Comments

[author_by_night]

 I've been seeing a lot of people talking about the lack of comments. So, let's talk about it.

I have a few theories.  

First: Are kudos being counted in this conversation? Because I think that makes a difference. It took me a long time to see kudos as comments, given that I'm a Fandom Old who remembers when you couldn't really hit fancy buttons. You had to hit reply, hope you were logged in, and type a comment. Over time, I've come to count them, but I still prefer comments. Especially on chapter fic. I've written chapter fic where I didn't receive many comments, and I wasn't sure if it was because people lost interest, or they'd used their one kudos and that was it. Like that one call from jail.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, some of my theories:

• I'm going to be an old fart here and blame phones. Okay, I give them only a small fraction of the blame. But here's the thing - going back to my fandom old days, people generally went online when they had time. Baby was napping, they were home from work, they were on their lunch break and lucky enough to have an oblivious boss who thought Livejournal was a news website, it was Sunday afternoon. Now I talk to friends on Evilbook Messenger who are in between soccer practice runs. People go online on the toilet. I actually think that's stilted internet communication in general; there really isn't a captive, attentive audience the way there was 20 years ago, or even ten years ago, really. (I feel like it was about ten years ago that people started using the internet on their phones regularly, and not just in times of desperation.) 

The other issue with phones? They're hard for some of us (me) to type on. I'll own it, I have meant to leave a comment before, but I read the fic (or whatever else) on my phone, meant to comment when I could type something longer than "I'm at the restaurant got us a table", and it never happened.
 

• I think in the case of some fandoms, they became active in 2020. What happened in 2020 that meant a lot of people weren't leaving their houses very much? Yup. And it seems to me that a lot of people really didn't become active again until early 2022. I know that while I was back in the office by late 2020, I wasn't seeing people in large quantities until early 2022.  So that's two years of people being able to read and comment a lot more, before their lives went back to being busy. 

 

• Going along with this, in general, the fandom may have been inhabited by people who had time in the social distancing years, and then everyone moved on. And even if 2020-2022 has little to nothing to do with it, it is true that fandoms don't seem to have a very long lifespan these days. So it may just be that the fandom's gone stagnant. 

 

• Some people are afraid they'll comment the "wrong" way. It's weird to comment on older fics.  Your comments need to be long. They can't be too long. Emojis are cringe. Among other worries. 

While I realize you're supposed to "write for yourself", we can't deny that people like comments. They like feeling part of a community. Also, it's just nice when your work is appreciated. So, what can we do? I have a few ideas.

• If you are one of those people who won't respond to things while you're on your phone, try marking for later, or emailing the fic to yourself. 

 

• I try commenting on chapter fics, if I've already used up one kudos. Please let people know you're still reading. If you're not reading at all because you don't read WIPs, may I suggest letting the writer know if you've interacted with them before? I'll be very honest here, I once almost trashed a WIP because no one was commenting. 

 

• Don't be afraid of commenting the "wrong way". People LOVE reviews on their old work. People don't care how long or short your review is.  Emojis are adorbs. If the writer doesn't like it, welp, that's their problem.   

 

What does everyone else think?

Comments

[mossy_bench]

I think my thoughts on this from the perspective of a fic-writer are too scattered for me to articulate fully right at this moment, but I'll share some thoughts from a commenter's perspective.

I do try to leave a comment on anything I enjoyed. In general, though, I leave comments because I want to communicate with the writer, and if it feels like they're unlikely to see it, I'm less likely to write one. I'd be curious if other people feel similarly or have a different outlook!

I'm more likely to leave a comment on a fic (or to leave a more detailed comment) if:
- It doesn't have any comments yet, or the ones it has are very short/general
- It's a rare fandom/character/ship/etc. and I desperately want to encourage them to write more
- The author replies to comments (though I still sometimes leave comments if they don't)
- They express excitement in the A/N about connecting with other fans/wanting to know people's thoughts

I'm less likely to leave a comment on a fic if:
- They replied to earlier comments but they haven't responded to any in more recent years (it makes me think they've left the fandom or are inactive)
- I read it without knowing the fandom
- It's some insane porn that I'm not entirely sure how to comment on/not even sure I can make a public bookmark of
- It's a popular fic that's already received tons of comments (I might comment in this situation if the author still replies to comments)

[shipperslist]

I'm more likely to leave a comment on a fic (or to leave a more detailed comment) if:
- The author replies to comments (though I still sometimes leave comments if they don't)

and

I'm less likely to leave a comment on a fic if:
- They replied to earlier comments but they haven't responded to any in more recent years (it makes me think they've left the fandom or are inactive)

Same! I appreciate replies to my comments, so I always try to reply the comments I get. Also, I like conversation in the comments of my own works, lol.

