Adding to the list of Comment/Author's Note Pet Peeves.

[kriadydragon]

Okay, we have authors begging for reviews and unhelpful critiques as general annoyances for most people.

I would now like to add people pushing their character/pairing preferences through their comments. I'm reading a story by a rather amusing author who always manages to get readers to produce very amusing comments that are fun to read. The writer is a McKay fan, and I was a little surprised and kind of annoyed to find very anti-McKay reviews for this person's story. And not anything simple along the lines of "silly McKay, hope he learned a lesson" or what ever. No, these comments are incredibly McKay bashing along the lines of "McKay is stupid, Sheppard is great!" and worded as though the author shares these sentiments.

I get the feeling that this person is either very young, English isn't their first language... or they are, um, on something (very, very odd comments they are). And I'm not sure of the author has responded to this person's comments or not as the author is more of a mass responder (thanking everyone at once rather than responding to comments one at a time.) I'm thinking they may have, or the reviewer finally figured out that this person was a McKay fan, because they haven't reviewed in a while.

It's not often that I, personally, come across a reviewer really bashing the favorite character of a writer. Most people are wise enough not to assume  which character is the author's fave without more proof to back it up. I have come across comments that, I feel, are trying to push personal preferences. Ex. in one story, someone - very politely, of course - was slightly disappointed that the author didn't pair two characters with each other. In other stories, I've come across reviewers' less tactful ways of expressing their disappointment that characters weren't paired or certain characters weren't whumped. And though I don't mind a reviewer asking me if a certain character will be whumped, or if I can whump them (I'm all for sharing the whumpy-love) I do get a tad annoyed when somone politely states - in the form of a critique - that I didn't whump a certain character enough, despite the fact that they know who it is that's my favorite to whump/write about.

It's why I occasionally become bothered by certain slash comments made on other people's stories (gen ones) - mostly along the lines  of "they are so doing it!" and "he's gay, he just won't admit it." I do understand that it's just people having fun, not trying to shove their preference in people's faces. And such reviews are normally left on the stories by authors who would find said comments amusing, or agree with them. There are times, though - depending on how the review is worded or if it's a reviewer who's made simliar comments on other stories - that it feels a little like preference pushing.

And I will admit that, at times, it's more a personal preference issue: kind of like a Shep/Teyla shipper constantly running into pro Shep/Elizabeth comments. For the most part, it doesn't bother me, but there are times when it gets a little overwhelming and I'm rolling my eyes at the third or fourth slash-related comment made on the same story. But that's just me, and I'm fairly certain most people have certain comments  that irk them from time to time (another of mine is "Sheppard needs an occasional kick in the pants", but that has more to do with what happened in the story than the way people comment.)

Anyways, back on topic...

I don't think preference pushing is a necessarily bad thing. As I said above, I don't mind it when people ask me if I plan on, or if I will, whump Mckay or someone else even though I'm a Shep whumper. But I've come across comments on other people's works that - because of the way they were worded, whether promoting slash/sex/gen/specific-character whump/het  - have left me wondering if that reviewer hadn't been - not so much rude - but a little presumptuous. I sometimes have to remind myself that this reviewer probably knows the reviewee (is that even a word?) so it probably isn't presumptuous or rude to the reviewee at all.

I do think it's rude when someone assumes the author's preferences, like what the reviewer I mentioned at the start of the post did. Granted, this reviewer was probably new and didn't know the author and their preference (and I'm really leaning more and more to them being very young), but they could have handled their comments in a more neutral manner rather than go for all-out bashing. Their comments, I felt, were very unnecessarily rude, and I would have felt the same even if the reviews had been made on a story by a Shep-whumper.

Comments

[kristen999.livejournal.com]

Its weird because you want people to express their opinions and not dissuade them about giving feedback no matter what it is.

I understand where you are coming from. Whenever I write Ronon and Sheppard fics, I sometimes get people who will complain that I don't hurt Ronon or don't pay more attention to his recovery when its obvious who the focus of the story is...which is funny because I'll often write from Ronon's POV and hence he gets more 'screen time' anyways. I'll hurt multiple members of the team and try to show equal type of reactions/recovery but if the main plot has been on Sheppard, I'm not going to do a 180.

