Anonymous comments?

[Callicious]

I'm curious about anonymous comments pros and cons from experienced authors on this site. I'm a newbie, with 8 stories posted that have received some very favorable views to my great pleasure.

My question has to do with whether you allow for anonymous comments and why. I'm almost embarrassed by some of them, and don't wish for people to think I'm padding my comments. Is this common?

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

JC

 

[DeYaKen]

more feedback

I'm curious about anonymous comments pros and cons from experienced authors on this site. I'm a newbie, with 8 stories posted that have received some very favorable views to my great pleasure.

My question has to do with whether you allow for anonymous comments and why. I'm almost embarrassed by some of them, and don't wish for people to think I'm padding my comments. Is this common?

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

JC

Allowing anonymous comments certainly generates more comments and if reader feedback is important to you (and why wouldn't it be) then allow them. You do sometimes get glowing testaments and wish you could thank them, but you will also get (especially in loving wives) the trolls who use anonymity as a shield to hide behind while they hurl abuse, often personal, at the author.

If you really are embarrassed by your comments, you can always delete them.

I only ever delete racist abuse (some people think my nom de plume is indian or pakistani and some are just anti British)

 

[Callicious]

Thanks

Thanks, DeYaKen. I've only had one negative comment, and that one removed it himself. I've not deleted any.

I was thinking more along the lines of the effusiveness of the comments. If I were to read one of my stories for the first time it would almost look to me as if the author posted an anonymous "attaboy" himself.

I look for the feedback as I'm trying to learn to write, so I guess I'll leave the anonymous comments on. I just don't think I"m that good of a writer.

jc

 

[PennLady]

Thanks, DeYaKen. I've only had one negative comment, and that one removed it himself. I've not deleted any.

I was thinking more along the lines of the effusiveness of the comments. If I were to read one of my stories for the first time it would almost look to me as if the author posted an anonymous "attaboy" himself.

I look for the feedback as I'm trying to learn to write, so I guess I'll leave the anonymous comments on. I just don't think I"m that good of a writer.

jc

As DeYaKen noted, you have control over the comments. I've only deleted a few in the three or four years I've been posting here; they were personal attacks and nothing to do with the story. That, and offensive comments such as DYK mentioned, would be the only reason I'd delete.

I wouldn't worry about effusive comments. You'll see that a lot of stories have comments like that, but I've never thought that the authors might have set it up that way. I think a lot of people just want to note that they liked a story, and most don't want to go into the reasons why, if they've even thought that far.

If you want an actual critique of your story, you need to ask for it, though. You could do that by putting an author's note before or after the story, or by posting in the Story Feedback forum and including a link to the story. Someone will almost always be willing to read and give you feedback.

Just be prepared that they may criticize elements of your story that you like; don't be defensive, just hear them out (or read them out). And remember that it's a person's opinion, so you don't have to take every single word to heart.

 

[sr71plt]

Thanks, DeYaKen. I've only had one negative comment, and that one removed it himself. I've not deleted any.

Just a note that once someone has put a comment on a story, only the author or the Web site administrators can remove it, so that wasn't the commenter removing the comment him/herself.

The longer you post stories, the more adept you will become at knowing if you want to leave the comments on and/or whether there are certain types you want to delete.

I think there's probably a fair amount of backpatting by the authors on their own stories in story, but there's no real way to gauge that on Literotica, so I suggest not worrying about it concerning your own stories. I think (maybe others know for sure) that you can only put one anonymous comment on a story from your own computer, so that would limit the number backpats anyone thought you were giving yourself.

 

[Callicious]

thanks

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your insight. I guess I won't worry about the comments, I'll just buy a bigger hat and tell Hemingway to move over.

I certainly like the approbation, and will continue to take it.

jc

 

[DeYaKen]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your insight. I guess I won't worry about the comments, I'll just buy a bigger hat and tell Hemingway to move over.

