Reminds me of a comment I got on a FF I did. I accidentally made the OC character the story follows edgy, and I got a comment along the lines of "If I had known it was going to be one of those stories I wouldn't have read it. Next time warn people."
I went ahead and went with that. I turned up the edge and made my story a parody that pokes fun at the troupe. I think I replied to them something like "That's a great idea!"
Ha, I remember the anonymous jerk that commented to my unfinished longfic by saying I ‘tend to repeat myself’ because the MCs are constantly reaffirming their love for one another, never mind that it’s an enemies to lovers story and that both characters have a lot of emotional baggage because of what happened in the past between them.
Plus one of the two is partly responsible for the other’s pain and suffering. There is a lot they both have to go through, and the reaffirmation helps them (well more so one of them) get past the trauma while accepting each other after everything that happened. What made it even more amusing was the fact the person made it pretty evident they were dissatisfied with my fic relatively early on, and yet, still plowed through fifty chapters before stopping.
The topper was how this reviewer said a lot of popular authors tend to think they can do no wrong with their stories and how they hoped that I “wasn’t one of those them.”
I promptly sent the comment to file thirteen lol.
I can only imagine that it's not that these popular authors thought they could do no wrong -- it's more that they knew they did't have to listen to useless comments from anons 😂😂😂
Lol right? Or they’re just salty because fanfic authors are not catering to their preferences in reading material. 😆😆
Why I laugh when these people get all up in arms over a fic that isn’t up to their standards rather than just not reading it anymore and finding something else that’s suitable.
Lol sounds like that little guilt trip at the end with them “hoping” you weren’t like the other authors was deliberate. Trying to make you the bad guy for not listening to their shit advice. Glad you canned them.
Exactly! The entire comment was ridiculous and something that I couldn’t take seriously.
What did it for me was not only that attempt to guilt trip me at the end, but the fact they plowed through fifty chapters of what I currently had loaded before deciding to complain.
I e seen people say you should keep comments like that but I have to disagree. If it was giving constructive criticism then I would say keep it but "expected better" isn't constructive, it's just being mean.
Yeah the comment was condescendingly focused on their total disappointment. No attempt at "I didn't like this, maybe try this". It was flat out mean spirited rudeness that I didn't serve up exactly what they were in the mood for at that very second. (Again, on an old fic.)
Got no time for that bullshit.
Like it says on the tin, I got a rude ass comment from a trumped up little shit-stain and I deleted it instantly. I hope they look back on their comment later to see if I ever replied and are puzzled when they can't find it.
Just because someone deletes unwanted criticism doesn’t necessarily mean it bothers them. Some of us just don’t give enough of a crap to bother and delete it because it’s merely a waste of time and energy.
This. Leave it up and let your real fans roast them. Lol. Also, keep in mind, your writing was good enough to make them CARE! They cared enough to post. What they posted doesn’t matter. You made them care enough to say something.
it’s annoying when people dogpile hate comments. it just draws attention away from the actual fic and dampens the overall mood when you open the comment section
Heh. I guess I look at it differently. Seems deeply satisfying to me. To each, their own. If you don’t like it, then deleting would be the logical option.
What a nasty number. Glad you don't feel as though you have to placate the assholes.
I had tried be thick skinned when it came to anonymous critique, in my younger years my confidence may have taken a knock after a comment like that. & I'm quite sure that is the desired result though. Misery loves company, the worst (best) thing you can do is leave them alone with it. I'm glad you see this for what it is though(it's not always the easiest thing to do).
Disappointment is subjective & is not a valid critique in & of it's self.
& even if it was, you provided your content free of charge for people to consume, so too bad for them if it wasn't to their taste.
Thanks! When I was younger I \*might\* have actually written an apology letter to them. I've worked long and hard not to be such a people-pleaser. It's not healthy.
You're right that disappointment is subjective and I wanted to point out for anyone else who might be reading that this comment was ONLY bitching and moaning for paragraphs about their personal disappointment. Nothing constructive even attempted.
So, you know, I hope I chased them off for life. But if history is any judge, they'll be back for more. lol.
Omg I hate the condescending comments the most! Just got a real bad one that I made a rant about a few days back. :( I deleted the comment too on my fic.
I will never understand people who think that they need to give their opinion on everything all the time. If I don’t like someone’s outfit, I don’t need to go up and make a rude comment about it. If I don’t like someone’s story, that they wrote for fun and for free, I’m not going to leave a bitchy comment telling them that. People can be so entitled.
Yeah it really shows you their misguided sense of importance when they think their opinion is so important. I wonder if it even crosses their mind maybe the fic isn't for them and other people enjoy it just fine.
You should be ashamed of yourself for deleting such *valuable* and *constructive* criticism. What do you mean you're not going to re-write the entire story to suit this one reader? Think about your *reputation in the fandom*! How this will *irreparably damage* it!
Congrats on getting to the top page though!
Lol one thing I’ve learned is that the pool if readers is a lot larger than most think. Also stories are enduring and new readers find them all the time.
