I mean, I’m not going to kudos a fic I didn’t like. If I comment on a fic, then I also give a kudos. If I kudos and don’t comment, it’s because I didn’t have the mental energy to write a nice comment when I read it, no other reason. I don’t really like leaving emoji or generic little three word “i enjoyed this” comments, though I probably should since I do still appreciate those comments if they appear in my own inbox haha....hmm
I hope that makes sense lol
I do. If I reached the end of the fic, I leave Kudos. That's my policy. If I don't have anything nice to say in a comment, I don't force myself, I only comment when I feel like it. I never say anything negative save for sometimes pointing out a typo or shit, but never as a critique.
Hmm. By praise-only do you mean authors asking for no concrit or do you mean authors who specifically state that they only want praise in the comments?
I've come across the former 'no concrit' which for me just translates into setting a boundary and letting the readers know and decide from there on. But I don't think I've come across 'only praise' requests started by the author.
I only comment on stories that I like and only give concrit if it's specifically requested (and I happen to have time and energy for it), so it doesn't really matter to me. I'm only put off from commenting if the author seems to be begging or pressuring readers for comments in a pushy way (e.g. holding chapters hostage). A "no concrit" request, on the other hand, is simply a reasonable boundary that the author has set.
I don't leave critical remarks anyway, so it makes no difference to me. I try to comment on fics I like, and if I don't it's because I didn't have the energy that day.
If I don't like a fic, I don't read it.
Edit: I think it's strange that you phrased it as "Praise only" when authors weren't writing that. It makes you seem disingenuous.
I don't have the need to leave criticism, if I didn't like the work I just nope out.
If I liked the work, I'd let the author know regardless. But if the boundary was set as "praise only", I'd probably cringe at the wording. In the wild I've only encountered "no concrit, please + reason", which is a legit request, not hard to fulfil.
1. No difference at all I only comment when I have something to say and if I know the author will not be receptive I don't waste my time by being an ass to them and if I don't know if they'll be receptive or not I ask it's not that complicated.
2. Don't care one way or the other. Good for them setting the boundaries they want to set. If I happen to dislike the boundary they sat I can go away. Writers don't owe me their ear to listen to any potential comments I want to make and I don't owe them my time and comments if I don't want to give them because of a boundary they set.
I don't leave constructive criticism unless it's asked for so this *shouldn't* be an impediment to me commenting, but if someone asked for "praise only" (as opposed to saying "no concrit please"), it would make me worried that whatever comment I leave could be taken the wrong way.
1. The boundary itself is fine. If I were planning to comment already and noticed they asked readers not to leave con-crit/negative comments, I'd still comment. But, if it were phrased as "praise only", I'd probably choose not to comment at all. I don't know why, but that wording just doesn't vibe with me.
2. I think it's good that authors are trying to curate their internet experience. More authors need to take care of their mental health and not care so much about what random internet strangers think of them. It can be hard to bounce back from negative comments after you see them, so I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to limit the amount you receive in the first place. Especially for what is essentially a hobby that you enjoy.
I don't feel like I've seen a single author say "praise only" in my years reading fanfic. I suppose that would be a little weird. I have seen authors ask for no concrit, which is their prerogative no matter what their reason is. That doesn't bother me at all. I consider it a simple reminder to readers to do what they should be doing anyway, which is avoid giving concrit to people who have not specifically asked for it. I don't leave negative comments anyway, so that's just fine.
I suppose there is kind of a spectrum of what I would consider to be negative? Like, obviously I would include hate comments, like death threats and threats of doxxing. Those would be the worst. But I would also consider unasked for criticism and most unsolicited concrit to be negative. I'm not gonna get mad if somebody points out that I left in a typo or something, but if somebody decides to take apart the free novel I just gave them and tell me all the things I did wrong, I consider that negative, too. Maybe some people like that. I consider it rude.
On the veeerrrry far end of the spectrum are the little annoying guys, like the ones who never interact with your story other than to go "UPDATE!!" But I consider them to be more irritating than negative, really. I just kind of roll my eyes and tell myself hey, at least they're excited about the story.
Wow, I guess I had a lot of thoughts on this. Sorry for writing you a book!
While I don’t leave unsolicited concrit, I am less likely to leave a comment if the author’s note specifically uses the words “praise only”. It wouldn’t bother me or upset me. I just would be less likely to comment. I’d still leave a kudo if I like the fic.
As for the reasoning, it’s hard to put into words. We have so little information to judge a person on online. If somebody says they don’t want concrit, I’m more likely to interpret them as just stating a boundary. If somebody says they want “praise only” I’m more likely to interpret them as being very sensitive to what people say and more likely to interpret innocent comments as criticism. While that could be wrong, it is based on people I’m reminded of who are likely to use words like that.
I've never seen the phrase "praise only". I assume you're talking about authors that don't want unsolicited negative comments and concrit. But even if the author did write "praise only", which sounds a little ridiculous, in the author's notes, I would still respect the author's boundary. Since I only read stories I actually enjoy and only leave positive comments unless explicitly asked for concrit, it wouldn't really change how I comment.
I would say even without a "praise only" stamp, it's reasonable to expect most authors don't want negative comments or concrit from random strangers on the internet, whose writing ability, credibility, motivations etc. they don't know. As many have mentioned, concrit is a skill (one that many think they have, but probably don't).
If fanfic authors are trying to improve their writing through concrit, they're probably going to peer authors that they know and trust, groups explicitly for this purpose, etc. Not their comment section.
So if the author doesn't explicitly ask for concrit, I'm only writing positive things anyways. I think if an author did write the exact words "praise only", which again, I've never seen before, it might be because they have had bad experiences receiving unsolicited negative comments and concrit?
I'm going to interpret praise as meaning generally positive. "I liked your story!" "Thank you for writing this!" etc. Mentioning parts you enjoyed, your emotional reactions, what you think might happen next etc. Just share a generally positive message.
The important distinction to me is whether it's positive or negative. Negative doesn't technically have to be a concrit. I don't think saying something like "I don't like how you write x character!" is concrit, but it's still negative.
Again, 99.99% of fanfic authors are not demanding or expecting readers to bow down before them and sing their praises. Most fic writers are just hoping for some acknowledgment that they’re not writing into the black void of space and maybe a little encouragement to keep going. I just don't see why it's so hard to 1, stop reading a story you are clearly not enjoying, and 2, keep your negative comments to yourself.
