response to feedback etiquette

[lobelia321]

So liviapenn is sparking an interesting thread on how to feedback. And this sparked another thought in me: how to respond to feedback.

I happen to think that it behooves an author to reply politely to every single one of the feedback comments she gets, even to those comments she may find stupid or bland. Whether long or short or gushing or terse, every single comment (I think) deserves a reply, no matter how much trouble this is for the author, especially in cases where the author has ended up posting a 'fic that ate fandom' or somesuch.

But not everybody thinks that way. So: as author, do you

1) leave responses to feedback on principle?
2) leave responses to some feedback but not to all, and if so, which kinds of feedback do you tend to comment on? Detailed? Critical? Gushing? Unusual? Feedback from Friends?
3) leave no response at all, and if so, why? Do you read the feedback and not respond? Or do you not read it, and if not, why not?

I know there is one author at least, I've now forgotten who this was, who states categorically in her userinfo that she won't respond to feedback but reads it all. I found this quite helpful because at least I didn't have to feel singled out as the only one whose feedback was ignored and at least I knew my feedback was going to be read. But I still was puzzled as to why this author had chosen this modus operandi, and I was also annoyed and resolved not to read any more of her fics.

Although, as I have pointed out elsewhere, I will sometimes continue to read an author's fics on the sly, after that author has not responded to several of my feedbacks. But then what good is reading on the sly to an author? Don't we all want the feedback?

And: as reader, do you

1) not really care one way or the other if the author responds to your feedback?
2) get upset if the author does not respond, and take it personally?
3) keep nudging the author until you do get them to respond, and (out of interest's sake) how do you go about doing that and getting your success rate in the response department up?
4) scroll through the comments page to figure out which of the feedbacks have got responses and feel paranoid and singled out because yours has been ignored?

Comments

[kennahijja.livejournal.com]

Hm... my writer and reader selves have double standards on this issue :).

As an author, I usually only reply to comments on LJ out of laziness, and because the reply feature is so nifty. On archives, I usually only reply by email to a particularly thoughtful comment, or if there were questions.

With the exceptions of fics posted to comms I forgot about and got no LJ notification, I usually reply to all LJ feedback, with a 'thanks' if it's short, or more detailed if the comments are longer. Feedback makes me happy, and I want to express my happiness over it. The one thing I *always* give thanks for is concrit - too rare, and has to be encouraged.

As a reader, replies to my feedback make me happy also, but I don't expect them, or even think they should be expected, even less required. If a writer has something to say to my comments, that's fine, if not, equally fine. I mostly think that if someone wrote fic that made me happy, that's already enough. Fics are a gift, feedback is a gift, and so is a reply for feedback - if it's all voluntary, fine. Though I admit that if I get no responses to several pieces of lengthy feedback, I'm more inclined to read without commenting. But I *definitely* won't stop to read an author I like over something so minor!

While I do think that giving thanks for feedback is nice, and is probably a good way of encouraging more feedback, I don't much like building up a chain of expectations - the more 'conventions' there are built up around feedback (and the thing itself has given cause for looooong debates), the more insecure people might get to leave any feedback at all.

[trickofthedark.livejournal.com]

I now respond to feedback a lot more than I used to in the past, since it's quite clear that it is 'the done thing' in parts of the fandom. I still fail to respond to every bit of feedback that I get. I try, but I quickly get overwhelmed. It's like being ON at a party. I CAN do it, for a while, for about 2 hours, and then... I simply can't.

I love people, and I love all my feedback, and I love talking to people- but the truth is that I'm a shy introvert and talking to lots of people for a long, long, long time- even just commenting on their nice feedbacks via the internet- after a while I just can't do it anymore and I have to go away. It's enjoyable for me, but it's also hard work.

