Mean (maybe misunderstood?) comment

[Arphe]

Hi, I'm new here (Hi again!) I posted a couple of stories so far, and going through the same thing as a lot of other writers here - no comments on either of them.

Today I got my first comment and I was so excited to see the little comment icon. But then I read it, and it's not a nice one, posted anonymously too. I think the commenter must have misunderstood the premise, it's not manipulation through sex like they're so upset about, it really just hot make-up sex after a fight (we should all be so lucky to experience that!) and some raw, unfiltered thoughts from a character.

My question is what should I do about? Delete it, because it is anonymous and kind of harsh? Reply to explain? Or maybe just move on... Any advice would mean a lot.

Edit:

You are all a bunch of lovely, lovely people and inspire me, it is really touching to find such warm and thoughtful replies, thank you! You make me regret I did not had the courage to click publish on my little story a long time ago.

And with that out of the way, I'll say this: now that I've had a bit of time to reflect, the anonymous comment shall stay, it has meaning to the person that posted it, and I don't think it is personal or truly abusive, but directed at the story, which after reading all your comments I've come to appreciate.

 

[OnlyHappyEndings]

You could leave it up. Make a polite reply saying sorry you didn't like the story or maybe didn't understand it. Hope for additional comments to cover up the first. You could do that or something else.

 

[yowser]

Welcome and congratulations on putting your writing out there. Comments are rare, and discussed frequently (see a couple recent threads at https://forum.literotica.com/threads/dealing-with-negative-comments.1621349/ or https://forum.literotica.com/threads/the-frustration-of-no-comments.1624968/).

Advice will likely be all over the map, but negative, often caustic and personal comments, are an unfortunate feature of the landscape, and deleting them is both within your power and a common option.

I wouldn't pay the negative ones, unless they are thoughtful (and indicate the reader actually digested your whole tale) much attention, and regard them as magma seepages from the great internet/social media underworld source of dislike.

 

[TheArsonist]

Think about it: First, what do you want to encourage/discourage in terms of reader response? And second, is this a person you want to have a conversation with?

Maybe you want to discourage comments you find harsh or unfair, or that you feel have misunderstood your story. That's fair enough. But if you do so, you're also discouraging people from giving their honest view (however dumb it is). In fact, I think an unreasonable negative comment is likely to spur people who disagree to post rebuttals, so you're discouraging positive comments as well.

If you do respond, you're encouraging this sort of comment. Maybe that's what you want: maybe any response is better than no response, and you want to talk to that person. But at the same time… isn't it kind of ironic that the Internet has given us the ability to communicate with practically anyone in the world, and for some reason we feel compelled to seek out people we don't like just to argue with them?

So my 2¢: leave the comment up unless it's actually abusive, but don't respond unless you appreciate the comment, think there is some meaningful conversation to be had or something you can learn from the exchange.

And don't allow the comment to live rent free in your head, either. If you don't think it's valid—well, there are a lot of idiots out there, and that's not something you can fix in the comment section of a smut site. Move on.

(Advice that is easier to give than it is to take, I think.)

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Take it as a compliment. They obviously didn't get it, but you moved Anonymous enough that they took the time to write a comment. That means you touched something inside them. Good job.

And FWIW, It's a wonderful little story, and I love how it all plays out in her head, with John just being there and being John. I left a comment, too.

 

[AllenWoody]

I generally leave negative comments up unless I believe they might confuse subsequent readers/reviewers. So for example I’ll leave “Dumb story. Couldn’t get into it.” But if someone writes “For a story that’s obviously about current events you get too much wrong,” I’ll delete it if the story is NOT about current events because I don’t want other readers drawn into that faulty understanding.

 

[SimonDoom]

If I were you, I'd wait. Don't delete anything yet.

I've been doing this for 8 years and have over 2200 comments, but it's taken a while to get there and I still sometimes wonder, where are the comments? You are not alone if you feel like they are in short supply.