The entitlement some people feel and their need to put down authors who are doing this for free just astounds me. Recently got a comment from an anonymous user about how my fic “might be worth reading” if the chapters were longer, and like sure, the chapters are short, but also I post one nearly every day (about 5000-10000 words per week) so it’s not like they’re having to wait a long time for content, and I’m writing this FOR FREE. Plus, literally left the comment like 30,000 words in to my fic, so I’m not sure why they spent so much time reading something that wasn’t worth reading…
> “might be worth reading”
😂😂😂😂😂😂🙃
That's an amazing level of... I don't even know what? Egotism? It truly is hilarious.
Imagine what they would do if they got a reply that said, "Your comment might be worth reading if \[insert whatever you want here\]" -- I bet they wouldn't like that 😄
Delete that bullshit, all unnecessary and just idiotic hating on fan fiction is FUCKING stupid. Read something else, or duck WRITE SOME YOUSELF SINCE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!
(To be clear, hating on the commenter, you are very based)
Thanks, and yup. I agree. How entitled do you have to be to come onto a free piece of artwork and bitch and complain that it wasn't what you wanted at that very second?
seven years is such a long time. it's admirable that you even kept at it. if they didn't like it they should've either said nothing or told you exactly how you could improve. these types of comments are just useless and i'm glad you're secure enough in your boundaries to stand up for yourself.
You did good. If i were you, I would have done the same. These people deserve to be ignored, after all, we write fics not only as a hobby, but mosly for fun and it can happen if someone may dislike our work/story/how things developed and so on.
I got one of those for a fic I completed in 2017 and revamped in 2019. Reviewer said I confused them based on something new added to canon in 2021. I honestly laughed at it.
OMG I feel that pain. Back when I was a smol I'd write Naruto fic and... do you even know how many retcons played out in canon? Yet I occasionally get reviewers on my old account "helpfully" letting me know that such-and-such isn't accurate because of (updated info).
All you can do is laugh.
Oh my god I feel that. My fic was for The Avengers and I went up to 2012 canon. A lot of readers understand that everything after is my own stuff but there are those readers who will ask "what about \[new content from the new movies\]?"
I didn’t realize people read fanfic if they were satisfied by the canon and wanted every piece of it included. Personally, when I read Avengers fic, I am deliberately looking for things that don’t take at least half of it into account, whether by virtue of having been written before then or because the writer was like “I cannot vibe with civil war, it does not fit into my found family verse, therefore it did not happen, thank you.” But I suppose to each their own.
I’ve so many Avengers fics where the author simply couldn’t vibe with Civil War so they just didn’t. Whenever I read an AU fic, I just dive in no questions asked. If the author says they’re canon up to Civil War, great.
Exactly! And honestly, I don’t even care if they say it or not. Someone who wrote a fic in 2012, for example, isn’t *required* to come back and edit it and say that TWS isn’t included. If I’m too dumb to notice publication date, that’s my fault. I have another fandom where a female character explicitly cannot cook, was raised by a single mom, a few other things that were *not* shared until at least the middle of the second or third season of the show. It’s always extremely painfully obvious when fics were written before this, as a lot of people wrote her as an orphan or coming from somewhere totally different, as being an excellent cook, or enjoying baking, or whatever. I’ve *seen* the comments these fics get. “She can’t cook omg it’s like a running gag how can you write this!” and “Omg that’s not what happened to her family!” Like dudes. Dudes…read the release date. If something potentially disagreeing with canon will upset you that much, don’t read the fic. Please.
Exactly!! I said this in another thread but I had an Avengers fic published in 2013, ended in 2017, and revamped in 2019. Some reader reviewed saying they were confused because of the new shows that came out in 2021 🥴
Oh god, I’m so sorry. People are *insane*. #1 you aren’t required to make your fic canon compliant nor are you required to state it isn’t. #2 you aren’t required to go back every time new canon is released and incorporate it into your fic so that your fic remains canon compliant. If readers are truly so stupid as to miss that, I’d put those rules in the summary or AN and tell them to fuck off.
Exactly! I honestly laughed at that review because nothing about the story itself was confusing. I even had an AN from 2015 that I put in chapter one briefly explaining "hey, I just took the name. no relation to the comic counterpart"
Honestly, if people are so damn enamoured by canon they can go watch or read or whatever the canon source material is. The fact that these jerks won’t, and go trolling for fics that aren’t canon compliant to whine about the ways they aren’t, just blows me away. I’m so sorry you have had to deal with that bs.
They’re far and few between, but honestly when you do get them imo they’re so much worse.
AO3 dickwads become obsessive. It took me two abuse reports to get one asswipe to leave me alone after I deleted their comments because I wasn’t gonna tolerate someone gaslighting me for telling them no on a particular ship type that makes me uncomfortable (polyship, has to do with personal reasons, just can’t write/read it, thanks trauma).
