commenting on past fic -- to do or not to do, that is the question?

[sealie]

so the comment thing on past fic is an interesting affair. I posted the latest ‘Uhane H5O TS fusion, and I got a few comments on it (which is awesome), and a bunch of new and/or repeat readers (based on numbers and increase in the number of kudos) on all the other stories in the series, and all my other stories including the out-there stuff. But only one person has commented on the old stories.

Why not comment on an "old" fic?

Comments

[ratcreature]

There also might be an impact from how older vs newer fic is read. Due to plain laziness I am less likely to comment on fic I downloaded and read on my tablet than fic that I read in parts where I stay on AO3 website or the journal where a comment field is right there. Old fic is usually finished, so unless it's really short I usually download the whole. Also if go to a new story that is linked from a journal, even if I download, I often still see the announcement on my flist, and I can comment on that entry rather than on the archive.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Do you see yourself less likely to comment on a story on A03 that is complete, long, and new? I tend to post anything under 25k as a single chapter and slowly have reconsidered this because people tend to load it on their kindle and read it, thus making it a step to go back to the archive.

I have experimented with posting a story with 3-4 large chapters on a daily bases etc. It seems to stick around more to catch people's attentions.

Fascinating post :)

[ratcreature]

I don't think I make a difference between old and new finished stories. I try to leave at least kudos when I bookmark a story after I read it, but I don't comment on AO3 as much as I did on LJ. In part it is simply because on LJ when I commented I got the comment with the story mailed to me (I had a paid account back then) to not loose fanfic I read, so that took care of saving the story into my (searchable gmail). On AO3 downloading is that step and more convenient for me, because now I just organize them as ebooks with the tags attached.

If it is a story that posts in a few huge chunks, and the author says it is five parts or whatever, I'm likely to just wait until it is finished. Reading of actual WIPs which I also enjoy is often more interactive for me, you comment as the author is writing it, and I often have an easier time to say something, like along the lines of "that was an evil cliffhanger to leave him dangling from a helicopter" or "I hope X happens" or such.

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

I also like posting in chunks because it's nice to sometimes see what people think of certain sections and it does have a more interactive effect.

Curious about commenting on WIPs vs a finished story posted in parts. Do you think you're comments will impact what the author is going to write?

[ratcreature]

I have no idea. I dislike outright "choose your own adventure" type gimmicks authors sometimes do for plot twists, but I have seen points raised in comments that made an author cosider something in the worldbuilding or motivation that they hadn't before. So it can have more subtle effects.

I actually don't care much about the impact, for me it is more that the serial model gives an easy way to talk about something in a casual way, that doesn't demand from you to "properly" review a finished thing. I think it is similar to how weekly series generate more conversation than series Netflix releases all at once. It's not just the time factor.

[sholio]

As someone who has written/posted WiPs quite a bit, I can definitely say that comments do influence future chapters! Not in major ways, generally -- I usually have an idea of where the story is going, even when it's being written as it's posted -- but definitely with people pointing out things I hadn't thought of as I was writing. It's sort of like getting a live plot beta as the story goes along. One recent example was the "Sam and Bucky stranded in the woods" fic, where some of the comments pointed out technological things I hadn't taken into account, that shaped the way I put together future chapters. Occasionally if a lot of readers want a particular thing to happen (a certain minor character to show up, say) I'll go ahead and do some variant of what they want, as long as it doesn't conflict with my plans. That kind of thing.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

yeah comments impact on the future fic. I wrote one of my short ts fusions (not on A03) purely in response to a comment. when I was writing the Co-op it was quite interesting in that I was generally 4000 to 10,000k ahead of the posted parts but the comments has relevance, and provided insight to part that I was writing.

in the main, we writer-and-reader share a similar 'mind field' but there was the occasional OMG why didn't I think of that!

[sholio]

but there was the occasional OMG why didn't I think of that!

