what's the stupidest comment you've ever received on a story?

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

This one, from my 1950s set story 'Pretty Paula's Poodle Skirts', was interesting:

'A good story that you ruined by having the characters use condoms. You stupid, stupid, stupid fool, this is storyland there is no VD and there are no babys (sic). He sticks his cock up the redhead's pussy (the titular character Paula had red hair) and he barebacks her.'

Well I got just the opposite...
'Nice story
Nice story dear. I liked the passion that shared both characters. However, the female character do not worried about unwanted pregnancy?

sincerely,'

This one also I found amusing. I mean when you click on the story you can go to the bottom and see how many pages it is before you decide to read it.
'Good story bad length
I enjoyed reading this, but it's a day time read not an im horney read and two characters who are young, emotional, and immature remind me of bs reality TV rather than sexy. It's also 8 pages of more story than foreplay so I didn't feel like I could get off.'

 

[TriadWriter]

The most common stupid comment I think I've gotten, has to do with the characters' flaws. Not writing flaws, but rather the characters' judgment in a situation, or their perversions, or whatever else.
Readers seem to think that such character flaws are detrimental to the story, or catering to specific groups of readers who complained previously.
Naturally, I write what serves the story best, not what gets people off.

In one of my stories, someone posted a comment about how stupid the characters were, in a story surrounding unprotected sex and pregnancy. The characters were two young adults, so of course, they're young and stupid, and make some very questionable decisions. That served the story best.

In another one, someone posted:

A Great Story
by Anonymous user on 10/18/2018
Spoiled by the crap about the Pill

He should have just pushed is cock in as deep as it would go and shot his cum deep up inside her unprotected pussy

This is story land no VD or babies

A valid point I happen to agree with - anything goes in stories, but again, the user made assumptions along the basis that I've chosen to put birth control in the story to cater to naysayers, and that's not the case.
Obviously nobody knows my intentions with my stories, but assuming what my intentions are is really dumb.

Having said that, I take constructive criticism seriously, and I try to read every comment I get.

 

[kurrginatorX]

Finely

I used Finely to describe something and the reader was insistent that I meant Finally, but that using Finally would have been a wrong word choice.

 

[kurrginatorX]

The most common stupid comment I think I've gotten, has to do with the characters' flaws. Not writing flaws, but rather the characters' judgment in a situation, or their perversions, or whatever else.
Readers seem to think that such character flaws are detrimental to the stor

That's because as much as we stress fiction, most people want to believe these stories are 100% factual.

 

[RetroFan]

The most common stupid comment I think I've gotten, has to do with the characters' flaws. Not writing flaws, but rather the characters' judgment in a situation, or their perversions, or whatever else.
Readers seem to think that such character flaws are detrimental to the story, or catering to specific groups of readers who complained previously.
Naturally, I write what serves the story best, not what gets people off.

In one of my stories, someone posted a comment about how stupid the characters were, in a story surrounding unprotected sex and pregnancy. The characters were two young adults, so of course, they're young and stupid, and make some very questionable decisions. That served the story best.

In another one, someone posted:

A valid point I happen to agree with - anything goes in stories, but again, the user made assumptions along the basis that I've chosen to put birth control in the story to cater to naysayers, and that's not the case.
Obviously nobody knows my intentions with my stories, but assuming what my intentions are is really dumb.

Having said that, I take constructive criticism seriously, and I try to read every comment I get.

I've had similar comments about birth control in stories where the characters use a condom, about how this is storyland and there's no babies and no VD. Weird.

 

[TriadWriter]

I've had similar comments about birth control in stories where the characters use a condom, about how this is storyland and there's no babies and no VD. Weird.

Could be the same person, I'd wager.

 

[TriadWriter]

I used Finely to describe something and the reader was insistent that I meant Finally, but that using Finally would have been a wrong word choice.

I suppose their vocabulary wasn't all that finely tuned.

That's because as much as we stress fiction, most people want to believe these stories are 100% factual.

Perhaps, but even with that possibility, that would only make it seem that much more realistic - people make crap choices all the time, often because of bad judgment.