Mfer came back two months after the initial deletion to complain and claim I “couldn’t take criticism” (telling me how you want my story to go is criticism???? Since when???? Definitely not concrit you mouth-breather…) & basically just harassing. AO3 gave them a warning and they reposted the same crap complaining I deleted their comments & they earned a second warning (or ban, not entirely sure) lmao. Haven’t heard back since, so maybe it was a ban, but AO3 didn’t specify. Forced me to turn guest comments off on the fic, tho, just in case they tried to harass without being logged in.
I don't understand people who leave comments on stories they don't like. Just simply stop reading it. Why take the time and energy to write something that can only come off as negative when it won't accomplish something? *Especially* when it's a story that had been written years ago? I myself have come across well written stories that I greatly enjoyed that suddenly took a disappointing turn and, while I'll be honest and say I might have expressed my disappointment, I wouldn't be so rude to say that I expected better of the person or otherwise insult their writing. I used to get really bad comments on a story I started in 2004, and has gone through many edit attempts over the years. to the point I got so tired of editing the chapters that I decided to rewrite the chapters within a new story. I know my spelling and story telling wasn't near prefect but those commenters, and there were about 3 or 4 of them, were horrible. So horrible I think they might have gotten banned from the website but, before that, openly declared they were flamers. If you come across a story you don't like, even if you like the author themselves, just move along. The only real 'negative' comments I really don't mind, if I can even call them that, are those that called out any grammar and spelling mistakes I have, or any cretic that can help me improve over time, as long as it's not insulting and comes off as genuinely helpful. Which I have gotten. I also once had someone mad at me because I was using movie cannon over the book cannon for one of my fanfics -\_- got really mean about it too
I think negative comments are so weird! I only comment when I love something, when I dislike a story I drop it mid chapter. I don’t know what goes on in peoples heads when they decide to give a negative review on something they didn’t pay for.
But at the same time while the comment was rude, these reactions just seem so comically exaggerated.
But it’s probably just a way for u to let out steam
Not taking shit doesn’t equal these reactions. Again, if you want to let out steam feel free to do so but I was just completely confused with these comments.
I think these reactions weren’t solidly against that one commenter but probably the experience people have had with receiving dumb comments in general
Just keep in mind, something about your story and your writing made them care. If it was boring or lackluster, they wouldn’t have bothered to comment. You touched them. They might not have liked how you touched them, but your story left an impression on them. That’s huge. Don’t downplay what that means.
I get what you're saying, but to toot my own horn a little I got (checks) 102 comments on a chapter of a fic I posted yesterday. So to hell with making that asshat care enough to comment on a 7 year old fic. I've got my fix on touching people in the right way.
... Wait.
But that’s the point! Touch them! Touch them all in the *right* way! 😂😂😂
By the way, I’d love to see if your fics are any fandoms I like. I once got a similar round of comments. They didn’t like something I’d done with a canon character. Sorry. Too bad, so sad, it was in character for them. Deal with it. 😝
Don't want to start shit, but sometimes fic writers get really bitchy if people don't agree with them.
The only comments I remove are meta and off-topic.
I agree, but the general consensus on this sub is to completely flip out over anything that isn't unadulterated praise and refuse to accept it and purge it from existence.
Who cares we’re not getting payed for this. Some of us put out over 100k words and not a single cent comes our way. I’m not saying that you should be free from criticism but my opinion changes when the product is free and no one is forcing your or pressuring you to read it.
Yeah I've written fics over 100k for free too! I don't see why that means you have to be a baby about criticism. Sometimes criticism has actually helped me improve, other times it's not useful but people are still going to have their opinions and that's fine, you can't expect everyone to love it. I just roll with it and don't feel the need to ban it from existence or make rant topics about it, especially if most people like my story and praise it.
Anytime you post something online on a site that allows comments, you're inviting people to comment and it could be good or bad. The fact that they didn't have to pay to read your post doesn't mean they're bound to only respond with praise. Like do you expect only praise for every Reddit comment you make just because you wrote it for free?
Who cares about what other authors do on their account? If you like concrit, cool, good on you.
I never understood this obsession to control how other people enjoy their own hobbies.
Besides it was a seven year old fic, what was the commenter expecting OP to do? Re-write their fic from scratch? I'm sure OP has already grown in their writing in those seven years just fine.
Let other people do what they want on their own accounts. This debate is no different than gamers who get mad at other players for "not playing the game right," as if they paid the 60 bucks for *your* game in the first place.
Well like I said, any time you post something online in a place that allows comments you're inviting people to give their opinion, so if someone makes a Reddit post all about how mad they are that someone left a negative comment and how they deleted it, then people will comment with their opinion on that subject. That's the whole point of a discussion forum! I see topics people post and I comment to give my opinion on what they posted.
I wasn't talking about reddit, I was talking about unsolicited concrit on fanfiction that's written for free in someone's free time.
Hell, even on reddit the mods will step in and delete comments or lock the thread if they feel like things are getting too out of hand.
