Bitch Bitch Bitch, Part 789547604

[emmuzka]

Okay, and again I'm at this, but hey, what kind of comment is "Please write more"? I have wondered this. And with this fic as an example, I can see clearly what it is all about.

(Note that in her original notes, she wrote "I do NOT abandon fics when I know people like it, so if you like this, please comment!". Later she changed it to "Feedback is welcomed, comments are love, and hope you enjoy!")

In kradam_ai, people are commenting pretty much every fic out there, and with carbon copy comments, because of the fear that otherwise the author might abandon the fic. It's irritating that this kind of fanfiction.net -style blackmail has moved in with AI fandom. I thought that that kind of immature bahavior was left behind in fandom, but I guess I was wrong. And the worst thing aren't the authors who do that, but that instead of bitchslapping the author for her attempted blackmail, the readers go along with it.

I know the canned response that I will probably receive from the author, if any (edit: she didn't respond.): What would be the point in continuing if there is no proof that anyone reads of enjoys it? Well, yes, but what about the people who will find your fic a year after this? You thought that you could leave them hanging just because you didn't receive enought praise then?

And because I want to, I publish here a a comment thread that I started in the entry I linked above, that, quelle suprse, got deleted. (Granted, we both gave the author a permission to do that.)

My original comment:
I do NOT abandon fics when I know people like it, so if you like this, please comment!

So, if you don't get comments, you can abandon a fic that you already started posting in a community? Good to know.


To which tipette69 commented:
Wow, I hope that wasn't really meant to be a snarky as it sounded. :(

I can understand not continuing something if ppl dont seem interested,
especially if it becomes difficult for the writer to continue it. Weetz
is a wonderful writer and I always enjoy reading all the things she
writes. I am sure writers experience difficulties finishing WIP's
sometimes.


Me:
I don't know how well this comment goes with the community's "be nice" policy, and I apologize that this conversation is going on in Weetziscrizazy's LJ without her, so delete the thread if necessary, but:

I'm just afraid that people commenting will take the "Please write more!" as their standard feedback comment, where they just comment this generic "write more"-plea instead of giving actual feedback, just because they are afraid that the author will stop writing. With nothing against this author, and completely understanding how real life can come between fic and a writer, I still think that asking comments for continuing a story is blackmailing and I'm sad that the readers just go along with it instead of calling the author out because of it.

And if an author uses the number of comments she receives for every chapter as an indicator of people's interest towards the story, what about the people who find the fic a year from now? Is it okay to left them hanging?


Her:
I can see your point in your second paragraph and had never thought of it that way. but most comments i see anyways seem to be mostly positive feedback and praise for the writers style or story progression.

i always try to "be nice" and certainly dont mean to be mean with my comment to you. sometimes the written word can be taken the wrong way because ppl cannot hear the intonation with which it is "said".

as for reading things a year from now. my daughter has a firm policy of not reading WIP's because she gets so upset when the story isnt completed. :) i, on the other hand, just love reading so much that i will read WIP's and look eagerly toward new chapters. There are several i am reading that have been awhile since there were updates. I await with bated breath. :)

Weetz, if this particular thread upsets you, please feel free to delete us. :)

And delete she did, along with editing her author notes to be less blackmail-y.


Ha. When I previously bitched and moaned about kradam_ai, my friends advised me to slowly back away. I was like, "I can't! I'm emotionally invested!" And now some of these same friends are embracing the same fandom and they totally understand why we don't leave :)

And for the fun of it: The author of this is 25 and she tells her info page that she LOVES ENGLISH AND IS VERY BOOKISH WANNA BE DIRECTOR/WRITER. Well, good luck with that. Maybe you should start with putting spaces between characters?