With Regards To Comment Deleters · 4:14pm May 6th, 2014
Though I probably won't get too many views on this, having none but a single follower at the moment (whom I can't even believe has decided to follow me to be perfectly honest), I still wanted to get this out there. Reason? I am. Sick. And tired. Of seeing. Comment. Graveyards. You know the ones, I hope; you click on a story, and when you scroll down to check the comments first before reading (as some readers are prone to doing), you find multiple instances of “Comment by [name] deleted on [so-and-so date and time]”.
Now, let me explain to you, very clearly, why this is a bad thing. (Get ready for a rant, folks.)
First off, let's get one fact perfectly straight. You are posting your story, publicly, on the internet. Other people, of pretty much any and all backgrounds possible, are going to be able to see it. There's no such thing as privacy on here, after all. And pretty much anyone that's a member on this site can also comment on it, as well. Comments, of course, serve two main purposes:
1: To provide feedback to the writer of a story.
2: To allow the commenter to express his or her personal opinion of the story.
The first thing is most important, as this is what helps writers get better at their trade; through feedback and criticism, they learn. Or at least, they should learn, so long as they pay attention and take heed of any and all advice given. (Which happens even less than you might expect, honestly.)
The second thing is also important. Why? Because it shows, quite simply, what the reader feels about the story in general. Whether he or she likes it, hates it, or is somewhat neutral; that's totally up to them to decide on. It's a little thing called “free speech”. You know, that thing that our country is more-or-less famous for. Look it up sometime.
And that brings me to the main problem: For whatever reason or another, a comment on a story gets deleted. In most cases, the author simply didn't like what the commenter had to say and refused to acknowledge it. And then, just to help restore his or her fractured ego, they delete it. Out of sight, out of mind? Not quite so, sadly; there will always be that telltale deletion bar left behind. Any more than a few of these in the comments without clear indication of why should be taken as an immediate red flag.
A common justification is that the person who commented is a so-called “hater”, and made a comment saying he didn't like the story or whatever. Said justification is, of course, complete and utter bullshit. Why? Because a negative comment is still a comment. A person taking the time to say he didn't like the story still chose to invest his time in commenting to express his opinions.
Yes, big shocker, I know; people do have opinions on the internet.
Think about it this way. A “hater” could have simply downvoted your story, and then moved on. Any more attention beyond that is probably more than your story deserves, so accept it with grace. Because at the end of the day, a comment is still a comment. It's still feedback. They didn't HAVE to comment, but they did. Now, some (like myself) are not subtle about it. They may mock your story, but still raise valid points. This is not a hateful comment. In fact, let me show you what counts as what:
Flame: “u suck”
Blunt: “ugh this story is shit, downvoted”
Quip/Snark: “I showed this story to my dad and he disowned me for even daring to look at it.”
Praise: “Wow, I reeeeeeally like this! :D”
Critique/Review: “It's good/okay/bad/has potential. Here's some suggestions/ways to improve...”
This is just my own categorizing of comment types, but those are the basics. Flames are basically spam that have nothing to do with the story in some cases, and are basically just there to do nothing but waste space. If any comment ought to be deleted, it's those. But even then, you're still better off simply reporting the spammer, as it would keep them from carrying on elsewhere.
Blunts are exactly that; comments that are very to-the-point, and cut most of the bullshit. They tell you what the commenter thought about the fic in no uncertain terms... and not a lot more than that. Not the best kind of comment you can get, but they still aren't hateful. There is no reason for these to be deleted.
Quips (I call them “snarks”, too) are a personal favorite of mine. They're like blunts in a way, but are fairly more creative and amusing than them. I tend to roam around, leaving comments like these on stories I feel deserve it. Hell, even on “good” stories I'll leave some comments of the sort, just in a non-negative fashion. Quips don't have to express negativity; they can also simply poke harmless fun, with no ill intent behind it. Like blunts, there is no reason to delete these; if you can't laugh at yourself, or at least accept jokes with dignity and humility, then you probably shouldn't be a writer.
Praise is perhaps, and I'm going to say this bluntly, one of the worst kinds of comments. This is the “baseless praise” I speak of, specifically; it's alright to get a review that praises a story, if it also gives valid reasons for such a thing. I like to call these kinds of comments “ego fuel” for obvious reasons; authors read these comments openly praising their story, and they gleefully accept it, ignorant of the fact that the commenter has provided no reason whatsoever for liking it and ignoring all the others with any level of criticism. Comments like “OMG I love this, make more!! :DDD” are nothing more than logs to stoke the furnace. Having said all that, these people at least show that they still like the story, so it would be polite nevertheless to thank them for their time. Deleting these is, naturally, not an okay thing to do; though no one in their right mind would anyhow, so that's a moot argument.
Now, a critique or review, conversely, is the best kind of comment you can get. In those kinds, the reviewer is taking time to analyze the story for what it is, and provides constructive criticism in an effort to help the author improve their writing. These are the comments most deserving of attention, since they are so useful and insightful to have. I've left a number of critiques on some stories that have also doubled as quips, so don't say I don't understand the importance of them. Reviews come in numerous forms: they can be short, or long. Polite and supportive, or blunt and vitriolic. Some might point out errors that you might have missed (misspelled words, punctuation, etc), and others might offer suggestions to improve the story. Take heed of the reviewer's suggestions, because they will help you get better.
So, now that I've gone ahead and ranted on about all that, let's get back to the matter at hand: deletion.
Deleting comments is, to reiterate, a bad thing. A very bad thing. In fact, I personally think the option to delete comments by the owner of a story/blog/etc should be scrapped entirely. Obselescence described this phenomena pretty much spot-on in a site blog post, so there's no excuse. Even he, one of the top mods, insists that you DO NOT DELETE COMMENTS. And let me give you some very good reasons why you should not:
1: It's basically censorship. People don't like that, and it only makes you come across as an egotistical prick. Having graveyards in your comments sections isn't good for your public image, trust me.
