Really Odd Anon Feedback

[Thermite]

Heya, folks.

So as the subject line suggests, I got an anonymous comment today on a story I've posted recently, 'Blood and Honey'. Now... I've only put up six stories to date and I wouldn't say that I'm a particularly prolific writer, by any metric of the term. I'm also not really that familiar with the... how would I put it? The subcultural interactions of the different user groups here on Literotica. I treat it (believe it or not) as a place tp put up some stories I found fun to write, a place to peek now and then at other authors' work, and I don't get that involved with the rest of it.

Most of the feedback I get is pretty positive, too. I've been called a slur once, and I've had someone say they wouldn't fuck one of my main characters (you can't anyway, friend, she's not real). In both cases I've just kind of shrugged it off.

But the feedback I got today just... confuses me.

by Anonymous user on 4 hours ago
Bailed the moment you told us she was married. Fucked up family. Or, faux-family, with no respect for each other.

Um... Dearest Anonymous... You do realise this story was posted in Incest/Taboo, right? Quite aside from anonymous hatred being the most cowardly form, I do rather feel like this is more a comment on your ability to read than on mine to write.

Is it common that people go into groups and pick out new stories at random to drag? I know this happens a lot on the Interwebs but I simply don't understand the mindset of hate-reading. Whoever it was took the time to comment so they must have been at least a little invested. I mean, I absolutely get and agree with the idea that not everything on the site will appeal to everyone. It's not supposed to. That's one of the reasons we have categories in the first place - so you know, going in, roughly what kind of story you're likely to get. But this seems like willful self-aggravation to me. Is this person okay?

I've only recently become aware of some kind of schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica. Is this an example of the 'no adultery ever' crowd spilling over into other areas? Is it more common on Literotica than it used to be?

 

[mrs_candaules]

Wherever somewhat literate people get together this sort of stuff seems to happen.

I'm new here so I am surprised by your reference to the "schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica" — that sounds...amusing? weird? I dunno.

Schisms in an erotic story posting forum.

 

[Thermite]

Wherever somewhat literate people get together this sort of stuff seems to happen.

I'm new here so I am surprised by your reference to the "schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica" — that sounds...amusing? weird? I dunno.

Schisms in an erotic story posting forum.

Ahaha, yeah. Well, from what I've read here on the forums, there's two main groups - 'Yes adultery good' and 'No adultery ever' - with one (or both?) downvoting stories and leaving especially inflammatory comments based on premise rather than content or story merit, and with little interest in nuance (is it adultery if one partner is okay with, or actively wants it, to happen?). Like I said I don't have anything really to do with it and only found out recently, but it all seems like a curious way to spend one's time.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I've only recently become aware of some kind of schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica. Is this an example of the 'no adultery ever' crowd spilling over into other areas? Is it more common on Literotica than it used to be?

Yeah, occasionally the containment field breaches and they go a-wandering. I don't know if it's more or less common than in the past.

There are regular I/T authors here who could tell you better than I, but I get the impression that open-mindedness re. (say) the possibility of a brother and sister having a loving, healthy relationship doesn't correlate particularly with open-mindedness to anything else.

 

[lovecraft68]

You mentioned user groups, you just me the worst and most vocal, the knuckle dragging spineless dickless incels who took over the LW category a few years back

Yes, they do crawl out of the their mother's basement and drift into other categories. I don't know how they do it, but they find any story with anything extra marital sex and go crazy on it, but of course only when the women cheat, men can do whatever they want.

The demographic isn't limited to the stories, the authors in that category are no better, and we have a couple in this forum with those same opinions of women. They have me on ignore because they grew tired of me pointing it out.

Just treat them like you would if you stepped in dogshit, look at with disgust, put your foot back down and drag them across the concrete.

 

[Thermite]

Right, so more common or not, it's hardly an unknown factor. That's good to know.

A few years back, hmm? I wonder if that was within the five years I wasn't posting, or whether I just completely missed it. Both are about as likely, to be honest.

 

[StrongMaster7]

The smartest artists never read reviews. I read mine. And even mild criticism irks me, I'll be honest.

I've written more than forty Lit stories, and I've gotten very little negativity. It does make you wonder about those who, not enjoying a story, don't just stop reading and go to the next one, but instead 'put pen to paper' to show how little attention they paid in class.

Take heart, writers. Write because it makes you feel good, like taking a good shit. You don't follow the poo down the drain, do you? Then don't engage the critics.