Yes, exactly! :) I've found it really handy, on occasion, to have a sort of reality-check from the readers as I'm going along. It's much better to realize I've done something stupid after three chapters than after twelve.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

i actually like also teasing people. Some of the co-op cliffhanges were purely evil and storytelling

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

I don't have any guess regarding older fic. I tend to leave feedback on anything I enjoy reading. I have noticed sometimes when I leave a comment on an older fic that the author does not respond. Maybe this happens to other people and they think the author won't see it? Or had moved on etc?

It's a big leap, but perhaps plausible?

I know I get excited when I receive feedback on an older story. Although I do cringe when people read some old fic and I realize how bad it really was compared to my current level of writing :-P

Like Ratcreature said, it could be that people download the whole catalog or series of an author and read it on a tablet etc. Then browse AO3 for new stories and while linked, leave more kudos/comments?

I've noticed it when someone kudos like 5 stories in a row and I know they didn't read them all that night (or maybe they did :) ) and they return to my author page and kudo everything at once.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

there's def. the tablet issue. I've thought, 'Whoops, I need to log on AO3 and comment' and, in all honestly, I maybe remember to comment 50% of the time.

I'll comment on an old fic. Responses to comments is variable -- they happen or they don't *g*. Authors are tickled that something 'old' is still loved. I've got some SGA fics that are comfort blankets. Rodney Multiplex \o/

Responses to Comments on A03, there's not really ever the discussions that we can have (or used to have) on LJ or DW. The facility is there AO3 but I haven't really experienced discussions apart from people telling me about what they consider to be spelling mistakes

[opalshore.livejournal.com]

I'm a lurker I suppose. I have recently tried to comment and interact more. And I can say LJ is better for that, it feels more inviting. Though I prefer reading fic on AO3 because of the format of the page, I find it easy to read without distraction, and because if I like a fic I will download it so I can re-read it later. As I have done with the Co-Op many times. That fic is my comfort blanket definitely. And I don't remember ever leaving comments on it for you. I absolutely love that fic, but I guess my general feeling is why would anyone want to read my silly comment, others have already expressed some variant of my thought, etc. I guess I may be a pessimist. :/ And here I am commenting on an old entry! :)

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

why would anyone want to read my silly comment

honestly, comments are bread and butter. We're all guilty of not commenting (including me). Yeah, long detailed comments are adored. But the simple words 'I like this fic' are to be cherished.

A comment can be best thing that has happened all day, all week or even all month.

[opalshore.livejournal.com]

I will try and do better from now on =)

[sholio]

I think people often feel self-conscious about it. I semi-regularly get comments on my older fic that starts off with some variant of "I hope you don't mind me commenting on this ..." or "I feel weird commenting on this because it's so old ..." (It's especially weird when this happens on stories that are only a year or two old -- it's a little less strange when it's one from 15 years ago!)

I'm not entirely sure why people feel so strange about it, though. Maybe it's that they think the author might have moved into another fandom -- which is usually the case with me, I guess, and is fairly obvious from what I'm posting lately -- and doesn't want to hear from an old fandom, or something. It's even weirder with people not commenting on earlier installments of the same series!

I think also, people sometimes feel strange about leave a whole bunch of comments on one person's fic. That's actually something I DO feel self-conscious about. If I'm catching up on chapters of a WIP, or reading through one person's back catalogue, I'll usually only comment on the stories or chapters that really catch my eye, even if I'm reading all of them. It feels strange to give them 15 comments in their inbox all at once, especially if they're all just variants on the same comment. But I don't mind IN THE SLIGHTEST when people do that with mine (it's flattering!) so I'm not sure why I don't want to do it myself.

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

I can vouch for your authorly eviltude (plus cackling!)

[vamysteryfan.livejournal.com]

Good question. I recently started rereading The Cooperative, probably because it's the anniversary. I remember eagerly awaiting each installment back then. Now, while I am rereading, it hasn't occurred to me to leave comments this time. I don't know why. I am certainly enjoying it as much as ever.

So, i like the Cooperative. I like the alternative personalities you created for everyone. I like .the way you resolved Wo Fat and Joe White and I want to visit Seolh.