2: Deleting comments has been known to help spark drama. It's always happened for many other reasons, but deleting comments is not the best way to settle it—in fact, it could only make it worse. Unless you want an all-out flame war on your story pages, then simply grit your teeth and bear the comments that are oh-so-clearly causing you distress.
3: Your reputation will be tarnished. If you see a comment that you honestly believe is a flame, then just report the user. A mod will delete it if need be. Unless you had good reason for deleting comments yourself, and can offer proof, then commenters will end up thinking less of you. No one likes a “comment-deleter”. Readers that normally read comments first on stories might be scared away on yours, thus costing you potential readers (and followers).
Yep. Just like that.
4: You are shutting out the only source of help you're likely to ever get. Blunt or not, commenters are still taking the time to read your story and give feedback. Any feedback is still good feedback. Even if a person expresses their dislike openly, then perhaps you should stop to acknowledge that fact. Not doing so and deleting the comments anyway only tells us one thing...
5: You are openly expressing that you can't take criticism. If you refuse to listen to critiques, then just stop trying to be a writer. Right now. Because if you intend to take up ANY sort of writing as more than a hobby, then you are in for one hell of a shock down the line. It's hard to accept it sometimes, and trust me, I know, but the sooner you suck it up and realize that people are trying to help, then you'll be all the better. Just... grow up, people. Life isn't a free ride. Stop whining about “haters” and grow a pair.
Am I being clear here? I sure as hell hope so. Because I'm tired of people refusing to listen to comments and deleting them. A lot of times, it even happens for no good reason.
As a matter of fact, a friend of mine left comments on one story in particular. I've saved screenshots of the posts he made, along with others, and he's done nothing but be polite and constructive. And this is from a guy that's normally pretty pissy about stuff, so that's really saying something.
And guess what happened? All of his comments, including many that were directed to another user entirely and not even relating to the story, got deleted. For no reason.
...Well, that's not true. There was a reason. They, along with some other user's comments, got deleted because – not due to the criticism – but because the author didn't like their usernames/avatars. Yep. You just read that right.
Avatarists are a thing now, apparently.
I pretty much had the same reaction.
Deleting comments for no good reason? That's a reportable offence, you know. Even worse if the author keeps doing it, even going as far as to cover his own tracks and delete his own, possibly incriminating comments. Needless to say, this really pisses me off. And it's partly what drove me to write all of this in the first place. Going around on a deletion-spree can bring about a lot of bad press, especially when the commenters get angry and bring in their friends to help. Before you know it, things WILL spiral out of control, and it will only continue until either one side gives up, or a mod steps in.
My tips for commenters? If a story page seems like a danger zone, keep screenshots of your comments. Actually, try to keep as many screenies as you can. It could be kept as useful evidence for the mods, should it be needed. I'd recommend LightShot, personally; it integrates into your computer's Print Screen function, and lets you crop a screenshot to wherever you need it, and then upload and share it instantly. Very useful for on-the-fly commenting and saving, I find. Perfect foil for those that wish to keep the comments censored, as well. More than once I did indulge in politely informing some fellows that everything was being put on record, heh...
I've yapped on long enough about this, so I'll leave it at that for now. But I still seriously think something needs to be done regarding this issue. Rather than allowing simple deletion, I believe a “flagging” system would work better. I'm not sure how hard it would be to code such a thing, but honestly, enough is enough. Even with this blog I've made, and Obsy's as well, people will continue to be stuck-up and holier-than-thou gods of their own craft, deleting every comment (valid or otherwise) that doesn't agree that their story is the literary equivalent of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. It angers and sickens me, but unless something is done, then this ride will never end.
And that sucks, because I've only got one barf bag left.
~Blinkie
This. So much this. I am following you, good sir/madam out of respect.
2101423
Madam. And I'm... honored, I suppose. Thanks.
Huh.
Three followers, and besides this blog, I've hardly done a thing.
Life is a funny little game.
~Blinkie
I LOVE YOU.
2113359
Flattering, though you're generally supposed to at least buy me a drink first...
~Blinkie
I Agree With This 100% With a cherry on top !
I Don't know in hell how i got here.
fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/329/3/b/creepy_pinkie_pie_by_silverlininggirl-d6vm6qf.png
Pinkie Pie Smile HD.-
i181.photobucket.com/albums/x48/Sango_Youkai-Taijiya_000_Sango-chan0908/Miroku_willyoubearmychildren____ban.gif
You. I like your blorgs.
On one of the stories that I haven't even released yet, my prereader put his critique in the comments box. After listening to the critique (it convinced me to retool the first few chapters of the story), I told him that I was going to delete the comment afterward because it contained spoilers.
I did delete the comment.
Now he sends me his critiques through PM as a result.
Was this acceptable for me to do?
Silver out!
2272691
If a comment contained spoilers, then you could have easily asked him to use the [spoiler] tags to hide the parts that spoil it, since that's what they exist for. (Receiving critique through PMs is fine, also; the more streamlined the critique is, from critic to writer, the better.) So long as you had a valid reason for a deleted comment, then it's acceptable to do so.
Might be a good idea to highlight that you had a reason in case people call you out, though. [/selfdemonstration]
~Blinkie
2273248
Roger.
Silver out!
2137167
There was an occasion on one of my stories where a guy mass-deleted his own comments - and he was one of those people who posted several times in a row, too. I wound up with a page-long, nearly total comment graveyard.
Asked the mods if they could remove the deletion notices to avoid just that perception, but apparently they can't do that. Was a serious pain.
*Brd ptsd flashbacks*