I might be commenting a bit more...

I'm not sure... But I'm going back and looking at snippets. Grace has post hundreds of them, but I've already posted comments on many of them.

I've up to 1552, which means I've posted 88 since I started this project. I still owe 1343, and I hope that I can get up to a ~1:1 ratio. I don't think that I can get there, because I've read some of my own stories, and I can't comment on most of those.

I don't have a clue as to how to define "legacy author." I only used the term because Carolina Paddled used the term. I assuumed, incorrectly it appears, that it was only long time users of this site who were encouraging people to comment. I also got the sense that some people think that LSF is a community.

I'm older. I've always been a lurker. I've seen so many sites, and not just sites with this focus, disappear. I think the most common reason they disappear is lack of participation.

When I joined this site, I just wanted to read stories. And I wanted to cherry pick them. then I found out there are other interesting things on this site. And there are interesting people. If we don't want the site to disappear, we have to participate.

Noah, as I explained in my post above, I too tend to only comment on stories I like rather than leave a negative comment. But, having read this thread, i am changing my 'practice' , perhaps unwisely.

I will now do two things differently. Firstly, I will finish a story if I have started. It is unlikely to change my view if I am turn off in the first few minutes but completing the story might result in more rounded comments. And I might even change my view.

The other thing I will do is comment on the things I liked along with the things I did not like , including, if any, the things that turned me off enjoying the story. Hopefully such comments will be accepted in the spirit they are intended, nothing more than one view point from a single reader.

We will see how it goes.

I really appreciate the care you're taking to get it right, but perhaps you're overthinking? To me (sadly, a 'legacy author' i.e. one "superseded but difficult to replace"), a comment doesn't have to be 'helpful' as such, though that's great if you're so inclined. A comment is simply an acknowledgement in written form that you read the story and wish to let the author know SOMETHING about your experience in doing so.

With the request for 'meaningful comments' I believe the administrators want to discourage the type of comment that says so little, so tritely, as to be...meaningless. They're not expecting Aristotle, or that you dismantle the language of the story to expose the relational quality of meaning. We didn't all shine at Eng Lit in school.

A comment could be about any or all of:
your feelings about/response to the story
the spanking
a character
a moment in the plot or the plot overall
the setting
the style of writing
the structure of the story
a detail
a phrase that struck you

In this case, then, the 'art of criticism' is to say whatever you like.

You're in a hefty majority when you state that you don't wish to comment negatively. Very few of the 829 authors featured in this library write professionally, so most of us who write comments here choose to focus on positive things rather than highlight shortcomings (though many authors do say they welcome 'constructive criticism').

Thank you Englishmaster. You've given me a lot to “overthink” about. Your suggestion that comments could be about “any or all” of certain aspects of a story is helpful. You said, the important thing, when you read a story, is to let “the author know something about your experience.”

When I read a great, provocative story I want to say so much that my ego gets in the way. I also want to interact with others who have commented. That way we all may get a fuller understanding of the story. Maybe that's what the forums are for?

I also don't know how to deal with authors like Grace Brackenridge. Goodgulf is commenting on many of her individual snippets. I applaud him for doing so. I have commented on some of her stories. But I don't want to spend all my time saying “another great one Grace.” She’s too prolific. Too bad there isn't a lifetime achievement award or an award of merit. Maybe there is. Lol.

@thepreacherswife
Ever triple digits ina day? Why my dear child, back in the early days of the library, from late 2011 through 2014 we AVERAGED over 100 comments per day, and in November of 2012, we averaged 178 comments per day for the whole month. (And members posted more often here on the forum, and gathered to talk in the chatroom)

It's much quieter around here these days, but what hasn't changed is authors appreciating feedback (comments!) from their readers

Goodgulf

Once again I've opened LSF and I find all the latest comments have been made by you. And, once again, all your comments are about Grace Brackenridge stories. I admire your commitment to achieve a 1:1 ratio of comments to stories read. A worthy.but unattainable goal. Have you considered the possibility that Grace can write stories faster than you can comment on them. Consider Sisyphus. Or perhaps Odysseus. Grace may be the siren whose stories are the lure that causes you to drown in the ocean of her words.

Alas, Grace no longer posts at her old rate. Nor am I reading new stories. Every single comment I've made is on a story I read long, long ago.

Well, I've been here since 2009, but it seems I left my first comment in July 2010, and only started ramping up my commenting efforts beginning in November 2012. So perhaps my memory is slipping as I enter my mid-50s

Goodgulf will probably pass my comment total in the coming weeks. I'm still at 3.7 to 1.

When I started the ratio was 1.98 : 1. Now it's at 1.81 : 1.

And I've decided to expand out from Grace. I'm working backwards on my read list, commenting on stories that are less than 1000 words.