[mific]

It's fascinating how transactional it all is, giving writers feedback in a fandom setting and the comment "economy". I wonder if anyone's done a thesis on it?

[author_by_night]

- They replied to earlier comments but they haven't responded to any in more recent years (it makes me think they've left the fandom or are inactive)

Yeah, I'm about the same there. It's less "new comments on old fics are awkward" and more that I can see they haven't responded to other recent comments either.

I'll add that I have trouble commenting on drabbles and ficlets, because I'm often not sure what to say. I will sometimes just leave a heart emoji.

[senmut]

Time. Form factor of where it was read. Tendency to download the AO3 fics and read them offline. Purity culture intimidating folks.

[falkner]

> Tendency to download the AO3 fics and read them offline.
Good point. Anything longer than 50k goes in my e-reader and I rarely will go back to comment on the original work on AO3, but those stories are also generally multi-chapter, which I'm less likely to comment on in general.

Feedback and motivation, in writing

[mific]

Those are good points!

The whole issue makes me think about how we interact with responses to our writing in general, in any space. Like, who do we write for? For others? For ourselves? For a friend-group? For a fandom group? I try to tell myself that I'm writing for myself, that I don't need feedback in whatever form, but I think I'm fooling myself. :)

So I wonder, how do we maintain motivation to write? The image of the driven, lonely writer in a garret scribbling words because they can't not write is romantic, but most of us are social creatures. I've had to adjust my expectations about comments massively from the old LJ days when the fandoms I played in were larger and more active. These days my fandoms are still active, but they're a lot quieter and a few appreciative comments mean a lot.

I remember how some of the popular writers I love used to move from one fandom to the next, as each new fandom gained energy. I can't so easily do that as I'm, if not mono-fannish, at least in a stable poly relationship with two main fandoms, both old ones with closed canons. (And happy to play in others briefly for fests, challenges, etc.) And moving to a new, larger fandom is no guarantee of more feedback as you can easily feel lost in the rush, with so many others jumping on board to try out tropes and ideas in a new setting.

I guess I'm lucky as I can go back and re-read my own fics, and enjoy them. Yes, there's always an annoying typo or two (how?? I betaed it umpteen times already!) so in a real sense I do always write for myself. I find writing harder these days than other fandom things I do, like art or podfic, so completing a fic to my satisfaction makes me feel good, in itself. (And if you want to bring up a lack of comments and other feedback, let's talk about podfic!)

But that's just my take on it - how do others feel about the feedback and motivation thing, with our writing?

Re: Feedback and motivation, in writing

[china_shop]

Like, who do we write for? For others? For ourselves? For a friend-group? For a fandom group? I try to tell myself that I'm writing for myself, that I don't need feedback in whatever form, but I think I'm fooling myself. :)

I feel like I write each story with a certain expectation wrt audience, and I deliberately try to keep that expectation on the low end (so I can maybe be pleasantly surprised). I do write "for myself", but even with the really rarepair or niche stuff, I know there'll be one or two other people who might be into that thing. It's really hard to finish anything sizeable otherwise. Opportunity cost!

When I'm writing for one of the main pairings in my fandom, I have to be careful not to compare feedback with other people's response rates, because that can really get me down (even though, obviously, a billion factors are at play beyond whether my fic is good). It's much more helpful to focus on the positive -- the kudos and comments I do get.

I really hear you about the mono/dual-fannishness. Fandoms that were huge ten or twenty -- or even a few -- years ago are much quieter now, and I tend to stay in my fandoms for years and years. I got into Guardian at the end of 2018. And there does inevitably come a point where I'm like, "I've made these two fall in love a hundred times now... can I really find a fresh approach that's still in character?" Sometimes this leads to me experimenting with previously unexplored pairings to keep things fresh.

