What's with authors not accepting comments or feedback?

[sr71plt]

Fine for you. And fine for any author contributing for free here who thinks otherwise. As you posted before, they don't owe the readers space to slam their stories and/or them personally in some Internet game through their stories.

 

[TxRad]

However, you refer to the comments these writers received as a "hassle" which implies they are some form of annoyance (in other words, it was a bother).

Allowing someone to vent when it's convenient to you isn't expressing how hardened you are...

There are two other websites that I have posted my works on, one artistic and the other written. The artistic website I did turn off the alerts to the comments but I didn't turn off the comments. I think it puts out a very negative statement about yourself when you stop people from commenting, at all.

The only time I turned off comments globally was when my dad died on my birthday a couple years ago, but I posted that was the reason and after a set time opened them up again.

Either you really don't have a clue or you like yanking peoples chains. Maybe hassle was a poor choice of words. Try distraction they neither want or need. I've never turned comments off and have only deleted a handful over the years. Instead of being thin skinned, some authors just don't care what anyone has to say.

As SR posted, this is a free site. Go try to comment on a mainstream story. How do you do that? E-mails and letters are about the only way. My publisher has a young lady that collects the e-mails, goes through them, deletes the junk, and sends me the rest. The same goes for letters, which come in two bundles. One bundle is marked interesting and the other is marked with a question mark.

The guy who started this thread is a shirt stirrer and you're just helping the cause.

 

[NotWise]

Shouldn't this conversation be on the AH?

 

[lovecraft68]

Shouldn't this conversation be on the AH?

Not sure about that. The topic of the thread is accepting comments and feedback so it could be seen as relevant here.

 

[Tigersman]

critique

Some authors don't like to have their stories critiqued. They are quite happy with misspelled words, with poor grammar and punctuation, not to mention using the wrong character name.

 

[oggbashan]

Some authors don't like to have their stories critiqued. They are quite happy with misspelled words, with poor grammar and punctuation, not to mention using the wrong character name.

And some of us aren't happy with those mistakes, and appreciate having them pointed out to us.

But that's not what the discussion is about. Some comments are NOT constructive, NOT genuine comment about whether the story is good or not, but are personal attacks on the author.

If an author wants to turn off comments they can. Personally, I would not, but I can understand why some would want to stop the abuse.

I find it less understandable to not want comments at all if there have been no attacks, but that is the author's choice.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I find it less understandable to not want comments at all if there have been no attacks, but that is the author's choice.

If there's one thing I've learned from browsing the Literotica archive, it's that other people's preferences are weird and inexplicable.

(Except for the ones who upvote my stories, obviously.)

 

[oggbashan]

If there's one thing I've learned from browsing the Literotica archive, it's that other people's preferences are weird and inexplicable.

(Except for the ones who upvote my stories, obviously.)

When I post a story I never know what the response will be. Some are liked more than I thought they would be, some are hated, and they comments and votes rarely match my own opinion of that story.

If a premise works for an individual, that is great, but more often it doesn't.

 

[PennLady]

*looks around* was this addressed to me or the person behind me? When did I say "I owned this site" or "the admin doesn't have the right"?

It was a general "you."

Look, don't get me wrong, I understand. You all have friends who have been hurt by common-tators. You think the big bad wulf is saying things that will hurt their feewwings. So you are trying to protect them by saying "it isn't weakness." It's my pathological sense to not feel sympathy for people in such an instance.

Um, no. That's not it at all. On this site people are not required to allow feedback. If they choose not to, then they do. It indicates nothing except they made this choice. And although I've encountered the odd story that doesn't allow votes or feedback, I don't have any friends who do that.

Do I think they should have the right to turn off comments taken away from them?
NO. I didn't say that. Nor did I say it's wrong to hide from common-tators.

I didn't say that you said any of that.

If a person wasn't truly concerned or they were confident in their writing abilities, then they wouldn't turn them off comments, they would ignore them.

Well, that's your opinion, and that's fine. I disagree, and that's fine.

 

[LWulf]

Um, no. That's not it at all. On this site people are not required to allow feedback. If they choose not to, then they do. It indicates nothing except they made this choice. And although I've encountered the odd story that doesn't allow votes or feedback, I don't have any friends who do that.