So, that means I respond to 'some' feedback, usually the first couple of feedbacks, feedbacks with questions, or things that strike my fancy, and after that I fail. I'm sure I'd get more feedbacks if I didn't fail and be more popular and all that, but I don't know where to buy the extravert personality upgrade. :(

*fails internet*

[annezo.livejournal.com]

As a reader:

Having come from the long-before-LJ part of fandom, I still tend toward emails for feedback, not LJ comments. I use LJ mostly if I'm feeling lazy or I don't have much really to say. (You can like a story without having a long, involved response to it.)

When I send an email, I expect an author to respond. I don't hold it against her or think ugly thoughts about her if she doesn't, but I do tend to expect it.

In LJ? Since I took no trouble with my comment, I expect no response.

It had not occurred to me before this moment that a multiplicity of LJ comments is viewed as a measure of success and that writers might prefer the briefest LJ comment response to any kind of email at all. So I may have to rethink my feedback policy.

As a writer:

When I was writing, I didn't get enough feedback to make responding to every email a problem. :)

[cofax7]

t had not occurred to me before this moment that a multiplicity of LJ comments is viewed as a measure of success and that writers might prefer the briefest LJ comment response to any kind of email at all.

Speaking only for myself, as a writer, if getting a long detailed email from a reader meant I would get one fewer two-word comment on an LJ post, that's a trade I would more than happy to make. Volume is nice, but substance is preferred by many of us. Both would, of course, be best. *g*

[blithesea.livejournal.com]

Funny, I have been feedbacking more lately since I've started reading in the SGA fandom. I haven't received much response to my feedbacks, but since they weren't usually detailed analyses of praise and disapproval, I wasn't miffed by it.

One author threw me by stating that she never replied to feedback because she didn't want to falsely blow up the number of comments appearing on her posts, which I found a pretty silly reason. Still, there's so much fic I have read and enjoyed and not replied to, I figure it's fair game for the authors to think along the same lines.

I do enjoy getting replies to feedback, nevertheless.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

stating that she never replied to feedback because she didn't want to falsely blow up the number of comments appearing on her posts
I've read such comments on several occasions and it always puzzled me.

[andolinn.livejournal.com]

I don't write very often, however, as an author I always respond to feedback. In fact, I respond to ALL comments in my journal. If you don't want to interact with people, turn off comments - don't let people like me who cannot touch type waste our precious time reaching out, if you're not going to reach back.

Which takes us straight to "If you do not reply to my comments - on fic or otherwise - I will take that as permission to read your fic/posts etc without feeling in any way obliged to comment."

Not replying, unless you have a very good reason (tendinitis, death in the family etc) is rude. Two word comments warrant two word replies. Long comments warrant longer replies. And since I always feel obliged to try to say something meaningful or helpful about a serious story, which takes time and energy, a response in kind would be nice. And no getting immediately defensive.

Sorry, you touched a nerve. Many footie authors are particularly bad. In BHD it was an unspoken rule that you replied to all comments...

[ios-pillow-book.livejournal.com]

I happen to think that it behooves an author to reply politely to every single one of the feedback comments she gets, even to those comments she may find stupid or bland. Whether long or short or gushing or terse, every single comment (I think) deserves a reply, no matter how much trouble this is for the author, especially in cases where the author has ended up posting a 'fic that ate fandom' or somesuch.

Yup, totally agree on that.

If I left someone a comment I wouldn't take it personally if I didn't get a reply, but I'd wonder if she has seen/read my comment at all, if she doesn't have the time to reply (and especially with superfantabulous writers I'd rather have them keep on writing instead of answering comments) or if she doesn't care about comments.

If I didn't get a reply to a comment I'd certainly not stop reading the author if I really liked her fics, but I'd most likely stop commenting, assuming the author isn't interested in interacting with the readers.

As a writer, it's not that I had to cope with such tons of feedback that I wouldn't find the time to reply. If someone has taken the time to leave me a comment I find it only polite to reply.

