Annoying Anonymous Comments

[DownBadForAnything]

Not sure if this is common or not, but as a new author on this site, plenty of my stories have gotten comments that seem to just be ignorant.

One of them stated how my story wasn't real. Well, yeah, it's a fantasy; if you want to read something real, go watch a documentary.

Another comment stated how they gave a 1-star vote simply because the story only had one part and they wanted more. The story was published 3 days ago! It's going to take me some time to keep going.

How do you deal with all these ignorant people? I appreciate all criticism good and bad, but these dumb useless comments are so off-putting.

 

[ElectricBlue]

How do you deal with all these ignorant people? I appreciate all criticism good and bad, but these dumb useless comments are so off-putting.

Delete the comments. You're under no obligation to keep all comments, there's no prize for keeping a collection of inane comments, and the site gives you the ability to curate comments, so use it.

 

[Carson19820]

You can also set to not allow anonymous comments or no comments at all.

 

[PennyThompson]

You can also set to not allow anonymous comments or no comments at all.

Hmm are you sure you can just turn off anonymous comments? I don't see that as a setting anywhere, only turning all comments on or off

aaannnyways! On several occasions @pink_silk_glove has said something to the effect of (and I hope I don't butcher the intent, here): Readers don't want to read your story, they want to read their story, and they get mad if you deviate from their expectations.

Personally I don't believe that's true for all readers, not even most readers! But it's definitely true for some readers, and those are the ones that will leave comments like that, which seem to be talking about things that don't actually exist in your story. It's because they've got their own version of your story in their head.

I think all you can do is understand and remind yourself that when you get a comment like that, it's from a person who is in conversation with something that isn't real

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hmm are you sure you can just turn off anonymous comments? I don't see that as a setting anywhere, only turning all comments on or off

Correct. You can turn comments on or off, but there's no selection button for anonymous/account name.

If I did have the choice (which I don't), I'd never turn anons off. Some of the most perceptive and intelligent comments have been anon.

aaannnyways! On several occasions @pink_silk_glove has said something to the effect of (and I hope I don't butcher the intent, here): Readers don't want to read your story, they want to read their story, and they get mad if you deviate from their expectations.

Personally I don't believe that's true for all readers, not even most readers! But it's definitely true for some readers, and those are the ones that will leave comments like that, which seem to be talking about things that don't actually exist in your story. It's because they've got their own version of your story in their head.

This is true at times, but for me, readers like that are the exception. I used to reply, "I'm sorry you didn't like the story I wrote, it not being the story you wanted. Here's your money back." But then I realised they'd never come back and see my retort, so I stopped doing that. I nearly always leave the comment as is - the single negative is invariably outweighed by multiple positives.

I think all you can do is understand and remind yourself that when you get a comment like that, it's from a person who is in conversation with something that isn't real

I've had a couple of people ask, "But what about the husband (or wife), what happened to him (or her)?" to which I reply, "They might be the subject of some other story, but not this one." I rarely if ever write about infidelity, but occasionally it's implied. I tend to leave marital status unstated.

 

[ICantLeafYou]

I post pics and GIFs of myself on the forums as well as stories on the other side of Lit. Recently had an anon person follow me from the forums and comment on a story that I'm too ugly and fat to fuck even with a bag over my head.

I will note, I reported the comment to admins after which I wasn't able to delete it myself/it wasn't showing the comment management page for that story but it still now shows on the comments page for the story.

I just tried reporting that comment again to ask for it to be deleted, but it says it can't submit the report so it's... there forever?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I post pics and GIFs of myself on the forums as well as stories on the other side of Lit. Recently had an anon person follow me from the forums and comment on a story that I'm too ugly and fat to fuck even with a bag over my head.

I will note, I reported the comment to admins after which I wasn't able to delete it myself/it wasn't showing the comment management page for that story but it still now shows on the comments page for the story.

I just tried reporting that comment again to ask for it to be deleted, but it says it can't submit the report so it's... there forever?

Can't you delete the comment yourself?

That's a bit wrong, if reporting the comment takes away your right to delete it.

Maybe you should try again, deleting the comment?

 

[ICantLeafYou]

Can't you delete the comment yourself?

