Listen up, silent majority!

I'd add one thing about serials. I have carried on some very interesting dialogs with readers as they read and commented on each part. This is rare but if you would like that degree of interaction, I'd be happy to accommodate you. I think for readers it may give them insight into how the whole thing was put together.

A website can be whatever its founders/owners/managers want it to be. In some cases, the market drives its form an functionality, since the management is trying to make money. Here, since the management can't be making more than a couple hundred thousand (and perhaps even a wee bit less), the controlling factor is simply the management's preferences.

Whether I happen to agree with Februs, flopsy et al (although in this case I DO), the concept of THIS particular website is clearly NOT for it to be dusty, dead archive of stories where people can go to read in solitude, but rather a vibrant, interactive place where members share the joy of this brand of literature. It's not essential that it be thus, but that seems to be the CHOICE of management. Not that it means anything, but in this case I happen to LIKE that choice, and it's why I hang out here, and read stories here, etc. As Februs has pointed ou (on more than one occasion), the management has NOT gone so far as to force people to join in the fun by participating (though that would be ok if the management chose to so so), so that no one is being FORCED to do anything. They';ve decided only to go so far as encouraging reader response by placing certain limitations on members who don't participate.

Consider this analogy - on some sites there is limited functionality for members who want to belong for free, but a higher level of access/participation for members who choose to pay. This is the SAME THING, except that the payment requested is not money but rather an occasional comment. For that (the no monetary charge thing) I thank the generosity of our management!

May the next 1,000 days be as glorious as the first!

Welcome to the LSF! I hope yo're enjoying it. There's plenty to explore. The chatroom is NOT a big draw here, but I've participated in several lively discussions there. I see a couple members there at this moment. If you want to chat, just enter the room - someone may see and join you.

I'm new to the site - why have I not posted any comments?
Firstly I'd say that as a new member on here, while thoroughly enjoying finding my way around, I found the instructions for commenting a little intimidating and a disincentive to the simple appreciative comment that I might otherwise have left – "Thank you for commenting on the stories you read. We are sure it is much appreciated by the authors, but if you are commenting , please do so meaningfully. Repeatedly saying only 'good story' or 'nice story' and nothing else every time you comment, isn't really helpful, and such comments are likely to be rejected. Thanks"
So that gave me the impression that it's not good enough simply to say "great story!", and as there are often many comments already posted, it's hard to say something that hasn't already been said.
I think this is a great site (thanks TEM for leading me to it!), and I'm sure all your many readers must love what they find on here , else why would they return time and time again to read your stories and serials etc?

As I have only been a casual commentator I fully understand the validation process and the need to encourage others to join. I totally agree with Februs and have great respect for anyone who puts this much time into keeping the site controlled, it is essential work. Spam and negativity for the sake of negativity will ultimately ruin a excellent library. PS it is really good when authors respond personally to my comments.

Maybe we need a spankin'. Just sayin'.

Perhaps the policy of not letting the author comment on the comments on his/her own stories is not working. I wonder if it's leading to the premature ceasing of comment on a story. It seems as if most stories are "live" for only a day or two.

That's ALWAYS been the case, before and after the change in policy on authors self-commenting. Recently-commented-upon stories do generate some views and therefore more comments, but by far the most number of views (and therefore comments) comes from the latest-loaded list. Besides, there were never a substantioal number of self-comments by authors. The "problem." if there is one, causing stories to be "live" for only a day or two is the large number of members who rely so having on the latest loaded list to choose stories to read, when Februs has given us so many other avenues - authors' pages, lists of most-commented-upon and most-"favorited stories, the search function that allows the reader to select specific criteria, and the random "lucky dip." ALL stories are "live here, if only the members will look for them.

The sheer number of stories here is also a factor, not that that is not a good thing. I do try to comment on most stories I read- but I have hardly scratched the surface as far as reading here goes. I know that many I might enjoy I have not yet discovered.
As for my own stories, which were posted a year or so ago, I find 140 comments and 55 favorites for 45 stories, don't know if this is average, below average, or what. Its my theory too that after awhile comments on new stories or by new authors diminish , as fresh material is posted.
I have at least one comment for all but 3 of my stories, those being 3 Claudia stories, which is a bit disappointing as they are among my own favorites and were popular at the site I first posted them some years ago. The story of mine that drew the most comments(11) was "Cara's Bikini vs. Mom's Paddle" , which shows that there others who like one of my favorite plots, maternal discipline of errant daughters.
I think this is the best spanking site, especially for stories, as well as some great discussions, on the Web.
Spanko, formerly SIN, used to be really good, but it has never come back from its revamping. Though that was where I first discovered the wonderful BaredAffair.
It would appear that nowadays blogs and other things, have superceded message board forums in the community. For instance Classics has considerably less activity than it did some years ago.

Some of us don't feel that we have anything worth saying about the stories we read. I have read more than 4000 stories and have commented on more than 500, but I feel that what I have to say isn't intelligent enough to be valuable to the author. I am not a literary critic. I don't write well. I can say that I enjoyed reading your work or ask a question perhaps, but is that worth your time. Commenting makes me uncomfortable, but I do it because I am requested to do so. It makes me especially uncomfortable to think that someone else will read my comments. I don't like sharing my ignorance with the rest of the world. Perhaps,others feel the same way and that is why not everyone writes a comment. Just a thought.