What gains comments?

I have often puzzled why some authors gain large numbers of comments and some very few for what to me at least are comparable or in some cases better stories.

I felt compelled to raise this after Joy Peter's excellent (imo) story "Laura Harper" has gained nearly 250 reads in a very short time but has only evinced three comments. When you look at the ratio of readers to comments it appears bizarre.

I have to declare an interest as possibly I also feel slightly ignored ,because although I am quitely widely read my ratio of comments to reads is very low. However the reason for this query is that I have rarely seen a story hit so many reads in such a short time and was genuinely astonished as how few comments it received.

This doesn't bother me-I just accept it and am just pleased that so many read my silly spanking stories, but it would be nice to get a little more feedback.

I just wondered if anyone else has noticed this apparent anomaly and if they had any explanations.

@jimisim

It's debatable whether the number of comments received is a true guide as to how well a story has been accepted.
Your last two stories have only received two comments each but have both been taken twice as favourites. My last two stories have attracted 11 and 10 comments respectively but neither has been taken as a favourite.
A new story of mine is in the pipeline and should appear shortly (shameless plug) and comments will certainly be welcome.

I think also in the past several weeks the number of new stories has jumped to a point where there is often over 50 per loading day compared to a normal of around 20 to 25 per day. The numbers unfortunately overwhelm some and instead of taking the time to comment the reader is eager to be off and running to the next story. It MAY be a case of supply vs demand and in this case right now there is a very good supply.

Also considering the time of year many people are extra busy so the few minutes they do have to relax and come on site is spent reading rather then worrying about what to say in a comment. I don't really know why but all we can do is enjoy the fact that the stories are being read. Comments are certainly nice and appreciated but it is something we have no control over.

I will say that there are even some authors who put out stories but I have never seen them make a comment on any story. Maybe if all the authors would comment to begin with, then the viewers may be more encouraged.

I have only been on the site for a month or so and thus lack familiarity, experience, perspective. That said, I am both a reader and writer and do comment now and then. Why not more often? First, unless you are among the first to comment, others often have already said what you have to say, especially if it is simply praise for a story well written. I think many of us then won't simply restate what has already been said. Second, if there is any thoughtful critique involved I would write to the author rather than post a general comment since people take that sort of comment in different ways and I am not interested in hurting any feelings or posting what some might perceive as negative comments. Perhaps when I know more about the place and the frequent writers I would feel more comfortable in commenting.

Jimi, if I knew the answer to your questions I'd Carnac The All Knowing, not Rollin the Clueless. I have a few theories, though. There are many readers who probably genuinely love your stories who never comment. I wish I knew why. But one thing to keep in mind is that the required VCR (view-to-comment ratio) need only be.002, 2 tenths of one percent, to be able to stay here. My own ratio is about 2.5%. That means, of 100 views only 2.5 people commented and I get a lot of comments. What I see though is lots of people reading my stories and you do too. If you look at "last read" you can frequently see over the previous 3 or 4 hours, someone reading story after story and never commenting once. Why? It can't be because they didn't like them. If that was so, why did they plow through your author page, one story at a time? Maybe they are afraid that commenting opens their computer to tracking or something. I don't know.
The other thing is that in your case you write a lot of series and serials. I have to tell you, long multipart stories do not sell as well as stand alone short stories. You just don't get as many comments if the story is longer than 2 or 3 parts. Maybe people don't have the time to invest in a long serial. Yet, some of those works are among the very best here, including your Rattan Woman and Ashfield Grammar. My own "Menace from Mongo" is 19 parts and some parts do not have even 100 views.
A useful metric I think is the VCFR (views to comments and favorites ratio). This number adds favs which is appropriate because a fav is an indication that it was well received even if the reader did not articulate the reason.

I have no idea what brings comments.

None.

Being on the front page helps - but other than that...

When the library first imported my stories, the backlog filled several pages. Some of them have never been commented on - a fate shared by some that were uploaded before the "25 reads to 1 comment" rule in was in place and even a few that were added after that. Occasionally one those older stories gets a comment and that sparks a second or third one, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it. It's just someone stumbling across a story that they enjoyed and commented on and a few other people see it and maybe someone comments on it.

As for making comments - I try to comment on all the stories I read. There's usually something that I can cite from the story or otherwise find something to say. And if someone else has already said it, then I begin with "As <blah> said" or "I agree with <blah> that".

I do that because as an author I feel that a comment - almost any comment - is a nice thing to get. I don't always notice when someone has flagged something as a favourite, but I try to respond to every comment that comes my way.

Goodgulf

I'm a comment-junkie, and I've been very generously treated (recent story had relatively few views @ 140, but 18 comments! Whew!). It helps, I think, that I comment quite widely myself - fellow authors tend to reciprocate. It may also help that I always say thank you, and sometimes engage in a few PMs about a story thereafter.
I'm not convinced content or quality makes any difference at all: the whole thing's just another glorious mystery of this extraordinary resource we call home.

I can appreciate that Tom, but if I really enjoy a story then I always try to make a comment, even if it's very brief .
I would agree that some comments are best made directly, and it would take a lot for me to criticise anything publicly.

I also realise that on this library tastes vary widely and there isn't much crossover between genres.

PS It's about time the spell-checker had the correct use of apostrophes beaten into it!!

Being a writer of horror, I'm often told by magazines and anthologies to read a few of their publications to see what people are into and what the mag or anthology is putting out. I believe the same goes for the LSF. I've gone to the HOME PAGE and clicked on STATS and then FAVOURITES (that's the way it's spelled), and went through the line of stories that have gotten at least 17 or more fav votes for authors (the magic number for a story it seems), and read the stories. That way it gives the writer a hint on what people actually enjoy. You have to remember that there are those who enjoy M/F and M/f more than F/M and F/m. However, I've gotten some great comments on my F/M, F/m, f/m stories and maybe 1 fav.

I can't say I totally agree with 17 or more for one story. I think it should be a certain number of FAV's (like maybe 500 or so, just to throw a number out there), to appear on the FAV STORIES and FAV AUTHORS list. Just like we see the metals that give us the stats of an author when searching his/her story list. I can't complain on the comments at all. Most LSF readers who are 'well read and well written' authors have commented on my stories with the most favorable words I can ask for.

Anyway, that's only my opinion. I understand where you're coming from. One thing I don't see a lot of in the library are cliques. I hate cliques. That little band of people who think their crap don't stink but their farts give them away. I see all readers and writers accepted as equals here and I love it. My door is always open.

You're a good writer Jimi and that's what counts. I think anyone who has read your stories would agree.

B