Feedback rant
A while back emmagrant01 made a post about feedback on LJ vs. on FA. Some of the comments made me see red. Still, this rant is in no way about Emma, and I didn't post this as a reply to her journal because that's her private place, and the following has nothing to do with her. Besides, this a far cry from what she meant in her post, and I'm well aware of that. Are you listening to me? Good. Because this is me willfully misunderstanding Emma, and ranting away.
I understand that receiving reviews consisting of "meh" or "eww, slash" will make you frustrated, and yearn for more constructive feedback. But when you start talking about the quality of the feedback... Again, I know it's about grammar 'n stuff but this is what I hear: "I am a BNF. Heap me with the praise I reserve, or my rapid fangirls will tear you down and banish you from the fandom for all eternity".
And also:
"You liked my fic? Pfft. Tell me my plot was original, the flow flawless and the characterisation superb. Tell me that after five hundred years people will read me like Shakespeare. Tell me that it's a timeless classic, reaching more readers than the Bible. Tell me this, and I might acknowledge your pitiful existence, you puny mortal."
I am not a writer. I have no idea what it is like to be on the other end of feedback. But I know this. You don’t get to dictate how we feel, or express ourselves. Common courtesy is, or at least should be, a given but other than that, there is nothing you can demand. When we leave you feedback, it means that your story has affected us. For better or for worse, that's for every reader to decide but your fic has made a difference in our lives. If we don't care what you wrote, we’ll just close the browser and go away. Okay, I know there are people that go around expressing their disgust to every slash fic without ever reading one but this is not about that.
You want quality? Well, so do we. If we leave you a comment, even if it's only a one-liner, and you don't respond, or acknowledge that comment in any way, you'll never hear from us again. If pushing the "leave a comment" button isn't too difficult for us, then pressing the "reply" button shouldn't bee such a hardship for you either. This is a community we have going on in here, and that means interaction. We are not here to mindlessly worship an invisible entity. You are here for us as much as we are here for you, and don't you forget it.
And when we leave you feedback on LJ, we do it knowing that anyone can come to harass us right back in our own journals. Therefore we are more polite, and think more about what and how we write. We don't want the aforementioned fangirls to start a flamewar in your defense. It's all very PC, because we are a part of the community and don't want to became lepers. Also, we might be your online friends. We won't tell you your latest fic sucks big time, at least not in public.
On FA people will tell you exactly what's in their mind, and often it's not pleasant. Some might even consider that feedback more realistic, due to the lack of social stigma. I'm not here to debate that issue, but I would love for the writers to remember how things are on this side on the fence. That said, the lovely people writing fanfic on LJ have left me with extremely few complaints :) Netiquette is something these people do well.
Did this rant have a point? Not so much.
Still loving you, Ambersnake.
I understand that receiving reviews consisting of "meh" or "eww, slash" will make you frustrated, and yearn for more constructive feedback. But when you start talking about the quality of the feedback... Again, I know it's about grammar 'n stuff but this is what I hear: "I am a BNF. Heap me with the praise I reserve, or my rapid fangirls will tear you down and banish you from the fandom for all eternity".
And also:
"You liked my fic? Pfft. Tell me my plot was original, the flow flawless and the characterisation superb. Tell me that after five hundred years people will read me like Shakespeare. Tell me that it's a timeless classic, reaching more readers than the Bible. Tell me this, and I might acknowledge your pitiful existence, you puny mortal."
I am not a writer. I have no idea what it is like to be on the other end of feedback. But I know this. You don’t get to dictate how we feel, or express ourselves. Common courtesy is, or at least should be, a given but other than that, there is nothing you can demand. When we leave you feedback, it means that your story has affected us. For better or for worse, that's for every reader to decide but your fic has made a difference in our lives. If we don't care what you wrote, we’ll just close the browser and go away. Okay, I know there are people that go around expressing their disgust to every slash fic without ever reading one but this is not about that.
You want quality? Well, so do we. If we leave you a comment, even if it's only a one-liner, and you don't respond, or acknowledge that comment in any way, you'll never hear from us again. If pushing the "leave a comment" button isn't too difficult for us, then pressing the "reply" button shouldn't bee such a hardship for you either. This is a community we have going on in here, and that means interaction. We are not here to mindlessly worship an invisible entity. You are here for us as much as we are here for you, and don't you forget it.
And when we leave you feedback on LJ, we do it knowing that anyone can come to harass us right back in our own journals. Therefore we are more polite, and think more about what and how we write. We don't want the aforementioned fangirls to start a flamewar in your defense. It's all very PC, because we are a part of the community and don't want to became lepers. Also, we might be your online friends. We won't tell you your latest fic sucks big time, at least not in public.
On FA people will tell you exactly what's in their mind, and often it's not pleasant. Some might even consider that feedback more realistic, due to the lack of social stigma. I'm not here to debate that issue, but I would love for the writers to remember how things are on this side on the fence. That said, the lovely people writing fanfic on LJ have left me with extremely few complaints :) Netiquette is something these people do well.
Did this rant have a point? Not so much.
Still loving you, Ambersnake.