That's a bit wrong, if reporting the comment takes away your right to delete it.

Maybe you should try again, deleting the comment?

It doesn't show up on the page for deleting comments, though. Every other comment on that story is on that page, I have the option to delete them. But this one comment just isn't listed there. It's very odd.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It doesn't show up on the page for deleting comments, though. Every other comment on that story is on that page, I have the option to delete them. But this one comment just isn't listed there. It's very odd.

Reporting a comment must put an embargo on it. I'd PM Laurel, and ask for it to be deleted.

When a comment is reported, my understanding is, the site will look elsewhere for the same account name to see if there's a malicious pattern of behaviour. Generally speaking, junk comments are setting up for spam. That's the site's primary concern.

A long time ago now, the site almost ground to a halt with a huge spam attack in Comments, which is why the screening process was introduced.

It's not to vet Comment content (as some people seem to think), but to remove spam and links from the Comments stream. That's also why newbie comments take longer to post - they go into a batch to be checked. Once you're a "trusted" commenter, your comments post immediately.

 

[lovecraft68]

Not sure if this is common or not, but as a new author on this site, plenty of my stories have gotten comments that seem to just be ignorant.

One of them stated how my story wasn't real. Well, yeah, it's a fantasy; if you want to read something real, go watch a documentary.

Another comment stated how they gave a 1-star vote simply because the story only had one part and they wanted more. The story was published 3 days ago! It's going to take me some time to keep going.

How do you deal with all these ignorant people? I appreciate all criticism good and bad, but these dumb useless comments are so off-putting.

Those comments aren't really all that bad, wait until you see some of the real nastiness people here-almost always anon-dole out.

As others have said you can remove the comment without help from the site.

I do like to mention that removing comments, especially ones that aren't all that nasty, is seen as a win for these people, and personally I leave them there and won't give them the satisfaction of thinking they get to me. Also, as you build a base here its amusing when they leave something crappy and your fans call them out on it.

No right or wrong way to handle this, just what's right and wrong for you.

 

[DownBadForAnything]

Those comments aren't really all that bad, wait until you see some of the real nastiness people here-almost always anon-dole out.

As others have said you can remove the comment without help from the site.

I do like to mention that removing comments, especially ones that aren't all that nasty, is seen as a win for these people, and personally I leave them there and won't give them the satisfaction of thinking they get to me. Also, as you build a base here its amusing when they leave something crappy and your fans call them out on it.

No right or wrong way to handle this, just what's right and wrong for you.

Thank you! It was a bit of an overreaction on my part, but I know that I can't please everyone. Writing stories is a passion of mine and I'll continue to do so and keep my head held high

 

[je71sox]

Not sure if this is common or not, but as a new author on this site, plenty of my stories have gotten comments that seem to just be ignorant.

One of them stated how my story wasn't real. Well, yeah, it's a fantasy; if you want to read something real, go watch a documentary.

Another comment stated how they gave a 1-star vote simply because the story only had one part and they wanted more. The story was published 3 days ago! It's going to take me some time to keep going.

How do you deal with all these ignorant people? I appreciate all criticism good and bad, but these dumb useless comments are so off-putting.

I try to ignore the trolls

 

[DownBadForAnything]

I try to ignore the trolls

I should do the same haha

 

[je71sox]

I should do the same haha

They are a pain. I think they want us to react, why give them that.

 

[SmokingFap]

I post pics and GIFs of myself on the forums as well as stories on the other side of Lit. Recently had an anon person follow me from the forums and comment on a story that I'm too ugly and fat to fuck even with a bag over my head.

I will note, I reported the comment to admins after which I wasn't able to delete it myself/it wasn't showing the comment management page for that story but it still now shows on the comments page for the story.

I just tried reporting that comment again to ask for it to be deleted, but it says it can't submit the report so it's... there forever?

Considering you have one of the two most beautiful pussies on here, I say just forget 'em.

 

[SmokingFap]

Thank you! It was a bit of an overreaction on my part, but I know that I can't please everyone. Writing stories is a passion of mine and I'll continue to do so and keep my head held high

Unless you're trying to make money from your writing, just write exactly what you want. Some people will absolutely love it, others may hate it, but at least you'll enjoy writing it.