#comment on fanfiction!

[freyjaprompts24]

I'm sorry but my comments is generic and if that makes me look like a bot then I may as well stop. Because I do not have the mental capacity to think up something unique for every comment I write, or to try and recall what line I liked or something about a character. I just want to give the writer the added encouragement when I read, usually re-read and therefore can't leave kudos, but that is unwelcome now I guess.

Hi anon. I'm sorry you feel that way, but that's not what was said. You don't have to leave something unique for every comment you write! You don't have to try and recall anything complex if you can't! We're not expecting complete originality - of course not! And no comment is unwelcome. We just want to know you're not a bot.

What I said was, word for word:

Readers: if you comment like this usually, add in some identifying detail from the fic (a character name, a line you liked, the name of the fandom, etc.). Don't let this stop you from commenting, please!

What this means is:

Write the comment exactly the way you would normally. Then, if you want to, before you hit post, add in one identifying detail. Even by tacking it on the end, if you like.

(Pro tip: Ought always implies Can. What that means is, if something says 'do this' and your response is 'I can't', then that suggestion wasn't for you.)

Examples using modified versions of the comments from the original post:

Fantastic story! I couldn't stop reading it, and the character development was incredibly engaging, especially for [Crowley]. Bravo!

The way you describe the settings is incredibly vivid. I felt like I was right there with [Aziraphale and Anathema], experiencing everything. Fantastic writing!

The dialogue in this fic is so natural and true to the characters. It felt like I was eavesdropping on their conversations, especially the [dolphins] one. You've captured their voices perfectly.

Or alternatively, add one of these onto whatever you wrote otherwise:

(Not a bot, btw. Thanks for writing for the [Good Omens] fandom!)

My favourite line was "[pasted line you highlighted and copied while reading]".

The [Good Omens] fandom is so lucky to have you!

I love [Madame Tracy] so much!!!

(The bits in bold are my additions to the originals. You would just swap out the [bracketed] sections for the identifying detail relevant to the fic. Very minimal changes to the comments as they existed, but immediately more personal.)

That's it! That's all that was suggested.

Again, suggested. Sorry if you thought anything else, but this is fandom and everything you do here is completely up to you. This is advice! It's not compulsory! Not mandatory! Not essential! Just a nice idea to stop a writer from worrying that you're a bot and fearing that their fic was just scraped for an ai.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again - if you don't have the energy for actual sentences, that's fine!! Emojis are a fantastic way of getting your emotions across, and the bots aren't using them yet. They also appear to be going for dictionary words, so keyboard smashes ("asdfghjkl") and extended screaming ("aaaaahhhhh oh my goddddd") are also great! As are "extra kudos" or "came back for a re-read, thank you again!" or "re-read number five, this fic is incredible" or whatever else. We're not expecting essays. (They're appreciated when they show up, of course! But never expected.) We just want to know there's a real person there.

Anon, I'm sorry you feel dispirited by my comment on that post. But I hope this makes it clear that you're not required to do anything at all if you really don't want to. It was just a simple idea to help someone out. I (and others in the notes on that post) thought it would just be a nice gesture to save an author from stress, if you can.

Please keep commenting. If you don't have the mental capacity to change what you're doing, then don't. But if you do, adding just a couple of words can make all the difference.

[freyjaprompts24]

Readers: if you comment like this usually, add in some identifying detail from the fic (a character name, a line you liked, the name of the fandom, etc.). Don't let this stop you from commenting, please!

Writers: unfortunately I think the best way to prevent these is by locking your fics to be visible to registered users only. It sucks, I know. Also report any comments like this you've gotten to AO3.

PSA: bot comments are taking over ao3

The above examples have been provided with the authors' permission to demonstrate what these look like.

Basic rundown:

They are all 3 sentences long

Perfect grammar, capitalization, and punctuation

Like absolutely flawless English teacher-style writing with only a single exclamation mark, ever

No mentions whatsoever of character names, settings, situations, or anything that could be tied to the story

The usernames may be identical to people who exist on ao3, but the name is not clickable, and no profile is associated with it EXCEPT when you directly search for that name. What this means: the comments come from an unregistered (not logged in) reader, bots scrape the site for real usernames, attach that to the comment, and post

Please spread the word about this so authors can filter comments and report them accordingly

There has been some speculation about why this is happening at all, and the best guess is that this is a feature that AI-training story-scraping tools are implementing to try and make their browsing traffic look legitimate

[bardofavon]

not to be controversial bc I know this is like…not in line with shifting opinions on fanfic comment culture but if there’s a glaring typo in my work I will NOT be offended by pointing it out. if ao3 fucks up the formatting…I will also not be offended by having this pointed out…

‘looking forward to the next update’ and ‘I hope you update soon!’ are different vibes than a demand, and should be read in good faith because a reader is finding their way to tell you how much they love it. I will not be mad at this.

