Reasons to ♥ AO3

[katmarajade]

They have the ability to filter and find stuff like this: 782 works for Alternate Universe--Coffee Shops & CafesSure, I have to sift through the ubiquitous boy band fandoms that I've never heard of, but GENIUS. *grabby hands

Comments

[bluemermaid]

I often find myself feeling really awkward with words, like I don't know how to explain what I liked about the story, so clicking the Kudos button makes me feel better/safer/more comfortable or something. Like, the author will know that I liked it and I don't have to worry about what to say in my comment. Hearing that some people don't like that makes me sad, tbh. I guess I could just start leaving comments that only say "I liked this"? I don't know if that's better or not.

[katmarajade]

Hmm, you make a good point. I imagine that was its inspiration in the first place-- to offer an easier, not-as-scary option to indicate that you've enjoyed a story. And I should keep that in mind. I should say that I don't dislike getting kudos on stories-- I just always wonder why they liked it

[bluemermaid]

Receiving kudos on one of my fics is the same as a comment to me, since I just get warm fuzzies from people liking me in any way possible. But I can definitely understand where you would just wonder what especially you did to win someone over, I guess. I know you didn't mean to upset me, we're cool. :)

[katmarajade]

Yeah, AO3's format lends itself to that. I do love how it's set up but I miss some of the interpersonal connections that I've enjoyed on lj. But it doesn't seem to be as commonplace over there and comments in general seem rarer and often shorter.

Agreed on one-off fics from fandoms I'm unfamiliar with. Like you, those I more often kudos too, unless I know the author or something in particular moved me deeply.

Thank you. I'm not familiar enough with it to have settled in on an opinion and perhaps I'm being hasty/judgmental. Will continue pondering and exploring over there.

[katmarajade]

You are absolutely making sense. Hmmm, I'm learning so much. :) Thanks for pointing these things out. I'm an AO3 noob and that's obviously showing. I've read things here and there on it (mostly Merlin or Marvel stuff) but mostly from links in lj communities. I've only just started exploring all the options.

[purelush]

I personally love the kudos. It's a way of saying "I like your fic" without having to come up with a nice wording.

If I leave comments they're often long and very specific and always positive. I also loooove the subscribe option. It makes it so easy to follow fics.

[katmarajade]

Thanks-- the loving of the kudos is a popular opinion, I am finding! I like the idea of kudos if otherwise someone would leave no feedback at all, but I find myself using it when I'm too lazy to write a comment and that's been what's coloring my perception. For me, it's my lazy out. I need to keep in mind that that is not how others view it or use it.

Agreed-- I only leave positive comments! (I don't think public comments are the place for criticism anyway) But you're right-- sometimes kudos are an easier option. I'm just struggling with finding that balance myself.

Oooh, subscribing? GENIUS. Back in my ff.net days I loved that option. Will have to keep it in mind here! I hate getting into WIPs and then forgetting about them.

Thanks for your feedback-- I'm an AO3 noob and appreciate your thoughts!

[purelush]

Also!! You can sort fic by kudos or bookmarks, which I think is a better gauge of the quality (or likeability) of the fic than hits or comments. Because sometimes those comment threads are like LJ comment threads - people chattin'! Whereas a high number of bookmarks or kudos? I'm going to take a closer look.

[browngirl]

I love Kudos, actually. Sometimes I can't describe why I loved a story, or I don't want to (people who hit the dark places of my id really don't need to know that), but I can always kudoize a story. As a writer I'd far rather get kudos than no feedback at all.

[katmarajade]

Interesting. I can absolutely see that.

And true-- definitely better than no feedback at all.

Thanks-- kudos are clearly much more popular than I realized among my friends and for a wide variety of very valid reasons. It's definitely given me food for thought.

[jouissant]

I'm basically a total hypocrite when it comes to kudos- as a writer, I prefer comments to kudos, because in my head I kind of see comments as hierarchically above kudos- like if someone likes a story okay they'll kudos, but if they *really* like it, they'll comment. Even though logically I know that's not necessarily true.

As a reader, I like having the option to acknowledge I read and enjoyed a story without having to find words to do so. (And there's always the anonymous kudos for the iddiest of idfic.) So, totally hypocritical. Although, I will say that I usually do comment on stories I enjoy, even if it's only "I really enjoyed this," because I feel like it's good comments-karma or something.

I think I need to make better use of AO3's functionality in general. The subscribe function is a great example of that.

Re:

[katmarajade]

Huh, yeah, I definitely have that (yes, illogical) hierarchy in my head too. I don't know if I ever thought of it exactly like that before, but I have had that feeling.

I've been feeling many of these same things and have similar confused, illogical, hypocritical thoughts swimming about on the subject. And good point re anon kudos for iddy idfic. *nods*

I definitely need to figure out some of these great functions. It's already much better than when I first tried it a bit back at its inception. I dabbled then came back to lj almost exclusively. But many things are over there now and I'm amazed at all the cool functions and options. Loving it so far but obviously quite clueless still.