Deleting Comments

[sr71plt]

You know, over eight years you get a sense of the pattern on the comments on your stories--how frequent, how many favorable ones against unfavorable ones, to what extent they go beyond that story to address you personally and your writing capabilities. So, it's not too difficult to discern when there's an Anonymous smear campaign going on. After it becomes evident, I'll just delete those comments. And when/if you put them up again, I'll delete them again. It's enough of a thrill for you that you get to zap the story until the sweeps come along. No big deal for me. I check frequently and can delete at a keystroke and then forget about them.

 

[Combat323]

Author Stalker?

You know, over eight years you get a sense of the pattern on the comments on your stories--how frequent, how many favorable ones against unfavorable ones, to what extent they go beyond that story to address you personally and your writing capabilities. So, it's not too difficult to discern when there's an Anonymous smear campaign going on. After it becomes evident, I'll just delete those comments. And when/if you put them up again, I'll delete them again. It's enough of a thrill for you that you get to zap the story until the sweeps come along. No big deal for me. I check frequently and can delete at a keystroke and then forget about them.

Do you feel like it's the same person or persons making the comments? I've only submitted three short chapters, so I don't have much data. It did strike me that some of the anonymous feedback on the board and through private feedback had the same angry feel, as if I'd just cut someone off in traffic.

I think the quality of story comments would improve tremendously if anonymous comments weren't allowed. Same goes for private feedback; if someone really needs to tell me that I'm a hack and that I write like an eight-year-old, they should at least have the cojones to reveal their (still anonymous) username.

 

[sr71plt]

With me, it could be any number of folks.

You do have the option of turning off anonymous commenting. (Unfortunately, you don't have the option of turning off anonymous voting as well). If "someone" doesn't take the hint now, I'll just turn off anonymous commenting for a while--which I hate to do, because I get a lot of very nice comments from Anonymous--until "someone" gets over whatever snit "someone" is in at the moment.

 

[FantasyXY]

It's comment ying yang

Pilot,

Do you feel negative comments and votes are being piled onto your stories because of your opinions in the forums?

It might be nice if when you deleted a comment, all of the associated votes from that user (even as a guest user) were also deleted from the story. I don't think it works that way though.

I don't care as much about this issue as some other do. That's probably because I don't write stories for the contests.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm not thinking deeply enough on the instances to decide that's absolutely the case (that it's directed from the forum), but there's also a reason I posted to it on the forum. The few times in the past I've seen a concerted negative comment run on my stories that doesn't follow the general pattern and that goes beyond the specific story, flies in the face of the preponderance and rhythm of other comments, and has definite similarities in a comment on one story and another recent one (I post at least once a week--got the same feel from comments on two recent stories posting on the same day), do give the impression there's a connection to the forum. Of course I have so many posting hate at me simultaneously on the forum that I don't see the utility of trying to isolate the specific campaigner(s).

Since I post a lot of GM stories here (not only GM--one of the common slams is that I post only GM, when I have posted more non-GM in a full range of categories than most authors here have in their full file), I can always expect some hate comment and voting on that. But I don't really see much in the way of gay bashing in the comments--and some of those the administration deletes on their own.

The current general slam that's running is that I can't write either emotional or romance, which is a real hoot considering other comments I've gotten on my vast file of varied work here over the years. It's obviously a smear tactic. Just because I maybe haven't done it on that particular story to a specific reader's satisfaction doesn't mean I can't do it. Even if that particular story hasn't been fully realized, that doesn't mean that none of the nearly 740 stories I have posted here have done so--which I know not only because of the comments on the stories when there isn't a smear campaign going but also because I'm a professional fiction writer and know pretty much when I've hit on a good story and when I haven't (and, yes, sometimes I haven't). The kicker is that I continue to get favoriting on stories I'm not all that happy with myself. There truly is an audience for almost anything here.

And there also are a lot of haters here.

 

[sr71plt]

P.S., to put this thread into perspective, I don't think I've deleted over a dozen comments from my 739 posted stories over the last eight years. I deleted two today, though, and if I sense continued smear tactics in comments, I won't feel the least bit guilty to zap those too. If you look at comments on my stories, you'll see that I leave some real humdinger slamming ones there. I just don't see them as part of a concerted (and unjustified) smear campaign.