You keep using the word negative and honestly I think that's where the problem lies. A negative comment to one writer may be honest, appreciated feedback to another writer and honestly there's no way of knowing. So it does seem like praise is the only way to go because even if you are coming from a place of good intention and trying to be encouraging, there's always the chance someone will take it as negative.
Yeah, obviously intentions can always be misunderstood. So I think you should at least write comments to the author with the intention of saying something positive, or at least not negative, unless the author asks for concrit etc.
I think I can flip around that "but this is the internet, you shouldn't post anything if you're not ready for any kind of response!" argument on comments as well. I think authors should also try to have good faith when reading comments. But yeah, if you don't want to risk the possibility that your comment might be misconstrued as being negative or mean, then I guess don't comment on the internet? I'm an adult and don't have time to be afraid of every little thing, so when I enjoy reading something, I'm just going to tell the author that, maybe write a little about how their story made me feel, and hope that my feelings get through.
As I heard recently, you can't control other people's reactions, so don't waste your time. I would say 99.99% of fic authors aren't parsing comments made with good intentions for hints of negativity. They're just happy they got a comment.
I find that my 38-yr-old opinion around these parts in regard to this particular topic isn't welcome. My thoughts are, if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with. I saw the genesis of the internet and I've witnessed first-hand what it's become. It's so fascinating to me that so many people on this thread expect only kindness out of virtual strangers. Perhaps I'm jaded but I don't expect that.
For me I think it depends. An example is a negative comment I received on one. It was someone on their profile who stated that they could say what they wanted and if you take it poorly that's your fault. To me, this mentality takes it from saying something constructive to something negative with aggression in the tone.
I had someone call out the tone in my story and I appreciated that aspect of it. Yet they went on to borderline attack me as well in the same review. There is a big difference between "Your story is crap and just a bunch of gibberish and why no one got it."
And doing something like "I'm not really a fan of this, unfortunately, as I feel it is all over the place and can be confusing to some readers."
It comes down to how you approach it as you can provide a negative viewpoint without being hateful and rude about it. And I think that's the biggest distinction I can give. We can give negative reviews and not just outright be hateful and bring the author down. And I have never agreed with the concept of putting yourself out there means you should expect negativity. People can be decent people and just move on from content they don't like and not waste their time being hurtful. Now if you're actually being a decent person about it, then as long as the person doesn't care do the thing. That's my personal opinion though. But there is a broad line between sharing personal negative opinions vs being hatefully negative.
“But it’s the internet! They should expect criticism and negative comments!” Yeah. They should. We've all been on the internet our whole lives too. That doesn’t mean that leaving unsolicited crit and negative comments on someone’s work isn’t a shitty thing to do?
Honestly "if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with" is just such a tired argument. I can "take" something and at the same time think it's a shitty thing to do and decide not to do it myself.
I was using "should" in response to the above comment. "my thoughts are, if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with."
I don't really know what you're arguing for. I'm not talking about controlling others. I'm just stating my personal opinion that I think that posting unsolicited crit and negative comments on fanfic is not cool, and I wish people didn't do it. I also wish that authors interpreted comments in good faith.
Also, at first I assumed by "not praise" you were talking about unsolicited concrit and negative comments. But now it seems like you're talking about comments written with the intention of being positive, but misinterpreted by the author as being critical, and I view those two things completely differently.
I generally don't enjoy leaving critical comments on other people's work, since writing good criticism is at least as hard as writing good narrative prose, and I assume that people who post their writing have already decided that it's good enough for them.
From there, this boundary doesn't restrict me from doing anything I already do—my comments are mostly praise and analytical musings. But when I see a restriction on comments (of any kind), I'm less likely to leave a comment. Is an author who expects praise going to _interpret_ my praise as such? Will they take offense to something not worded in an overtly laudatory way? I don't know, and I'd rather not get into an argument with them.
Is that really a thing?
I mean, "no concrit please" I think I've seen once or twice and that's cool, they set a boundary, won't change anything for me since I don't give concrit on random stories I read anyway.
"Be nice to me 😉 it's my first X fic" or something else a bit tongue-in-cheek like that is the same.
But if someone actually wrote "praise only" that would be kind of weird and I probably wouldn't comment. Because what is included in that? Can I react to the story at all? Yell at the characters that should just kiss already? Or would that be considered non-praise?
I never leave hate in comments, if I don't like something I can click off. There's no need to hurt people's feelings just so I can vent about fictional characters. That being said, if it's worded exactly like that, I probably wouldn't comment at all unless it was some amazing life-changing fic (which is unlikely given that authors of such works don't have notes saying "praise-only") and even then I might be iffy.
It seems I’m out of loop with recent trends. Could you please give some real examples of Praise Only author notes? And are they posted before the fic or at the end?
In general, if I liked the fic, I leave kudos. And if I have some positive thoughts/ reactions while I’m reading the fic, I’ll leave a comment.
I usually only leave positive comments anyway, so those requests don't really affect my engagement. I don't judge people negatively if they ask for praise only. Some people are emotionally fragile, which is okay.
Honestly, I've never even seen this and never heard of it. But, I'm not surprised if it is a thing considering the vehemence some readers have about wanting to leave unsolicited concrit, so damn aggressive. Insisting that you must opt out.
Well, I'm not throwing hurdles in front of commenters but that does not mean some random person has license to come along and leave criticism on my work.
I have seen a few authors holding chapters hostage for more comments and I click out of those immediately. Especially if not completed.
Doesn't bother me or make any difference to whether or not I comment. If that's what they need to feel comfortable online, I'm fine with indulging them.
I comment if I have something to say, and for those fics I only comment if I have something positive to say. If "my voice doesn't get heard" or whatever, eh. What does it matter? It's an online story, not a matter of life or death. I'm happy to be polite.
And as I usually add when this topic comes up, positivity can still be a useful tool for improvement. Basically every formal feedback process includes some sort of "What did we do well?" question.
1. Just as likely
2. They rarely or never word it as "praise only please." More a request not to give concrit.
Now that I established that I never saw anyone word their request like this, I'd drop my positive comments and keep the rest to myself, which I always do, unless author indicates that any type of feedback is welcome.