Anyway, this feedback/motivation topic always makes me think of Jon Ronson's podcast The Butterfly Effect, about pornhub's effect on the US porn industry: how tagging made people create to the tags (and push harder and harder into those tropes to try and stand out from the crowd), and how piracy meant it became almost impossible to make a living from mainstream porn. The conclusion some industry people came to was making custom porn to spec -- which seems to me an awful lot like fannish exchange culture: writing a fic for one person's request, and relying on that person to provide you juicy enough feedback to make up for (possibly) not reaching a wider audience.

[sgatazmy]

I think comments are a huge part of what makes writing fun for me. I go back and read my comments and adore them. I’ve never been hugely popular, but I’ve gained a little traction lately and I feel I have been getting comments. I notice, however, few people comment after it’s been a few days, even if the kudos count is moving up still. I don’t know why it should matter when a fic is read in terms of people deciding to comment?

I lose motivation with no comments because it feels lime I’m isolated and there is no one to share the squee with.

I write lots of comments. If I like something, I want the author to know and I want to be in community. Sometimes I do just leave a kudos but if it is multi chapter then I really think comments are helpful. I hate it when I am posting multiple chapters and I don’t even know if people are still reading or gave up after chapter 1.

[mific]

I don’t know why it should matter when a fic is read in terms of people deciding to comment?

I wonder if it's a friend thing with feedback - i.e. people who know you through fandom are more likely to give feedback, and once those in that group who've read your fic & feel up to commenting have done so, readers still continue to access your fic (and leave kudos) but if they aren't fandom friends or acquaintances they might be less likely to comment?

[switchbladeeyes]

I try to be a good commenter and like to leave substantive comments because I know that could make someone's day.

I certainly enjoy receiving comments. I write in tiny fandoms (and one in which getting comments doesn't even seem that common as a general matter). But I keep on plugging away. I answered a question recently about what I think makes something I wrote "successful." Answer: if I enjoy reading it.

So, in sum, I love getting comments because who wouldn't. I try to be a good commenter because I know that. I don't find a lack of comments derailing though.

[mific]

I try to be a good commenter and like to leave substantive comments because I know that could make someone's day.

Yeah, quality feedback like that makes a huge difference, so good on you! Especially in smaller fandoms.

[nagi_schwarz]

I have once heard the argument that writers shouldn't "write for comments" is disingenuous; after all, no one expects an actor to be happy to step onto the stage in front of an empty house. Also I think fandom is different in that a big part of fandom is the sense of community, in sharing what we enjoy with others (and knowing that we are part of the community and others in the community see us). On the other hand, I well know that "quality" of writing rarely correlates smoothly with hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks. Some of my favorite fics that I've written, that I think are some of my best work artistically, have little or in some cases no comments, but also I knew they'd be unpopular as I'd written for rare pairs or weird AU scenarios or whatnot, and I was okay with that going in.

That being said, I adore feedback. I hoard my little kudos emails in my inbox and eagerly await them every morning.

As a general rule, I leave at least a small comment on a fic I enjoyed, just because I know I love comments (but also I am quite adept at typing on my phone, which started as a survival mechanism at work and is now a survival mechanism as a mum of three if I want to ever write fic ever again lol). Where I hang out in a small fandom, I try to leave at least a kudos on even the most appallingly-written (i.e. terrible SPAG/formatting) fic just to encourage writers in the fandom in general (I know many of them are young/inexperienced/ESL writers and just need time to develop their skills). If I make it to the end of a fic, even if I just skim it, I at least give it a kudos. I do also try to leave comments for rarepairs/small fandoms and that sort of thing.

I do think kudos counts as something, though knowing my personal philosophy behind a kudos, I don't "weigh" them the same as a comment. But also...people sometimes leave lovely comments in bookmarks, so sometimes I go look at the bookmarks on a fic to see what people say! (Some people also leave ratings, which I know some authors can find discouraging.)

I have only once found a lack of comments super derailing, and it was because I'd written the fic for a fic exchange and the recipient never left a comment on it...even though they responded to a comment I'd written on another of their fics so they hadn't gone inactive...

[mific]

a big part of fandom is the sense of community, in sharing what we enjoy with others (and knowing that we are part of the community and others in the community see us)

Very much this - there's a transactional/social contract aspect to getting feedback within fandom, and writing something specifically for a recipient's request then not having them leave any comment is always jarring. It's happened to me twice and it's always unpleasant, even if other people have left comments.

