Reversing the Comments slide

Well don't look at me. I have almost commented more than read stories. I think we should reverse the carrot and stick and offer a spanking to the best commentator on a weekly basis and/or a bottom to spank depending on orientation with a full description of the event posted and a chance to comment on that as well.

Sebastian is right; after all the fine print under the comment box warns that certain comments will be rejected, yet I get the sense that some authors welcome any comment no matter how banal.

Absolutely! While I certainly prefer a paragraph of praise detailing everything a reader likes about the story, I also don't mind (constructive) criticism. Even 'good story' is preferable to silence.

Well, if my wife only has the time and focus to give me a half-dozen sharp handslaps on my bare butt in the morning when I was hoping for a couple dozen hard licks with a paddle, those are 'better than nothing at all' but still not fully satisfying.

I'm figuring that overly brief and/or generic comments are sometimes rejected because they may be perceived as an attempt to get around the quite modest requirements for meaningful story comments by readers.

I'd interpret "meaningful" as simply indicating that the comment is indeed about the particular story it is posted to, which could be shown in one sentence like "That angry mom really gave her daughter a red-assed shellacking," or something like that... --C.K.

Like you, I write primarily to transfer to paper (or computer memory) an idea and dress it into attractive clothes. Then, when satisfied, I 'publish' it and hope to receive feedback hopefully in form of praise.

On the other hand I'm a compulsive reader. I learned several languages probably only to be able to read more originals. A book reader isn't supposed to feedback the author. Critics are paid to do it. Only mostly obsessed reader sends his comments to a book author, normal readers feedback is his spending a small amount to pay for the book.

Not so on Internet. I understood the importance of feedback after starting to post my own stories. So I try. But there's a problem. I don't want to discourage a budding author by criticizing his work. From other side how to tell him that his story is boring, or run-of-the-mill without sounding judgmental and worse, with what authority?

And simply telling someone: "Good story" is really no comment at all. So I restrict my comments to the stories I really like and try to write something more to the point. And there's another problem, at times a good story receives several comments before mine, and I would simply repeat what others already said.

I think that it accounts for the small amount of feedback on the sites where I post and read stories. And the lack of comments is true both on erotic and vanilla or mainstream sites.

In fact LSF has more comments than any other site I know.

As some may have noticed and as I have discussed with staff, I try to set a good example in this area. My original motivation was simply to give back to writers who had excited me, turned me on, made me think, made me laugh, etc. Recently however my sense of it is that since many of the really thoughtful comments tend to be made by the same persons you should consider how they also tend to attract readers to a story they like. In a sense comments as promotion.

I also have used the comments section in an attempt to attract readers to older stories that I like. A bit of conceit that but it sometimes does the trick. Since we all know how much we like to go to the 'Loaded' section first, I think that a valid issue as there is so much quality material here that tends to get over looked in the rush to read the latest stuff. Even short comments can do this I've noticed.

This on going discussion regarding comments has been in progress since I joined up last March. Look at the stat's since then. Up and upper! The trend is very clear if not always consistent.

Perhaps the number of comments should be compared with the actual 'hits' on any given story. The writers with readership at LSF know who they are and what their numbers are. No doubt of that. And it might be a bit much to expect your average reader to write as well as you do. And like it so much.

Please also consider that many of the readers here are shy. They would be very embarrassed in a real sense if they were caught on this site. Let alone make their opinions known here. How many do you think assiduously clear their browser history after a session? Writers who show their work here operate at a very high level compared to the everyday reader who gets as close as they ever will to their Kink by coming here to read you guys fantasies. Not to mention those of us, like me, that are way out of the closet about their kink and are fortunately impervious to harm from admitting it and assuming 'Lifestyler' positions.

And finally: RELAX! Your making boo coo progress here. And many of you remember (as I do) how bleak it used to be . You guys are the Stars here. BASK, as one of you mentioned yesterday.

Yep, criticism with a new author must be done very diplomatically; if at all. However, it is always safe, and usually helpful, to say what you like about the story.

Yes, this is exactly right. And in fact we do let one or two "good story" comments through but when we first introduced the restrictions on non-commenters we had one person who simply commented "good story" 78 times in a row which was seen as simply devaluing the whole comment facility.

Good story, Februs!