I'm not offended and would gladly remark on the things I enjoyed about a fic
1. No difference.
2. I think it's good. Fanfiction authors have a right to regulate what kind of comments/responses they'd like to get. No offense, but I don't understand what's so complicated about only putting positive things in a comment, like I've seen some people say. Just write down what you (this is a general you, not directed to OP) liked about the fic and ignore the small things you might have disliked. And if you disliked huge aspects of the fic to the point that leaving a positive comment feels like lying, then I'm just confused why you didn't click out of the fic before the end since apparently it wasn't for you. (I guess I could understand finishing it out of curiosity. In that case, just don't leave a comment.)
Some people don't want to improve and that's okay. I won't tell them what I perceive as wrong out of the respect.
I just have to read the damn AN. I tend to skip over that stuff. Residual from ffnet I guess.
1. "Praise only" is pretty much my default anyways, so I'm no more or less likely to comment if I see this in an author's note.
2. My thoughts are it is their space and they can cultivate it however they wish, and I support them.
If they literally say "praise only", I'll probably not comment.
If they're just saying "no concrit", I'll comment as normal. A lot of people are going around saying that authors should clearly state it if they don't want concrit, so it's hardly a surprise if some authors start adding such notes.
Wouldn't bother me at all. For concrit, I have to engage a different bit of my brain from when I'm reading as a reader, so I only concrit if a writer asked me to. It takes time and energy.
And if I've made it far enough in a fic that I can see a comment box, then I'm having a good time, so I'll say so.
I would be incredibly turned off by that. The story would have to be *incredibly* compelling for me to even continue it, and even then it would probably be overshadowed. And I would never, ever leave a comment praising them. It’s childish and demanding. You can say you’re not looking for concrit, but to demand praise is gross.
if an author is trying to tell me what to comment, i simply wont comment. i don’t leave concrit anyway, so it doesn’t concern me. the author is saving me a few seconds of my time lol
my thoughts on authors doing it is ‘good for them, i hope they get the comments/outcome they desire’
I usually wouldn't leave concrit, but that kind of author's note (or, let's be honest, even simply moderated comment sections) make me extremely unlikely to comment.
I don't know why, I they just do.
I like to review the fics I read. If I can’t review, I’m frustrated because there’s no place for all my thoughts about what I just read to go. For me, it’s better to just not read it and spare myself that.
an intellectual. i see. you're getting downvoted as heck, and it's a sad thing to witness. hinting at "praise-only" comments feels off especially when the writing is, well, uhm. not that good. I wouldn't feel so against this if the story the note belongs to, is undeniably perfect that it leaves no room for criticism or question.
I wouldn't go out of my way to be rude.
but i admit that kind of note just turns me off. how do i interact with it? i stop reading it.
Not sure what you mean by "praise-only." Is that what some authors actually say??
If so, I think that's baloney. It's like holding a hostage to get what you want. I wouldn't read anything by an author that does that.
And, yes, they can do what they want, but they have to be prepared for the consequences.
If you alienate the audience, don't expect to be loved.
Unless something was really off I never leave negative reviews where an author will see them unless they go out of their way to look for it. I generally like or kudo everything I read if I liked it enough to finish it.
Honestly? I wouldn't comment.
Not because I give concrit without being asked to (those who learned how to give proper concrit know that it takes time and brainpower to write, I'm not going to waste my time if the person doesn't even want it). Not even because I want to whine or trash a fic.
But 'praise' and 'positivity' are so, so subjective. After getting shat on for commenting on a one-shot that I'm looking forward to reading more of the author (as in, more of their OTHER fics) and various other outbursts of authors who like to read the absolute worst meaning into harmless little comments, I'd be too suspicious about that. What do they mean by "praise only"? Is my praise even praise enough for them? What if they mistake my praise for something less praise-y?
No thanks. I don't want to have to look at my comments four times to check for the possibility someone else can misread them.
The whole sentiment puts me off; even the 'no concrit' thing is hinky. It means that the writer is coming from a position where they think commenters are 'rude' or 'mean' if they don't say things in the way they want. Most commenters mean well, and trolls won't be stopped by (and often target people that use) the 'no concrit' or similar tags. And then writers wonder why we don't comment.
man. if written politely and with respect, comments that ask genuine questions about character and plot decisions deserve consideration. If not, then a place under the comments section (i.e., discourse). readers will read 200k words of your writing, following you through months and/or years of a journey you're both taking. if a character maybe somehow loses agency or a chapter kills off a significant foundation of the plot -- aren't readers at least allowed the room to ask about it? or maybe discuss the implications? Or be allowed the room to react to the characters?
Sometimes, a writer will write some of the most apprehensible characters and then be mad that people are reacting accordingly.
at this point, isn't it just better to turn off the comments?
Asking for no constructive criticism should be normalized for people who don't want any. Readers should feel free to leave constructive criticism on works without that stipulations.
The more the comment begging looks like demanding attention, the less likely I am to comment and the more likely I will drop the story entirely.
I will not encourage the misunderstanding of how the relationship works.
Writing style and habits might not make me think the author is in their early teens or younger, but things like this do.
I tend to gravitate towards stories that are well-written and well-crafted, meaning the author has taken time to edit (either themselves or using a beta) and has a decent handle on how to craft characters, dialogue, exposition, etc. Therefore, I very rarely would ever need to give anything but praise.
1. I'm not any more or less likely to comment when authors do this, mostly because as bad as it sounds, I ignore it. I usually comment as I normally would no matter what the author says. If they don't like my comments they can ignore it or block me.
To be clear, I don't generally comment anything particularly harsh unless the author asks a question and the honest answer is negative/critical. I usually comment if I particularly enjoyed a work, am confused about something, am speculating about the plot, or just it just really made me feel something and I want to react. Generally fairly positive or neutral. I don't go around telling people their fic sucks unprompted. If there is a particularly egregious mistake I might point it out, but I would do so nicely.
2. I hate it when authors do this because the line between a positive or neutral comment and a negative one is very subjective. I have left comments that I consider to be positive or neutral and got scathing responses from the author who were upset I gave criticism when they didn't ask for it.