Great topic!

[thatjustwontbreak]

I think that there has been an influx of people consuming fanworks who do not know our norms to the extent that they don't even understand how AO3 works. I've seen discussion on tumblr where it's been posited that the younger generation and people who are new to fandom in recent years think that AO3 and archives are algorithmic, so they think that their view has more weight than it actually does (because on tiktok when you view something for the full length of the video or more than once, tiktok then feeds you more videos like that). So there's that.

I agree that it's harder to comment when reading on a tablet/phone, but I don't think that is a real barrier for Gen-Z and younger. I think that they could easily type a 5-paragraph essay with their thumbs.

Personally, whether or not I comment has the most to do with my own mental health and also what I'm up to at the moment. When I do comment, I do all varieties of comments. I'll do the drive-by: "Loved this!!!!" or "Great new chapter!" I'll leave a 400 word monologue where I quote my favorite sections of the fic and do commentary. I'll describe what I was doing when reading the fic (or listening to the podfic): "I am currently on jury duty and I cannot convey to you how this curtainfic got me through. My physical body may be at the court house but my heart is with your Steve and Bucky and their lasagna." Sometimes I'll get into crit theory and talk about how their work is in conversation with important ideas. If I've read someone before, I might talk about themes that I see across their work or try to describe to them what it is that is so special about what they do that keeps me coming back. It really just depends on what they're doing and what I have the wherewithal to type out.

I will also go back and comment on fic that I've already commented on if I'm doing a re-read. Not always, but enough that it's a practice I'm comfortable with doing.

Regarding comments on my own fic, I am always incredibly touched that anyone took the time to comment. Like, beyond the beyond.

Like that one call from jail. I laughed.

Re: Great topic!

[mific]

I will also go back and comment on fic that I've already commented on if I'm doing a re-read. Not always, but enough that it's a practice I'm comfortable with doing.

Yes, even leaving "Re-read kudos" is a boost for a writer. I do a lot of reccing so I often do something simple like "Still love this!" then link them to the rec. Also as it's frustrating to get an uptick in comments/kudos and figure that the fic's been reccd, but not know where.

[lucy_roman]

I do like getting comments, everybody does. There are a very few people who comment often on the fic I write and those few comments do make me very happy. I will leave comments on a fic, especially if I 'know' The writer.

[mific]

Yes I was speculating in a comment above about the "friend" effect - that readers may be more likely to leave a comment if they know the writer through fandom in some way. Interesting!

[mythicmistress]

I am terrible about commenting. I don't even use the kudos button.

The main factor in this for me is sheer paranoia- First off, I completely failed to read the room around commenting, and left unsolicited concrit (and the writer got understandably angry). Second, I was subjected to a horrific breach of privacy by my dad (which continued well after I became an adult) and I'm pretty sure he knows my username. Third, I worry that even if a fic doesn't have anything troublesome in it , it may show up later and cause trouble for me. So I stopped. Even though I made an alternate account on AO3. I've tried comment bingo, but it didn't feel quite like I was commenting on my own, if that makes sense. And you can't delete "signed" kudos.

As from a creator's perspective, well, I shattered my self confidence a long time ago, so I try to tell myself not to be disappointed if nobody says anything. (And frankly, my stuff needed more work before being dumped on AO3.) Sure, it would be nice if I was acknowledged (even if negatively) but I can live without it.

[mific]

I'm so sorry you've had such a rough time with the breach of privacy and are finding it hard to enjoy being part of fandom. I hope things get better for you.

[falkner]

> First: Are kudos being counted in this conversation?
Maybe it's because I don't leave kudos in lieu of comments, but I would never count them as such. I personally just hit the kudos button any time I make it to the end of a fic and I didn't hate it (doesn't even need to be something I found particularly good or interesting). It's more, like... a pat on the back, "That was some value of entertaining, keep at it!"

[mific]

I personally just hit the kudos button any time I make it to the end of a fic and I didn't hate it

That's my philosophy too! If I made it through, I'll kudos it. :)

[rattfan]

I've gotten some good comments on my stuff on A03. Even on the occasional [ahem] X-rated, which I found hilarious, because I hadn't expected for that to be treated anything like literature. I hadn't realised there was any problem re comments/kudos, actually.