 

[PiperHamlin]

Someone called me out for referencing Bonnie Tyler

He told me it was "Bonnie Taylor," and that I needed a new editor.

I wasn't offended he didn't apologize to me after I corrected him, I'm more offended he didn't apologize to Bonnie Tyler.

 

[PennameWombat]

Moral right of readers

I'm a cishet male and of my so far limited contributions here most have been from the viewpoint of a cishet male character.
However, as I'm interested in trying things, my most recent submission was written from the 1st-person viewpoint of a cishet female convincing herself to give in and offer herself to the object of her interest (both are portrayed as being in unhappy marriages, at least, that's what she says... it also wasn't so much seduction as hinting as he was more than ready and willing.)
Only one comment on it (it's rated 4.35 overall so don't know how well I did really). It's a doozy:
"Is the main character, I, male or female. Does it have a name or other features? Hate stories that forget readers have the moral right to know the people in the story.
After a few paragraphs I gave up as got too gard getting any character perspective."

Anyway. I don't like to start stories by providing the biography and exact details of the characters. That unfolds. The first three paragraphs are unclear the gender of the viewpoint character, but the first piece of dialogue, fourth paragraph, is a minor character speaking to the viewpoint character:
"Jo, ..."
I know 'Jo' might be too American, but it's very common short form of 'Joanne' or other commonly female names. A bit later she, the object of her desire, Paul, and others are in a meeting and he refers to her as "Joanne..." Right after that she goes into a daydream description of what she's wearing and a bit of fantasy of seeing Paul naked and then reacts with embarrassment to discover she's been showing Paul more cleavage than she'd planned on.
I mean, she never says "I'm a woman". I guess that's what I needed

All of this is within the first three screens (if you have your browser set to average text size), well within the first 20% of the first LitErotica page The full story runs to 3 LE pages. I used 1st instead of 3rd because I wanted it to be her exclusive story.

There's also the claim of "moral right" of the readers. Yes, authors can pull stuff like resolutions involving no one previously in the stories, or similar that don't flow, but this story isn't that. I just wanted to let it unfold a bit and at the end I believe you recognize the through line of the story. Whether you truly empathize with them or not is up to the reader which I fully accept. But you know by the end all of the thinking that got them there.

Anyway, thanks for listening everyone!

 

[CandiCame]

I'm a cishet male and of my so far limited contributions here most have been from the viewpoint of a cishet male character.
However, as I'm interested in trying things, my most recent submission was written from the 1st-person viewpoint of a cishet female convincing herself to give in and offer herself to the object of her interest (both are portrayed as being in unhappy marriages, at least, that's what she says... it also wasn't so much seduction as hinting as he was more than ready and willing.)
Only one comment on it (it's rated 4.35 overall so don't know how well I did really). It's a doozy:
"Is the main character, I, male or female. Does it have a name or other features? Hate stories that forget readers have the moral right to know the people in the story.
After a few paragraphs I gave up as got too gard getting any character perspective."

Anyway. I don't like to start stories by providing the biography and exact details of the characters. That unfolds. The first three paragraphs are unclear the gender of the viewpoint character, but the first piece of dialogue, fourth paragraph, is a minor character speaking to the viewpoint character:
"Jo, ..."
I know 'Jo' might be too American, but it's very common short form of 'Joanne' or other commonly female names. A bit later she, the object of her desire, Paul, and others are in a meeting and he refers to her as "Joanne..." Right after that she goes into a daydream description of what she's wearing and a bit of fantasy of seeing Paul naked and then reacts with embarrassment to discover she's been showing Paul more cleavage than she'd planned on.
I mean, she never says "I'm a woman". I guess that's what I needed

All of this is within the first three screens (if you have your browser set to average text size), well within the first 20% of the first LitErotica page The full story runs to 3 LE pages. I used 1st instead of 3rd because I wanted it to be her exclusive story.