 

[Hypoxia]

I have deleted a total of one comment and immediately wished I hadn't. I wear negatories as badges of honor -- I provoked someone enough that they must SPEW, like cum from hell or water squeezed from an otter. But I must be doing things wrong -- I haven't received nasty comments lately. Guess I need to post on LW more.

 

[robertreams]

I see gay bashing all the time. I submitted two m2m stories in the last few days. One is obviously merely a quick stroke story, but I think well done. the other is about the angst of a young man who attempts suicide because he is afraid he is gay. On one the anonymous comment says something about fudge packing, on the other it says that suicide is better than being gay. Neither story is doing as well as my stories usually do in the ratings. Funny this comes right on the heels of some bad mouthing against me in the forums. I wonder if they could be related.

 

[sr71plt]

I have deleted a total of one comment and immediately wished I hadn't. I wear negatories as badges of honor -- I provoked someone enough that they must SPEW, like cum from hell or water squeezed from an otter. But I must be doing things wrong -- I haven't received nasty comments lately. Guess I need to post on LW more.

There are more subtle--and effective--comment and voting techniques designed to call off readers of your stories from the get go. When I think these are maliciously false and unfair, they are gone. Won't be guilted into a policy of not deleting them if I see them as some sort of smear campaign against my entire portfolio.

 

[robertreams]

What I don't understand is what drives these homophobic anonymice to view a story they already know is gay. Oddly enough, I write gay stories, but have been happily (and faithfully) married to the same woman for 33 years. We still have a great and active sex life, even though I turned 70 last month. Isn't fantasy what we do here? Last year I posted a story describes as a revenge fuck. An anonymouse said right in his comment," I deducted one point (from a five to a four) because revenge fucks are never a good policy." Huh? Are there really adults who cannot distinguish fantasy from reality? I don't get it.

 

[sr71plt]

I see gay bashing all the time. I submitted two m2m stories in the last few days. One is obviously merely a quick stroke story, but I think well done. the other is about the angst of a young man who attempts suicide because he is afraid he is gay. On one the anonymous comment says something about fudge packing, on the other it says that suicide is better than being gay. Neither story is doing as well as my stories usually do in the ratings. Funny this comes right on the heels of some bad mouthing against me in the forums. I wonder if they could be related.

Well, now, those are the types of comments my stories rarely get--the direct gay-bashing ones. And I include straight up GM strokers in my file occasionally--and purposely--as well. (There's a big audience here for those in addition to them being tension relievers for me.) Interesting what/who that line of commenters will go after.

 

[Combat323]

Hate the writing, love the writer

The current general slam that's running is that I can't write either emotional or romance, which is a real hoot considering other comments I've gotten on my vast file of varied work here over the years. It's obviously a smear tactic. Just because I maybe haven't done it on that particular story to a specific reader's satisfaction doesn't mean I can't do it.

Seems to me that the criticism in these situations is aimed at the writer and not the writing. It isn't "This story has no emotion, and here's where you could have inserted some;" it's "You can't write emotion or romance..." Or, sometimes, "You can't write, and you're an asshole, to boot." The 'critic' has made up his (I think it's a guy thing, but I could be wrong) mind that the Earth is flat, and you'll never be able to produce enough evidence to change his mind. Of course, for someone to be so determined to drag you down, they must have placed you on a mental pedestal. I mean, why would they smear someone except to bring them down to their own level?

I suppose a possible problem is that such unfounded flaming in a story's comments could turn others away from reading or commenting in a constructive manner because they don't want to participate in that environment.

 

[FantasyXY]

This thread actually has caused me to think about comments and who is leaving them a little more than usual. Now that I am actually thinking about it, Lit has no age controls. It stands to reason that many of the negative and juvenile comments are in fact being left by actual juveniles.

I could also see how GM stories and authors of GM stories would be a big target for immature readers/commenters. I don't read or write in the GM genre, but I have included some GM elements in my stories. I've also had characters in my stories that are homophobic and claim to be haters, but it's obvious they are struggling with their own desires. Even with those story elements I have gotten surprisingly few gay oriented hate comments.

So it could very well be that the comments you are getting are indeed directed toward you and not your stories.

 

[sr71plt]

Except that the stories I've gotten these comments on in the last couple of weeks have been four stories in three categories--only two of them are GM. (I only deleted the comments I could clearly see were forming a pattern--and that the pattern probably would continue.) That's part of the determination the effort is coordinated--essentially the same sweeping slams on my writing in three different categories within a couple of weeks of each other--breaking all patterns I've seen over eight years of posting stories here.

