Comments and votes

[mrnicerguy]

As a new contributor I'm wondering about the people that tend to leave the most comments. I've had some great words from men, women and couples who I've gone on to chat with, so generally speaking it works for me. But I've started getting regular negative stuff from a few readers who seem to want only to examine and denounce the morals and motives of the protagonists. It seems amazing to me that people visit the site with any purpose other than to find and read stories that appeal to them and get them excited. Why keep revisiting a series of stories that just make you angry and abusive? Do any other writers suffer with these bigoted and belligerent boneheads?

 

[Dreamthiev]

There is a chunk of users who seem to regularly read , or at least visit, stories just to leave negative feedback and/or to give stories a low rating. Some authors even attract individual users who look for their newest stories to give them bad feedback or votes as soon as possible.

Not really anything you can do about it. My best advice is to just accept that it's going to happen and not let it get to you. I'd just ignore any non-constructive criticism. If someone has an intelligent complaint I'm more than happy to discuss it or listen to it, but mindless ranting and raving isn't worth my time.

 

[Penelope Street]

Do any other writers suffer with these bigoted and belligerent boneheads?

We all experience feedback from cretins. Whether or not they disturb us depends on whether we empower them with the ability to do so.

 

[CWatson]

Do you plan to let them bug you? Bullies are bullies, no matter how many years it's been since they were in grade school. The only appropriate response is to ignore them. If they see they won't get the kind of pleasure (read: emotional response) they desire from you, they'll wander off and prey on something more tempting.

If, on the other hand, they seem to have actual and valid concerns, why don't you engage them in reasoned, intellectual discourse? I've had people complain about my tales before; the most recent was when someone accused a character of "selling out" by joining the sexual revolution. In my opinion, the opposite was true--by allowing herself to be sexual, she had become much more whole and comfortable in her skin--and since I'm the author, my opinion's correct. I wrote him back, explaining how I'd approached it and why I did so; it's up to him to decide how he feels. (He hasn't written me back. It's been a month. He won't.) (What I want to know is, why was he reading a sex story, on a sex-story site, if he wanted the character to remain prudish and repressed?)

It's the Internet. Never expect intelligence when stupidity could be offered instead. It's sad to say, but you're going to have to grow a thicker skin.

 

[mrnicerguy]

Naive comments and negative voting

Thanks - you're all right of course. I'd love to be able to discuss a few points with some of the more articulate commenters. But naturally they don't leave any way of contacting them.

 

[poppy_cock]

Let me guess, your stories are in the 'Loving Wives' category, right?

Infantile comments do appear to be the order of the day there, I'm afraid. Some of the readers of that category actually believe that every word you write is true. That you're describing your own wife, your own relationship, etc., etc. And for some reason, some of the readers then seem to attribute their own personal circumstances and values to your story. Bizarre, but true.

It doesn't seem to be half as bad in other categories. You could try submitting an erotic couplings tale, group sex, etc.

Try not to take it personally--or even seriously.

 

[Milarosa]

If you are going to keep publicizing your staff, you'll have to get used to critique (even if it has no real grounding). Any writer is criticized.

But I tend to agree with you that there are some people that are there to just criticize and their criticism is almost always useless.

Just keep up your work and try to learn from both positive and negative feedback...

Good luck

 

[CorsetLvr]

Thgere are two types of people that are going to be motivated enough to vote or comment on a story, those that either hate it, or those that love it. Some commenters see the opportunity to comment as a means to simply tear down anything they don't agree with. I don't think I have to tell you that there is a significant portion of the population that finds personal importance in their ability to criticize and make little of others, do I?

The same applies to voters, including "trolls" that will vote a 1, whether they have read the story or not, and whose only reason for voting is that your story appears near the top of one of the toplists. Been there, done that, don't want the T-shirt. Again, these are miserable people that gain self importance by trying to minimize the work of others. I have never seen a negative comment that provided a link to their own writing as an example of how it should be done. Its easy to criticize from the cheap seats.

Welcome to the wonderful world of internet publishing.

 

[bisexualsmoker]

There are two types of people that are going to be motivated enough to vote or comment on a story, those that either hate it, or those that love it.

That's somewhat true but that would mean that stories would mostly ever be marked a
one or a five.I get a lot of twos and threes.Especially lately.

 

[Darkniciad]

That's somewhat true but that would mean that stories would mostly ever be marked a
one or a five.I get a lot of twos and threes.Especially lately.

That's from two things: The change in the way the vote "stars" are labeled, and because trolls have figured out that 1s are more likely to vanish in vote sweeps

 

[Jack_Samuel]

Those dammed trolls are getting smarter

 

[CorsetLvr]

I have a hard time thinking of the word troll and smart in the same sentence.