 

[KeithD]

I treat it (believe it or not) as a place tp put up some stories I found fun to write, a place to peek now and then at other authors' work, and I don't get that involved with the rest of it.

Yep, I think it's usually best to leave it at this.

 

[Defluer]

I wrote one that was basically a Loving Wives story where it was a brother being invited in. It was Anal themed too and one "reader" put in a comment about how they were grossed out by me including stuff that I didn't even have in the story. That one was pretty funny where I've wondered, "Did you read my story or somebody else's and then somehow got here to comment?" But of course Anon's won't ever be back so no use trying.

As StrongMaster said, just keep writing for you. I got scared away by bad comments for years. I still wrote but pretty much all those stories are lost.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I wrote one that was basically a Loving Wives story where it was a brother being invited in. It was Anal themed too and one "reader" put in a comment about how they were grossed out by me including stuff that I didn't even have in the story. That one was pretty funny where I've wondered, "Did you read my story or somebody else's and then somehow got here to comment?" But of course Anon's won't ever be back so no use trying.

As StrongMaster said, just keep writing for you. I got scared away by bad comments for years. I still wrote but pretty much all those stories are lost.

I think we've said that Lit has a "Hello World" situation where anybody with Internet access can comment. At least they're not shooting people at schools and hospitals.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Heya, folks.

So as the subject line suggests, I got an anonymous comment today on a story I've posted recently, 'Blood and Honey'. Now... I've only put up six stories to date and I wouldn't say that I'm a particularly prolific writer, by any metric of the term. I'm also not really that familiar with the... how would I put it? The subcultural interactions of the different user groups here on Literotica. I treat it (believe it or not) as a place tp put up some stories I found fun to write, a place to peek now and then at other authors' work, and I don't get that involved with the rest of it.

Most of the feedback I get is pretty positive, too. I've been called a slur once, and I've had someone say they wouldn't fuck one of my main characters (you can't anyway, friend, she's not real). In both cases I've just kind of shrugged it off.

But the feedback I got today just... confuses me.



Um... Dearest Anonymous... You do realise this story was posted in Incest/Taboo, right? Quite aside from anonymous hatred being the most cowardly form, I do rather feel like this is more a comment on your ability to read than on mine to write.

Is it common that people go into groups and pick out new stories at random to drag? I know this happens a lot on the Interwebs but I simply don't understand the mindset of hate-reading. Whoever it was took the time to comment so they must have been at least a little invested. I mean, I absolutely get and agree with the idea that not everything on the site will appeal to everyone. It's not supposed to. That's one of the reasons we have categories in the first place - so you know, going in, roughly what kind of story you're likely to get. But this seems like willful self-aggravation to me. Is this person okay?

I've only recently become aware of some kind of schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica. Is this an example of the 'no adultery ever' crowd spilling over into other areas? Is it more common on Literotica than it used to be?

My latest story posted to Loving Wives (I selected that category deliberately) received one comment:

"Anonymous user on 05/26/2022
Your recommendations noted, my recommendation for you, EAT SHIT AND DIE"


I commented on one or two LW stories in the past "Your story was OK, but not quite clear. I would normally give this a 3, but I'll give it 5 to offset the haters."

I then received a comment on one of my stories "Giving this a 1 to offset any 5."

So, there are some very dedicated haters out there.

 

[Thermite]

Wwwwwow. That's... That seems to make a mockery of the whole rating system. Probably a good thing I tend to look at views and favourites more than stars...

 

[8letters]

Heya, folks.

So as the subject line suggests, I got an anonymous comment today on a story I've posted recently, 'Blood and Honey'. Now... I've only put up six stories to date and I wouldn't say that I'm a particularly prolific writer, by any metric of the term. I'm also not really that familiar with the... how would I put it? The subcultural interactions of the different user groups here on Literotica. I treat it (believe it or not) as a place tp put up some stories I found fun to write, a place to peek now and then at other authors' work, and I don't get that involved with the rest of it.

Most of the feedback I get is pretty positive, too. I've been called a slur once, and I've had someone say they wouldn't fuck one of my main characters (you can't anyway, friend, she's not real). In both cases I've just kind of shrugged it off.

But the feedback I got today just... confuses me.



Um... Dearest Anonymous... You do realise this story was posted in Incest/Taboo, right? Quite aside from anonymous hatred being the most cowardly form, I do rather feel like this is more a comment on your ability to read than on mine to write.