Needn't go on and on about this, though. Just establishing I'm not going to be playing this silly game. If they seem they are part of this campaign, they and followups are gone. I won't be guilted over this.

 

[redzinger]

If any of this is about the comments on 'Budding Crisis', I can assure you that there's nothing sinister in anything there. If several people are saying similar things, can you not see that they may have a point?

(Btw, I did mean every word - I did enjoy the first third and thought you were onto a winner.)

 

[sr71plt]

If any of this is about the comments on 'Budding Crisis', I can assure you that there's nothing sinister in anything there. If several people are saying similar things, can you not see that they may have a point?

(Btw, I did mean every word - I did enjoy the first third and thought you were onto a winner.)

One of them was on "Budding Crisis," yes, but it used the platform of criticism there to go way into the rest of my portfolio. So I zapped it. Trust you notice I left a whole lot of story-specific criticism there. That should tell you something. This isn't about not being able to tolerate story-specific criticism.

On "Budding Crisis," I was trying to work a scenario that was new to me (and, I hoped, to others) for Valentine's Day--the florist shop that might not have flowers for its big day of the year from the aspect of misunderstood impressions. Apparently I didn't give enough attention to other aspects of the story in the eyes of several readers. If I didn't fully succeed in the one story in the eyes of an Anonymous commenter, it doesn't mean that the commenter has read my other 738 stories, though, and is in a position to call them all crap. I experiment with my storylines and categories and don't take the easy road even in contests. I don't expect to win in the contests and I'm not just looking for praise and high ratings there.

 

[shutterpsb]

I don't have a big sampling of comments, but generally I leave them up if they're about plot or character development or structure (craft). If they're personal I delete them. Those folks don't know me.

 

[laptopwriter]

Yeah, I delete a few here and there as well.

I used to have one person, (am I'm pretty sure I know who) who used to practically write a book to call me every name under the sun and let everyone know just what he thought of me. Under his comment, I wrote a short note saying what a kick I got knowing how long it took him to write that and I would soon delete it with the click of a mouse. I'd let that stay there for a couple days, then delete both.

Soon I stopped writing my own comment and just deleted his as soon as I saw it. It didn't take long before his comments got shorter and shorter. Now he just says, "mindless drivel," on everything I write, and of course, I delete it as soon as I see it.

I have one other I am going to start to delete on a regular basis. Even though he chooses to post anonymously on my stories, he uses the exact same terminology for some other authors and uses his ID, so I know who it is. Why he chooses to stay anonymous with me but not with others, I don't know, but I do know it's him.

Both of these people have criticized me on this forum and love stooping to name-calling and personal attacks. Surprising they would also stoop to "trolling." Well, maybe not that surprising.

 

[Combat323]

Once had a guy senior to me in my organization who never had a positive thing to say about me (and several of my peers). One day, he and I had a short exchange, more pleasant than usual, in the presence of some agents from another organization. As the senior guy walked away, one of the agents turned to me and said, "There's something really wrong in that guy's life."

That's how I think about trolls in general and anyone who targets me in particular. That misplaced anger may be aimed at me, but it's coming from somewhere else... Sending hugs to your inner children, dudes. How about I write you a nice LW story?

 

[laptopwriter]

Yeah, it's hard to understand...

Just since writing my last entry here, that same guy struck twice again. I'm sure it was my post that infuriated his little mind. Anyway, he sets them up, I knock them down. It's so much fun; kind of like whack-a-mole, but this is, whack-a-troll.

His constant "1's" will last as long as the next sweeps. Amazing how the scores go up after a sweep. I had a story go up 6 points, once.

 

[lovecraft68]

Probably wasting my time saying this because I'll be accused of being snarky but I'll do it anyway.

Standard advice here-and I am fairly certain Pilot has given this opinion to others-is that the worst thing you can do is come to the boards and either whine/complain about or in this case "show up" the trolls.

You're feeding them. If they are someone who frequents here, they're laughing at you, they don't care you think you know them or that you're deleting their posts, you're giving them the satisfaction of knowing they take up this much of your time.

I get whacked with them too, but I see that if I leave the comment there they don't generally come back because I haven't given them cause to. I don't get stuck with "Ha! You deleted my comment!" "What's the matter, can't handle it?"