[birdgerhl.livejournal.com]

I know there is one author at least, I've now forgotten who this was, who states categorically in her userinfo that she won't respond to feedback but reads it all

how rude.

b.x >:(

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I always respond, even if it's only with a terse 'thank you' as it seems to me to be good manners. I like to get a response to my feedback just so that I know it's been received.

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

I intend to answer every single piece of feedback I get. I don't always manage it, for various not always sensible reasons, but when I don't it never has anything to do with the feedbacker (I even answer flames, once -- usually with 'sorry this didn't work out for you'), but only to do with my ability or inability to sit down and write comments. Once I posted a story and then promptly got flu, and once I posted a story right before a long trip, you know, stuff like that. Or sometimes I just blank on one, and answer it a month later.

As a reader I generally assume I won't get reponses, and thus get to be properly delighted when I do.

[bunnysquee.livejournal.com]

i've read a lot of writers/artists say that feedback is their only "payment," so i try to leave feedback for everything i like. i don't care one way or another if the person responds to my feedback; i've done my duty.

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine not responding to feedback. Feedback makes me very happy -- to me the feedback is a gift, a compliment - and when someone pays you a complicment, you say, "Thank you." I'm on the, "It's rude not to acknowledge feedback," team. (The exception being things like that first Smutmas fic that got about a gazillion comments.)

I do tend to give back what I get, meaning that a "Great!" will get a "Thanks!" and longer feedback gets a longer thank you.

I do generally expect a writer to respond to my feedback, but once I've left it, I generally don't think about it anymore. Thus, I don't notice if they don't respond.

Feedback

[paradise-city.livejournal.com]

I'm with melusinahp in thinking it's rude not to acknowledge feedback. I may not always be able to respond to individual feedback promptly, but I almost always respond. (As a side note, I once had an author reply to a bit of feedback I'd left her 9 months after the fact. Apparently she'd just missed the comment somehow and felt so badly when she realized it she replied to thank me and apologize. I thought that was very sweet.)

What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that you don't have to respond to all feedback individually. There have been occasions where I haven't had the time to do so and I just tack a note onto the end of the post: "Finals are roasting me with barbecue sauce and I don't have the time to reply individually, but thanks for the feedback!" or "My dial-up is slower than a turtle with a limp, so blanket thanks for all the awesome feedback will have to do. Thanks!" It takes ten seconds, but I think it's much more polite than not saying anything at all.

I suppose as a broader issue it has to do with one's reasons for participating in fandom. Some people are here to produce and consume fic and some people are here for the community. I'm one of the latter and consequently, a lot of what I do in fandom is aimed at fostering that sense of community. Responding to feedback is a big part of that for me.

[stewardess.livejournal.com]

I'm still embarrassed about not responding to the wonderful comments I received through yuletide last year. I responded to the fic's recipient, and that is all.

When I know RL isn't going to permit it, I try to warn in advance that I won't be able to reply to comments. But things happen: sick animals, broken arms, ISPs on the blink.

The author who rarely/never responds, and says so in her userinfo, is astolat. I commented on a couple of her stories through her website before I knew this, and I was bummed out when it seemed my feedback had gone into a hole. When I found out it was her policy, I was relieved, but I never sent her any feedback again, because if an author doesn't respond, you cannot be sure she or he saw it.

And yet I fully support her decision not to respond. Most of us are operating under time restraints; the hours or minutes we have to write fanfiction are squeezed into our lives. Responding to comments, participating in memes, congratulating your flist on their birthdays, eat into that precious time.

I know authors who have set other limits. Some say upfront they will not friend anyone new back, and do not read and comment in their flist. If they feel they must do this to have time to write, I'm fine with it.

For me, responding to feedback is critical, however. I don't do birthdays and memes, but that I must do.

Fandom is a voluntary economy, a bartering system, and feedback is how authors are "paid." We pay icon makers by crediting them in keywords. We thank our betas. We squee, share pics, recommend new authors to each other, write mash-ups, burn copies of obscure Sean Bean films, and praise the vidders.