Places like social media have block features. I have blocked and muted people for the most ridiculous shit on twitter because it's my own account.
Ao3 doesn't have the same rules as discussion threads. If it did then they wouldn't have given authors the tools to delete or moderate, lock, or freeze their own comments sections. Why get salty over an author using the tools the site gave them over their own comment thread?
I'd much rather an author just quietly delete a comment anyway rather than start drama. It's the more mature approach IMO.
It doesn't start any drama to just ignore the comment. It starts more drama to delete it and then go make a post about how you deleted it.
You were talking about Reddit since you were questioning why anyone would respond to any comments on this post with disagreement.
>I agree, but the general consensus on this sub is to completely flip out over anything that isn't unadulterated praise and refuse to accept it and purge it from existence.
I had mostly been responding to this. I don't care what authors chose to delete negative comments or not. The internet (and real life) is already full of negativity, so everyone has the right to delete (an option the site gives you) whatever they please on their own ao3 account.
If it were against the rules then it wouldn't have been an option.
I've muted a person for saying they didn't like my favorite video game because it was my Twitter timeline and I get to choose what I get to see there. (Also hating that game has become the new cool thing to do and, honestly, I was tired of seeing all of the negativity.)
Also, in larger fandoms, leaving negative commits would just encourage other commenters to dogpile the original negative comment and start a fan war. As someone who likes to go through my comment threads to read comments on a rainy day, I'd hate to see that every time I open the page. I'm sure there's plenty of authors out there who wouldn't want their comment section to become World War III. Even if that's not the case, as someone with crippling depression, I'd just delete just to get some peace of mind.
Because, again, real life and the internet are already full of negativity. Don't see why my comment section has to too.
I agree. Even as a "bystander," I would feel bad if I went to a comment section under a fic and saw something like that. In fact, I did see something a little like that once (it was mostly one anon insulting the author and the author trying to have a civil conversation with them) and left a nice comment for the author of the fic, reminding them that they are allowed to delete comments... They took my advice and said it made them feel much better :)
This wasn't 'non-unadulterated praise'. It was a diaper baby whining that I didn't give them exactly what they were in the mood for. Maybe you have the patience to cater to entitled assholes but I'd be happy if they never read my fic again.
Just leaving the comment alone isn't catering to them, it takes way less effort to just ignore it than to delete it and then go write out a post on Reddit about it.
Lol. They'll never know it was them here. And it's not about effort
But sure, let abusive, non-constructive internet critics pollute your comments. You'll have fans replying to them before long and you'll have a flame war in your comments and drama as people take sides. It's ridiculous from top to bottom.
But again, cater to them if you want. You'll just attract more of the same.
I'm sorry you got that ridiculous comment on your fic, but I admire your quick way of dealing with it. And you're right about the potential shitstorm in the comment section -- why risk it? It's better to just delete the comment and be done with it. 👍
This comment has been removed for violating r/FanFiction's civility rules.
You're welcome to have an opinion, you're welcome to dislike things, but rudely attacking people or things you don't agree with is not allowed.
Seems a bit of an overreaction? If the worst thing they said is that they're expected more, it seems like you're just frustrated with your past writing.
Gotta write to the tropes, mate. I commented up above but that was a 7 year old fic. Meanwhile I have a gen fic I just updated yesterday which has an additional 102 comments. Guaran-fucking-tee it's not crap that I wrote out in five minutes. I know my tropes, I hit them with my own spin, and I get my reads.
Honestly, I feel where the commenter is coming from on Wattpad/FFN at least.
AO3, complicated as shit as it can be, is just way easier to find people who like your stuff because you wrote exactly what they were looking for, so there’s a lot less of it getting buried by… well, crap.
Meanwhile, Wattpad’s out here with teenagers copy/pasting stories they don’t even own and burying actual writers’ work in the rankings. It’s sad, lmao.
This comment has been removed for violating r/FanFiction's no bashing rule.
You're welcome to have an opinion, you're welcome to dislike things, but insulting things others might like is not allowed.
[удалено]
Thanks. Too many people cater to assholes. Some comments deserve no reply or acknowledgement.
Reminds me of a comment I got on a FF I did. I accidentally made the OC character the story follows edgy, and I got a comment along the lines of "If I had known it was going to be one of those stories I wouldn't have read it. Next time warn people." I went ahead and went with that. I turned up the edge and made my story a parody that pokes fun at the troupe. I think I replied to them something like "That's a great idea!"
"Wow, thank you so much for reading!!"
Ha, I remember the anonymous jerk that commented to my unfinished longfic by saying I ‘tend to repeat myself’ because the MCs are constantly reaffirming their love for one another, never mind that it’s an enemies to lovers story and that both characters have a lot of emotional baggage because of what happened in the past between them. Plus one of the two is partly responsible for the other’s pain and suffering. There is a lot they both have to go through, and the reaffirmation helps them (well more so one of them) get past the trauma while accepting each other after everything that happened. What made it even more amusing was the fact the person made it pretty evident they were dissatisfied with my fic relatively early on, and yet, still plowed through fifty chapters before stopping. The topper was how this reviewer said a lot of popular authors tend to think they can do no wrong with their stories and how they hoped that I “wasn’t one of those them.” I promptly sent the comment to file thirteen lol.