There's also the claim of "moral right" of the readers. Yes, authors can pull stuff like resolutions involving no one previously in the stories, or similar that don't flow, but this story isn't that. I just wanted to let it unfold a bit and at the end I believe you recognize the through line of the story. Whether you truly empathize with them or not is up to the reader which I fully accept. But you know by the end all of the thinking that got them there.

Anyway, thanks for listening everyone!

Some readers are really bad at identifying gender. I once wrote a 1st person POV where the very first paragraph was the MC talking about raising his kids literally called himself a "father" or a "dad" or something like that a bunch of times (like "I've waited so long to become a father. I'm going to be a great dad. I'm so happy about this development." Or something like that. I can't remember exactly what the paragraph was, but it was about him being happy that his SO was pregnant.), other characters used exclusively "he/him" pronouns when talking about him, he uses his dick during the erotic parts-

Still got a comment like, "Hey what sex is the MC?"

Like... come on. Really? I'm all for gender ambiguity but there was NONE in this case.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Some readers are really bad at identifying gender. I once wrote a 1st person POV where the very first paragraph was the MC talking about raising his kids literally called himself a "father" or a "dad" or something like that a bunch of times (like "I've waited so long to become a father. I'm going to be a great dad. I'm so happy about this development." Or something like that. I can't remember exactly what the paragraph was, but it was about him being happy that his SO was pregnant.), other characters used exclusively "he/him" pronouns when talking about him, he uses his dick during the erotic parts-

Still got a comment like, "Hey what sex is the MC?"

Like... come on. Really? I'm all for gender ambiguity but there was NONE in this case.

It goes the other way too. I have one story here where the narrator's sex/gender is never specified, but readers assumed one way and another.

 

[RejectReality]

I wrote one specifically to play on this. It's just a quick blowjob scene in public, so I decided it was too short and lacking a good category choice here. I've had people identify the unknown MC as both male and female, and even had a comment about how I should have warned it was a gay story. A few figured out what I was going for.

Mission accomplished

It goes the other way too. I have one story here where the narrator's sex/gender is never specified, but readers assumed one way and another.

 

[PennameWombat]

It goes the other way too. I have one story here where the narrator's sex/gender is never specified, but readers assumed one way and another.

If it allowed all genders to recognize themselves in it then this might very well have been the perfect story.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

"...readers have the moral right to know the people in the story..."

Well that's bullshit. Readers have a right to nothing but their opinion, especially when they pay nothing for the story.

 

[yukonnights]

I haven't read the entire thread, so this is probably a common issue. But, the ones I find the most humorous are those who comment how horrible the subject matter is...and this, despite the fact I took the time to list the Tags in the intro which pretty much makes it clear...and then I go further, writing a short intro which literally warns readers of what the story is about How can I take a comment like that seriously...I don't

 

[PennameWombat]

Well that's bullshit. Readers have a right to nothing but their opinion, especially when they pay nothing for the story.

I didn't state this in such clear terms in my original posting but I agree.

Which brings us to a second question I have as a noob around these parts: Replying to the comment.

I haven't and in a way I don't know whether to do so and politely point out the blinking lights and air horns the reader missed. Or to discuss this point about the moral right of a reader.

I did reply to a comment on another story where the commenter asked "is more coming?" and I said "yes" with some caveats (it's a story that could be stand-alone but also open ended enough.)

 

[ElectricBlue]

I didn't state this in such clear terms in my original posting but I agree.

Which brings us to a second question I have as a noob around these parts: Replying to the comment.

I haven't and in a way I don't know whether to do so and politely point out the blinking lights and air horns the reader missed. Or to discuss this point about the moral right of a reader.

I did reply to a comment on another story where the commenter asked "is more coming?" and I said "yes" with some caveats (it's a story that could be stand-alone but also open ended enough.)

Unless a comment explicitly asks a question (thus suggesting your commenter might wander back to see a reply) it's often best to leave the comment stand by itself, rather than indulge in a debate in your comments stream (which can get untidy).

Erecting a neon sign probably isn't a good idea (it can end up looking like a brawl which is bad press); and I personally wouldn't bother replying to someone who thinks readers have some kind of a say in what a writer does or doesn't do with their story - that's just absurd.