Unanswered feedback feels like handing someone money which disappears without a trace.

[starbrow.livejournal.com]

As an author:

I. Um. I can say that I intend to reply to all my feedback. I don't know what happens to prevent this, but certainly something must, as my feedback tends to languish for months unanswered (or evers, more likely).

I think most of my gut reaction to positive feedback is "omg, you liked this piece of crap that I wrote? you must be insane! (or you are lying in an attempt to make me feel better)" but that's my self-esteem (or, rather, the lack of it, talking), and most of my reaction to negative feedback is either "rage!" or "cry".

As a reader:

I honestly do not care if the author replies, unless I've asked a question I want answered. I figure they wrote the story because they wanted to, I feedbacked because I wanted to, if they want to, they can reply. I don't need thanks.

Personally speaking, if someone doesn't like the fact that most of my feedback tends to end up unanswered, and they don't want to read my stories because of it, well, their loss. Why not just read them and /not/ send feedback, then?

[iridescentglow.livejournal.com]

I always find this question a little bizarre, because it seems to insinuate that if one doesn't reply to their comments, they simply haven't read them. Um, buzuh? Everyone reads the comments on their fic. They just do. Surely it would be a better assumption to make that the writer has lapped up the comments on their fic and, furthermore, been very very pleased by them? If you make that assumption it's not a difficult step to also assume that the writer appreciated your comment and the thanks was implicit. *shrugs*

While I'm expressing unpopular opinions, I also tend to deliberately keep my responses to feedback on LJ short, unless the person asked a specific question. If I try to "match" a comment I receive in length (as I know many people do) I invaraibly end up revealing something I shouldn't about my writing process (eg. I only wrote this because somebody dared me to! I don't actually like the pairing! that great line you liked? I stole it from one of my friends!). I think keeping a bit of mystery and/or not destroying someone's (differing) perception of the story is a good thing.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Not all feedback is in the form of lj comments. (Not all fic is on lj.)

[azewewish.livejournal.com]

I always respond to feedback, even if only to say thanks for reading. It may take me awhile TO respond, but I always do it. It's only polite.

I have no use for authors that don't respond to feedback. If you can't be bothered to be polite, then I can't be bothered to read your fics or let you know I liked them.

Here via metafandom

[helens78]

As a writer, I try to respond to every comment and every email I get, although if it's a cowritten piece, it's on my cowriter's journal, and she's responding, I tend not to dogpile on. :) However, with the new track comments feature, I can at least see the comments in the other journal, which is handy!

As a reader, I like to leave feedback when I can leave uncritical, positive commentary. I don't care one way or the other if the author responds, though it's a nice surprise when they do. I never check back to see what the responses to the comments have been (and it would never have occurred to me to do so *g*). Really, I'm happy as long as the author doesn't yell at me for leaving feedback. >_< There are people in fandom with remarkably, amazingly thin skins, so every time I leave ANY kind of feedback, no matter how nice, positive, and wonderful it is, it's like stepping onto a live minefield. You can never be sure you were nice enough or positive enough, or maybe the author likes to have lines from the fic quoted and considers feedback inferior and unworthy if it doesn't have that, or maybe they consider it insulting to have their own work quoted to them, or maybe they want you to give them compliments as a woman or whatever and just gah! This is a big part of why I don't feedback more often. The crazy thing is that 99.999% of fandom isn't like that (ie, TOTALLY FUCKING INSANE). But that .001% of fandom who is, man, they spoil the party for everybody.

[kerosinkanister.livejournal.com]

I sometimes leave a very short comment/review (depending on the site), mostly to let the author know that someone's out there and read the story. So if I say something like "cute story" I don't really expect anything, and rarely get more than a "thanks" in return. When I first got into fandom I didn't leave any feedback, then started leaving very short comments. These days I usually try to mention a line or part I liked.

But if I leave a longer review in which I obviously put time and thought it's annoying not to receive a response. I'll be a lot less likely to leave any comment for that author in the future.