So this thread may seem like a "I'm onto you, I'm showing you..."

You're not showing anyone anything. Fact is, they're not bright enough to get it.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The flipside of comment harpoons are goofs made of flattery....blowing smoke up your ass.

John Truby is right, most readers aren't competent to offer informed comments, and your Ma aint gonna be honest and hurt your feelings. So whats the point in inviting crap (arrows and flattery)? Truby recommends writers focus on the craft and ignore readers.

 

[sr71plt]

But we don't have to be fooled by the flattery to leave the gushing comments up, do we? If we write it and post it here, we are interested in promoting reads of it. As long as there are readers posting they won't read a story without x in the rating or comments, we'll naturally boost our stories as much as we can--or we wouldn't post them here. If we post them only to "in your faces" irritate, we have a screw loose in ourself, eh James?

As for posting the thread. It was a direct "I'm not fooled and will just delete" message of expectation to specific poster(s) who I'm sure are on the forum, even if I'm not bothering trying to guess who they are specifically. It was not a general whine about comments on my story. As I noted to Redzinger, I left other negative comments on the stories in question that I also didn't particularly like--but that I didn't isolate as a direct smear campaign on me, not the specific stories.

 

[lovecraft68]

The flipside of comment harpoons are goofs made of flattery....blowing smoke up your ass.

John Truby is right, most readers aren't competent to offer informed comments, and your Ma aint gonna be honest and hurt your feelings. So whats the point in inviting crap (arrows and flattery)? Truby recommends writers focus on the craft and ignore readers.

What readers are informed enough to do is render their opinion.

They liked it, didn't like it and they can tell you why they didn't like it. No one needs training or credentials to render their opinion.

What we as authors do with that opinion is up to us. I have had feedback where I've rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, whatever" but I've had many comments that made me stop and think, "YOu know, they have a good point."

That's what feedback is supposed to be for, not just a pat on the back (or a nasty insult) but something to tell us what we are doing right or wrong, what is working and what is not.

And to me, the arrogance of that statement is if the readers are so unqualified and stupid why are we putting our work here? If we were truly writing just for us like some claim, then these stories would never leave our computer.

Everyone who posts stories here is doing so to "see what people think" if they say otherwise they're lying to themselves.

They're also lying when they say feedback means nothing to them because if it really did they would disable voting and comments and some have. But the ones that haven't it does matter.

But again its up to us whether or not we let it get under our skin when its smearing negative crap or to not be so thin skinned that we can't handle "Joe Smith" saying we need an editor or the character wasn't realistic etc...

We're in control not them. I've gotten a lot of good feedback amongst the "you suck and you rule" that has really helped me.

So the dismissal of all readers is a mistake if you want to continue to learn and grow.

MY V-day contest entry is a great example. I have a long time reader who always sends very detailed and well thought out feedback to me, mostly positive, but he will list whatever couple of things he disagreed with as well

he pointed out in this one that one line I put in near the end put a damper on the story for him and he explained why and I thought on it and....he's right, I wasn't thinking, I had the character make a joke about the situation, but the fact was I blew the "feeling" in the scene with that joke.

Since then two public comments have called that out, so the guy was right. To me that is an "informed" reader who knows the category well and is 'qualified' to this works this might not.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

But we don't have to be fooled by the flattery to leave the gushing comments up, do we? If we write it and post it here, we are interested in promoting reads of it. As long as there are readers posting they won't read a story without x in the rating or comments, we'll naturally boost our stories as much as we can--or we wouldn't post them here. If we post them only to "in your faces" irritate, we have a screw loose in ourself, eh James?

As for posting the thread. It was a direct "I'm not fooled and will just delete" message of expectation to specific poster(s) who I'm sure are on the forum, even if I'm not bothering trying to guess who they are specifically. It was not a general whine about comments on my story. As I noted to Redzinger, I left other negative comments on the stories in question that I also didn't particularly like--but that I didn't isolate as a direct smear campaign on me, not the specific stories.

With respect to comments and scoring I cant care less what you do or why you do it. I don't read your wares tho I sampled a few long ago to assess your talent.

With respect to your thinking about my mental health I cant care less, you have no competence to render an opinion, whereas I have a fund of test results and professional opinions that negate whatever I suspect you believe. For what its worth I have low blood sugar and it makes me irascible, so I keep hard candy at hand. So go fuck yourself.