InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I just hate people."

doro_chan (rood) wrote,
@ 2008-03-21 21:07:00

Current location:	Leipzig
Current mood:	depressed
Entry tags:	fandom, internet, language: english, meta

Meta Friday
Confessions of a Reader

As some of you might have noticed, I don't comment much. On anything. I know that this is generally considered to be a bad thing in fandom, but I can't help it. I just refuse to comment when all I have to say is "Well, it was good", because for some reason people don't appreciate comments like that. I've often been told that I am just not enthusiastic enough when I try to tell people that their stuff was... well, good.

Another reason why I don't comment much is that most of the time, I simply don't have anything to say. Yes, really. It's nothing personal, I just can't come up with something witty or thoughtful enough to add to what you, dear reader, already said in your post. So don't feel insulted if I don't reply to your posts most of the time.

I guess this is the reason why I always feel slightly insulted when people de-friend me because I didn't comment enough. I can understand it if you de-friend me because you're not interested in reading my journal, God knows I don't write nearly as much as I would like to, but because I don't comment? Sorry, I just don't understand it. But maybe that's because I don't expect anyone to comment on my journal, friend or not.

And even though I do write, I still spend most of my time online as a reader. A reader who is not worth much, in the eyes of some, because I don't comment. So I have a proposition for you: If you want to know if I read your story/entry/whatever, and if you're a paid user, why not put a poll at the end of the post, asking your readers if they read it, and if they liked it or disliked it, while still encouraging them to comment?

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

swtalmnd
2008-03-22 12:57 am UTC (link)

Here from

metametameta.

I think that "Well, it was good" is really a very mixed-message comment, I'm sorry. The "well" at the beginning implies a tone of voice that's just really, um, unimpressed to say the least. Have you tried finding a different standard that isn't quite so dry? "This was good, I enjoyed it," would be an excellent comment to me, and mean the same thing (I hope), without that sense that what you're really saying is, "Well, it was good, but so what?"

As for the rest, as someone who reads about 1/4 of my actual flist because of porn-locking issues, I'm definitely one of those who filters for boredom rather than lack of commentary -- and on the other side of the coin, someone with whom I have a lot of dialog isn't necessarily someone I'm going to go read, if their journal is boring. But that's a matter of style -- some people want a dialog with all of their friends, and that's their prerogative. For everyone who reads like me, there's a million people that read in a dozen filters, or one big swath, or once a month, or not at all. I just try not to be offended when my commenting or writing style doesn't meet up to whatever that other person's standards are for a good experience -- and sometimes I even succeed. ;)

(Reply to this)

(Read comments) -