‘I don’t usually like this ship but this fic made me feel something’ is also incredibly high praise. I’m not going to get mad at this.

even ‘I love this fic but I’m curious about why you made [x] choice’ is just another way a reader is engaging in and putting thought into your work.

I just feel like a lot of authors take any comment that’s not perfectly articulated glowing praise in the exact manner they’re hoping to receive it in bad faith.

fic engagement has been dropping across the board over the last several years, and yes it’s frustrating but it isn’t as though I can’t see how it happens. comment anxiety can be a real thing. the last thing anyone wants to do is offend an author they love, and that means sometimes people default to silence.

idk where I’m going with this I guess aside from saying unless a comment is outright attacking me I’m never going to get mad at it, and I think a lot of authors should feel the same way. ESPECIALLY TYPOS PLZ GOD POINT OUT MY TYPOS.

[bunnis-monsters]

“You’re romanticizing it!”

No, actually, I’m sexualizing it. Thanks.

[artemisdesari-blog]

To my readers:

If your comment is long and rambling and full of quotes you enjoyed, I will love it.

If your comment is full of story related questions, I will love it.

If your comment is a single sentence, I will love it.

If your comment is a single emoji, or a string of them, I will love it.

If you comment, I will love it. It's that simple.

[pixiemage]

Please, for the love of god, please don’t be this person. No matter how long it’s been since an update, no matter how many unfinished stories are sitting on their account, no matter what - do not be this person.

Not only is it insanely rude, but you also do more damage than you think be being such a self-entitled ass about something someone created for free and for fun. “This author” can see what you say.

RIP decency indeed.

[scribbledonausednapkin]

[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

[cilil]

So today I got a rather unkind comment on AO3 (one could call it hate), but I believe it to be a bot for several reasons:

Guest account, but username attached

Said username exists but person is unlikely to be reading Tolkien fic (according to their Tumblr and AO3, they are in other fandoms)

Two grammatically correct sentences

Super generic text that could apply to any fic:

"I've seen better fanfiction written by a toddler. Get it together!"

I'm curious, did anyone else get comments like this? Let me know.

And to those who have gotten rude comments and are now worried/upset: Maybe it was just a bot too. Either way: You're awesome for putting your writing out there for others to enjoy and you don't deserve to get rude comments for it. If you want feel free to message me to compare cases and discuss details :)

[ao3-shenanigans]

Here’s some good and easy comment ideas for those who feel shy or don’t know what to say but would like to leave something:

1. A classic: keyboard smash such as

Nrbdbsbbkigq or fhbdboejwbakwjev

2. THEM <3

(Fill in pronouns as needed or refer to a pairing)

3. Screaming, crying, throwing up, ect

Or it’s cousin:

4. Kicking my feet, giggling

5. [Block of copy-pasted text] I like/love this bit in particular; I like how you phrased this

6. I keep rotating [character/section of text] in my head

7. I read this while [insert what you were doing; ie: procrastinating a test, waiting for the bus, ect]

8. Extra Kudos!

9. Encore! Bravo! Magnificent!

10. [character name] my beloved

11. I relate to this so hard

Optional, include [line of text] or situation you relate to

12. Thank you for sharing!

13. 💖💖💖

14. I love how you’ve written [x character trait]

15. I love this kind of AU so much!!

16. I’m so excited to see what happens next! I hope [random story prediction here]

17. I will commit atrocities for this character!

18. This is some hella good soup!

19. This is my favorite [trope, paring, au]!

20. AAAAAA They are so [soft/traumatized/attractive]!!!

Feel free to mix and match these for an extra special comment!

Additionally, if you have some favorite go-to comments, feel free to share!

[erraticprocrastinator]

Not sure about anyone else but I re-read all my favourite AO3 comments when I’ve had a rough day so if you’ve ever taken the time to write a deep, funny, or just kind comment, thank-you.

[youwouldneverbreakthechain]

[tadfools]

You guys are commenting on the fics you read right? You’re at least leaving kudos on the Astarion smut and the pairs that have less than 20 fics for them too? You’re bookmarking stories you really like that are still being updated and ones that haven’t been touched in over a year right?

You know that even the smallest interactions are like cocaine to fic writers right? You understand how important a string of emoji hearts left behind on a chapter at three am is right?? Right????

You’re treating AO3 like a community and not a content factory….right?

[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

[frownyalfred]

want your favorite author to update but don’t want to be too pushy in their comment section?

here’s 5 things you can do to encourage them:

Reblog their fic link on tumblr (bonus if it’s with tags)

Bookmark the fic with a note about what you’re excited about/love in the fic

Recommend the fic to your friends or local discord channel

Draw art or create other media for the fic (as indicated by the author’s comfort level)

Leave them a comment when re-reading about the parts of the chapter/story that stood out to you the second time

[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.