More thoughts about feedback

[jelazakazone]

Someone posted this week about kudos and comments on AO3.  It lead to some very interesting conversations.  That post is locked, unfortunately.  I would love to talk to you all about kudos and comments on AO3

Comments

[k_nightfox]

See, this is the problem with the kudos system. On the one hand, it gives a voice to people who are uncomfortable leaving detailed feedback. But on the other hand, I suspect it also deters others from leaving a comment through sheer laziness.

I will tell you how I do AO3 as a reader. If I like something, I leave kudos. If I love something, I leave kudos and a comment. That said, I have also been known to just leave kudos when I love something but I am too tired or foggy that day (basically too braindead) to list the reasons I love something. So...yeah, I do sometimes take the lazy route.

As an author, I'd rather have kudos than nothing but a comment is much more highly prized.

[jelazakazone]

I don't think it really does deter people from leaving comments. I feel that the culture on AO3 is just less interactive. Also, apparently it's harder for a guest to leave comments than kudos.

Personally, I'm happy to get any kind of feedback. Oh, someone else listed bookmarks. Damn. I should edit the entry.

[k_nightfox]

I guess I suspect the deterrence because I myself am sometimes guilty of using kudos instead of a comment.

Bookmarks are like, an even bigger thrill to me than a comment. And again, as a reader, I tend to bookmark sparingly.

[jelazakazone]

I think kudos are fine if you liked a story and have nothing in particular to say. If I have nothing substantive to say, I'll just leave a kudo. Otherwise, I kudo and comment.

I bookmark rarely as well. Very rarely.

[fuckyeah]

Thank you for summing up my thoughts on the matter perfectly! I do the exact same thing: leave a kudos for something I like, leave a kudos and comment for something I love. Quite often when I read fanfiction nowadays, it's on my tablet when I'm bed, just before I go to sleep. So often I'll leave a kudos for something I liked, but I'm just too tired to think of a comment. I seem to have a dislike of leaving a generic comment of "I liked this, good job" or something similar, so I just don't leave one at all in those cases.