What's with authors not accepting comments or feedback?

[Real_American6]

Really annoying, when you get to the end of a story (good or bad) and can't post a comment or at least send feedback to the author.

Thoughts?

 

[TxRad]

Really annoying, when you get to the end of a story (good or bad) and can't post a comment or at least send feedback to the author.

Thoughts?

Ask the trolls both anonymous and otherwise. Not to mention the lack of comments that say much more than i loved it or You should die an evil death. And third, authors have that alternative, if they wish to use it. Some do, some don't.

 

[Adrian69702006]

Personally I can't understand why someone would write a story and then not welcome comments or feedback. At the end of the day we all write according to our own lights and, so long as it's constructive feedback, ideally from someone who's proved they can write decently themselves, it must be useful to know what people have to say about it. My own writing, for which I certainly make no extravagant claims, is of a genre which probably wouldn't appeal to many people here but I still welcome constructive comment.

 

[sexnovella]

Fed up.

Most people do like that to avoid more haters.

 

[Adrian69702006]

Perhaps so but you can delete comment from idiots and people who have nothing constructive to say. They can also be summarily dealt with. One of my stories was once savagely criticised by someone who had no stories to his name and I wasted no time in pointing out to him there was no evidence so far as I could see that he was capable of writing anything better!

 

[oggbashan]

Personally I can't understand why someone would write a story and then not welcome comments or feedback. At the end of the day we all write according to our own lights and, so long as it's constructive feedback, ideally from someone who's proved they can write decently themselves, it must be useful to know what people have to say about it. My own writing, for which I certainly make no extravagant claims, is of a genre which probably wouldn't appeal to many people here but I still welcome constructive comment.

Some authors have dedicated trolls who write abusive comments on every one of their stories. Those comments are NOT constructive, and can be irritating.

Turning off comments for a while can be the only way to deter a persistent hater.

Deleting comments from such people can drive them to post more and more abuse, until turning off comments is the author's only option.

Comments can be reported for specific reasons, and sometimes admin will delete the comment even before you see it. Admin deleted a comment on one of my stories, and the troll returned to complain that I had deleted it.

If you do not get the really vile comments, you have been fortunate.

 

[IvyMarquis]

Trolls aside, it doesn't bother me too much. Not my story, not my problem. Sure I'd prefer to shower someone in well deserved kudos, but if they don't want to hear it for whatever reason then I'm off to the next one.

 

[sr71plt]

Flip side: This is an unpaid contribution/free read site. How do readers here have the nerve to demand that the authors do a damn thing?

 

[LWulf]

I welcome all comments usually... the ones that prove that someone didn't actually read one jot or twiddle I made just makes me go "...huh???"

I was actually shocked that admin once excised one such comment without my ever complaining. One would think the only person who should/could complain about comments would be the author themselves...

I suspect the authors that don't allow comments have personalities as thin and fragile as glass.

 

[TxRad]

I suspect the authors that don't allow comments have personalities as thin and fragile as glass.

Then you suspect wrong. Several of the most hardened writers i know on this site regularly turn comments off. One less hassle as far as they are concerned. They get nothing useful out of comments so why bother.

 

[oggbashan]

I welcome all comments usually... the ones that prove that someone didn't actually read one jot or twiddle I made just makes me go "...huh???"

I was actually shocked that admin once excised one such comment without my ever complaining. One would think the only person who should/could complain about comments would be the author themselves...

I suspect the authors that don't allow comments have personalities as thin and fragile as glass.

I suspect that you have not received the really targetted attacks against everything you have written.

There is a difference between someone not liking a particular story, and saying so, no matter how bluntly, and someone abusing an author personally and sending death wishes many times a day.

 

[LWulf]

I suspect that you have not received the really targetted attacks against everything you have written.

There is a difference between someone not liking a particular story, and saying so, no matter how bluntly, and someone abusing an author personally and sending death wishes many times a day.

I haven't received many at all, but yes, I don't believe it had a death threat in it. If I did get a death threat, I wouldn't consider it seriously. I've already been stalked by one femme fatale in my real life. Likewise, that was a mild annoyance at best.

As I said, I got one comment that said something to the effect of "how the 60 year old male character was misogynistic and how that reflected my own misogynistic fantasy of old men wanting young women and all diatribe towards that aim. The story was about a ~26 year old Dominant who was so milquetoast it wasn't funny (and he was interested in a 18 year old woman).

I think that qualifies for someone not liking for no legitimate reason and basing an "attack" on "book/cover principles" alone.