Is it common that people go into groups and pick out new stories at random to drag? I know this happens a lot on the Interwebs but I simply don't understand the mindset of hate-reading. Whoever it was took the time to comment so they must have been at least a little invested. I mean, I absolutely get and agree with the idea that not everything on the site will appeal to everyone. It's not supposed to. That's one of the reasons we have categories in the first place - so you know, going in, roughly what kind of story you're likely to get. But this seems like willful self-aggravation to me. Is this person okay?

I've only recently become aware of some kind of schism in the Loving Wives subsection of Literotica. Is this an example of the 'no adultery ever' crowd spilling over into other areas? Is it more common on Literotica than it used to be?

I don't know how much feedback you want on your story. I'll try to not provide feedback and instead discuss the tendencies of I/T readers.

First off, you really need to take a zen approach to reading comments. The reader reads your story, there's a number of things good and bad they found in that story, and then they'll jot off a few words on one thing that they've picked to discuss. So that comment is the tiny top of a large iceberg of impressions about the story. Sadly, it's the only comment you've gotten on the story, so you don't have anything else to go on to figure out what's in the rest of the iceberg. But for a reader to leave this kind of comment, there were enough things early on to turn them off from the story that they felt it worth the time to let you know that they were turned off early and to give you some clue as to why they were turned off early.

Secondly, don't view getting a negative comment as someone dragging your story. You've got feedback! There's lots of writers who'd love to get some feedback on their stories. Set aside your love for your baby and use that feedback to get better as a writer. Or at least learn about how your writing choices will effect your rating.

Thirdly, there's nothing cowardly about posting a negative comment anonymously. If someone is going to leave a comment suggesting improvement, it makes most sense to post it anonymously as a lot of people will get very upset when someone criticizes their baby.

Fourthly, I think most I/T readers are looking for old school romances with the twist that the two people who fall in love are family members. Your story doesn't provide that. I think that's what the commenter was trying to get across.

 

[Thermite]

I don't know how much feedback you want on your story. I'll try to not provide feedback and instead discuss the tendencies of I/T readers.

Feel free to provide feedback if you like, I'm not worried about that. But it's not what this thread is actually about.

First off, you really need to take a zen approach to reading comments. The reader reads your story, there's a number of things good and bad they found in that story, and then they'll jot off a few words on one thing that they've picked to discuss. So that comment is the tiny top of a large iceberg of impressions about the story. Sadly, it's the only comment you've gotten on the story, so you don't have anything else to go on to figure out what's in the rest of the iceberg. But for a reader to leave this kind of comment, there were enough things early on to turn them off from the story that they felt it worth the time to let you know that they were turned off early and to give you some clue as to why they were turned off early.

Yep, I get that. That's how commenting works. It's worth noting that they didn't actually read my story long enough to get much of any impression, though; the fact that the secondary character is married is brought up pretty early.

Secondly, don't view getting a negative comment as someone dragging your story. You've got feedback! There's lots of writers who'd love to get some feedback on their stories. Set aside your love for your baby and use that feedback to get better as a writer. Or at least learn about how your writing choices will effect your rating.

Indeed, as I said, I'm fine to get feedback. I value it, in fact, so long as - and here's the important bit - it's at least moderately constructive. This brings me to your next point, with which (it won't surprise you) I take some issue...

Thirdly, there's nothing cowardly about posting a negative comment anonymously. If someone is going to leave a comment suggesting improvement, it makes most sense to post it anonymously as a lot of people will get very upset when someone criticizes their baby.

You're right, there's nothing innately cowardly about posting negative feedback anonymously. That comment isn't negative feedback, though - at least, it's not constructive negative feedback. 'I didn't read your story because I found out early there's a married woman involved' only tells me that person doesn't like such stories... which does nothing at all to assist me improve my writing. It's just negativity. As it's not even posted under a name, yes. That is indeed cowardly. If I posted those exact words under my username, I could (and should) be held to account for the needless hostility with which the comment was written. That anonymous commenter gets no such association. I suspect this is something on which we'll need to respectfully disagree.

And while I appreciate that people do indeed have a 'my baby' approach to writing, that isn't mine. If someone wants to dissect my writing, they're quite at liberty to do so. My style isn't for everyone; hell, it's probably not even for most, or many. This thread isn't a way for me to object to being given negative feedback. As I said right at the start, the whole mindset of leaving something so hostile and unhelpful is simply baffling to me.

