InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "dude, wheres my car"

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?

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here from meta friday

shellydkitty
2008-03-22 04:42 am UTC (link)

I have to agree with a commenter above me that the example you used "Well, that was good" sort of seems negative to me as well. I think, too, that it's the 'Well' in the beginning of the sentence that makes it sound like the tone is slightly sarcastic or implies "it could have been better." A simple declaration of enjoyment like the example "I enjoyed this." or "This is good!" would please me greatly if it was a comment to one of my stories.

I have to say that as a writer, I enjoy each and everyone of the comments I get, even if its short or just says, "Aww, cute!" But I remember I used to be very shy in leaving comments myself when I couldn't figure out what to say, or articulate even why I enjoyed a particular fic or even a piece of art. It wasn't until I started writing and posting that writing online that I got better at commenting.

But as far as regular journal entries, I sometimes have no time to comment at all because I can barely keep up with my flist. I read everything, but yeah, sometimes I just run out of time, so I certainly understand when people on my flist don't comment to all of my entries in return. I also remember being a very shy commenter period, so I would never cut someone off my flist if they didn't comment enough. I don't necessarily always add people back in the first place though, unless I know them or they do comment once to say, Hi, I'm suchandsuch and I'm friending you because I enjoy reading your journal--or something similar to that.

Anyway, long story short, I'm sorry that people de-friend you because of your lack of commenting. I don't think that's cool at all. :/

As far as the poll idea goes, I put a hit counter on my fics so I can see if they're being read or not, and that helps me feel better even if there are a lack of comments. As far as my regular entries are concerned, I just don't worry about it. I realize that people have lives and don't always have time to comment on my entries and stuff. I definitely don't get upset about it.

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