Mean Spirited Comments From Anonymous Readers
- Thread starter trigudis
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Handley_Page
Draco interdum Vincit
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More often than not, if I comment on a story, I do it as 'ANON'
There's a certain amount of "I cannot be bothered to log in - again," but I have been known to make a story (or an author) a "favourite".
But I have had a story or two accepted.
There's a certain amount of "I cannot be bothered to log in - again," but I have been known to make a story (or an author) a "favourite".
But I have had a story or two accepted.
oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
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While that might be a small part of it, I think the majority are from anonymous assholes who just like to damage other people.
You can turn off anonymous comments and feedback. You can't turn off anonymous voting, only ALL voting.
sr71plt
Literotica Guru
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If they've commented anonymously, how do you know that they'll never posted a story on Lit.?
Zeb_Carter
.-- - ..-.
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You can turn off anonymous comments.
SecondCircle
Sin Cara
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Such is the way of the internet.
If someone has something negative to say, they usually won't attach a name to said negativity. Whether it's hateful or constructive.
That being said, I've plenty of readers that commented anonymously that praised the story or had positive remarks.
It's just the push and pull of an online world.
If said comments become a nuisance, an author has the option to turn them off.
If someone has something negative to say, they usually won't attach a name to said negativity. Whether it's hateful or constructive.
That being said, I've plenty of readers that commented anonymously that praised the story or had positive remarks.
It's just the push and pull of an online world.
If said comments become a nuisance, an author has the option to turn them off.
sr71plt
Literotica Guru
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Yeah, I keep anonymous comments because I have far more--many times--favorable anonymous comments over unfavorable one, and I have the power to delete any comments I want to delete for any reason I want to delete them. I'd be more interested in being able to delete anonymous voting.
lovecraft68
Bad Doggie
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Same thing, you'd probably lose a lot of good votes along with the bad.
You're Right
You're right, we don't know if they've posted or not. But one can be critical without being mean spirited. I've been critical of certain stories here, constructively critical, offering alternatives, suggestions. I don' t get personal, nor am I craven enough to sign anonymous. The Mr./Miss Anonymous who commented on my last story was clearly mean spirited. More than that, he/she sounded downright angry when there was nothing to be angry about. It sounded like this person might have had other issues and took it out on my alleged lack of tense awareness.
You're right, we don't know if they've posted or not. But one can be critical without being mean spirited. I've been critical of certain stories here, constructively critical, offering alternatives, suggestions. I don' t get personal, nor am I craven enough to sign anonymous. The Mr./Miss Anonymous who commented on my last story was clearly mean spirited. More than that, he/she sounded downright angry when there was nothing to be angry about. It sounded like this person might have had other issues and took it out on my alleged lack of tense awareness.
Green_Knight
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There you go!
Bramblethorn
Sleep-deprived
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Bloody hell. Poor bastard writes the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Arabian Nights, Beowulf, the Volsungs Saga, and Primary Colors, but only gets a 4.11 from Literotica readers? Tough crowd.
weftandwarp
Really Experienced
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I think you're right but I don't think it matters. First, I'd rather have some input than none and second, I think in the end it all balances out. A lot of writers, having worked hard to get some thing up feel hard done by if they get less than perfection in return. I understand this- I am human, but really it isn't good to be always rewarded with perfection. It seems to me that average/ good is in the mid fours and really that is fairly high. I wish it was good enough to be a tool for learning. I guess it shows that the system is simply inadequate and not worth losing sleep over.
oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
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Perfection? No. I don't expect perfection in comments.
But I do resent personal abuse and obxious comments that bear no relation to what I have worked hard to create. Genuine comments are welcome even "I didn't like the premise or the way you wrote".
"Eat shit and die" or "She should have been killed/raped/abused because..." or "I hate Brits" are unnecessarily harsh.
SimonDoom
Kink Lord
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I think you probably are correct that most of them are NOT from other authors. My guess is that authors who want to bomb their competitors give other author 1-bombs but don't bother to comment. I have no idea how common the phenomenon is; I like to think it's not too common. It's not something I would ever do.
Comments can be vicious and stupid, and often are, but even those comments convey useful information to the author. I posted a short story to LW, and was quite taken aback by the viciousness of some of the comments I received. But part of me is struck by, and even a little pleased with, how seriously some people seem to take their erotica. My LW story is by far my lowest-rated, but it's also the one that's received by far the most votes and by far the most comments. Over 600 people have voted on it since I posted it in January. That tells me that a lot of people gave it a terrible rating (it's sitting at about 3.31 with 639 votes as I write) but still managed to read enough of it to have an opinion. In a way it's nice to know that something I wrote managed to stir a reaction from so many people -- even if the reaction is one of unalloyed hostility. I also take a little comfort in having gotten some positive comments and 14 favorites for that story.
The Lit readership can be frustrating for being so hostile, but at least it's not indifferent. I think it's useful for an author to get feedback, of whatever kind.
weftandwarp
Really Experienced
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Yeah- I agree. Sorry- I didn't express my self well previously. May make a mess of this one too so it's my last on this thread. It is an issue I find difficult to think about. The people who make those comments aren't worth worrying about. Truth be known the site should have responsibility for providing some protection from it. They have a lot more details to go by and could have a program set up that sees certain words within comments that deserve review. I wouldn't imagine that would be very difficult. Then they could ban the ip address. There shouldn't be an open slather of abuse and threat. If they caught one they could cause huge ructions via the legal system- imagine one being charged with threatened murder or threatened rape! Perhaps I'm not so clever but I know I won't be rewarding the unworthy with my attention and I won't reciprocate as it is only a matter of time and legalities will have to intrude I feel. Freedom of speech is fine but it doesn't mean freedom to abuse. Other sites exert a lot more control over antisocial behaviour. Eventually this one will too.
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sr71plt
Literotica Guru
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And goes down to James's EVERYONE AT LIT BUT NOIRTRASH WRITES CRAP.
Bramblethorn
Sleep-deprived
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IP addresses are not unique personal identifiers. Depending on how they're connecting to the internet, one person may have many IPs and many people may share one IP.
H
HandsInTheDark
Guest
Haha. By the way, if you want to get depressed, skim that story. The writer doesn't speak English as a primary language. Spell check mislead him. Sentences are stilted. There's no flow. It reads like a badly written True Confessions. And yet somehow it manages to keep a rating above 4 and has 19 favorites.
Then I look at one of my shortest stories. Just a little longer than that one. Plot, sentence structure that works, character development, sex that isn't laughably described, surprise ending... it rated just 0.4 higher and has half as many favorites.
But mine is fantasy, not incest.
If you ever thought scores or other metrics here matter, a quick look around at other stories will cure you.
Better To Be Read Than Ignored
You're right, it's better to be read even if you're crapped on than not read at all. What I don't get is why some readers finish a story that they deem unworthy of being read. Many stories here turn me off from paragraph one. Then I simply stop reading and go on to something else, not wasting my time reading further or leaving vicious comments. Some people make sport of lobbing bivets at whatever they don't like.
You're right, it's better to be read even if you're crapped on than not read at all. What I don't get is why some readers finish a story that they deem unworthy of being read. Many stories here turn me off from paragraph one. Then I simply stop reading and go on to something else, not wasting my time reading further or leaving vicious comments. Some people make sport of lobbing bivets at whatever they don't like.
SweetWitch
Green Goddess
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SimonDoom
Kink Lord
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That was cute and clever. If only such a person existed.
I want to read more about what goes on in Fetish Thicket . . .
