#COMMENTS

[maaikeatthefullmoon]

Comments are EVERYTHING and we adore you for leaving them. Please don’t ever feel you’re annoying or that your comments have no value. They do. We love and appreciate you SO FUCKING MUCH.

I just want to talk about the power of commenting on fics for a minute.

I have my main fandom, but when I read in other fandoms, I don't know many of the writers. So I usually just find fics by looking through the tag I want. And if it's a tag I'm really interested in, I'll read every fic in the tag. And if there's a fic I really liked in there, I'll start reading everything by that writer.

So what this means is I'm sometimes reading fics or writers that don't have tons of hits/kudos/comments on their fics, but I found them through some obscure tag I wanted to read. And so I'll get back some really incredibly sweet replies to my comments.

But then, something even more incredible started happening. I'd be reading WIPs by some of these writers and they'd literally start writing the rest of the fic for me. They started asking me what I hoped to see happen or if I had any requests. And when the fic was finished, one of them said the only reason they kept writing the fic was for me.

Sometimes there can be such a lovely connection between the writer and the reader just because you decided to leave a comment. And sometimes you as the commenting reader can become the lone reason why a fic makes its way into the world for all the other readers who come after you.

[silence-between-seconds]

the next time you hesitate to leave a comment on a fic remember that I go back and read all the comments I get on my fic whenever I'm feeling down and it makes me feel so much better

if you leave nice comments on ao3 i love you

[buginateacup]

Every single fic update there is an author trying frantically to find the right balance between a nonchalant aside of "leave a comment if you enjoyed =)" and clinging desperately to the coat tails of a random stranger, dragging along behind them on the street wailing "Please, please! I have to know what you thought! I'm desperate to talk to people about this! Ask me about the alliterative repetition! Ask me about the symbolism!"

[superbowlsunday]

comment on the new ghostbusters redlettermedia video

[karanseraph]

I don't think I even have enough readers that anyone is discussing my fics on Discord (unless occasionally wondering why something from 10 or more years ago is unfinished).

But I also have not personally been on a Discord where we're discussing someone else's fics.

So, I feel cut off or the wrong age for whatever this part of fandom participation is.

So I can only guess...

Maybe there's some amount of making fun of the fics that wouldn't be appropriate for comments viewed by the author??

But also, maybe some readers *are* leaving comments and then also discussing on Discord??

"should we tell authors on ao3 when we have discord conversations about their fics" i don't speak for everyone here but if y'all ever find a group chat discussing my fics you can should must and WILL send me screenshots of the whole damn thing. inflate my ego. gimme

[silver104]

yeah sex is cool I guess

but have you ever had someone leave a comment with a paragraph-long review of your fanfic containing genuine praise, thorough criticism, and an in-depth analysis of all the lore hints you dropped that you spent ages intricately crafting

[beadyeyes]

[theliteraryluggage]

Had to share this here because you're right and you should say it. It's incredible how many people came out of the woodwork as soon as AO3 was down and suddenly had no compunctions at all about screaming how much they love and need fanfic--on the AO3 twitter. Is it so much harder to do in the comment section?

At this point I don't care anymore if people call me entitled or think I'm out of line. If fanfic is so meaningful to you that you cannot go half an hour without, let alone 24h, then you can get over yourself long enough to write a fucking comment. No excuses.

"writing comments is hard and scary" yeah well GUESS WHAT so is writing fanfics. fandom as a community is dying, because it is instead treated as a COMMODITY, a CONSUMER PRODUCT. We're not asking for much. We're asking for a CONNECTION. We don't want to sell, we want to share.

You've shown your hand. You've admitted you cannot live without us. Now ACT LIKE IT. Go write a fucking comment.

[accessible-tumbling]

ID: A screenshot of a comment by @spookykobold reading: "switching to your vagina is faster than reloading"

End ID.

[hjbender]

I keep getting comments on WIPs from readers—some who are registered AO3 users—expressing some form of “I like this story and check regularly for updates”. I don’t know if this is a permutation of “I can’t wait for an update” or if people genuinely don’t know about AO3’s Subscribe button.