What you seem to be missing is that you have to go out of your way to turn off comments because they are automatically on to begin with.

I'll say it again. If someone wasn't truly interested in comments, then they wouldn't even notice that there is an on/off switch. That they go out of their way to turn it off, to me says they are trying to hide from common-taters.

I didn't say that you said any of that.

I didn't say you did either. It was just a generally implied you.

Now unless someone has something more interesting to say than "I think you're wrong" I'll consider my part in this conversation done.

 

[SlightlyGone]

What you seem to be missing is that you have to go out of your way to turn off comments because they are automatically on to begin with.

I'll say it again. If someone wasn't truly interested in comments, then they wouldn't even notice that there is an on/off switch. That they go out of their way to turn it off, to me says they are trying to hide from common-taters.


I didn't say you did either. It was just a generally implied you.

Do you really think you have something that's so important that it needs to be heard by someone who doesn't care what you think of their story?

My guess is they know there will be people who like it or dislike it, but they don't need people telling them how to write & what to write.

If you're doing it for fun, why put yourself through the sometimes weird praises from people jerking off to what you put on paper/the screen.

 

[LWulf]

Do you really think you have something that's so important that it needs to be heard by someone who doesn't care what you think of their story?

Do you think your comment is really that important for me to reply to?

 

[SlightlyGone]

Do you think your comment is really that important for me to reply to?

Well you did, even it was to answer a question with a question.

 

[Sammael Bard]

Really annoying, when you get to the end of a story (good or bad) and can't post a comment or at least send feedback to the author.

Thoughts?

Maybe they don't care what you think about their story. Maybe, they've heard so much from self-attested reviewers, that they really don't care about what any of the one-handed audience thinks about their writing.

Or maybe, they've found that happy space and peace of writing perspective, that they really, really don't care what you think about their story.

There are lots of possible cases, any of which shouldn't be your business. They have the right to do whatever the F they want with their story. They are the contributors, not you.

Besides, there are a lot of things to be annoyed about right now other than not being able to comment on smut writing. Global warming, terrorists and Donald Trump are just a few of those.

 

[Beaver_Grizzly]

Hey Samantha Butthurt, pull you panties out of your gash...

 

[GoldenCojones]

So everyone here has hashed and rehashed this, but there is another possible reason an author might choose to turn off comments.

When you post a story it clearly says

As the author of this submission, you are responsible for moderating the public comment board.

Some authors may actually take this seriously and do not want to assume that responsibility. Therefore, so that they do not have to do the work of moderating the comments, they turn them off QED.

The author is not receiving any financial compensation for posting a story. He should not be required to perform a service to do so. On this site he isn't required to perform the service. Instead he has the right to turn off comments. I think it is a good solution all the way around.

 

[sr71plt]

Although I haven't turned my comments off, often when there is a negative point that I think is legitimate it becomes a "so what?" without followup. My short stories at Literotica are an "end of the line" posting. I've usually already had them in the paying marketplace and this is the last place I put them. I'm not going to rework them here on a free-read/no compensation site for some sort of minor issue or for some commenter who doesn't like them for reasons of their own. (I don't get a lot of negative comments on my stories, though. The most irritating comments I get are meant to be the favorable "can't wait for the next chapter" comments. There's rarely going to be a next chapter. They are short stories, not multiple generation epics).

I see those who tear someone's story apart in an extensive critique in comments directly on the story as "look at how smart I am" grandstanders--often without a legitimate point to begin with. The ones truly wanting to be helpful (and even these are vigilantes operating on the wrong kind of story site, I think) will send their critiques privately and then should be prepared to legitimately be told to "fuck off," if the author hasn't asked for critique.

 

[Learin]

Hey Samantha Butthurt, pull you panties out of your gash...

Typical.

 

[tw_holt]

The only thing that makes me wonder about people who shut off the comments is why post your stories on a public forum if you don't want to hear what people think? May as well just leave them on your PC.

Unless they just go by votes as an indication of what people think?

I've seen stories with everything turned off, makes me wonder what's the point? Is it just knowing people must have read it?

Probably. Maybe it's a form of literary exhibitionism. They don't need/want comments from a stranger. The thought that someone out there is reading their story, getting turned on, touching themself is enough for them.
Or maybe people are reading it and hating it. In the end it doesn't matter. The story is published and freed from the author's mind.