I always respond to comments. Even one in Spanish where I had to translate it first (g).

I'll leave kudos on anything I liked, even if the grammar/proofing leaves something to be desired. I'm a little cautious about commenting myself, and generally do it to encourage a writer to keep going in a fav fandom.

[mific]

I always respond to comments. Even one in Spanish where I had to translate it first (g).

Ha! I had to do the same with one in Russian, once.

Kudos as general encouragement seems to be common. I always try to remember to leave it wherever I leave a comment, and if I don't quite feel up to commenting then I might just leave kudos.

[tinypinkmouse]

I used to comment more, and seemed to have a lot more to say in the past. These days it takes so much energy from me to manage a decent comment. I'm actually more likely to comment when I'm on my phone, because then I'm most likely lying down in bed and have a tiny bit more energy to spare. (Typing on phone right now.) I do try to comment, but I'm often reading on my e-reader, and I really just forget to if I don't do it immediately after reading, or then I just can't think of anything to say later.

I'm more likely to comment on things that have few comments, mostly because if I have to be selective with what I have energy for that seems more worthwhile than to comment on something that already has a lot of comments.

As a writer I don't actually think I get too few comments or anything. I have trouble answering all the ones I do get (that whole lack of sufficient energy again), because I want to answer all of them! What I do wish is that more of the comments would turn into conversations, that seems to be a thing that doesn't happen much these days. Partly that's probably on me, because I'm sometimes very late in answering my comments and can't think of anything to say apart from the most basic thank you.

I really have started hating seeing the whole "write for yourself" thing everywhere. If I did that no one would ever see the fics. I post them because I want to connect with people! I want people to read them. I want to hear that I did good. Posting the fic takes a surprising amount of energy and I wouldn't do that if I was writing solely for myself.

[brumeier]

I really have started hating seeing the whole "write for yourself" thing everywhere. If I did that no one would ever see the fics. I post them because I want to connect with people! I want people to read them. I want to hear that I did good. Posting the fic takes a surprising amount of energy and I wouldn't do that if I was writing solely for myself.

Same!! Yes, I write because it's something I've always enjoyed doing. But the whole point of fandom is to share that writing with others. I feel like the same people who give the dismissive 'write for yourself' advice when people ask for suggestions about getting more traction in their fandom are also the ones saying you can't expect people posting fic to bother with basic grammar, formatting, or tagging because it's free. ::shakes fist:: Free doesn't equal trash!

[minoanmiss]

Comments comments comments I love kudos and comments! I love giving them and I love receiving them. My daily kudos email is one of the highlights of my day.

I almost always reply to comments and I feel bad when it takes me a month or so to do so. I love discussions and mutual squee. I hate discouragments (along the lines of "I read this clearly labeled A/C story and now I'm going to tell you why A/B is superior") but that's another day. I try very hard not to write the last.

I kudoize everything I don't hate, definitely everything I finish and some stories I don't (if it's a charming rarepair written by someone who overuses "the taller man" and so on I'll give them kudos for writing it even if I don't finish it.) I write comments when I can, even just one word. If I don't know what else to write I'll comment about the emotional state the story induced in me.

[brumeier]

Wow, you're a real commenting superstar! ::grins::

[overmore]

I won't lie, sometimes I have trouble commenting anything besides "good fic, fic good" or anything along those lines, which frustrates me a lot. I wanna give people longer comments or comment on what's happening in the fit or what I liked, but my brain will stop working the moment I go to the comment box.

On why people don't leave comments much, I assume the current overall status of fandoms in general, you will be outright harassed for liking the wrong thing if people are aware of your comment. Sometimes people just straight up don't want to because they don't think it matters, to them kudos are enough. I don't think people realise how much comments mean to writers, no matter how many times you see posts telling others to just comment something, anything, even spam emojis or keyboard smash something in all caps.

[brumeier]

my brain will stop working the moment I go to the comment box

Boy, do I feel that! Sometimes it's such a struggle to just leave a simple positive comment. Which is funny, because I know how much I love even getting one little heart emoji comment. I don't know why I feel I need to leave something more comprehensive.