Fourthly, I think most I/T readers are looking for old school romances with the twist that the two people who fall in love are family members. Your story doesn't provide that. I think that's what the commenter was trying to get across.

If I'm honest, which I usually am, I think you're being exceedingly and unnecessarily generous to the anon in question. If that approach works for you that's fine for you, and if that's your feedback then it's both greatly welcome and much appreciated. That helps... Though it's worth noting that in that story the characters do indeed fall in love (even if only one of them actively spells it out). As for what 'most I/T readers' want, well, I haven't done any polls so I wouldn't know. I'll grant you that the story isn't an old-school romance.

Thanks for your comments, though. I'll take them on board.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

ah, is this an LW anon drifting out of their lane?

must be a fresh hatching of the mad bastards or something. who left the lab door open ... again?

 

[8letters]

You're right, there's nothing innately cowardly about posting negative feedback anonymously. That comment isn't negative feedback, though - at least, it's not constructive negative feedback. 'I didn't read your story because I found out early there's a married woman involved' only tells me that person doesn't like such stories... which does nothing at all to assist me improve my writing. It's just negativity. As it's not even posted under a name, yes. That is indeed cowardly. If I posted those exact words under my username, I could (and should) be held to account for the needless hostility with which the comment was written. That anonymous commenter gets no such association. I suspect this is something on which we'll need to respectfully disagree.

You think the comment is not constructive negative feedback, but the commenter thought it was constructive negative feedback. And I think you find it to not be constructive negative feedback because you aren't stepping far enough back from the comment.

At the start of your story, you have a bunch of exposition describing the family. Eventually, we get into the story, and the story itself was fine, nothing unusual for I/T. I think what the commenter was trying to get across (and is my opinion) is that your initial description of the family set the expectation that the sex between the mother and son would be the type of sex that I/T readers don't care to read. It sounds from the initial exposition that the mother fucks anyone she can get alone with no emotional attachment to the act, and that her sex with her son is that same fucking-just-to-fuck. Once I read the full story, I didn't get that impression. But the commenter read your initial exposition, thought "this isn't for me", bailed, and let you know why they bailed. And it was nice of them to do so, because if they hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[Thermite]

You think the comment is not constructive negative feedback, but the commenter thought it was constructive negative feedback. And I think you find it to not be constructive negative feedback because you aren't stepping far enough back from the comment.

At the start of your story, you have a bunch of exposition describing the family. Eventually, we get into the story, and the story itself was fine, nothing unusual for I/T. I think what the commenter was trying to get across (and is my opinion) is that your initial description of the family set the expectation that the sex between the mother and son would be the type of sex that I/T readers don't care to read. It sounds from the initial exposition that the mother fucks anyone she can get alone with no emotional attachment to the act, and that her sex with her son is that same fucking-just-to-fuck. Once I read the full story, I didn't get that impression. But the commenter read your initial exposition, thought "this isn't for me", bailed, and let you know why they bailed. And it was nice of them to do so, because if they hadn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Fair enough. As I said, I appreciate your feedback and I shall take it on board going forward.

 

[Defluer]

I guess I wouldn't ever want to leave an anonymous comment. If I'm worried about pissing the person off, I kinda want them to reach out. For sure I don't leave comments unless I read the whole story. I don't get to read that often and I'll just go away instead of reading a few paragraphs, scrolling down, commenting on something that I might have no idea about. I have been trying to leave comments on stories that I finish and I guess I would try the old "Shit Sandwich" or "Compliment Sandwich" depending on if you're in HR or not. Say something nice, something constructive, and then something nice again. Beginning and ending it with something nice is good but I think it's already putting your head into the "How can I say this without being a dick." mentality. Which I think is important. I think people think it "helps" but I don't need anymore comments about grammar or spelling errors, I know I'm not perfect and I don't have the time or patience to obsessively edit. (Usually what happens is I'll change a sentence or five when editing and in that change is where the problem is.) I've tried and failed at getting editors enough (Pretty sure I'm on the Literotica Editor version of a No Fly List.) to have just given up on the entire concept. It's all on my shoulders. In my Fucking Magic story there was enough comments about being confused when the Main Character was seeing somebody's memories that in editing I changed the way I did it the next time. That was helpful.

I even reached out to one of the commenters wanting to give them first crack at the next chapter to tell me if it made more sense, but they never responded back. I'm not an editor but I'd take the time if an author I liked (Because I finished their story and commented it has to be somebody I like.) reached out to me and asked for some help. Can't do that to an anon.