[flambeau.livejournal.com]

I'm not particularly bothered by not getting a response to my fb, particularly not to lj comments. I rarely leave more than a "hey, I really like this, especially the bit with the thingy," which really isn't much of a conversation starter. :)

I do try to reply to all fb ("try to" because I'm sure there's stuff i've missed, and sometimes I'm very tardy about it), because, well, I like doing that, but I know not everybody does, and that's okay with me.

[sheldrake.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see you have been metafandomed again... ;)

I always respond to feedback. It might take me a little while to get to it, especially if people have said interesting things, and I feel I ought to say interesting things back. I'm terribly embarrassed on the odd occasion when I let a comment slip through the net. At the end of the day, it isn't really that hard to say 'thanks', although I haven't quite ever written the fic that ate fandom. :)

I suppose this tells you quite a lot about how I view the fic-writing/feedbacking process. I don't view feedback as 'payment'. I don't expect payment for what is essentially a hobby. I do like feedback. I love it! I love being paid compliments (obviously) and I particularly like the dialogue that can sometimes come out of it. If it weren't for feedback and response to feedback, I wouldn't know you, for example.

But if people don't want to send feedback, or don't have anything to say, or didn't like the fic but are too polite to say so, then I'd really rather they didn't feel obliged to do so. I only give it when I've really enjoyed a fic and/or feel I've got something to say about it (and not always then, because I am rubbish).

Bugger, now no one's going to send me any feedback, are they?

As a reader, I don't expect a response to my feedback. I'd like one, but I've learned not to expect one or to feel annoyed, simply because so many fic-authors don't respond. That's ok, they don't have to. But I'm much less likely to give feedback to them in the future - this seems like a fair trade-off. I wouldn't stop reading the fic though - after all, I used to live in lurkdom and sometimes I like to go back to that life of late-night sekrit passive consumption of stories... but that's another story for another time. :)

[iulia_linnea.livejournal.com]

I reply to every review I receive, period. I review every fic I finish, period. If, however, an author consistently fails to respond to my reviews, I stop reading him or her. This seems reasonable to me because there are a lot of writers out there I want to read, and I'd prefer to give feedback to the polite ones.

[junalele.livejournal.com]

That's a really interesting topic. God, how I missed your reflections on fan fiction and fandom and all.

As reader:
I have to say that my habit of giving feedback changed fundamentally in the last few months. First with discovering lj which just makes it so simple to leave feedback. And then with getting an internet flatrate because beforehand time was money and I guess, I only left feedback when I was really touched/impressed.
I think I pretty much always got some kind of 'answer' to my feedback. The exception being one author who obviously doesn't respond to any feedback at all. And I do find that a shame because she/he is great and I would so love to talk about the fic, you know. Exchange ideas, beg for a sequel. Hey, it's Jens Lehmann/Cristiano Ronaldo!

As an author:
I'm still a bit flabergasted that I even have something to say here, but okay. I respond to every single comment. But I do that with every comment I get on lj - be it a reply to a post or a previous comment by myself. It's just my idea of politeness, I guess, and me loving to chat, too. ;)
I agree with kennahijja that more concrit in feedbacks would be great since I so would like what to improve and so on. Overall, it's wonderful that lj obviously encourages a very active feedback culture but it would be great if it would be a bit more critical. Only my opinion, of course.

P.S.: How's the back doing? A bit better?

[carmarthen.livejournal.com]

I leave responses to feedback on principle except for

(1) Fanfiction.net because
(a) Half the commenters there don't leave any sort of email address or have an account.
(b) I don't remember to check ff.net for reviews regularly because I just dump stuff there every few months as a backup archive.