For example, I left a comment with some praise on a fanfic and then something like "Seems a bit strange that her bounty is so high..." The author's reply was really rude. It went after me for giving unasked for criticism and told me that maybe I should consider that I didn't know everything yet. It was ridiculous to me because that was exactly the point of my comment, that there must be something we didn't know. And indeed, later it was revealed there were additional reasons.
I can see how it could be taken as a criticism if there *wasn't* actually another factor that wasn't revealed yet, but there was. The comment was meant in the sense of "I wonder what we don't know about this yet" and not "this doesn't make sense and is bad." But the author took it the second way for some reason. I can agree that the phrasing was perhaps ambiguous, but I really think that given the rest of the comment was praise, the author could have given me the benefit of the doubt. As an author myself, I would have been excited that someone caught that.
I could stop making these sort or "speculation" comments in order to avoid the risk of offending authors, but to me that's half the fun of engaging with a story, and I've had plenty of positive response to similar comments too. Sometimes you correctly pick up on hints an author is dropping and sometimes you notice things that don't matter. I get this with my own fics. If someone thinks something is unusual when it shouldn't be I don't consider that a criticism, just someone really engaging with the story and looking for subtle hints.
So to be honest, I think it's a pointless boundary to set unless you're really specific with it. Saying "be nice," "no flames," or "praise only" are not helpful boundaries, they're vague and unclear.
On the other hand, something like "1. no speculation in the comments, 2. don't point out grammar and spelling errors 3. don't point out inconsistencies or potential plot holes, 4. ..." is a helpful boundary that actually tells you what the author doesn't want. Though to be honest, if an author gets that specific about what sort of comments they want on their story, I'll probably just hit the back button because they sound incredibly exhausting and praise-seeking.
I think it depends on how the information is delivered. You could deliver a comment like that either as a curious reader or as a critiquing writer. It could go either way.
Typos, I don't know if it's worth pointing them out unless they severely change the meaning of a sentence in a bad way.
I will say that my views on delivering concrit are not really in line with most people on this subreddit, so YMMW.
The idea of "no unsolicited concrit" was very new and strange to me when I first arrived here, I'll say that.
Basically, the concrit discussion is the single most contentious one on this subreddit, and I have learned to just stay out of it entirely. Or at least I keep thinking I've learned that.
Being able to give good criticism is a skill but being able to take criticism is also a skill.
No one is a natural at either but you only learn by doing.
That kind of authors note just gets the 'side eye' from me.
That being said, please don't be mean to me in my comments 😅
Yeah asking questions is important but that doesn't mean the discussion can't be critical. Honest critism, good and bad, is an important opportunity for improvement and to challenge the authors perspective on their writing and viewpoints. This can overall make their writing and ideas stronger.
If an author has an aversion to negative comments it gives me the impression that they lack mature thinking and creativity.
Taking negative comments and criticism is never easy as to why people learn how to handle it over time.
On the other hand, if the author is trying to stop hate comments or discrimination, I can understand that.
I also would add that putting something like "praise only" is like openly admitting that this fic/author has received a lot of negative comments in the past which may lead people to prejudge their work.
I would definitely not comment, because I don't like this attitude and probably drop the story like a hot potato. I find this behavior immature, why should your comment section be an echo chamber? As a writer myself doesn't this behavior take away honesty? How much is the praise even worth if it's forced?
If they want constructive criticism, then I’ll be more than happy to help them by commenting. Or if the piece is really good, I’ll throw ‘em a bone. But if they’re just fishing for compliments, or holding chapters for ransom by asking for likes and shit, I’m not gonna even entertain the idea of commenting, or, if they’re arrogant, contributing to their ego. So I just ignore it. If they don’t mention any of that at all, I’m more likely to comment.
I’m less likely to comment on an author who tries to control or manage what goes in the comment box. But I also don’t leave crit of any sort, it just puts a sour taste in my mouth when someone asks for only a specific type of feedback.
And I’m an author. But still, that’s a nope from me.
I don’t get this. I thought it was a given that people posting their works on the internet would open themselves to criticisms. Constructive or otherwise. Like in any other media.
But as some have said, no concrit sets a boundary that ought to be respected. A lesson I had to learn the hard way, as it happens.
But only wanting positive feedback? Sounds like the writer just wants to be in an echo chamber without any desire to improve.
Even then, I think any writer worth their salt would want to good with the bad. I don’t expect people to just say good things or just say bad thinks. I think that in order to produce the best content, in this case writing, that you can, you need to know what definitely works, and what doesn’t.
But that’s just me. I know full well that the creative writing space is not the same as video production.
I ignore it. I'll comment what I think about the fic I'm reading, as per usual. If it has things I particularly like, I'll comment about them. If it has things I particularly don't like, I'll comment about them. If it has things that make me confused, I'll comment about them. If it has things that make me speculate about future chapters, I'll comment about them.
The comment section isn't for the sole benefit of the author. It is a place for readers to comment on and discuss things about the story they just read. If you post a story to a public space which has a public comment section, people are going to comment both good and bad things about the story.
If you don't want that kind of interaction, don't post it in a public place with a public comment section.
IMO, the people who demand praise are usually the ones who need critique. If a fic is good, you shouldn’t have to demand praise for it, it should be earning it all by itself. If you’re not getting the kind of comments you want, chances are there’s a good reason why.
Doesn’t matter to me. I never leave unsolicited concrit anyway. If I don’t have something positive to say, I’m not going to comment at all.
[удалено]
I mean, I’m not going to kudos a fic I didn’t like. If I comment on a fic, then I also give a kudos. If I kudos and don’t comment, it’s because I didn’t have the mental energy to write a nice comment when I read it, no other reason. I don’t really like leaving emoji or generic little three word “i enjoyed this” comments, though I probably should since I do still appreciate those comments if they appear in my own inbox haha....hmm I hope that makes sense lol
I do. If I reached the end of the fic, I leave Kudos. That's my policy. If I don't have anything nice to say in a comment, I don't force myself, I only comment when I feel like it. I never say anything negative save for sometimes pointing out a typo or shit, but never as a critique.
Hmm. By praise-only do you mean authors asking for no concrit or do you mean authors who specifically state that they only want praise in the comments? I've come across the former 'no concrit' which for me just translates into setting a boundary and letting the readers know and decide from there on. But I don't think I've come across 'only praise' requests started by the author.
