Do you thank those...

[TheLobster]

Exactly. Why some people think promoting stories through whatever (limited) means are available to us, is "gaming a system", is beyond me. So what if your comment count increases visibility?

This remark sets aside my contempt for those who go one-bombing without reading stories, but I'm not sure those clowns are capable of commenting, so we're talking about different things.

Alright, so you do admit that some methods of propping up your stories -- namely, one-bombing other stories -- are going too far. Perhaps you would agree that these methods constitute "gaming the system," perhaps not; what matters is that they are on the other side of some imaginary line in the sand.

As long as we agree that such line exists, it's merely a matter of establishing where it lies.

For example, although you disagree with one-bombing, maybe you don't feel this way about creating multiple accounts or using VPN and dropping five stars on your own stories. Or maybe it's okay to trade five stars with other authors. Or to ask your followers to go drop some fives on those other authors' stories, just as long as they do the same to you.

Similarly, if replying to comments is okay, then how about dropping an extra "bumping" comment once a week to keep your story on the recently-commented list? Isn't that just promoting your stories through whatever means are available to us?

Where is the line? It seems quite nebulous to me. Personally, I prefer to just reject all inorganic engagement outright, which means leaving the comments alone and not replying to them publicly.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have thanked commenters (and had arguments with others), but one is never sure if they see your "Thanks so much for liking me," or not. I don't know if they get alerts from stories they read and commented on. I've never gotten an alert that anyone commented (author or otherwise) when I make comments on stories.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I always do. Just common courtesy, IMO, but I'm rather old-fashioned,.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You, old-fashioned, naw! But it is a mean drink, if I remember correctly. Let me think, bourbon, a few sugar cubes for sweetness, a few dashes of Angostura bitters, add spice, twist of orange peel, or sometimes a cherry, adds aroma, and a final touch of flavor. I can see you drinking that!

I always do. Just common courtesy, IMO, but I'm rather old-fashioned,.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

You, old-fashioned, naw! But it is a mean drink, if I remember correctly. Let me think, bourbon, a few sugar cubes for sweetness, a few dashes of Angostura bitters, add spice, twist of orange peel, or sometimes a cherry, adds aroma, and a final touch of flavor. I can see you drinking that!

That’s me to a T - a liberal Old-Fashioned in the hand of an old-fashioned liberal.

 

[Gamblnluck]

Why is that gaming any system? The comments attract people to your stories, it's no different to a movie poster advertising a movie.

Sure, if an author saturated the lists with comments that were blatant self-promotion, then I'd tend to think they could pull their head in a bit - but does anyone in fact do that? I don't know - I rarely look at the comments lists, but on occasion I've found good stories that way. Intelligent comments usually lead to intelligent stories, I've found.

I think he is referring to if he engages everyone in a conversation, he is just compounding the number of comments. I didn't even know they keep track of most comments, but I can see how that could be manipulated. Some authors just love to get rated on a list, no matter what it is or how they get there.
I find it funny. They say, "I write for myself." Then the complain when they get a low score (has to be trolls) or bad comments (they don't know a good story when they read one_)
To me, just put your story out there where you think it fits. If you get nailed, you missed the mark. Did you not recognize your audience or was your story not quite as good as you thought? To me a story is ONLY as good as your audience thinks it is.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Where is the line? It seems quite nebulous to me. Personally, I prefer to just reject all inorganic engagement outright, which means leaving the comments alone and not replying to them publicly.

My frame of reference is from eleven years ago, when the AH would turn into a pit of toxic invective every time a Contest ran, with the behaviour you describe, constant, and hostile, every contest. Far, far worse behaviour than you ever see these days. Real fuck-tardery.

I reply to comments occasionally, if someone has asked a question - that's courtesy. I personally see no issue if writers reply more often - that's their right, the site allows them to do it, so I don't see it as a big deal. What I do take issue with, is when folk attack them for doing it. My response to that ranges from shrug, so fucking what, ignore, depending on my mood at the time.

Everyone draws their own line, but there's no need to shame them, just because their line isn't yours. But this gets a shrug, from me. It's definitely a first world Lit writers' "problem" that has no real consequences.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think he is referring to if he engages everyone in a conversation, he is just compounding the number of comments. I didn't even know they keep track of most comments, but I can see how that could be manipulated. Some authors just love to get rated on a list, no matter what it is or how they get there.
I find it funny. They say, "I write for myself." Then the complain when they get a low score (has to be trolls) or bad comments (they don't know a good story when they read one_)
To me, just put your story out there where you think it fits. If you get nailed, you missed the mark. Did you not recognize your audience or was your story not quite as good as you thought? To me a story is ONLY as good as your audience thinks it is.

Comments push stories up in the searches. I don't think most people comment on every comment for that effect, but I'm sure some do because I've seen every damn scam there is to try to get attention.

You see a story and it has 40 comments and you think, hmm, its getting some buzz I'll check it out. Then you see half the comments are from the author. That's a turn off to me, enough that I won't read the story.

Everything in moderation. I can see someone wanting to reply to a direct question or a meaningful remark, but the "Oh, thank you!" to all of them is a bit much.

Its not as bad as the creating of alts to fluff their own stories and more than a few have done that over the years.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Its not as bad as the creating of alts to fluff their own stories and more than a few have done that over the years.

Scott Adams did that.

--Annie

 

[Paul_Chance]

I think it’s a good practice and I respond to probably 95% of my comments. If it’s a stupid comment, I won’t bother.

 

[Actingup]

Comments push stories up in the searches. I don't think most people comment on every comment for that effect, but I'm sure some do because I've seen every damn scam there is to try to get attention.

You see a story and it has 40 comments and you think, hmm, its getting some buzz I'll check it out. Then you see half the comments are from the author. That's a turn off to me, enough that I won't read the story.

Everything in moderation. I can see someone wanting to reply to a direct question or a meaningful remark, but the "Oh, thank you!" to all of them is a bit much.

It’s not as bad as the creating of alts to fluff their own stories and more than a few have done that over the years.

‘Everything in moderation’ is where I’m at. To me, fluffing up the comment numbers is an unfortunate side effect of engaging readers by responding to comments. If the comment numbers look high, I would ideally want that to be because people are responding to the story, not because I’m interacting. But I do like to respond to commenters where appropriate.

 

[avabacchus]

I would love a way to directly respond to people's comments, but a lot of people choose to comment anonymously. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I have gotten some really sweet comments, but what really gets me is the people who take their time to comment that they hope my cancer journey is going well. They are so sweet to care about a stranger on a website.