I think there might have been a couple more that said I was a racist hating black people. Those gave me quite a giggle (and had nothing to do with my story, really).

 

[Bramblethorn]

Perhaps worth noting that identifiably female usernames attract about 25x more malicious/hostile responses than male or ambiguous.

The "just delete nasty feedback" method may work fine for those who only get an occasional nasty/sleazy response, but I daresay getting a flood of them would be wearying.

I'm also aware of one author who disables feedback because she's self-conscious about her stories and feels that even positive feedback would distract her. I can relate to that; I enjoy positive feedback very much, but it sometimes it leads to "oh shit how can I live up to their expectations next time?"

 

[sr71plt]

I think the bottom line is that authors are contributing their stories here for free. Each of them has her/his own expectation for what they want to get out of having posted stories here, and no one else has the right to tell them what that expectation should be or how they tailor their account to pursue that expectation.

 

[oggbashan]

Despite what I have said above, I rarely delete angry or abusive feedback until it has been posted for a couple of months, and I don't turn off feedback.

But I can understand people who do turn feedback off after continuous attacks on them personally.

The ones quoted by LWulf above I would consider as very mild.

 

[LWulf]

Then you suspect wrong. Several of the most hardened writers i know on this site regularly turn comments off. One less hassle as far as they are concerned. They get nothing useful out of comments so why bother.

However, you refer to the comments these writers received as a "hassle" which implies they are some form of annoyance (in other words, it was a bother).

Allowing someone to vent when it's convenient to you isn't expressing how hardened you are...

There are two other websites that I have posted my works on, one artistic and the other written. The artistic website I did turn off the alerts to the comments but I didn't turn off the comments. I think it puts out a very negative statement about yourself when you stop people from commenting, at all.

The only time I turned off comments globally was when my dad died on my birthday a couple years ago, but I posted that was the reason and after a set time opened them up again.

 

[PennLady]

I welcome all comments usually... the ones that prove that someone didn't actually read one jot or twiddle I made just makes me go "...huh???"

I was actually shocked that admin once excised one such comment without my ever complaining. One would think the only person who should/could complain about comments would be the author themselves...

I suspect the authors that don't allow comments have personalities as thin and fragile as glass.

Going backwards, I think you are wrong on your last point. Lots of people post here for lots of reasons, which may in fact NOT include wanting feedback. Maybe they are secure enough to post their stories and not worry about what other people think. Maybe it's a form of venting for them, and they don't need or want to think about it later.

As for the admin getting rid of a comment -- this site is not owned by your or me, but by someone else. They have rules. If a story or comment violates those rules, they have the right to get rid of it. They're providing a space, for free, for people to post stories. I'm not saying we should never complain or question, but for the most part, if you have a problem, you can vote with your virtual feet and go elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong. I like comments too. However, not everyone does, and to think if they don't it signifies some kind of weakness on their part is wrong.

 

[lovecraft68]

I wouldn't say authors who turn feedback off are soft, as TX said for some it's just one less thing to deal with in life than to have to roll your eyes are a crappy comment.

But my personal take-and all authors have theirs and act accordingly-is I'll never turn them off because I think it gives the trolls a hard on, "Ha-ha they can't take it!"

The downside of turning off is of course you lose a chance at some good feedback and there is a lot here in between the you're the best and you suck comments.

But to each their own, no one owes anyone anything here.

 

[LWulf]

Going backwards, I think you are wrong on your last point.

That's your choice.

As for the admin getting rid of a comment -- this site is not owned by your or me, but by someone else.

*looks around* was this addressed to me or the person behind me? When did I say "I owned this site" or "the admin doesn't have the right"?

All I said was "I was shocked..." I didn't ask for an intervention of comments and nor were they particularly illegal, so someone else must have thought "Oh the poor dear is getting abusive comments, let me flag them so admin cleans them up."

Don't get me wrong. I like comments too. However, not everyone does, and to think if they don't it signifies some kind of weakness on their part is wrong.

Look, don't get me wrong, I understand. You all have friends who have been hurt by common-tators. You think the big bad wulf is saying things that will hurt their feewwings. So you are trying to protect them by saying "it isn't weakness." It's my pathological sense to not feel sympathy for people in such an instance.

Do I think they should have the right to turn off comments taken away from them?
NO. I didn't say that. Nor did I say it's wrong to hide from common-tators.