[brumeier]

I try to be good about replying to comments people leave me, but sometimes one falls through the cracks. I always want to thank readers who take the time to comment, even if it's just with a heart emoji or a 're-read kudos' note. I'm thankful for all of them!

For the people whose fic I read regularly, I always try to comment, even if I didn't particularly like it. If I make it all the way to the end of a fic, I'll leave a kudos unless it was bad, bad, too bad, all bad, and then I just move on. Someone would really have to be begging for concrit for me to leave any.

If I've been gifted a fic, I will find all the nice things I can say about it even if I didn't enjoy it. When someone takes the time to write me a fic, I'm very appreciative of the work they put in at the very least.

Kudos for me aren't weighted quite the same as comments, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy getting my daily email about them. I love seeing what people are reading! Especially when I get a reader who's given me a kudos on like twenty fics at a go. Binge reading kudos are awesome!

[mific]

OMG yes - binge kudos make me want to wave at the kudoser and say "Hi! You're reading my stuff! woohoo!" :D

[maevedarcy]

I personally comment on everything. If I read it, I find something to say even if it's just a heart emoji because I'm tired. I know that for me every single comment on my fics feels precious and it's treasured forever, so I try to do the same.

I'm also the kind of person who leaves very enthusiastic comments on things I liked, specially if I'm rereading because every time someone's told me they've reread my fic I've ascended to the heavens.

In my opinion, comments are awesome and it's nice to hear back from someone who's read what you wrote but I also have lowered my expectations as I write in some small fandoms or very rare poly ships, so if I get one comment I consider it successful, but I do think we should all try to comment more in general because fandom doesn't exist without feedback and people who share your excitement.

[mific]

You sound like a great commenter! I try to comment on everything too, but I'll at least leave kudos if I'm not up to it. And yes, re-read kudos and comments are especially touching. :)

[lobelia321]

I adore comments on fic I wrote 20 years ago. I'm sure we all do. Interesting musings. With me it was the demise of LJ. AO3 feels more anonymous. I read fic on my kindle and internet access from kindle is stupidly annoying so I have a folder "fic to feedback" and ofc I don't get around to it. Periodically I do a fb zap. So I am so happy at the random fb I get when I know how bad I myself have become.

[mific]

Such a pain when a device impedes feedback. I get that a bit as I use the kindle app on mobile and like you, download anything as a ebook that's not really short. But in the kindle app I can still leave feedback through a link at the fic's end (I just have to remember to do so!)

[pir8fancier]

I'm greedy. I like both comments and kudos. I have tried to respond to every single comment I have received over the years because if someone has taken the time to leave a comment, then I can take the time to respond to it. If the comment is hostile--something that has been on the uptick--then I don't respond. I loved engaging on LJ with readers. I don't need people to agree with my plot or character choices, but I demand that we have a civil discussion and not "your writing sucks," end of the story.

I do think that comments have dropped off for several reasons. The triple whammy of LJ doing asshattish thing, the rise of tumblr3, and the rise of A03 (and let's throw Dreamwidth in there). I think these three events, all happening more or less concurrently, splintered fandom. I found tumblr impossible to navigate, so I never participated over there. It seemed to be a bullhorn and nothing else. Now it feels that the rise of Discord has also had a profound effect on the "mass" of fandom exiting to other platforms. Basically, fandom has been balkanized among several platforms, which I think contributes to the dearth of comments. You just don't have critical mass anynmore.

I'm not really writing in fandom anymore, but I still get several comments a week on my stuff (some of which is over 20 years old! Weird.) It is my experience that someone on tumblr or Tik Tok recommends a story of mine, then I'll get several comments in a row on the same fic. A03 seems to be the hub where people access fic, but it's not the hub where people come to just explore.

[mific]

Wow, the hostile comments sound crappy! And yeah, all the different platforms have fragmented fandom and diluted feedback.

A03 seems to be the hub where people access fic, but it's not the hub where people come to just explore.

Depends what you mean. I still go searching for different kinds of fics in specific fandoms on AO3, but maybe that's as I do a lot of reccing (the reccing comms are mostly on DW). I rarely see people putting together big rec lists these days though, just a few on tumblr. One way to explore is to look up writers you like on AO3 and check their bookmarks. If they're a bookmarker, there's often gold there.

