Anonymous negative comments

Any way to block negative comments by often abusive anonymous commenters? Show your face!
You can also go into the specific comment and request its removal if you don't want to blanket block all Anonymous comments because 'some' of them are just nice readers.
 
You can also go into the specific comment and request its removal if you don't want to blanket block all Anonymous comments because 'some' of them are just nice readers.
Click the little grey exclamation mark to the right of the comment.
 
You can also go into the specific comment and request its removal if you don't want to blanket block all Anonymous comments because 'some' of them are just nice readers.
You don't need to report comments or request removal of comments on your own stories, you can delete them yourself instantly for any reason.

Just go into Works, click on the comments icon under your story, and then click the trash can next to any comments you want to delete.

Of course, there are different schools of thought as to when an author should or should not remove reader comments, but that is a topic best left for the Author's Hangout forum 😊
 
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Show your face!

Nobody on Literotica shows their face.

We're all anonymous, whether we hide behind a fake name or use Anonymous when commenting. Some even have two fake names, using one to comment without providing a link to the stories posted under the other. Others have even more fake names, allowing them to post in various categories without blowback on their other stories.

It's all masks, not faces.
 
I get it if your an author and don't want them to retaliate on you for a bad review. I feel if you leave a star rating you should have an account and have to leave feedback on it.
This is a suggestion which resurfaces every few months. I've flipped back and forth a bunch of times. I'm breaking out the popcorn; maybe somebody will have a new spin on it.
 
I get it if your an author and don't want them to retaliate on you for a bad reveiw. I feel if you leave a star rating you should have an account and have to leave feedback on it.

You have full power to delete any comment on your story for any reason that you like. We all post here because we love the traffic and the high rates of feedback. The traffic is high because there are basically no barriers to read, vote and comment. If you put up a barrier you reduce the traffic. The site does not revolve around you and your (fragile) ego. It revolves around the readers and their high volume that we love so much. If having to delete anything that bruises your ego is too much for you, if you need the site to filter out things that you don't want to see for you (and plenty of negative comments are made on logged in accounts anyways), then you're just being lazy. It's an adult site so write like an adult. No one has time to hold your hand.
 
And there I was thinking that this was a place where people could ask for help and express their opinions. As new writers join the site and experience the nuances of the anonymous commenting, the topic is bound to come up, time and again. If anyone is tired of the discussion just don't engage with it.
To my earlier suggestion of reporting the offending comments. I think if enough writers reported the really nasty ones they 'might' be moderated out before they're published. I agree that curtailing the reader's ability to read and comment without an account defeats the freedom of the site.
Can we ease off, please, on accusations of 'fragile egos' here, where as fellow writers, we'd expect some support rather than more criticism. Right. Enough said. @jts259, I hope you got some useful advice.
 
The problem is the inherent tension between weeding out spam and trying to get comments through as fast as possible. It's really only one or two people who are reading through all these comments, and the decision has been to stop spam comments, comments that violate ToS... and that's pretty much it.

The problem is one of taste. What determines a "bad" comment from one that's sharp, but has valid critiques? Is it hate speech? Who defines that? Do we only allow "nice" comments through? There are a lot of considerations, and I think the current approach is the right one. Minimal filtering of comments to avoid having people just spam nonsense links to shady websites (like we sometimes get on the forums).

The problem, as pink pointed out, is that if you only let people who are signed in vote/comment, you're going to see a massive drop in engagement. Most people use this site anonymously, since they don't need to create an account to view, vote, or comment, it allows freer rein to be able to engage with the content. People are antsy about signing up and using their emails just to be able to say a few words on an erotica website. You force people to log in to do anything, you kill a ton of ratings and comments in the process, because you're adding additional layers of friction. UX principles.

There's currently a good compromise in that you can turn off anonymous comments, and delete any comment you choose (as has been mentioned), but asking the comment moderators to filter out "nasty" comments that are just spiteful is then appealing to someone's taste, and once you go down that road, you're at the whims of someone's judgement and opinion on more than just "spam or illegal" determinations. Maybe there's a comment that you find objectionable, but someone else doesn't. How do you know what one person is willing to tolerate versus another? It's a delicate balancing act, especially for a site run by effectively two people.
 
And there I was thinking that this was a place where people could ask for help and express their opinions. As new writers join the site and experience the nuances of the anonymous commenting, the topic is bound to come up, time and again. If anyone is tired of the discussion just don't engage with it.
The AH does get a bunch of repeat repeat questions. Some people are dicks about that and give grief; others are helpful and give guidance. You'll soon figure out who is who.

You can control anonymous comments on your own stories, but to suggest "ban anonymous comments" - no way. That's up to individuals to choose. I, for one, would never turn anon comments off. They're at least half the comments I get - and odds are, if your story is worth commenting on, you'll get intelligent comments.
To my earlier suggestion of reporting the offending comments. I think if enough writers reported the really nasty ones they 'might' be moderated out before they're published.
No they won't. The site vetts comments for html and spam, not content.

The site used to run a hate speak purge every now and then, based on people saying vile comments have suddenly disappeared. But I've not heard that for a while.

You can delete any comments you like on your own stories, and you can Report comments on other writer's work.

The site does cancel repeat offender accounts, but only if they get multiple reports. So yes, there's no shame in a bit of community policing, so report shit comments. Some people get all up in arms about that, "Oh, but the site should do it, it's not up to me."

My analogy is, would you clear dog shit off your front lawn? My view is, you choose the neighbourhood you live in, and there's nothing wrong about reporting crapola commentary, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I agree that curtailing the reader's ability to read and comment without an account defeats the freedom of the site.
Good!
Can we ease off, please, on accusations of 'fragile egos' here, where as fellow writers, we'd expect some support rather than more criticism. Right. Enough said. @jts259, I hope you got some useful advice.
Agree. It's nothing to do with fragile egos, it's to do with not being an asshole, it's to do with being kind within your community.
 
Agree. It's nothing to do with fragile egos, it's to do with not being an asshole, it's to do with being kind within your community.

When the site has a perfectly working function for any writer to moderate his own comment section (the trash can icon) and they still whine about ugly comments on their story, that's a fragile ego. It's also supremely lazy. 'Yes I can just hit the trash can but I don't want to even see it in the first place. Admin, fix this!' Community Schmommunity. That there is just some arrogant and lazy shit.
 
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