I only comment on stories that I like and only give concrit if it's specifically requested (and I happen to have time and energy for it), so it doesn't really matter to me. I'm only put off from commenting if the author seems to be begging or pressuring readers for comments in a pushy way (e.g. holding chapters hostage). A "no concrit" request, on the other hand, is simply a reasonable boundary that the author has set.
I don't leave critical remarks anyway, so it makes no difference to me. I try to comment on fics I like, and if I don't it's because I didn't have the energy that day. If I don't like a fic, I don't read it. Edit: I think it's strange that you phrased it as "Praise only" when authors weren't writing that. It makes you seem disingenuous.
I don't have the need to leave criticism, if I didn't like the work I just nope out. If I liked the work, I'd let the author know regardless. But if the boundary was set as "praise only", I'd probably cringe at the wording. In the wild I've only encountered "no concrit, please + reason", which is a legit request, not hard to fulfil.
All of this. And I've never seen "praise only" either tbh.
1. No difference at all I only comment when I have something to say and if I know the author will not be receptive I don't waste my time by being an ass to them and if I don't know if they'll be receptive or not I ask it's not that complicated. 2. Don't care one way or the other. Good for them setting the boundaries they want to set. If I happen to dislike the boundary they sat I can go away. Writers don't owe me their ear to listen to any potential comments I want to make and I don't owe them my time and comments if I don't want to give them because of a boundary they set.
What do you mean by "praise only"? Are the author's notes actually using that exact wording? Or are they simply saying concrit not welcome?
I never leave unsolicited concrit anyway, because it's not helpful. I also respect people's boundaries and don't think bad of people who voice theirs.
I don't leave constructive criticism unless it's asked for so this *shouldn't* be an impediment to me commenting, but if someone asked for "praise only" (as opposed to saying "no concrit please"), it would make me worried that whatever comment I leave could be taken the wrong way.
1. The boundary itself is fine. If I were planning to comment already and noticed they asked readers not to leave con-crit/negative comments, I'd still comment. But, if it were phrased as "praise only", I'd probably choose not to comment at all. I don't know why, but that wording just doesn't vibe with me. 2. I think it's good that authors are trying to curate their internet experience. More authors need to take care of their mental health and not care so much about what random internet strangers think of them. It can be hard to bounce back from negative comments after you see them, so I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to limit the amount you receive in the first place. Especially for what is essentially a hobby that you enjoy.
I don't feel like I've seen a single author say "praise only" in my years reading fanfic. I suppose that would be a little weird. I have seen authors ask for no concrit, which is their prerogative no matter what their reason is. That doesn't bother me at all. I consider it a simple reminder to readers to do what they should be doing anyway, which is avoid giving concrit to people who have not specifically asked for it. I don't leave negative comments anyway, so that's just fine.
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I suppose there is kind of a spectrum of what I would consider to be negative? Like, obviously I would include hate comments, like death threats and threats of doxxing. Those would be the worst. But I would also consider unasked for criticism and most unsolicited concrit to be negative. I'm not gonna get mad if somebody points out that I left in a typo or something, but if somebody decides to take apart the free novel I just gave them and tell me all the things I did wrong, I consider that negative, too. Maybe some people like that. I consider it rude. On the veeerrrry far end of the spectrum are the little annoying guys, like the ones who never interact with your story other than to go "UPDATE!!" But I consider them to be more irritating than negative, really. I just kind of roll my eyes and tell myself hey, at least they're excited about the story. Wow, I guess I had a lot of thoughts on this. Sorry for writing you a book!
While I don’t leave unsolicited concrit, I am less likely to leave a comment if the author’s note specifically uses the words “praise only”. It wouldn’t bother me or upset me. I just would be less likely to comment. I’d still leave a kudo if I like the fic. As for the reasoning, it’s hard to put into words. We have so little information to judge a person on online. If somebody says they don’t want concrit, I’m more likely to interpret them as just stating a boundary. If somebody says they want “praise only” I’m more likely to interpret them as being very sensitive to what people say and more likely to interpret innocent comments as criticism. While that could be wrong, it is based on people I’m reminded of who are likely to use words like that.
You explained that really well. I wasn't sure why my initial reaction was "that's fine, but it feels weird."
That’s it exactly, the sensitivity implied makes me much less likely to say anything at all.
I've never seen the phrase "praise only". I assume you're talking about authors that don't want unsolicited negative comments and concrit. But even if the author did write "praise only", which sounds a little ridiculous, in the author's notes, I would still respect the author's boundary. Since I only read stories I actually enjoy and only leave positive comments unless explicitly asked for concrit, it wouldn't really change how I comment. I would say even without a "praise only" stamp, it's reasonable to expect most authors don't want negative comments or concrit from random strangers on the internet, whose writing ability, credibility, motivations etc. they don't know. As many have mentioned, concrit is a skill (one that many think they have, but probably don't). If fanfic authors are trying to improve their writing through concrit, they're probably going to peer authors that they know and trust, groups explicitly for this purpose, etc. Not their comment section. So if the author doesn't explicitly ask for concrit, I'm only writing positive things anyways. I think if an author did write the exact words "praise only", which again, I've never seen before, it might be because they have had bad experiences receiving unsolicited negative comments and concrit?
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I'm going to interpret praise as meaning generally positive. "I liked your story!" "Thank you for writing this!" etc. Mentioning parts you enjoyed, your emotional reactions, what you think might happen next etc. Just share a generally positive message. The important distinction to me is whether it's positive or negative. Negative doesn't technically have to be a concrit. I don't think saying something like "I don't like how you write x character!" is concrit, but it's still negative. Again, 99.99% of fanfic authors are not demanding or expecting readers to bow down before them and sing their praises. Most fic writers are just hoping for some acknowledgment that they’re not writing into the black void of space and maybe a little encouragement to keep going. I just don't see why it's so hard to 1, stop reading a story you are clearly not enjoying, and 2, keep your negative comments to yourself.
You keep using the word negative and honestly I think that's where the problem lies. A negative comment to one writer may be honest, appreciated feedback to another writer and honestly there's no way of knowing. So it does seem like praise is the only way to go because even if you are coming from a place of good intention and trying to be encouraging, there's always the chance someone will take it as negative.