You also have the ability to delete any comment you want to - you set your own criteria on that, there are no rules or guidance. Some see it as a badge of honour to keep every comment, others keep their lawn tidy and delete the junk.

 

[RejectReality]

I'll sometimes reply to a comment that's way off base. As often as not, someone else will do it for me before I decide to, though.

I tend to say something along the lines of "Sorry it pulled you out of the story" when I do reply. It's ( at the least ) reasonably sincere, even when I suspect the person is just a troll.

When it's actually a troll, the politeness seems to piss them off LOL They tend to go on mouth-foaming rants that make them look like complete jackasses and get other commenters laughing at them.

I'll also reply to comments that aren't off base, and point out flaws that I can't argue with. I'm perfectly happy to own up to my mistakes. I've even had that result in someone I thought was just a venom-spitting troll ( considering the nasty comment they left ) come back with a reasoned, polite response, and a follow.

It can be a minefield, but so long as you don't run through it with guns blazing, you can come out okay.

 

[oggbashan]

I have deleted ALL the comments on my Fetish story 'Trapped'. I put it in the wrong category - Loving Wives. It attracted considerable vitriol, and a few positive comments. Abusive women seem to threaten readers' masculinity. I have now deleted all and disabled future comments.

I am not sure whether to delete the story completely or edit it and ask for it to be posted as Fetish.

 

[KeithD]

I think the caption of a cartoon (two men talking in a bookstore) now circulating on FB responds well to this thread.

“Maybe print is dead, but at least when you finish reading a book, there isn’t a string of obnoxious comments waiting on the last page.”

 

[ElectricBlue]

I am not sure whether to delete the story completely or edit it and ask for it to be posted as Fetish.

Given the puffin a chance, Ogg. Give him a rock on a more familiar cliff, for the good of all. Just coz you lapsed in judgement, doesn't mean the bird should suffer .

 

[oggbashan]

Given the puffin a chance, Ogg. Give him a rock on a more familiar cliff, for the good of all. Just coz you lapsed in judgement, doesn't mean the bird should suffer .

Out of 23 now-deleted comments, only two were vaguely positive.

Some of my stories don't deserve to remain on Lit for decades.

 

[yukonnights]

I have deleted ALL the comments on my Fetish story 'Trapped'. I put it in the wrong category - Loving Wives. It attracted considerable vitriol, and a few positive comments. Abusive women seem to threaten readers' masculinity. I have now deleted all and disabled future comments.

I am not sure whether to delete the story completely or edit it and ask for it to be posted as Fetish.

It is always the weakest ones that need to be watched closely...it is the fearful dog who will lurch out and bite you when you hand them the bowl...it is the skittish and fearful horse that will hurt you the worst...the insecure man who will be first to pull the trigger!

I would encourage you to opt for the second option and see how it really fairs.

 

[TriadWriter]

I have deleted ALL the comments on my Fetish story 'Trapped'. I put it in the wrong category - Loving Wives. It attracted considerable vitriol, and a few positive comments. Abusive women seem to threaten readers' masculinity. I have now deleted all and disabled future comments.

I am not sure whether to delete the story completely or edit it and ask for it to be posted as Fetish.

"Loving Wives" from what I hear is a cesspool of idiots, trolls, and downright hateful people.
Even if one of my stories contained the topic (which I don't plan on at any time), I would just post it elsewhere, where it can actually thrive and be seen by people who will read and enjoy it.

 

[RetroFan]

I have deleted ALL the comments on my Fetish story 'Trapped'. I put it in the wrong category - Loving Wives. It attracted considerable vitriol, and a few positive comments. Abusive women seem to threaten readers' masculinity. I have now deleted all and disabled future comments.

I am not sure whether to delete the story completely or edit it and ask for it to be posted as Fetish.

Aren't the site administrators checking comments now?

I've commented on several of my own stories recently (thanking commenters for their positive feedback, answering questions and the like) and the comments have taken hours to appear.

I know there was a problem with spam a few months ago, but do they stop particularly nasty comments (such as racist rants) getting posted too?