[mific]

If we look at a fic from 2002, it's not surprising if it has more comments because it's been online for over 20 years so it's had more time to gather them – but how many of those would be from the time when it was newly posted?

This applies to AO3, but not to LJ. I caught the tail end of the LJ days and even though my fandom had cooled off a bit it was still common to get 20-30 comments fairly soon after posting, and more across the next few weeks. But the comments didn't slowly rack up in subsequent years like they tend to on AO3, and even less so as LJ got suckier and less popular and people moved to AO3 & DW. None of my old fics on LJ have gotten comments for many years (unlike my old AO3 ones).

re kudos: it makes fanfiction into a numbers game like social media.

Yeah, this has been discussed on tumblr, but I think it's just a few confused newbies who've only ever known sites with algorithms. The vast majority of AO3 users don't see kudos that way. It may be more of an issue in certain fandoms, maybe?

[verushka70]

I think you're right about the interaction being mostly on phones and people finding it hard(er) to type on them than on a laptop. Smartphones give you the Internet in your pocket, but they don't make it easy for old eyes and hands (hence the popularity of autocorrect - and it so often corrects incorrectly, heh).

My first fandom started in 1992. I am not even sure Netscape 1.0 was out at the time. I worked at a university so I had the Internet on my desk all day every day. But in the fandom I started in - Forever Knight - fic was sent via LISTSERV email lists. There were strict rules: Fic ONLY on fic lists, discussion ONLY (no fic) on email discussion lists. It made it hard(er) to send comments to authors and tbh, I didn't, back then.

Within a year or so, definitely by the mid-90s, people started creating their own web sites, and I wound up in another filmed-in-Toronto short-lived series fandom, due South. It was easy to email a comment; authors just put their "no flames please" email address at the end of their fics. There was an archive, too, so it was much easier to leave comments that way - again, author email at the top or bottom of the fic.

Then LJ happened. Then DW and AO3. Then smartphones took over. I was an early adopter of smartphones but the early ones sucked for the Internet, except for Blackberries. I was not an early adopter of AO3 though. I didn't get an account there until a pinch hit in 2013.

When I first wrote in fandom, I did not even really expect comments; my first fic went out on a LISTSERV fic-only email distribution list. Every once in a blue moon I would get a comment emailed directly to me. Then once I was LJ, I started to get comments - a lot more. I won't lie, it was very nice - a lovely little ego boost.

But over the course of moving from LJ to DW, getting an AO3 account eventually, and a bunch of RL crap I had to deal with over a period of years, I ficced more and more rarely. So I wasn't getting comments. No big deal; I had gone into fanficcing not expecting them.

Also I think it depends on what fic you're writing in which fandoms. I have been shocked at the number of comments and kudos I've gotten on a fic that was the first English language fic in a particular fandom (Heat 1995 w/Pacino and De Niro), because other than a couple Korean-language fics, that fandom had NO fic in English, and I had gone on AO3 looking for it. Finding none, I figured I had to write my own. So I did. I did not expect comments at all because, AFAIK, there IS no Heat fandom.

And yet. So many people commented and left kudos on that fic. Of course, it does not compare to the sheer volume of comments and kudos on my first TW fic; but the latter fandom was super active at the time. I don't think a TW fic would get that kind of attention now; fandom's attention has turned to other things.

I've had a couple of other one-off fics in tiny/non-existent fandoms. They don't get much in the way of comments or kudos, but that's because they're so tiny, I think. And no one comes looking.

[mific]

Smartphones give you the Internet in your pocket, but they don't make it easy for old eyes and hands (hence the popularity of autocorrect - and it so often corrects incorrectly, heh).

Tell me about it! If I have autocorrect I have to correct all its stupid assumptions, and if I don't have it I have to correct my own fumblefingered mistakes!

It'd good to be reminded of the way things have changed historically, as you've described. Recently I catch myself feeling on a bit of a limb, thinking my fandoms have moved away from what I like to write about, but a lot of it is these other factors making people comment less.

[huxleyenne]

Fandom olds who still use desktop PCs are my people. Not to say that we're good or superior for this, but that we're sitting at a level of technology that still makes sense to me. That we're typing words on a website using good ol' 20-year-old code, having a conversation, and it's just that. I don't go on DW or AO3 expecting people to jump down my throat with stupid debates or aggressive advertisements, and I don't expect to be harassed by random chatbots and AI search tools either. Beautiful pockets of the Internet like this still exist, and I hope that never changes.

