Rules of Engagement - a poll for readers and writers

[leethet]

I've been reading, and trying to write, in a new-to-me fandom. This, and my archiving of my MFU stuff on AO3, has made me think about something.

One of the things I like about LJ is that it makes actual comments about as easy as it's possible to make them barring being face to face with an author after you've finished a story (well, easier than that - what if you hated it?). One of the things I've observed in my own reading behavior in this "new" fandom is my own commenting. Now, I don't finish about 90 percent of the stories I start to read (this is true of any fandom). Of the ones I finish, I find most to be just OK (keep in mind this includes my own [see earlier poll] so I hope I don't sound too awful). Because of this, that "kudos" button is the easiest thing in the world. It sends an accurately mild (in terms of my time investment) "this was OK" message to the author.

I like it and I don't like it.

I like it because it's the exact right level of involvement for a story I only sorta liked. If I really like something I leave a comment, because if I really like something, there's always something I have to say about it.

It echoes the "like" button on FB. This is why I don't like it (yes, I'm a hypocrite. Or just human). One of the things I don't like about FB is the pretense it allows of intimacy. Of engagement. It's an extension of those Christmas form letters - "Dear INSERT NAME HERE" followed by some boasting. It (FB) allows people to pretend to maintain relationships without any of the actual (to my old-fashioned mind) maintenance of those relationships.

In this way the "kudos" button is the same; it permits readers to feel like they've "done their part" (I don't, for the record, think readers are required to do squat for writers - just so that's clear) without having actually troubled to give real feedback. Then again, do people use it because they can't think of what to say, because they're lazy, because they're busy, because they're intimidated - or because, like me, they don't really like most stories enough to feel they merit more than a lazy, in-passing thumbs up (again, I'm not finding fault with any of these approaches, just wondering)?

So, a poll. And, as always, please elaborate in comments. The way writers and readers think about stories is endlessly fascinating to me.
[Poll #1974799]

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you. I do appreciate that (though you might well imagine I don't, given my comments here, but I really do. One can not need something and still enjoy it and acknowledge that it's good).

[franciskerst.livejournal.com]

Coming to that, you are probably the only author of which I've read almost all published stories, in two fandoms. But at the time, I didn't feel "proper" to comment the work of well-known authors. It sounded a little presumptuous to me. In the same way, when I recced stories in crack_van, I preferentially chose those which I thought could have escaped the attention of many readers. I'm afraid my comments on line were quite rare though I entertained some private conversations by mail when I had specific questions to ask. And when I started reading with a Kindle, I tended to quickly lose tracks of the sources.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

But at the time, I didn't feel "proper" to comment the work of well-known authors.

I felt the same way when I started in online fandom. You feel as if you're introducing yourself and in a strange way intruding on people you don't know. It's funny because the reality is that online authors are generally delighted to hear someone liked their stuff, but online readers (many, perhaps most of us) go through that "Who am I to bother this person, even to say something nice?" phase. It was knowing that I wanted to pay a compliment that got me through the first comment, but I was uneasy, and quite relieved when I heard back from that person with "Thank you!"