When I wrote in the CSI fandom I used to get people who'd comment with something along the lines "Blah blah with my slash goggles," I never minded but after repeated uses of that phrase over and over I wanted to say, this isn't slash. This is Gen!

But, I politely reply unless someone is obviously over bearing about it. I had one reviewing get snippy with me and I politely reminded them that this is what I write and that I was sure there were other stories that fit the bill that would suit their taste.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, you've got more patience than me. I recieved only one slash comment back when I was new to the SGA fandom. My immediate reaction was to go into my bio and make it clear what kind of stories I don't write. I know I can't stop people from seeing a story how they will, it was a simply to soothe my inner control freak.

I've done a little preference pushing myself, mostly with stories that are gen but the author lamented not making it slash (usually kinky slash). I'll say something along the lines of "I'm glad you didn't make it slash." Yes, in part because I wouldn't have read it otherwise, but mostly because it was a slashy plot device used to create a very poignant friendship peice that - I felt - slash would have lessened (especially kink-slash).

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Doh! Forgot to say...

Its weird because you want people to express their opinions and not dissuade them about giving feedback no matter what it is.

The expressing part is a very good thing, but the word choicing tends to be a problem. I personally don't mind simple feedback such as "very well done" or "very nice." I know that some days my mind isn't in the mood to be more poignant, myself. It's when people give unhelpful feedback - the "you have too many spelling errors, fix them" - that I get annoyed.

But, yeah, there is kind of a risk in demanding certain kinds of feedback. People don't have to be rude - like when pointing out spelling mistakes and nothing more - but some might read all these posts about how to comment, fret over whether their feed-back is polite enough, poignant enough or what have you, then give up on commenting all together.

I think the Golden Rule would apply here - if it's not the kind of feedback you'd want to get, then don't give it on someone else's story.

[a-pilgrim-soul.livejournal.com]

I think the only time that I've found myself annoyed is something that was slightly different to what you're talking about, when I wrote "No Distance Left To Run" I got a rather snotty review saying that I should have labelled the story better, or consider changing the title, because putting the word Run in the title clearly implied it was a Ronon fic - something that had never actually occurred to me.

I have also had a couple of people who seem to think that "friendship" actually means "light romance" and seem to sulk if they don't get that but to be honest I just let it wash over me, reviews are a nice thing to have but a comment from someone I know and respect, such as yourself, means more to me than someone I've never heard of throwing their toys out of the pram because I don't write things exactly as they want them.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I mostly get annoyed with unhelpful critiques because 1) they're not helpful and 2) they won't stop coming! Even after asking people to be more polite in their critiquing, and reminding them that spelling mistakes still happen even when you have a beta looking things over.

One or two little annoying comment isn't bad, it's when I get one after another after another that it drives me crazy.

And the review I mentioned - the McKay bashing one - kind of did that. It didn't continue the McKay bashing per se, but it was pretty obnoxious and it got me wondering if the author had gotten sick of them by now. I haven't seen any comments from that reviewer for a while.

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

I received a review recently that said a specific slash relationship would have made the story better even though it specifically states on my bio that I don't write that. *shrugs* I don't mind requests (more Weir, more whump, etc), and I'm thrilled that someone took the time to read something I've written and responded to it. But I find it odd when people express disappointment when their own agenda isn't followed in a story someone else wrote.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

But I find it odd when people express disappointment when their own agenda isn't followed in a story someone else wrote.

There is a temptation to do that, there really is. I've been tempted a couple of times, myself, to write a review asking why the writer decided to make the story slash - usually because the story was labeled as gen, and the slash part popped out at the end without warning or any real purpose (one story in particular had left me feeling rather nauseas.) But I always refrain from doing that. It had also taught me a lesson - stick with the authors I know. Sometimes it means missing out of some good stories, but I always ended up running into more bad than good, anyways.

Anyways, sorry for the brief topic change there.

