poker-game-14

And I got this comment (between brackets) :
{Mary: "Penis?"

Joe: "Dooolllll. Am I going to have to spank you for you to learn some manners?"

That kind of formatting belongs in a script, not a story. Automatic rating of 1.}

I tagged it as both a "script" and an "audio script" and called it a script in the subtitle. Did I not check a box somewhere or is there a special area for scripts or something? Is this a troll who somehow figured out how to play on my OCD fears about not formatting things right? Or do they just hate me cause I'm beautiful?

I'm verklempt. Thanks.

"That kind of formatting belongs in a script, not a story." So what is the difference between the two? Nothing other than the formatting. If the reader is going to get spun up about how it's formatted (especially when you tagged it as a script) I really wouldn't worry much about it. Just take into consideration that the reader's OCD transcends yours and allow them their tantrum.

I consider comments as part of the marketing of your story. They can be like dog shit on your lawn or graffiti tags on your fence. Would you leave dog shit on your lawn? Depends on the neighbourhood you live in, I guess.

Would you leave the graffiti? Depends what it's got to say and how well it's painted. Someone's opinion isn't necessarily art. There's nothing heroic about keeping all comments, just because someone has left them. It's one of the things the site does give authors, the ability to curate comments. Why wouldn't you use it, using whatever criteria you choose?

Like dog shit on a lawn? I don't see that as the case. I'd agree IF the readers read the comments first. If that happened it definitely would color the reader's opinion of the story. But reading a comment before reading the story? How many do that? My guess is one out of a thousand to be generous. A vast majority read the comments (if they do at all) after reading the story.

I think that nasty comments would only enhance a reader's opinion of the story. If they liked it, I believe it would offend them and may even cause them to comment on the comment. Which I have witnessed and as LC noted can be entertaining. If on the other hand, they didn't like the story it would drive their opinion even more into the negative range and prompt them to leave a nasty comment of their own. If the story is well accepted and the majority of the audience is enjoying it, those types of negative comments will be few and fodder for others to make fun of.

Comshaw

 

[ElectricBlue]

Like dog shit on a lawn? I don't see that as the case. I'd agree IF the readers read the comments first. If that happened it definitely would color the reader's opinion of the story. But reading a comment before reading the story? How many do that? My guess is one out of a thousand to be generous. A vast majority read the comments (if they do at all) after reading the story.

Every category front page has a "most talked about story" list on the right hand side, so yes, Comments are an entry point for your story.

I've often had someone leave a comment on a story, and very soon after someone else does too, or I get two new followers in a row. I figure they're finding the story through those comments lists.

 

[Comshaw]

Every category front page has a "most talked about story" list on the right hand side, so yes, Comments are an entry point for your story.

I've often had someone leave a comment on a story, and very soon after someone else does too, or I get two new followers in a row. I figure they're finding the story through those comments lists.

I looked at the "most talked about story" list you mentioned. I agree that many readers probably find stories through that link. However, while it does list how many comments the story has, the link doesn't take you to the comments, but the beginning of the story. I believe my premise holds up. They wouldn't go to the story, then ver off to the comments to decide if they wanted to read the story. That doesn't make sense. And by the time they get through the story, their opinion on it is already fixed as to how they feel about it.

Comshaw

 

[ElectricBlue]

I looked at the "most talked about story" list you mentioned. I agree that many readers probably find stories through that ink. However, while it does list how many comments the story has, the link doesn't take you to the comments, but the beginning of the story. I believe my premise holds up. They wouldn't go to the story, then ver off to the comments to decide if they wanted to read the story. That doesn't make sense. And by the time they get through the story, their opinion on it is already fixed as to how they feel about it.

Comshaw

Somewhere the actual comments are shown, so in that sense they act like movie posters or graffiti on a wall.

I have no idea how many readers arrive at a story through that entry point, but my Works Activity shows that some do.

And for me, the dog shit on the lawn analogy still stands - if a comment is so inane or ignorant, why keep it?

 

[Comshaw]

Somewhere the actual comments are shown, so in that sense they act like movie posters or graffiti on a wall.

I have no idea how many readers arrive at a story through that entry point, but my Works Activity shows that some do.

And for me, the dog shit on the lawn analogy still stands - if a comment is so inane or ignorant, why keep it?

First off let me say if you feel that way (dog shit on the lawn) I am not trying to convince you otherwise. This is an emotional issue, not a cut-and-dried factual one. To my way of thinking there is no ultimate "correct" way to do this. This is my opinion on the subject, nothing more.

That said, I can't see any comment as movie posters. Movie posters are something used to promote a thing that hasn't been seen yet. Comments are after-the-fact opinions. Graffiti? Maybe. But most people are turned off or angered by graffiti, so in that light, I believe it actually works in the author's favor.

"...if a comment is so inane or ignorant, why keep it?" Why not? Those kind of comments don't bother me. In fact I get a chuckle out of them. The more unhinged the more I laugh. And I think the readers who enjoy one of my stories will either do the same or be totally pissed at the commenter.

It's not because I'm, thick-skinned. Some comments do bother me, a lot. The ones that are written to be hurtful (intentionally or not) and arrogant while still being factually correct do. Anytime someone pokes at my shortcomings with a sharp stick it bothers me. I am sensitive to those shortcomings and while I work at eliminating them, some always seem to slip through.

Do I delete those? nope. They are lessons for me. When I need to be reminded what I need to do to improve my writing, when I need to be reminded I'm not a hidden jewel of story writing, all I gotta do is go read those. It makes me work harder at writing while keeping my ego in check.

I've deleted exactly one comment and wished the hell I hadn't. The good ones feed my ego, the rough ones keep it in check and the really unhinged ones tickles my funny bone. That's why I keep them all.

Comshaw