I certainly like the approbation, and will continue to take it.

jc

Yes, that's exactly the way to treat it. I have to admit that the stories of mine that got the best scores are ones that I didn't think were that good. As Penn Lady says if you want a critique there are other ways of getting it. Using a good editor is one.

Comments on lit are like readers reviews on Amazon. They are rarely about how good the writing is but have more to do with whether the reader liked what happened in the story. Write a story where the bad guy wins and you'll get plenty of negative comments no matter how well you wrote it.

The worst ones will be anonymous

 

[StrangeLife]

I'm curious about anonymous comments pros and cons from experienced authors on this site. I'm a newbie, with 8 stories posted that have received some very favorable views to my great pleasure.

My question has to do with whether you allow for anonymous comments and why. I'm almost embarrassed by some of them, and don't wish for people to think I'm padding my comments. Is this common?

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

JC

I always allow comments and I never delete any. I ask for peoples honest opinion and I'm certainly not going to turn around afterwards and censor them - even the ones telling me that I'm a f****** no god s*** that needs to be a******** and s******** with a b***** till my f******* n****** bursts. It may not be nice, but I sure got their opinions...

Where blatant ad hominem attacks aren't very useful except as entertainment I've also gotten a lot of constructive criticism giving me genuine advice on mistakes I've made, how I can tighten up the pacing, make my characters more believable, improve my prose and so on - even from Anonymous. This site is frequented by some very skilled people, some of which I suspect might even be professionals having fun "slumming it." I've learned quite a bit from their feedback.

So my advice would be to accept all comments and suck up the criticism. Whether you want to delete them later is a personal preference I guess.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm curious about anonymous comments pros and cons from experienced authors on this site. I'm a newbie, with 8 stories posted that have received some very favorable views to my great pleasure.

My question has to do with whether you allow for anonymous comments and why. I'm almost embarrassed by some of them, and don't wish for people to think I'm padding my comments. Is this common?

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

I leave them up. Yeah, sometimes they're embarrassingly effusive, but I'm happy to know if somebody enjoyed it, and I know I didn't write 'em.

I reserve the right to delete comments if somebody's using the forum as a soapbox for stuff that's not related to my story, but I haven't had call to do that as yet.

 

[duckandbunny79]

Ended

 

[MiliktheRed]

Even rude comments can be useful

In my first go round on Lit, I was an unpolished and careless writer who told hot tales in a very poor way. To those stories I recieved several comments that basically said; Nice story! Too bad you can't write!

It really got bad enough that I moved on, think erroneously that the mood here was simply elitist and rude. When I landed at the new site I was told essentially the same thing. Fortunately I also made friends with people who helped me improve tremdously. Now I've got two ebooks for sale and several award winning stories there. These stories are now being introduced to the readers here, pending the appearently very long approval process.

The lesson for new writers is to understand that even the insulting comments were left for a reason. Whether you leave them up or not is your choice, but try to understand what provoked the response in the first place. That is how you grow as a writer.

 

[Lynn_MXX]

The worst ones will be anonymous

Actually, the worst ones are the ones who don't leave a comment at all. As the post above this one reads: "Try to understand what provoked the response in the first place."

I hate it when the comments are turned off. Whether or not I read a story is often down to the number of comments it receives. I'm certainly not put off by so called negative comments. And death threats towards the author are an incentive to read their story, as they must have done something right to invoke such emotion

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Actually, the worst ones are the ones who don't leave a comment at all. As the post above this one reads: "Try to understand what provoked the response in the first place."

I hate it when the comments are turned off. Whether or not I read a story is often down to the number of comments it receives. I'm certainly not put off by so called negative comments. And death threats towards the author are an incentive to read their story, as they must have done something right to invoke such emotion

Your thinking makes as much sense as any, I suppose, and few make any sense. Its all man in the street idgitry.

 

[DeYaKen]

Actually, the worst ones are the ones who don't leave a comment at all. As the post above this one reads: "Try to understand what provoked the response in the first place."