I actually like it when people make requests, so long as they don't go overboard with it. For example - asking me if there will be McKay whump or if I can whump him, too, as well as letting me know what their squicks are. I write for me, yes, but I do want to make my stories something others can enjoy, and it doesn't take much to make a story less squicky. I do have a low toerlance for when people try to tell me how to write, which was the case with this one particular Ronon fan (Kristen999 has suffered their reviews as well) trying to tell me how to whump Ronon when they know I'm a shep-whumper. For the most part, their reviews don't bother me. After a while, though, it does get a little old.

[reen212000.livejournal.com]

Whoa. I'm so glad I don't write well enough to have people give me many problems. I write to please myself, and it's nice when someone agrees with my choice of storytelling. But I have seen some doozies in the comment area. Some people completely miss the point.

Honestly, I'd rather have people comment to see if I understood what I was writing. If it's clear enough, then I'm happy they took the time to read it. I don't know if you've ever looked at your stats at ff.net, but I've looked at mine on occasion. The amount of people who read and don't offer feedback is staggering. On the other hand, maybe I don't want to know what they think. LOL

I guess I just want to know what the reader got out of it. I've never had a beta, and frankly betas scare me. I can just see me throwing a fit because they don't understand my vision. It's ridiculous, I know. It's taken me years to actually let others read my stuff, let alone post it for the whole world to see.

So unhelpful reviews get ignored. If you don't like a certain character, don't read the story. If you do read it, and can't get over your disdain, please be one of the hundreds who don't leave reviews.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

It's been only recently (as in last year and this year), for me, that I've been getting a lot more "unhelpful" reviews. I do try to ignore most of them, but I'm kind of a defensive person. When someone leaves a review that's leaning toward rude, is unhelpful, or accusing me of something - and such reviews just keep coming and coming and coming - it's hard for me not to react by responding and clearing things up. Politely, of course.

I've never had a beta, and frankly betas scare me. I can just see me throwing a fit because they don't understand my vision. It's ridiculous, I know. It's taken me years to actually let others read my stuff, let alone post it for the whole world to see.

I was the same way until I wrote Castles in the Sky. My plan was for that story to be the only one beta'd, mostly because I'm not a patient person and don't like to wait around for a story to be checked over. Also, like you, I tend to be very protective of my work. But I believe the beta bug has latched on and won't let go. Drufan offered a lot of excellent feedback and ideas (and especially chapter titles) that helped a lot. I doubt I'll go as far as having every one-shot looked over, but chapter-fics definitely. Heh, betas aren't so bad once you get used to 'em ;).

[alipeeps.livejournal.com]

On a related matter, a little thing that bugs me from time to time is people leaving reviews saying "Really good, please write more of this", or along those lines, on a fic that is clearly a oneshot, that is clearly marked as complete and that often by it's verry nature is constrained from being taken any further (e.g. a missing scene tag fic that ends where the canon episode picks up). It just... yeah, I'm glad they like the story so much they'd like to read more but it a) bugs me a little and b) actually kind of devalues the positive review a little for me because it suggests to me that the "more please!" response is more of an unthinking, knee-jerk reaction and not a genuine desire to read more of this particular story because they don't seem to have read even what there is of this story with enough attention to realise that it is done and finished. Similarly, you wouldn't believe the amount of people who put a story alert on clearly-marked as COMPLETE stories on ffnet! :/

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That's why I have the suspicion that many people don't really pay attention to what they're reading - whether labels, author's notes or the story itself.

It could also be that they're new to fanfic and don't quite have a grasp of the one-shot and tags, are being general in that they just want you to write more stories similar to what you just wrote (the same quility, or with the same amount of details, etc.) or are hoping you will write more as some authors have continued with their one-shots, even though their initial intent was to write a single story.

Still, though, at times it does feel a little like lazy reviewing. I don't mind simple reviews myself (this was good, excellent, I liked this and so on) but when they add "please write more of this" (unless I made a remark on continuing the story, or the story was an AU that always has room for continuation) it does give me the impression that they were commenting without really thinking about what they'd read. Like you said, going with a knee-jerk reaction, probably even using the same comment for every story they read.