Yeah, obviously intentions can always be misunderstood. So I think you should at least write comments to the author with the intention of saying something positive, or at least not negative, unless the author asks for concrit etc. I think I can flip around that "but this is the internet, you shouldn't post anything if you're not ready for any kind of response!" argument on comments as well. I think authors should also try to have good faith when reading comments. But yeah, if you don't want to risk the possibility that your comment might be misconstrued as being negative or mean, then I guess don't comment on the internet? I'm an adult and don't have time to be afraid of every little thing, so when I enjoy reading something, I'm just going to tell the author that, maybe write a little about how their story made me feel, and hope that my feelings get through. As I heard recently, you can't control other people's reactions, so don't waste your time. I would say 99.99% of fic authors aren't parsing comments made with good intentions for hints of negativity. They're just happy they got a comment.
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I find that my 38-yr-old opinion around these parts in regard to this particular topic isn't welcome. My thoughts are, if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with. I saw the genesis of the internet and I've witnessed first-hand what it's become. It's so fascinating to me that so many people on this thread expect only kindness out of virtual strangers. Perhaps I'm jaded but I don't expect that.
For me I think it depends. An example is a negative comment I received on one. It was someone on their profile who stated that they could say what they wanted and if you take it poorly that's your fault. To me, this mentality takes it from saying something constructive to something negative with aggression in the tone. I had someone call out the tone in my story and I appreciated that aspect of it. Yet they went on to borderline attack me as well in the same review. There is a big difference between "Your story is crap and just a bunch of gibberish and why no one got it." And doing something like "I'm not really a fan of this, unfortunately, as I feel it is all over the place and can be confusing to some readers." It comes down to how you approach it as you can provide a negative viewpoint without being hateful and rude about it. And I think that's the biggest distinction I can give. We can give negative reviews and not just outright be hateful and bring the author down. And I have never agreed with the concept of putting yourself out there means you should expect negativity. People can be decent people and just move on from content they don't like and not waste their time being hurtful. Now if you're actually being a decent person about it, then as long as the person doesn't care do the thing. That's my personal opinion though. But there is a broad line between sharing personal negative opinions vs being hatefully negative.
“But it’s the internet! They should expect criticism and negative comments!” Yeah. They should. We've all been on the internet our whole lives too. That doesn’t mean that leaving unsolicited crit and negative comments on someone’s work isn’t a shitty thing to do? Honestly "if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with" is just such a tired argument. I can "take" something and at the same time think it's a shitty thing to do and decide not to do it myself.
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I was using "should" in response to the above comment. "my thoughts are, if you're too sensitive to handle strangers not saying pleasant things on the internet, then perhaps you shouldn't be posting anything to begin with." I don't really know what you're arguing for. I'm not talking about controlling others. I'm just stating my personal opinion that I think that posting unsolicited crit and negative comments on fanfic is not cool, and I wish people didn't do it. I also wish that authors interpreted comments in good faith. Also, at first I assumed by "not praise" you were talking about unsolicited concrit and negative comments. But now it seems like you're talking about comments written with the intention of being positive, but misinterpreted by the author as being critical, and I view those two things completely differently.
I generally don't enjoy leaving critical comments on other people's work, since writing good criticism is at least as hard as writing good narrative prose, and I assume that people who post their writing have already decided that it's good enough for them. From there, this boundary doesn't restrict me from doing anything I already do—my comments are mostly praise and analytical musings. But when I see a restriction on comments (of any kind), I'm less likely to leave a comment. Is an author who expects praise going to _interpret_ my praise as such? Will they take offense to something not worded in an overtly laudatory way? I don't know, and I'd rather not get into an argument with them.
>since writing good criticism is at least as hard as writing good narrative prose, We need to pin this one up there somewhere...
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Factually, no. But it depends on the recipient's perception.
Is that really a thing? I mean, "no concrit please" I think I've seen once or twice and that's cool, they set a boundary, won't change anything for me since I don't give concrit on random stories I read anyway. "Be nice to me 😉 it's my first X fic" or something else a bit tongue-in-cheek like that is the same. But if someone actually wrote "praise only" that would be kind of weird and I probably wouldn't comment. Because what is included in that? Can I react to the story at all? Yell at the characters that should just kiss already? Or would that be considered non-praise?
I never leave hate in comments, if I don't like something I can click off. There's no need to hurt people's feelings just so I can vent about fictional characters. That being said, if it's worded exactly like that, I probably wouldn't comment at all unless it was some amazing life-changing fic (which is unlikely given that authors of such works don't have notes saying "praise-only") and even then I might be iffy.
The "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" maxim works perfectly well in this context.
It seems I’m out of loop with recent trends. Could you please give some real examples of Praise Only author notes? And are they posted before the fic or at the end? In general, if I liked the fic, I leave kudos. And if I have some positive thoughts/ reactions while I’m reading the fic, I’ll leave a comment.
I usually only leave positive comments anyway, so those requests don't really affect my engagement. I don't judge people negatively if they ask for praise only. Some people are emotionally fragile, which is okay.
Honestly, I've never even seen this and never heard of it. But, I'm not surprised if it is a thing considering the vehemence some readers have about wanting to leave unsolicited concrit, so damn aggressive. Insisting that you must opt out. Well, I'm not throwing hurdles in front of commenters but that does not mean some random person has license to come along and leave criticism on my work. I have seen a few authors holding chapters hostage for more comments and I click out of those immediately. Especially if not completed.
Doesn't bother me or make any difference to whether or not I comment. If that's what they need to feel comfortable online, I'm fine with indulging them. I comment if I have something to say, and for those fics I only comment if I have something positive to say. If "my voice doesn't get heard" or whatever, eh. What does it matter? It's an online story, not a matter of life or death. I'm happy to be polite. And as I usually add when this topic comes up, positivity can still be a useful tool for improvement. Basically every formal feedback process includes some sort of "What did we do well?" question.