 

[SlightlyGone]

Probably. Maybe it's a form of literary exhibitionism. They don't need/want comments from a stranger. The thought that someone out there is reading their story, getting turned on, touching themself is enough for them.
Or maybe people are reading it and hating it. In the end it doesn't matter. The story is published and freed from the author's mind.

Like confessional or therapy ... though I'd be creeped out if if my priest or therapist was jerking it to my admissions.

 

[sr71plt]

Probably. They don't need/want comments from a stranger. The thought that someone out there is reading their story . . . is enough for them.

Yep, this (as abridged) is one explanation, I think. While noting that I have comments turned on, I, for one, section the comments. I'm quite happy to see readers' responses on the content of the stories. I have little use for their writing critiques. I've been at this too long to give much credence on how to write to strangers on a free-use Internet site. This is how I write for fun; I'm not shooting for a Pulitzer Prize--and much of the critiquing I see here flies in the face of what I've learned from many decades of writing and selling it anyway.

 

[YDB95]

One other thing to keep in mind is that it's easier than you think to accidentally click "no" on the "allow public comments" option when submitting your story. I did that on my Valentine's Day story, and figured out why only after a few days of getting comments by e-mail but not a single vote or comment on the site. Whoops.

 

[oggbashan]

This comment (on my April Fool contest story Femdom Makeover is the type that sometimes makes people think of not accepting comment.

Weird......just weird.
03/01/16 By: Anonymous
How does one use an artificial womb to hypnotize another? And what was the dildo probe all about? Oh, I get that it was her link the the artificial womb, but WHY?
You can't simply assert some pointless, fantastic (as in incomprehensible) thing or technology, without giv no us a reason to accept it, suspend disbelief long enough to get the story.
Oh, and let's not forget that the unlawful improsonment is with drugs and constraints, in most civilized regions a felony. It would not matter that he signed a form relinquishing control to his wife, if she then acted against his best interest (and make no mistake, the entire treatment was).
Then citing his cooperative demeanor as proof of his love is tantamount to saying that the dog you beat for weeks has to love you, because it obeys you......until one day, it turns on you and bites your arm off.
Think about it.
So, this one was kinda icky.

There is no point in me responding as a comment, and I have no other way on contacting an anonymous. The style suggests that this anon doesn't like femdom in any form because I (and others) have had similiar long comments before.

What I might have responded, if I could, would be something like this:

1. The title including 'Femdom' should have suggested that some form of control is involved, as should the category 'Mind Control'.

2. The artificial womb? OK, I have made it look like a womb but it is really a sensory deprivation tank - technology that has existed for years if not decades and was featured in Tom Clancy's book Cardinal of the Kremlin. That technology is used for brainwashing and 're-education', so is ideal for mind control. The connection to his wife and the shape, as a womb, is intended to make him believe that SHE is depriving him of sensation and overwhelming him.

3. Unlawful imprisonment? Come on! Most BDSM stories on Literotica include that, as do many mainstream novels involving kidnap. Literotica is a site for fiction, fantasy, imagination. Why should all stories obey the law? Not all real people do.

4. Citing his cooperative demeanour? 'the dog you beat for weeks'? I made it clear that the wife used her mind control very rarely, only on the first days, and for unimportant matters. She DID NOT order him to change his mind about moving house with her. He did that himself, perhaps thinking that she could order him, but it was something he really wanted to do, but couldn't take that step into the unknown.

BUT - I'm not going to delete that comment because anonymous has obviously read the story thoroughly and has taken time to explain his (I assume his) reaction in detail. I think anon is wrong and has his own preconceptions of what a story should be, but I am grateful for the effort taken to comment.

What do you think?

 

[JamesRTickit]

The reason

Really annoying, when you get to the end of a story (good or bad) and can't post a comment or at least send feedback to the author.

Thoughts?

There are a whole bunch of "Anon y mouses" on Lit who hide away and simply take the piss.
I have advise a number of British writers to move off here for that reason.

 

[sr71plt]

What do you think?

I think that this was an "in faith" critique of the story based on reading it--even if you think the commenter just didn't "get what" you were writing and not in the realm of the nasty comments that warrant deleting or turning off all comments. I think it would be appropriate for you to respond with the explanations you've given here in your own comment on the story.