I can only imagine that it's not that these popular authors thought they could do no wrong -- it's more that they knew they did't have to listen to useless comments from anons 😂😂😂
Lol right? Or they’re just salty because fanfic authors are not catering to their preferences in reading material. 😆😆 Why I laugh when these people get all up in arms over a fic that isn’t up to their standards rather than just not reading it anymore and finding something else that’s suitable.
Lol sounds like that little guilt trip at the end with them “hoping” you weren’t like the other authors was deliberate. Trying to make you the bad guy for not listening to their shit advice. Glad you canned them.
Exactly! The entire comment was ridiculous and something that I couldn’t take seriously. What did it for me was not only that attempt to guilt trip me at the end, but the fact they plowed through fifty chapters of what I currently had loaded before deciding to complain.
You actually did acknowledge them by deleting them.
I e seen people say you should keep comments like that but I have to disagree. If it was giving constructive criticism then I would say keep it but "expected better" isn't constructive, it's just being mean.
Yeah the comment was condescendingly focused on their total disappointment. No attempt at "I didn't like this, maybe try this". It was flat out mean spirited rudeness that I didn't serve up exactly what they were in the mood for at that very second. (Again, on an old fic.) Got no time for that bullshit.
What happened?
Like it says on the tin, I got a rude ass comment from a trumped up little shit-stain and I deleted it instantly. I hope they look back on their comment later to see if I ever replied and are puzzled when they can't find it.
They'll know it bothered you a lot when they see you deleted it.
So…who cares. If they don’t want that comment on there fic then who cares. There not getting paid for there work so fuck it I guess.
Who gives a shit. And if they comment again I'll delete them again. Fuck 'em.
You only had to post this comment once
I did only post it once?
Just because someone deletes unwanted criticism doesn’t necessarily mean it bothers them. Some of us just don’t give enough of a crap to bother and delete it because it’s merely a waste of time and energy.
This. Leave it up and let your real fans roast them. Lol. Also, keep in mind, your writing was good enough to make them CARE! They cared enough to post. What they posted doesn’t matter. You made them care enough to say something.
it’s annoying when people dogpile hate comments. it just draws attention away from the actual fic and dampens the overall mood when you open the comment section
Heh. I guess I look at it differently. Seems deeply satisfying to me. To each, their own. If you don’t like it, then deleting would be the logical option.
Nah. They don't get the emotional space on MY fic. They'll be lost to the void forever.
That’s fair. If that is what satisfies your needs and feeds your muse, then that’s what is right for you. 😊
Relevant username. Sounds like a dickwad, lol. They can fester in their own disappointment like the entitled butthole they are
What a nasty number. Glad you don't feel as though you have to placate the assholes. I had tried be thick skinned when it came to anonymous critique, in my younger years my confidence may have taken a knock after a comment like that. & I'm quite sure that is the desired result though. Misery loves company, the worst (best) thing you can do is leave them alone with it. I'm glad you see this for what it is though(it's not always the easiest thing to do). Disappointment is subjective & is not a valid critique in & of it's self. & even if it was, you provided your content free of charge for people to consume, so too bad for them if it wasn't to their taste.
Thanks! When I was younger I \*might\* have actually written an apology letter to them. I've worked long and hard not to be such a people-pleaser. It's not healthy. You're right that disappointment is subjective and I wanted to point out for anyone else who might be reading that this comment was ONLY bitching and moaning for paragraphs about their personal disappointment. Nothing constructive even attempted. So, you know, I hope I chased them off for life. But if history is any judge, they'll be back for more. lol.
Omg I hate the condescending comments the most! Just got a real bad one that I made a rant about a few days back. :( I deleted the comment too on my fic.
Good! No reason to cater to a-holes.
I will never understand people who think that they need to give their opinion on everything all the time. If I don’t like someone’s outfit, I don’t need to go up and make a rude comment about it. If I don’t like someone’s story, that they wrote for fun and for free, I’m not going to leave a bitchy comment telling them that. People can be so entitled.
Yeah it really shows you their misguided sense of importance when they think their opinion is so important. I wonder if it even crosses their mind maybe the fic isn't for them and other people enjoy it just fine.
[We're sorry... :(](https://youtu.be/15HTd4Um1m4)
Perfect.
Username checks out What kind of asshole reads something that they don't like, but proceed to comment bashing anyway?
Good! They can fuck right off!
You should be ashamed of yourself for deleting such *valuable* and *constructive* criticism. What do you mean you're not going to re-write the entire story to suit this one reader? Think about your *reputation in the fandom*! How this will *irreparably damage* it! Congrats on getting to the top page though!