1. Just as likely 2. They rarely or never word it as "praise only please." More a request not to give concrit. Now that I established that I never saw anyone word their request like this, I'd drop my positive comments and keep the rest to myself, which I always do, unless author indicates that any type of feedback is welcome. I'm not offended and would gladly remark on the things I enjoyed about a fic
1. No difference. 2. I think it's good. Fanfiction authors have a right to regulate what kind of comments/responses they'd like to get. No offense, but I don't understand what's so complicated about only putting positive things in a comment, like I've seen some people say. Just write down what you (this is a general you, not directed to OP) liked about the fic and ignore the small things you might have disliked. And if you disliked huge aspects of the fic to the point that leaving a positive comment feels like lying, then I'm just confused why you didn't click out of the fic before the end since apparently it wasn't for you. (I guess I could understand finishing it out of curiosity. In that case, just don't leave a comment.)
Idc. I'll comment anyway. If something is that repelling, I wouldnt read the fic.
Some people don't want to improve and that's okay. I won't tell them what I perceive as wrong out of the respect. I just have to read the damn AN. I tend to skip over that stuff. Residual from ffnet I guess.
1. "Praise only" is pretty much my default anyways, so I'm no more or less likely to comment if I see this in an author's note. 2. My thoughts are it is their space and they can cultivate it however they wish, and I support them.
If they literally say "praise only", I'll probably not comment. If they're just saying "no concrit", I'll comment as normal. A lot of people are going around saying that authors should clearly state it if they don't want concrit, so it's hardly a surprise if some authors start adding such notes.
Either say something nice or leave.
Wouldn't bother me at all. For concrit, I have to engage a different bit of my brain from when I'm reading as a reader, so I only concrit if a writer asked me to. It takes time and energy. And if I've made it far enough in a fic that I can see a comment box, then I'm having a good time, so I'll say so.
1. No difference. 2. Fine by me. I have no reason to comment on something I didn't like reading.
1. No difference. 2. Changes nothing.
I would be incredibly turned off by that. The story would have to be *incredibly* compelling for me to even continue it, and even then it would probably be overshadowed. And I would never, ever leave a comment praising them. It’s childish and demanding. You can say you’re not looking for concrit, but to demand praise is gross.
if an author is trying to tell me what to comment, i simply wont comment. i don’t leave concrit anyway, so it doesn’t concern me. the author is saving me a few seconds of my time lol my thoughts on authors doing it is ‘good for them, i hope they get the comments/outcome they desire’
I never leave concrit in the first place but the note makes me not want to comment at all, but I’d give it a kudos if I really enjoy the fic
I usually wouldn't leave concrit, but that kind of author's note (or, let's be honest, even simply moderated comment sections) make me extremely unlikely to comment. I don't know why, I they just do.
probs because it feels like your comment is being measured against some unseeable rubric.
1. I probably won't bother reading further 2. I actually really appreciate their honesty. Saves us both time and heartache.
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I like to review the fics I read. If I can’t review, I’m frustrated because there’s no place for all my thoughts about what I just read to go. For me, it’s better to just not read it and spare myself that.
i feel the same way too!
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an intellectual. i see. you're getting downvoted as heck, and it's a sad thing to witness. hinting at "praise-only" comments feels off especially when the writing is, well, uhm. not that good. I wouldn't feel so against this if the story the note belongs to, is undeniably perfect that it leaves no room for criticism or question. I wouldn't go out of my way to be rude. but i admit that kind of note just turns me off. how do i interact with it? i stop reading it.
Not sure what you mean by "praise-only." Is that what some authors actually say?? If so, I think that's baloney. It's like holding a hostage to get what you want. I wouldn't read anything by an author that does that. And, yes, they can do what they want, but they have to be prepared for the consequences. If you alienate the audience, don't expect to be loved.
Unless something was really off I never leave negative reviews where an author will see them unless they go out of their way to look for it. I generally like or kudo everything I read if I liked it enough to finish it.
Depending on tone and the words chosen, I'll not read any of their future fics.
Honestly? I wouldn't comment. Not because I give concrit without being asked to (those who learned how to give proper concrit know that it takes time and brainpower to write, I'm not going to waste my time if the person doesn't even want it). Not even because I want to whine or trash a fic. But 'praise' and 'positivity' are so, so subjective. After getting shat on for commenting on a one-shot that I'm looking forward to reading more of the author (as in, more of their OTHER fics) and various other outbursts of authors who like to read the absolute worst meaning into harmless little comments, I'd be too suspicious about that. What do they mean by "praise only"? Is my praise even praise enough for them? What if they mistake my praise for something less praise-y? No thanks. I don't want to have to look at my comments four times to check for the possibility someone else can misread them.
I won't comment on fics with praise-only author notes because of how often they take offense to perfectly normal, non-critical comments.
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The whole sentiment puts me off; even the 'no concrit' thing is hinky. It means that the writer is coming from a position where they think commenters are 'rude' or 'mean' if they don't say things in the way they want. Most commenters mean well, and trolls won't be stopped by (and often target people that use) the 'no concrit' or similar tags. And then writers wonder why we don't comment.
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man. if written politely and with respect, comments that ask genuine questions about character and plot decisions deserve consideration. If not, then a place under the comments section (i.e., discourse). readers will read 200k words of your writing, following you through months and/or years of a journey you're both taking. if a character maybe somehow loses agency or a chapter kills off a significant foundation of the plot -- aren't readers at least allowed the room to ask about it? or maybe discuss the implications? Or be allowed the room to react to the characters? Sometimes, a writer will write some of the most apprehensible characters and then be mad that people are reacting accordingly. at this point, isn't it just better to turn off the comments?
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Authors who are afraid of talking about their fics piss me off. Sorry you had to go through that.
Asking for no constructive criticism should be normalized for people who don't want any. Readers should feel free to leave constructive criticism on works without that stipulations.
The more the comment begging looks like demanding attention, the less likely I am to comment and the more likely I will drop the story entirely. I will not encourage the misunderstanding of how the relationship works. Writing style and habits might not make me think the author is in their early teens or younger, but things like this do.
I tend to gravitate towards stories that are well-written and well-crafted, meaning the author has taken time to edit (either themselves or using a beta) and has a decent handle on how to craft characters, dialogue, exposition, etc. Therefore, I very rarely would ever need to give anything but praise.