I hate it when the comments are turned off. Whether or not I read a story is often down to the number of comments it receives. I'm certainly not put off by so called negative comments. And death threats towards the author are an incentive to read their story, as they must have done something right to invoke such emotion

As Oscar Wilde said "There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"

When the response is "You people should write for your own race." or "There's only one thing worse than a pom and that's a paki pom," it doesn't take a lot to figure out what provoked them.

As I said in an earlier post, these are immediately deleted. The real problem with anonymous posts is that you can't thank people for the good ones or question the ones where the reader has not understood what you are trying to say.

I've said before that I regard any comment as a success. If an author has made the reader feel strongly enough about the story, that they are moved to respond, he/she has done their job.

 

[Callicious]

Thank you all for your responses! I certainly appreciate your input.

DeYaKen, I have to agree with you in the frustration of not being able to thank people for good responses. I have tried to respond to all who leave an option to do so. Anyone who takes the time to express their appreciation for what I've written I want to thank.

I've been very fortunate indeed in the responses I've received. My stories have been in the "First Time" category, which tends to be less volatile, but I've been overwhelmed to receive virtually all positive, sometimes effusive responses. I'm glad I connect!

I have learned from each of you and from your responses, and I am grateful.

JC

 

[Lynn_MXX]

Originally posted by DeYaKen;When the response is "You people should write for your own race." or "There's only one thing worse than a pom and that's a paki pom," it doesn't take a lot to figure out what provoked them.

De ya ken is Scottish dialect which translates as 'do you know.' People calling our authors a 'Paki Pom' should be forced to read the Sunday Post (a newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland that uses that term a lot)!!!!!!

Originally posted by DeYaKen;The real problem with anonymous posts is that you can't thank people for the good ones or question the ones where the reader has not understood what you are trying to say.

We need a thumbs up/thumbs down facility like they have on Yahoo News and Youtube

 

[DeYaKen]

Originally posted by DeYaKen;When the response is "You people should write for your own race." or "There's only one thing worse than a pom and that's a paki pom," it doesn't take a lot to figure out what provoked them.

De ya ken is Scottish dialect which translates as 'do you know.' People calling our authors a 'Paki Pom' should be forced to read the Sunday Post (a newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland that uses that term a lot)!!!!!!

Originally posted by DeYaKen;The real problem with anonymous posts is that you can't thank people for the good ones or question the ones where the reader has not understood what you are trying to say.

We need a thumbs up/thumbs down facility like they have on Yahoo News and Youtube

No worries for me Lynn I can delete em faster than they can post em. I was sort of offended on behalf of the people they were aimed at. I have to admit it was and attitude that I dinna ken. When you publish stories on Loving wives you come to expect that sort of thing. However I don't have to leave it up to offend others.

 

[WifeWatchman]

Just a quick comment on this thread: IMHO there should be no anonymous voting nor comments; one should have to have an ID and be logged in to make votes and posts. It may be that I can turn of anonymous-only comments, but from what I can see, all I can do is turn off ALL posting or voting, and I don't want that.

I think if someone knows their comments are attached to their ID and they can't troll anonymously, a lot of the problems would clean up, and we'd be left with much more genuine and helpful comments and better voting. IMHO it would not affect the quantity of voting and commenting, but I don't know for sure. This is just my idea and others may differ.

As to deleting comments: I have done so on a few occasions, when the intent of the commenter is obviously not meant to be helpful but to be harmful and attacking. I can handle criticism, but when someone is taking an obvious shot just to be taking a shot, I don't feel a need to let that stand. And you can tell when they ARE trolls... they will whine and moan when you take their attacks down... they want to dish it out, but cannot stand it when you (plural) do something about their trolling.

Hope this helps

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Just a quick comment on this thread: IMHO there should be no anonymous voting nor comments; one should have to have an ID and be logged in to make votes and posts. It may be that I can turn of anonymous-only comments, but from what I can see, all I can do is turn off ALL posting or voting, and I don't want that.