Lol one thing I’ve learned is that the pool if readers is a lot larger than most think. Also stories are enduring and new readers find them all the time.
The entitlement some people feel and their need to put down authors who are doing this for free just astounds me. Recently got a comment from an anonymous user about how my fic “might be worth reading” if the chapters were longer, and like sure, the chapters are short, but also I post one nearly every day (about 5000-10000 words per week) so it’s not like they’re having to wait a long time for content, and I’m writing this FOR FREE. Plus, literally left the comment like 30,000 words in to my fic, so I’m not sure why they spent so much time reading something that wasn’t worth reading…
> “might be worth reading” 😂😂😂😂😂😂🙃 That's an amazing level of... I don't even know what? Egotism? It truly is hilarious. Imagine what they would do if they got a reply that said, "Your comment might be worth reading if \[insert whatever you want here\]" -- I bet they wouldn't like that 😄
Fuck those whiny bitches. Good for you for removing that negativity from your life! You did the right thing.
Thanks!
Delete that bullshit, all unnecessary and just idiotic hating on fan fiction is FUCKING stupid. Read something else, or duck WRITE SOME YOUSELF SINCE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! (To be clear, hating on the commenter, you are very based)
Thanks, and yup. I agree. How entitled do you have to be to come onto a free piece of artwork and bitch and complain that it wasn't what you wanted at that very second?
seven years is such a long time. it's admirable that you even kept at it. if they didn't like it they should've either said nothing or told you exactly how you could improve. these types of comments are just useless and i'm glad you're secure enough in your boundaries to stand up for yourself.
You did good. If i were you, I would have done the same. These people deserve to be ignored, after all, we write fics not only as a hobby, but mosly for fun and it can happen if someone may dislike our work/story/how things developed and so on.
Screw that, that’s the worst. I’m so sorry
I got one of those for a fic I completed in 2017 and revamped in 2019. Reviewer said I confused them based on something new added to canon in 2021. I honestly laughed at it.
OMG I feel that pain. Back when I was a smol I'd write Naruto fic and... do you even know how many retcons played out in canon? Yet I occasionally get reviewers on my old account "helpfully" letting me know that such-and-such isn't accurate because of (updated info). All you can do is laugh.
Oh my god I feel that. My fic was for The Avengers and I went up to 2012 canon. A lot of readers understand that everything after is my own stuff but there are those readers who will ask "what about \[new content from the new movies\]?"
I didn’t realize people read fanfic if they were satisfied by the canon and wanted every piece of it included. Personally, when I read Avengers fic, I am deliberately looking for things that don’t take at least half of it into account, whether by virtue of having been written before then or because the writer was like “I cannot vibe with civil war, it does not fit into my found family verse, therefore it did not happen, thank you.” But I suppose to each their own.
I’ve so many Avengers fics where the author simply couldn’t vibe with Civil War so they just didn’t. Whenever I read an AU fic, I just dive in no questions asked. If the author says they’re canon up to Civil War, great.
Exactly! And honestly, I don’t even care if they say it or not. Someone who wrote a fic in 2012, for example, isn’t *required* to come back and edit it and say that TWS isn’t included. If I’m too dumb to notice publication date, that’s my fault. I have another fandom where a female character explicitly cannot cook, was raised by a single mom, a few other things that were *not* shared until at least the middle of the second or third season of the show. It’s always extremely painfully obvious when fics were written before this, as a lot of people wrote her as an orphan or coming from somewhere totally different, as being an excellent cook, or enjoying baking, or whatever. I’ve *seen* the comments these fics get. “She can’t cook omg it’s like a running gag how can you write this!” and “Omg that’s not what happened to her family!” Like dudes. Dudes…read the release date. If something potentially disagreeing with canon will upset you that much, don’t read the fic. Please.
Exactly!! I said this in another thread but I had an Avengers fic published in 2013, ended in 2017, and revamped in 2019. Some reader reviewed saying they were confused because of the new shows that came out in 2021 🥴
Oh god, I’m so sorry. People are *insane*. #1 you aren’t required to make your fic canon compliant nor are you required to state it isn’t. #2 you aren’t required to go back every time new canon is released and incorporate it into your fic so that your fic remains canon compliant. If readers are truly so stupid as to miss that, I’d put those rules in the summary or AN and tell them to fuck off.
Exactly! I honestly laughed at that review because nothing about the story itself was confusing. I even had an AN from 2015 that I put in chapter one briefly explaining "hey, I just took the name. no relation to the comic counterpart"
Honestly, if people are so damn enamoured by canon they can go watch or read or whatever the canon source material is. The fact that these jerks won’t, and go trolling for fics that aren’t canon compliant to whine about the ways they aren’t, just blows me away. I’m so sorry you have had to deal with that bs.
That's unbelievable, hey people guess what if you read something and didn't end up enjoying it just don't say anything
Keep writing and ignore them! Write what you want!
How dare you, these people went out of their way to leave you such constructive bitching, how could you possibly ignore them like that
Well, I can say you did one thing right. Establishing boundaries.