The very first comment I got on my first story was critical. I was somewhat taken aback, but the criticism was justified. I just kept moving forward. I've never deleted it.

 

[TheArsonist]

One little thing: I never understood why some people get so hung up on comments being anonymous. Does it matter whether the person who wrote it goes by "Anonymous" or a handle like "TheArsonist"—or even, for some inexplicable reason, their actual legal name? You almost certainly don't know them in any case, so what difference does it make, unless you're being harassed or cyber-stalked?

I say decide whether to delete, ignore or respond to a comment based on its merits, not the signature (or lack thereof).

(Most readers no doubt post as "Anonymous" because they haven't created a LE account. Personally I usually can't be bothered to log in.)

 

[Bamagan]

Hi, I'm new here (Hi again!) I posted a couple of stories so far, and going through the same thing as a lot of other writers here - no comments on either of them.

Today I got my first comment and I was so excited to see the little comment icon. But then I read it, and it's not a nice one, posted anonymously too. I think the commenter must have misunderstood the premise, it's not manipulation through sex like they're so upset about, it really just hot make-up sex after a fight (we should all be so lucky to experience that!) and some raw, unfiltered thoughts from a character.

My question is what should I do about? Delete it, because it is anonymous and kind of harsh? Reply to explain? Or maybe just move on... Any advice would mean a lot.

Replying is often futile, because no alerts are sent, and therefore a conversation is rarely possible unless the commenter is checking back. Such lurking is often (but not always) the sign of a troll looking for a fight, not a dialogue.

If the comment limits its negativity to the story, I'd say leave it. It's more likely to be a genuine critique, even if it's not well thought out or conveyed, and it's possible your story is legitimately ambiguous in a way that makes their misunderstanding honest and understandable. And as others have said, it may even be worth posting a reply comment, if only for the benefit of future readers, to provide a counterpoint. I'd recommend ignoring any hostility if you choose to do that and responding in a more or less neutral tone.

If the comment is mostly just an insult to you, your writing, or your kinks, I'd say delete it. It serves little purpose to give assholes a venue, although as others have mentioned, you might get comments from defenders as well, if that matters to you.

 

[Comshaw]

Hi, I'm new here (Hi again!) I posted a couple of stories so far, and going through the same thing as a lot of other writers here - no comments on either of them.

Today I got my first comment and I was so excited to see the little comment icon. But then I read it, and it's not a nice one, posted anonymously too. I think the commenter must have misunderstood the premise, it's not manipulation through sex like they're so upset about, it really just hot make-up sex after a fight (we should all be so lucky to experience that!) and some raw, unfiltered thoughts from a character.

My question is what should I do about? Delete it, because it is anonymous and kind of harsh? Reply to explain? Or maybe just move on... Any advice would mean a lot.

It all depends on how it affects you and whether or not you can tolerate some of the vile unhinged comments that will be coming. Some people can't tolerate them at all. If you are like that, treat yourself right, delete them and move on.

Other people get pissed at such things and respond to them with a post of their own. For them, it's the right thing to do. The downside is you might be antagonizing a troll who will follow you around and try their damnedest to sabotage your work. Again some people get off on battling the trolls. If you're one of them and it makes you happy to oppose such lowlifes, jump in and go for it.

Or you could leave the comments and look at it this way: If your story is doing well with a fairly high vote and many views, comments like that are entertaining. Why? Simple because they are unhinged and they are on a tirade about something most others find entertaining. Will bad comments cause other readers to avoid your work? Nope. The comments are at the end of the story so the reader most likely will read the story before reading the comments. By the time they get to the end, they have already formed an opinion on whether or not they like it. If they didn't they will agree with the nasty comment. If they did like it they will be angry or at a minimum unsettled because the anon comment trashes something they enjoyed.
It all comes down to how you are going to feel about it. My advise: Do the thing that's best for you.


Comshaw

 

[NotWise]

I'd leave the comment unless it was personally insulting. If you think other readers might have the same misunderstanding then it might make sense to reply with an explanation.