I think if someone knows their comments are attached to their ID and they can't troll anonymously, a lot of the problems would clean up, and we'd be left with much more genuine and helpful comments and better voting. IMHO it would not affect the quantity of voting and commenting, but I don't know for sure. This is just my idea and others may differ.

As to deleting comments: I have done so on a few occasions, when the intent of the commenter is obviously not meant to be helpful but to be harmful and attacking. I can handle criticism, but when someone is taking an obvious shot just to be taking a shot, I don't feel a need to let that stand. And you can tell when they ARE trolls... they will whine and moan when you take their attacks down... they want to dish it out, but cannot stand it when you (plural) do something about their trolling.

Hope this helps

Without anonymous comments writers would rarely get any feedback, cuz other writers know how vindictive LIT writers are.

What might work is an anonymous panel that reviews every approved story. The reviewers are secret, the stories they score are secret. Doesn't gotta be the same panel for every story.

 

[Darkniciad]

http://www.literotica.com/members/main_options.php

There's a radial button on that page to disallow anonymous comments only, or all feedback. It applies to every story in your list, where what I believe you're referring to is the ability to shut off commenting on individual stories.

With the latter, you're correct. It's all or nothing.

Just a quick comment on this thread: IMHO there should be no anonymous voting nor comments; one should have to have an ID and be logged in to make votes and posts. It may be that I can turn of anonymous-only comments, but from what I can see, all I can do is turn off ALL posting or voting, and I don't want that.

 

[Tyro999]

Just a quick comment on this thread: IMHO there should be no anonymous voting nor comments; one should have to have an ID and be logged in to make votes and posts. It may be that I can turn of anonymous-only comments, but from what I can see, all I can do is turn off ALL posting or voting, and I don't want that.

If Laurel and Manu had decided to require registration to visit Literotica and rate and comment on stories, they would never have gotten it to where it is today.

There are still a lot of people out there who are gun shy about registering on a porn site, even with a made-up name.

 

[sr71plt]

If Laurel and Manu had decided to require registration to visit Literotica and rate and comment on stories, they would never have gotten it to where it is today.

There are still a lot of people out there who are gun shy about registering on a porn site, even with a made-up name.

I think you're probably right as far as getting it started. But it's in a new phase now, and they have the golden egg already, which is what likely is the biggest collection of stories available. Beyond that, they quite obviously are on overload and can't keep up with/haven't kept up with the functions of the site. There are all sorts of broken bits around here that the forum users have to spend much of their time explaining to folks who have a right to expect functions to work here that don't. Even the clearing of stories has moved to seven days.

I don't see why it could be anything but good to ratchet the site back, clean it up, and take advantage of the collection it has.

I think that leaving the collection accessible to anyone who wants to read but making them sign in to comment or vote is where the site should have evolved to by now.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think you're probably right as far as getting it started. But it's in a new phase now, and they have the golden egg already, which is what likely is the biggest collection of stories available. Beyond that, they quite obviously are on overload and can't keep up with/haven't kept up with the functions of the site. There are all sorts of broken bits around here that the forum users have to spend much of their time explaining to folks who have a right to expect functions to work here that don't. Even the clearing of stories has moved to seven days.

I don't see why it could be anything but good to ratchet the site back, clean it up, and take advantage of the collection it has.

I think that leaving the collection accessible to anyone who wants to read but making them sign in to comment or vote is where the site should have evolved to by now.

I agree 100% with this.

Lit is over a decade old and the way things are now, its ridiculous someone would be afraid to register under a fake name with a toss away e-mail address.

Time to do something that although it could slow traffic down slightly will be a great benefit to many here.

But I doubt it would happen. Lit is very successful and as for putting any more into it, the expression "fat and happy" or if you prefer, "Complacent" comes to mind.

I would not expect any changes.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Agree with LC and sr but the site is straining at the seams. I just hope it can cope.

 

[duckandbunny79]

Straining at the seams?

Ended