It's normal to feel shy after being hurt. You burn your finger from a fire, you are hesitant to go near a fire again. You avoid it at all costs because you don't want to be hurt again. You FEAR the fire. Fear is normal. How you react to that fear is the whether it is a weakness or not.

If a person wasn't truly concerned or they were confident in their writing abilities, then they wouldn't turn them off comments, they would ignore them.

 

[sr71plt]

Look, don't get me wrong, I understand. You all have friends who have been hurt by common-tators. You think the big bad wulf is saying things that will hurt their feewwings. So you are trying to protect them by saying "it isn't weakness." It's my pathological sense to not feel sympathy for people in such an instance.

Well, you don't understand my point--at least by posting this. I don't care what authors have seen in the effect of having comments open on their stories. Their expectations and the setting of their accounts here are their's to have/do, not yours or anyone else's to tell them what they are or should be. Mind your own business.

 

[lovecraft68]

The only thing that makes me wonder about people who shut off the comments is why post your stories on a public forum if you don't want to hear what people think? May as well just leave them on your PC.

Unless they just go by votes as an indication of what people think?

I've seen stories with everything turned off, makes me wonder what's the point? Is it just knowing people must have read it?

 

[LWulf]

Well, you don't understand my point--at least by posting this. I don't care what authors have seen in the effect of having comments open on their stories. Their expectations and the setting of their accounts here are their's to have/do, not yours or anyone else's to tell them what they are or should be. Mind your own business.

My comment, much as I imagine the OP's was, is observatorial. As I see it, it's my choice to agree or disagree and voice those observations as I see fit. In that regard, you should mind your own business.

edit: I have never said anybody HAS to do anything. All I've said that can be related to this is "I think it puts out a very negative statement about yourself when you stop people from commenting, at all."

 

[sr71plt]

The only thing that makes me wonder about people who shut off the comments is why post your stories on a public forum if you don't want to hear what people think? May as well just leave them on your PC.

Unless they just go by votes as an indication of what people think?

I've seen stories with everything turned off, makes me wonder what's the point? Is it just knowing people must have read it?

Wanting to share your writings broadly isn't the same thing as wanting to know what strangers of unknown analytical knowledge have to say or having them slam your writing and discourage others from reading it. Writers in the mainstream don't expect to get feedback from all their readers--or necessarily value it. That's their choice to make; not their requirement to knuckle under to anyone else's opinion of what they should do. This isn't a critique site.

I post stories here simply to broaden my readership. I don't have comments turned off, but if I think a commenter has his/her head up their ass on their comment, I feel free to zap it. Just because I haven't turned comments off doesn't mean I welcome someone I don't know telling me how they think I should write or am requesting critique.

 

[sr71plt]

My comment, much as I imagine the OP's was, is observatorial. As I see it, it's my choice to agree or disagree and voice those observations as I see fit. In that regard, you should mind your own business.

Me too (to the bolded sentence), which negates your last sentence, now doesn't it?

I think anyone who feels that a story writer here is obligated to have their comment slapped on a story and preserved is more than a bit too full of themselves and their own importance.

And, in that vein, this is just one of a series of postings by the OP attempting to reupholster this Web site to the OP's personal preferences--to which I response, screw that.

 

[lovecraft68]

Wanting to share your writings broadly isn't the same thing as wanting to know what strangers of unknown analytical knowledge have to say or having them slam your writing and discourage others from reading it. Writers in the mainstream don't expect to get feedback from all their readers--or necessarily value it. That's their choice to make; not their requirement to knuckle under to anyone else's opinion of what they should do. This isn't a critique site.

I post stories here simply to broaden my readership. I don't have comments turned off, but if I think a commenter has his/her head up their ass on their comment, I feel free to zap it. Just because I haven't turned comments off doesn't mean I welcome someone I don't know telling me how they think I should write or am requesting critique.

For me the analytical knowledge isn't a factor. One does not have to be a professional writer, editor, publisher to simply tell someone they liked or disliked their story and why.

And one doesn't have to be an expert to say something like "A proofreader could help, there were a lot of typos." anyone who can read can spot typos and if they were there? Then that's far from an invalid remark.

So I don't begrudge anyone their opinion. People are their own judge on what they like and that's all feedback here is. The hateful crap is the exception and I don't understand how anyone can take that seriously at all.

But again, ask ten authors how they handle something, get ten answers. No right and wrong, just what's right and wrong for the individual.

Personally I like getting feedback. I take the gushing 'OMG you're the best' with as much credence as "You're a fucking piece of shit" but in between there's some genuinely good thoughts people have shared and its made me think about my writing in general.