I kinda understand why we want comments, but the unfortunate truth of the matter is that a lot of comments are insulting and/or clueless.

 

[WCSGarland]

When I receive a comment like this:
Why stay with a person that have no grasp at what love is.
It kind of demonstrates that my writing touched the reader and they internalized the character enough to wonder at the motivation of the character.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I'd leave the comment and give it a little thought.
If you think the reader misunderstood what you were trying to accomplish it's worth considering why.
We get so little feedback in the way of comments it can be tough to judge. Some people will jump to the conclusion that our anonymous commenter is an idiot with reading comprehension problems because there is no other possible explanation. In some cases it might be true, but I suspect it generally isn't the case (even in LW).
Examine your story through the lens that they may have a point, what could have led a reader to conclude X instead of Y like I intended?
If there are ways you could improve that, take it as a lesson learned, if there aren't then just move on.

No need to delete a comment unless it's abusive.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I reflect on any constructive criticism. Personal attacks on me as to my writing prowess, I leave. Personal attacks on me as a woman, as a human, or about my morals being that of a character, I generally delete.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My question is what should I do about? Delete it, because it is anonymous and kind of harsh? Reply to explain? Or maybe just move on... Any advice would mean a lot.

Don't bother with a reply. The likelihood of the commenter coming back and seeing it is remote. I made the mistake of doing that in one of my very first stories, and after a month or so I deleted both the comment and my reply, because I was being as petty as they were. The exchange didn't change the story any.

Whether you delete it is up to you. If it shows a scintilla of thought and it's not offensive, I'd leave it. Whether or not it's anonymous is irrelevant - some of the most intelligent and thoughtful comments are from Anons, some of the most stupid and inane are from Account holders.

Comments act as promotion for your story, so there's no benefit in turning them into an on-going battlefield. At the same time, if they add nothing, why keep them? There's no badge of honour in keeping junk comments. Delete is your friend.

 

[Arphe]

Take it as a compliment. They obviously didn't get it, but you moved Anonymous enough that they took the time to write a comment. That means you touched something inside them. Good job.

And FWIW, It's a wonderful little story, and I love how it all plays out in her head, with John just being there and being John. I left a comment, too.

Thank you, so much for the comment, it is pretty much the vibe I was going for! You're awesome!

And I think you're onto something with Anonymous, the story must have struck a chord with them, even if it was the wrong one. If they went through something like what their comment suggests, I'm sorry for bringing those feelings up.

 

[Arphe]

If I were you, I'd wait. Don't delete anything yet.

I've been doing this for 8 years and have over 2200 comments, but it's taken a while to get there and I still sometimes wonder, where are the comments? You are not alone if you feel like they are in short supply.

The very first comment I got on my first story was critical. I was somewhat taken aback, but the criticism was justified. I just kept moving forward. I've never deleted it.

I agree! I'll keep it, and screenshot it too, like some people frame the first dollar they earn - you only get your first comment once

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I agree! I'll keep it, and screenshot it too, like some people frame the first dollar they earn - you only get your first comment once

I don't think anyone wold hold it against you if you wanted to screen shot your first TWO comments...

 

[Arphe]

I don't think anyone wold hold it against you if you wanted to screen shot your first TWO comments...

Oh absolutely, how did I miss this!!! You only get your first kind, insightful, encouraging comment once

 

[ronde]

Leave it there, think about it, and wait. As soon as you've written a few stories and developed a following, you'll find that the readers who like your work will often correct the bad comments because they understand what you were writing.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Hi @Arphe, and welcome. I'll just echo what else has been said about comments.

Just for your benefit, it's worth adding a link to your stories in your signature. Click on your name top right, then signature. You can see the result in some of the other replies - unless you're on a phone.

 

[Arphe]

Hi @Arphe, and welcome. I'll just echo what else has been said about comments.

Just for your benefit, it's worth adding a link to your stories in your signature. Click on your name top right, then signature. You can see the result in some of the other replies - unless you're on a phone.

Will do, thanks for the idea!