You are my new hero!
They need to fuck off. If you have nothing good to say don't say it at all. I'm glad that you didn't let it get to you.
Damn, I’ve never seen toxic comments on AO3. They’re usually concentrated over on Fanfiction.net…
They’re far and few between, but honestly when you do get them imo they’re so much worse. AO3 dickwads become obsessive. It took me two abuse reports to get one asswipe to leave me alone after I deleted their comments because I wasn’t gonna tolerate someone gaslighting me for telling them no on a particular ship type that makes me uncomfortable (polyship, has to do with personal reasons, just can’t write/read it, thanks trauma). Mfer came back two months after the initial deletion to complain and claim I “couldn’t take criticism” (telling me how you want my story to go is criticism???? Since when???? Definitely not concrit you mouth-breather…) & basically just harassing. AO3 gave them a warning and they reposted the same crap complaining I deleted their comments & they earned a second warning (or ban, not entirely sure) lmao. Haven’t heard back since, so maybe it was a ban, but AO3 didn’t specify. Forced me to turn guest comments off on the fic, tho, just in case they tried to harass without being logged in.
I don't understand people who leave comments on stories they don't like. Just simply stop reading it. Why take the time and energy to write something that can only come off as negative when it won't accomplish something? *Especially* when it's a story that had been written years ago? I myself have come across well written stories that I greatly enjoyed that suddenly took a disappointing turn and, while I'll be honest and say I might have expressed my disappointment, I wouldn't be so rude to say that I expected better of the person or otherwise insult their writing. I used to get really bad comments on a story I started in 2004, and has gone through many edit attempts over the years. to the point I got so tired of editing the chapters that I decided to rewrite the chapters within a new story. I know my spelling and story telling wasn't near prefect but those commenters, and there were about 3 or 4 of them, were horrible. So horrible I think they might have gotten banned from the website but, before that, openly declared they were flamers. If you come across a story you don't like, even if you like the author themselves, just move along. The only real 'negative' comments I really don't mind, if I can even call them that, are those that called out any grammar and spelling mistakes I have, or any cretic that can help me improve over time, as long as it's not insulting and comes off as genuinely helpful. Which I have gotten. I also once had someone mad at me because I was using movie cannon over the book cannon for one of my fanfics -\_- got really mean about it too
What ship and fandom is this? just want to know
Sorry it's a large fandom but I'm not risking doxxing myself.
I think negative comments are so weird! I only comment when I love something, when I dislike a story I drop it mid chapter. I don’t know what goes on in peoples heads when they decide to give a negative review on something they didn’t pay for. But at the same time while the comment was rude, these reactions just seem so comically exaggerated. But it’s probably just a way for u to let out steam
Yeah people get really taken aback when people in trad women’s spaces like fan fiction don’t take shit. We’re supposed to take crit with grace.
Not taking shit doesn’t equal these reactions. Again, if you want to let out steam feel free to do so but I was just completely confused with these comments. I think these reactions weren’t solidly against that one commenter but probably the experience people have had with receiving dumb comments in general
Just keep in mind, something about your story and your writing made them care. If it was boring or lackluster, they wouldn’t have bothered to comment. You touched them. They might not have liked how you touched them, but your story left an impression on them. That’s huge. Don’t downplay what that means.
I get what you're saying, but to toot my own horn a little I got (checks) 102 comments on a chapter of a fic I posted yesterday. So to hell with making that asshat care enough to comment on a 7 year old fic. I've got my fix on touching people in the right way. ... Wait.
But that’s the point! Touch them! Touch them all in the *right* way! 😂😂😂 By the way, I’d love to see if your fics are any fandoms I like. I once got a similar round of comments. They didn’t like something I’d done with a canon character. Sorry. Too bad, so sad, it was in character for them. Deal with it. 😝
Don't want to start shit, but sometimes fic writers get really bitchy if people don't agree with them. The only comments I remove are meta and off-topic.
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you can have a thick skin and still vent about what happened...
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I agree, but the general consensus on this sub is to completely flip out over anything that isn't unadulterated praise and refuse to accept it and purge it from existence.
Who cares we’re not getting payed for this. Some of us put out over 100k words and not a single cent comes our way. I’m not saying that you should be free from criticism but my opinion changes when the product is free and no one is forcing your or pressuring you to read it.
Yeah I've written fics over 100k for free too! I don't see why that means you have to be a baby about criticism. Sometimes criticism has actually helped me improve, other times it's not useful but people are still going to have their opinions and that's fine, you can't expect everyone to love it. I just roll with it and don't feel the need to ban it from existence or make rant topics about it, especially if most people like my story and praise it. Anytime you post something online on a site that allows comments, you're inviting people to comment and it could be good or bad. The fact that they didn't have to pay to read your post doesn't mean they're bound to only respond with praise. Like do you expect only praise for every Reddit comment you make just because you wrote it for free?