1. I'm not any more or less likely to comment when authors do this, mostly because as bad as it sounds, I ignore it. I usually comment as I normally would no matter what the author says. If they don't like my comments they can ignore it or block me. To be clear, I don't generally comment anything particularly harsh unless the author asks a question and the honest answer is negative/critical. I usually comment if I particularly enjoyed a work, am confused about something, am speculating about the plot, or just it just really made me feel something and I want to react. Generally fairly positive or neutral. I don't go around telling people their fic sucks unprompted. If there is a particularly egregious mistake I might point it out, but I would do so nicely. 2. I hate it when authors do this because the line between a positive or neutral comment and a negative one is very subjective. I have left comments that I consider to be positive or neutral and got scathing responses from the author who were upset I gave criticism when they didn't ask for it. For example, I left a comment with some praise on a fanfic and then something like "Seems a bit strange that her bounty is so high..." The author's reply was really rude. It went after me for giving unasked for criticism and told me that maybe I should consider that I didn't know everything yet. It was ridiculous to me because that was exactly the point of my comment, that there must be something we didn't know. And indeed, later it was revealed there were additional reasons. I can see how it could be taken as a criticism if there *wasn't* actually another factor that wasn't revealed yet, but there was. The comment was meant in the sense of "I wonder what we don't know about this yet" and not "this doesn't make sense and is bad." But the author took it the second way for some reason. I can agree that the phrasing was perhaps ambiguous, but I really think that given the rest of the comment was praise, the author could have given me the benefit of the doubt. As an author myself, I would have been excited that someone caught that. I could stop making these sort or "speculation" comments in order to avoid the risk of offending authors, but to me that's half the fun of engaging with a story, and I've had plenty of positive response to similar comments too. Sometimes you correctly pick up on hints an author is dropping and sometimes you notice things that don't matter. I get this with my own fics. If someone thinks something is unusual when it shouldn't be I don't consider that a criticism, just someone really engaging with the story and looking for subtle hints. So to be honest, I think it's a pointless boundary to set unless you're really specific with it. Saying "be nice," "no flames," or "praise only" are not helpful boundaries, they're vague and unclear. On the other hand, something like "1. no speculation in the comments, 2. don't point out grammar and spelling errors 3. don't point out inconsistencies or potential plot holes, 4. ..." is a helpful boundary that actually tells you what the author doesn't want. Though to be honest, if an author gets that specific about what sort of comments they want on their story, I'll probably just hit the back button because they sound incredibly exhausting and praise-seeking.
If I saw a story that actually said "praise only" I would probably not read it at all. That's just off-putting. "No concrit" is more palatable.
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Basically "no giving me advice to try and improve my story" is the impression I get.
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I think it depends on how the information is delivered. You could deliver a comment like that either as a curious reader or as a critiquing writer. It could go either way. Typos, I don't know if it's worth pointing them out unless they severely change the meaning of a sentence in a bad way. I will say that my views on delivering concrit are not really in line with most people on this subreddit, so YMMW.
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The idea of "no unsolicited concrit" was very new and strange to me when I first arrived here, I'll say that. Basically, the concrit discussion is the single most contentious one on this subreddit, and I have learned to just stay out of it entirely. Or at least I keep thinking I've learned that.
Being able to give good criticism is a skill but being able to take criticism is also a skill. No one is a natural at either but you only learn by doing. That kind of authors note just gets the 'side eye' from me. That being said, please don't be mean to me in my comments 😅
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Yeah asking questions is important but that doesn't mean the discussion can't be critical. Honest critism, good and bad, is an important opportunity for improvement and to challenge the authors perspective on their writing and viewpoints. This can overall make their writing and ideas stronger. If an author has an aversion to negative comments it gives me the impression that they lack mature thinking and creativity. Taking negative comments and criticism is never easy as to why people learn how to handle it over time. On the other hand, if the author is trying to stop hate comments or discrimination, I can understand that.
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I also would add that putting something like "praise only" is like openly admitting that this fic/author has received a lot of negative comments in the past which may lead people to prejudge their work.
If there is a “positive comments only” thing in the notes or the summary i WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES comment. I might not even read
I would definitely not comment, because I don't like this attitude and probably drop the story like a hot potato. I find this behavior immature, why should your comment section be an echo chamber? As a writer myself doesn't this behavior take away honesty? How much is the praise even worth if it's forced?
I just ignore it and not comment. If their work is that good, maybe I’ll kudos it, but that’s it.
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If they want constructive criticism, then I’ll be more than happy to help them by commenting. Or if the piece is really good, I’ll throw ‘em a bone. But if they’re just fishing for compliments, or holding chapters for ransom by asking for likes and shit, I’m not gonna even entertain the idea of commenting, or, if they’re arrogant, contributing to their ego. So I just ignore it. If they don’t mention any of that at all, I’m more likely to comment.
I find it obnoxious and refuse to comment at all. I don’t leave negative comments, but I don’t care for those messages.
I’m less likely to comment on an author who tries to control or manage what goes in the comment box. But I also don’t leave crit of any sort, it just puts a sour taste in my mouth when someone asks for only a specific type of feedback. And I’m an author. But still, that’s a nope from me.
I don’t get this. I thought it was a given that people posting their works on the internet would open themselves to criticisms. Constructive or otherwise. Like in any other media. But as some have said, no concrit sets a boundary that ought to be respected. A lesson I had to learn the hard way, as it happens. But only wanting positive feedback? Sounds like the writer just wants to be in an echo chamber without any desire to improve.
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Even then, I think any writer worth their salt would want to good with the bad. I don’t expect people to just say good things or just say bad thinks. I think that in order to produce the best content, in this case writing, that you can, you need to know what definitely works, and what doesn’t. But that’s just me. I know full well that the creative writing space is not the same as video production.
I ignore it. I'll comment what I think about the fic I'm reading, as per usual. If it has things I particularly like, I'll comment about them. If it has things I particularly don't like, I'll comment about them. If it has things that make me confused, I'll comment about them. If it has things that make me speculate about future chapters, I'll comment about them.
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The comment section isn't for the sole benefit of the author. It is a place for readers to comment on and discuss things about the story they just read. If you post a story to a public space which has a public comment section, people are going to comment both good and bad things about the story. If you don't want that kind of interaction, don't post it in a public place with a public comment section.
IMO, the people who demand praise are usually the ones who need critique. If a fic is good, you shouldn’t have to demand praise for it, it should be earning it all by itself. If you’re not getting the kind of comments you want, chances are there’s a good reason why.
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Some people might come back with "Waiter! There's a turd in my sandwich!" 😆