I got my first cell phone in 2007, but I never warmed up to them. The more people (all ages, not just younger people) sank into their mini handheld devices, the less enthusiasm I had about the progression of computer technology. Now it's just gotten to the point where I barely recognize the world that I'm in anymore.

As an American citizen, I've never been less enthusiastic about frivolous spending in my life, and high prices are only one (relatively small for me) deterrent. It mostly comes from a place of not wanting "nice things" because my government wants me to covet my neighbor's goods, but the answer is no. Americans need to learn the concept of "enough" and I hope this decade gets that ball rolling, but I won't hold my breath.

What does this have to do with fanfiction?

Fanfiction once again emerged as my all-time favorite hobby lately. When I consider how not-for-profit, ergo untaxable, it is, it feels like the perfect fit in my life. Incredible how we've vilified "working for free" or whatever, without taking into account the reward of fulfillment, which (at least for me) is always satisfied by the creation of something new, and never satisfied by cash payment.

Now, I get it. People can't survive on nothing, so I'm not suggesting all artists/writers/ etc. should starve; however, art can't survive without authentic human expression, which takes work. That work is fueled by a creative process that only real people are capable of. Generative AI is just a shitty computer program that steals and repackages data imperfectly. Whether you view it as cheating or not, I don't understand how anyone can find anything fulfilling about its use at all.

Anyway, regarding comments and kudos, I would suggest that people be grateful for any engagement they receive right now. I have several multi-chapter fics in progress, and this is the point of view I'm trying to have. The world's a lot crazier now than it was ten years ago. People are not as eager to tie their names/identities/accounts to anything. Since dogshit tracking/surveillance/censorship is on the rise, that's probably going to deter them from interacting with things on the Internet more, especially where sexual and LGBT content comes in, sadly. :( It's a reality that sucks big time, but as writers and artists, we're going to have to eat it for the time being. The only wrong thing we can do is give up as a whole, which I doubt will happen.

[verushka70]

Dude. 100% agree. I was an early adopter of PDAs like the Palm IIIx strictly because it seriously helped me keep my undiagnosed (at that time) ADHD in check so I wasn't missing appointments & meetings. The only reason I really wanted a smartphone at all was because I was tired of carrying around an MP3 player (I CANNOT live without my music!!), my Palm PDA device, AND a phone, & smartphones allowed me to do/have all those things on ONE device. (Plus OK, yes: the ability to read fanfic on the fly, like while waiting at doctors & dentists offices.)

I know social media has done some good... but imho the bad it does & continues to do - because it is so easily controlled & the algorithms are so easily gamed by Bad actors - FAR OUTWEIGHS the little good it does. I wish it had never come into existence, tbh. (Except LJ & DW).

I find it unspeakably sad that young people don't know how to interact with AO3 because it doesn't have algorithms suggesting stuff to them; they actually have to LOOK FOR fic they'd want to read. How sad is that?

Anyway. Agree with all you said. Even though I have a weakness for reading fanfic on my Android phone... I make a point of NOT using it when I'm at dinner with someone, hanging out with a friend, over at dumdum mm someone's house. It's just rude imo but I know that people don't see it that way anymore... & haven't for a while.
:-(

[linky]

I've lurked for so much of my fandom life (though was socially active on deviantart and a couple other places. But didnt reach out as much as I did now) and only really begun to make an effort to be consistently social in 2018. I've definitely gotten better at leaving comments more consistently. A big hurdle for me was energy but also the mentioned fear of commenting wrong. That was a big one, I was worried (and still am sometimes) that my comment isn't substantial enough to convey my appreciation. Thankfully I havent gotten that impression from others in replies which has helped a lot.

There's so many factors, and others here have already said things I would have mentioned myself too.

I have also noticed the more you comment, the easier it becomes. Which definitely helps a lot too! It becomes a habit. The hard part is just jumping the hurdle so it becomes easier. But once it does it feels really good.

[mific]

I was worried (and still am sometimes) that my comment isn't substantial enough to convey my appreciation.

I think any comment is welcome as long as it's positive in some way, no matter how brief. That's certainly how I feel about any comments I get. And yes, it helps to make it a habit.