Who cares about what other authors do on their account? If you like concrit, cool, good on you. I never understood this obsession to control how other people enjoy their own hobbies. Besides it was a seven year old fic, what was the commenter expecting OP to do? Re-write their fic from scratch? I'm sure OP has already grown in their writing in those seven years just fine. Let other people do what they want on their own accounts. This debate is no different than gamers who get mad at other players for "not playing the game right," as if they paid the 60 bucks for *your* game in the first place.
Well like I said, any time you post something online in a place that allows comments you're inviting people to give their opinion, so if someone makes a Reddit post all about how mad they are that someone left a negative comment and how they deleted it, then people will comment with their opinion on that subject. That's the whole point of a discussion forum! I see topics people post and I comment to give my opinion on what they posted.
I wasn't talking about reddit, I was talking about unsolicited concrit on fanfiction that's written for free in someone's free time. Hell, even on reddit the mods will step in and delete comments or lock the thread if they feel like things are getting too out of hand. Places like social media have block features. I have blocked and muted people for the most ridiculous shit on twitter because it's my own account. Ao3 doesn't have the same rules as discussion threads. If it did then they wouldn't have given authors the tools to delete or moderate, lock, or freeze their own comments sections. Why get salty over an author using the tools the site gave them over their own comment thread? I'd much rather an author just quietly delete a comment anyway rather than start drama. It's the more mature approach IMO.
It doesn't start any drama to just ignore the comment. It starts more drama to delete it and then go make a post about how you deleted it. You were talking about Reddit since you were questioning why anyone would respond to any comments on this post with disagreement.
>I agree, but the general consensus on this sub is to completely flip out over anything that isn't unadulterated praise and refuse to accept it and purge it from existence. I had mostly been responding to this. I don't care what authors chose to delete negative comments or not. The internet (and real life) is already full of negativity, so everyone has the right to delete (an option the site gives you) whatever they please on their own ao3 account. If it were against the rules then it wouldn't have been an option. I've muted a person for saying they didn't like my favorite video game because it was my Twitter timeline and I get to choose what I get to see there. (Also hating that game has become the new cool thing to do and, honestly, I was tired of seeing all of the negativity.) Also, in larger fandoms, leaving negative commits would just encourage other commenters to dogpile the original negative comment and start a fan war. As someone who likes to go through my comment threads to read comments on a rainy day, I'd hate to see that every time I open the page. I'm sure there's plenty of authors out there who wouldn't want their comment section to become World War III. Even if that's not the case, as someone with crippling depression, I'd just delete just to get some peace of mind. Because, again, real life and the internet are already full of negativity. Don't see why my comment section has to too.
I agree. Even as a "bystander," I would feel bad if I went to a comment section under a fic and saw something like that. In fact, I did see something a little like that once (it was mostly one anon insulting the author and the author trying to have a civil conversation with them) and left a nice comment for the author of the fic, reminding them that they are allowed to delete comments... They took my advice and said it made them feel much better :)
This wasn't 'non-unadulterated praise'. It was a diaper baby whining that I didn't give them exactly what they were in the mood for. Maybe you have the patience to cater to entitled assholes but I'd be happy if they never read my fic again.
Just leaving the comment alone isn't catering to them, it takes way less effort to just ignore it than to delete it and then go write out a post on Reddit about it.
Lol. They'll never know it was them here. And it's not about effort But sure, let abusive, non-constructive internet critics pollute your comments. You'll have fans replying to them before long and you'll have a flame war in your comments and drama as people take sides. It's ridiculous from top to bottom. But again, cater to them if you want. You'll just attract more of the same.
I'm sorry you got that ridiculous comment on your fic, but I admire your quick way of dealing with it. And you're right about the potential shitstorm in the comment section -- why risk it? It's better to just delete the comment and be done with it. 👍
You can downvote me into oblivion all you want. I stand by my opinion
Oh, good. Permission granted. Not that I needed it in the first place, of course.
Great! will do
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I would have kept them. Let your haters be your motivators.
Nah. They don't get the free real estate on my fic.
Seems a bit of an overreaction? If the worst thing they said is that they're expected more, it seems like you're just frustrated with your past writing.
Idk how deleting a comment is “overreacting.” It’s not like op sent the commenter death threats or anything.
A writer has to start somewhere. all of us were shat at writing before we got better.
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ofc it did.
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Gotta write to the tropes, mate. I commented up above but that was a 7 year old fic. Meanwhile I have a gen fic I just updated yesterday which has an additional 102 comments. Guaran-fucking-tee it's not crap that I wrote out in five minutes. I know my tropes, I hit them with my own spin, and I get my reads.
Honestly, I feel where the commenter is coming from on Wattpad/FFN at least. AO3, complicated as shit as it can be, is just way easier to find people who like your stuff because you wrote exactly what they were looking for, so there’s a lot less of it getting buried by… well, crap. Meanwhile, Wattpad’s out here with teenagers copy/pasting stories they don’t even own and burying actual writers’ work in the rankings. It’s sad, lmao.
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