Subscribing to a story automatically sends an email notification to the subscriber whenever the story is updated.

I don’t want to seem patronizing by mentioning subscriptions, but I also don’t want readers to be working so hard keeping up with a fic when there’s an easier solution. Or am I taking a compliment too literally?

(Please reblog for farther reach)

[cursedpinterest]

[minionresearch]

[simsloveaffairreblogs]

Love this! Very well said!

I think it's time to stop shaming creators for wanting acknowledgement or recognition and for wanting to be seen. It's not wrong or shameful for someone to want external validation when they share something they've made. We share things because we want others to see, and if it appears that no one does, then that can be demotivating and defeating and doesn't encourage more creativity at the end of the day.

But a lot of people are preaching the "do it for yourself" gospel, and part of that is gaslighting people into thinking that if they seek any kind of external validation whatsoever for their creation, then their motivation is wrong, which in turn is the reason for their dissatisfaction.

It's a whole other story if somebody's sole motivation is to create content for public consumption just to become popular or internet famous, or to go viral. I'm not talking about those people. I'm talking about authentic creators who struggle with feeling unseen in online spaces as well as being invisible everywhere offline too. People who don't feel they're being acknowledged in their real, offline lives will sometimes seek acknowledgement from "their people", i.e. people in online communities who share many of the same interests as them.

While I agree that the first and foremost reason for creating something should be the creator's own desire and motivation to create the thing, it's not as simple as that. None of us creates in a vacuum. None of us can thrive indefinitely on our own ideas or subsist indefinitely on only self-validation. People do need encouragement from others and at least the sense that they're not simply tossing their creations into an empty void when sharing them. It's okay to want commentary and feedback. It's natural to want that, and it's natural to need it.

No one should get to tell anyone else that wanting external validation is wrong, because it isn't. No one should get to tell anyone they should be ashamed of seeking attention or validation. No one should be shamed for wanting someone to pay attention to their creation.

[starcloudedsky]

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

how to ask / motivate your favorite fanfic writers to post new works / update a new chapter WITHOUT rushing them or sounding entitled and rude;

don’t comment “when” or “will there be a next chapter” or “will you continue this?” quite frankly, these type of comments can sound like you’re demanding from your favorite writer, even if it may not be your intention.

if you’d love a sequel or are wondering when or if the fic will be updated, try something like “I love this so much!” *bonus if you explain why you love the fic or what you love about it* and then add something along the line of “if there’s a part 2 of this, I would be so excited / would absolutely love to read it!”

the trick is to avoid a blunt question like “will there be a part 2?” or “it’s been so long. when will you update?” etc.

honestly, DON’T ever comment something like “it’s been ___ months, ___ years” or “I don’t think the author will continue this lol” that’s one of the most effective ways to make sure your favorite author doesn’t come back to your favorite fic, and it’s just so… dishearteningly rude.

it doesn’t matter if it’s been months or years since the author’s last update, demanding and rushing them will most likely NOT give you the result you want.

reminder that fanfic authors are humans with lives and jobs outside of writing fanfiction, especially when fanfic is something they do in their free time out of love and passion, and you — the reader — get to read their works for free.

rushing and demanding will only make it sound like ‘a task that needs to get done’ for your favorite author, and it sucks out the joy of writing out of love and passion. it can be so discouraging for the authors.

fanfic authors don’t owe you anything.

even if they completely abandon the fic, it still doesn’t give you the right to be rude to them or to ask why they stopped writing or to coerce them into giving you what you want.

I can never say this enough; fanfic authors write in their free time, FOR FREE, out of love and passion. and you get to read their works FOR FREE because they’re kind enough to share their love for their comfort characters with you.

they don’t owe you anything.

it’s okay if you’re wondering when or if they’ll post something new, but it’s not okay to rush or demand from them.

comments are mostly what motivate authors into writing faster, so if you want your favorite authors to post more, comment about what you love about their works, express your gratitude to them for giving you these amazing fics for free, but don’t be an entitled reader by rushing or directly asking when they’ll update.

let’s keep fandom space safe and comforting for both writers and readers.