Comments

I occasionally do that if I'm deciding whether to read a story or not (especially, though not exclusively, if the story isn't yet validated), though I risk "spoilers" by doing that. But it does seem that for people who use the site activity listing, being the "last commented" story does seem to cause others to go take a look at the story. I have no idea whether they read the comments first or not, I suspect it's more just a way of raising awareness of a story.

I think my comments are most commonly of the "great story but..." variety with some suggestion of what I might have liked to see in the story (or in a follow-up). If I really didn't like the story, I don't comment. Otherwise I always find something nice to say about the story, along with sometimes some constructive criticism. I hope authors like receiving comments from me.

I mainly contribute poems here and in viewing the stats on the site there are currently a total of 1,346 poems in the library of which 114, or roughly 8.5%, of those are mine. I don't claim to be on par with Emily Dickinson but I do like writing my little spanking poems. I think in part it's because they're easier than spinning up a story and for the most part these take me about 5 minutes to knock out. I find it interesting that the readership of poems here, not just mine but in general, is fairly low. I would think it might be the opposite because these are often in maybe the 100 - 200 word count and I'd think that maybe people might think, "I can read this thing in two minutes" and they might be more apt to do that than to hunker down for a 4,000 word feast. Many comments that I have gotten, and I think I might get 3-4 comments per poem if I'm lucky, have been from people saying, "I don't normally read poems, but..." and then they give some positive notation. I welcome any and all comments, good, bad or indifferent. If someone just chimes in and says "Nice poem. I enjoyed it" I am pleased as punch. I am not looking for people to say things like, "I see in your latest effort that you switched from the Trochee style to anapest midway through...", I am just happy with any feedback. I find myself scratching my head sometimes thinking, "Hmmmm...143 views and 3 comments? Wow."

I, like several people, kind of did not get with the program right off...I read a whole lot of stories before I commented on them and also in looking at my library card I see a somewhat proportionately low commenting ratio, but that's also in part due to adding many stories to my reading list that I have not gotten to yet. I do try to comment on most of the stories I read if only because I know that I like getting comments on my output and believe that other authors feel the same. I try to put some substance in my comments as well and not just say, "Nice story...thanks for posting", although sometimes I will put something to that effect. I just think that for the authors to expend the effort that they do for the stories that I read, the least I can do is make a remark, however brief, as a token of my appreciation.

Speaking only for myself, I don't usually read the short poems on here because I find that that small number of words isn't enough to give me enough to really sink my teeth into. I really want to delve into the emotions of spanker and/or spankee, as well as the sensations, sounds etc. You just can't go deep enough in a short poem. (If someone wrote a much longer poem, I'd likely give it a shot.) Sometimes a poem title will grab me and I'll give it a go, but usually I find them a bit disappointing. (I don't remember if I've read any of yours or not, so this isn't a comment on your poems, but just on very short offerings in general.) If I want a quick read, I'm still looking for about 1000 words. But that's just me, and as we say, everyone's preferences vary.

Well, I like to think of many of my poems as kind of a "Cliff's Notes" or "Readers Digest Condensed" type of story. Often, in my opinion at any rate, I think I can pack quite a bit in them with much brevity but I do see your point...there's only so much one can convey in brief.

I am more like Rosie, I'm more interested in the psychology of spanking, from the viewpoint of the punished, the punisher, those around the event who either know/knew of it, heard it, witnessed it or are viewing the aftermath of it. I like stories and authors who set a scene, who describe it and tell the story from the point of view of all involved. While I enjoy poetry, it's not my first love, stories, novels, music that tells a story, and other longer works are my passion.

Okay, I suppose I'm perhaps a bit slow but there have been times when I've wondered when a given story is going to be validated. Now, you folks have given me a new outlet. Still, one shot of "oh, I loved the twist at the end" would still be a spoiler. What the heck, I'll just wait, thank you very much. I think I may've said enough here ...

Think I just might go read some of the poems here.

Oh, indeed, sometimes a brief snippet or poem can provide just enough to get one thinking/imagining. But usually I want details! (That said, I have experimented with writing very brief snippets myself -- in which case I think of it more like a still photo than a video, where the reader has to fill in the rest with their imagination.) So... nothing wrong with poems or very brief stories/letters/snippets/etc. It's just not what i'm usually after, personally.

I sometimes read the comments and find they help me to find a story.
Some authors are very good about replying to comments, yet others, (& some are very prolific writers), never seem to reply.