(2) Feedback emailed to an address that's still on many of my older fics. The address still works, but it's so spam-ridden I've given up on checking it entirely. Am still in the process of hunting everything down and updating my email address.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

FFN can email you comments, and you can reply to them directly now, too. I don't post many fics there, because most of the stuff I write isn't allowed, but I do have it set to notify me of reviews, and if the reviewer has an FFN account, you can just reply directly to the comment, without having to email them.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

[Here from metafandom. [wave]]

As a writer I respond to every comment, no matter how long or how short or what they say. I love getting comments and this is the only thing I can think of (aside from writing the best stories I can, of course) to encourage people to comment my stuff.

As a reader I like it when the writer responds to my comments but don't keep track and usually don't even remember what I commented or whether I got a reply, much less bear grudges for un-replied comments. The only exception is when I do a really detailed comment, especially if it takes two or more comment-posts. (I've gone up to five on fic comments once, and four several times.) If I've liked a story that much and gone to that much effort to leave feedback then I'll usually remember and yes, I'll be disappointed if the writer doesn't respond. Generally they do, though. :)

Angie

Here from metafandom

[nymphaea1.livejournal.com]

I do reply to all of my feedback (unless it's an unsigned comment on ff.net), but I write very little so that's easy to do.

As a reader, I certainly like getting a reply from an author, particularly if I've written a longer note. I've started some good convos with authors in that way. I do not, however, think it is at all rude for an author not to respond. I got something for my feedback--the story itself. Since I leave feedback in the first place only if I have nearly unreserved love for the story, I consider getting a fantastic story more than payment enough.

As was mentioned above, people have to manage their fandom time. Some of the authors I write to get pages and pages of feedback. Answering that, I imagine, would take hours. I'd much prefer that they spent that time writing a new story than in writing a bland "I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading!" 800 times.

[abbylee]

I'm a reader only, so I only have that perspective. I'm also purposely answering before reading anyone else's comments.

I mostly leave short feedback, along the lines of "this was great, thank you" or "I really liked this line" or other sentiments that take up short sentences. My main reasoning is that I know my commenting style, and if I try to write something longer, too often I just end up closing the tab, so I'd rather leave useless but heartfelt comments, then none at all.

I don't mind if an author doesn't respond. I don't expect it at all on most of the kinds of comments I leave, although it's really nice when an author does. Especially because that usually reminds me to read the stories again. I think when specific questions are asked, it's rude when an author doesn't respond. I think when after a couple of days, if there's still less than page of feedback, it's in the author's best interest to reply to everyone who commented. I think when there's multiple pages of feedback, it takes a crazy amount of time even just to thank every individual person, so I think it's reasonable for an author only to respond to the more involved comments. I think if an author is not going to respond to feedback, then they shouldn't complain about the quality of feedback they get. I think if an author wants more feedback, or more helpful feedback, they should encourage it instead by asking specific questions of their readers, to make it easier for them to (think to) reply.

I have, however, filtered someone off my main reading list (which I usually only do for communities and syndicated accounts) in preparation for deleting her completely because of the way her comment-response style has made me feel. (And actually, I should remove her now, but I forgot that I hadn't yet. I wanted to give it some time to see if I cared more about missing all her locked posts, which I haven't, at all.) She had made a post that consisted of two topics. I offered advice on one of the topics, which was different than what she was contemplating doing. On her next post, she followed my advice, and this topic was talked about in numerous posts over a few weeks. At that point, I went to go look at the first post because I was curious to see what others had said, and discovered that not only was I the only person who commented on that particular topic, but I was the only person who she hadn't responded to, despite the fact that she followed my advice. I then went through my comment history (easy to search through gmail) and discovered this was her pattern, and not just with me but other people who she doesn't count as part of her inner-circle. I had never noticed it before, because I don't expect a response to every comment I make, but when she's taking advice and yet ignoring the person who gives the advice, while still responding to most of the comments, it comes across as a kind of rudeness I don't want to deal with.

But overall, one thing I like about lj feedback, as opposed to email (which I think does need a response, unless the contact page specifies otherwise) is that you can physically see that the feedback was received, and so I don't expect an author to respond to every comment made.