AO3 Comment Response Policy

[jajalala]

What are y'all's policies on responding to comments on AO3?

When I first started posting fic online, I was very shy and easily flustered... and I also didn't know how to respond to comments 90% of the time, so I decided to institute a blanket "Do Not Respond" policy to treat all comments equally. I made very few exceptions (if someone pointed out a typo and I corrected it, I would respond to acknowledge the change. If someone asked a direct "do you accept fanart?" or whatever I would comment "yes but also this info is in my ao3 profile"). I think I also had some concerns at the time that responding would "artificially inflate" the count of comments on my fic, making it look more popular than it actually was.... nowadays I think "Who the fuck is sorting by number of comments tho?"

I also imagine a lot of distance between writer and reader. Sorry if this sounds transactional, but to me a comment is generally a nice thing I give at the end of a work to be like "Thanks for making this!" so I don't really expect an author response, and in fact would hate to cause an author extra work. And as an author, I spill everything onto the page, and once that is done I kind of prefer to let it exist as its own thing without me messing around in its comments.

Nowadays though I'm involved in a lot more fan events and interacting directly with other fans through other sites, so it feels strange to remain so distant... but also I sometimes find it even more embarrassing to respond to a person I actually "know"... And to be honest I still find comments in general to cause a lot of general fluster (in a good way! But also in a "I'd like to take this comment and put it in a little locket to hold close to my heart but also never face the person who could say such overwhelmingly kind words" way). This could be a fandom manifestation of my general IRL emotional distance oddities, so perhaps others can or cannot relate.

Currently, I'm doing an experiment where I try to respond to everyone who is commenting on my currently posting multichapter fic. I've clearly stated that is something I'm attempting to do in the author end-notes so I don't chicken out. It's not quite as challenging as I expected it to be, and I think it might be worth instituting from now on... but also if I were to start responding to all comments now, I don't know how to treat my older works which occasionally receive new comments. Do I start responding to comments from now on? Or keep the universal "no-response" policy I maintained during their original run? Or am I overthinking this whole thing?

Comments

[thisbinks]

I think I also had some concerns at the time that responding would "artificially inflate" the count of comments on my fic, making it look more popular than it actually was.... nowadays I think "Who the fuck is sorting by number of comments tho?"

I (personally) think the more important question is "who has the right to tell you what to do in your own fic?" 👀 sure, "inflating # of comments" by commenting on your own fic when there is no other comments, would probably be heavily frowned upon, but replying directly to previous comments left there? Not so much 👀 if you wanna chitchat with a reader after they have questions, theories and stuff is rare nowadays but when it happens... ✨✨✨

Also, i reply to every comment, simply bc i don't get /that/ many and I usually grow anxious once it's surpassed 5 unread messages, so ye fjdjsksk also, in my opinion, a reader's comment not only says sth about my fic, it kind of also bares sth from the reader and i wanna show my appreciation for their effort and like... Saying that sth in my silly words moved them enough to put in the work to comment, even if it's a string of emotes, but I don't expect the same mindset from other writers when I comment on their works 😂
(only when they go preaching about how important kudos and comments are to them and don't follow through with that themselves)

but also if I were to start responding to all comments now, I don't know how to treat my older works which occasionally receive new comments. Do I start responding to comments from now on? Or keep the universal "no-response" policy I maintained during their original run? Or am I overthinking this whole thing?

It's absolutely okay to not respond to the old comments, imho, most people don't come back to their old comments, they will leave new ones should they reread and feel the urge to tell you, so don't overthink it too much 😤💚
In the end, you'll have to do what makes you happy and if you decide to reply to ALL comments, even the old ones, you'll a) have your work cut out for you and b) make some people very happy & surprised for sure 😆💚

[jajalala]

Ahahaha yeah the "inflated comments" thing nowadays is kinda silly in retrospect.

Also the way you phrase 5 unread messages makes me curious.... do you use the actual AO3 inbox function?? I feel like I never touch that, since I have emails turned on I can check (and in those rare cases respond) directly from there... So do you use the inbox tool on AO3??

Thanks for the good thoughts!

[thisbinks]

Ahahaha yeah the "inflated comments" thing nowadays is kinda silly in retrospect.

Let's be honest, a few things that were perceived as rude or big no no's back then sound kind of silly now; kind of funny thinking of the restrictions and limitations we put on ourselves 👀 the corner of fandom I've lived in for the last few years before getting into BNHA was very much against AUs and only thw closer to canon you got, the better 😂

And yes fkdkskjs i use the AO3 inbox, bc i can open only thw comment in a tab then and a) don't have to scroll and b) no distraction by my own writing or other comments 🤣🤣 otherwise I couldn't even make it through the five

[vriddy]

My main reason for being involved in fandom is finding & chatting with like-minded people, and if someone likes my fic it means we like the same stuff!! Since I write about tropes etc that I like. So I reply, and it turned into friendships a couple of times too which is super nice. I never felt like a sense of distance because in my mind, we're all playing in the same mudpit getting excited about the same stuff, whether we come in as reader, writer, artist, organiser, etc.

As a reader, I try to leave comments when I'm able to (energy, etc) and I love getting a reply but I also never expect it. So, whatever works for you is fine :D If there's no joy and just a sense of obligation, I wouldn't worry about it. If it's fun, go for it :D

I definitely wouldn't worry about "inflating" comment counts and things like that. I think people who come from Fanfiction.net sometimes have that mindset because comments are "reviews" over there, not conversations? My most commented fic has more comments than kudos and chatting with people and their theories over the months was a blast :D But really, that's because it's the kind of fandom experience I enjoy. Just someone going "omg character A being protective is so good" and me jumping around going "yesss" :D

"I'd like to take this comment and put it in a little locket to hold close to my heart but also never face the person who could say such overwhelmingly kind words"

I have a "nice things" folder where I put in nice comments and screenshots of nice things people said, I recommend it for down days :D

But yeah we're all different and relate to different things. For the old comments, it's up to you as well! Whatever system is fun and doesn't feel like a chore. This is all a hobby in the end.

Hope you find a nice way to handle comments that works for yourself and don't drive yourself mad thinking of all the possibilities, haha.

[jajalala]

Ahaha it's a relief to hear even generally interactive folks like you aren't miffed about an author not responding, I have my reasons but I never want to insult any reader by "ignoring" them.

The nice things folder is a good idea... Especially some of the very nice ones are like <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 truly a treasure

Thank you, I'm still weighing pros and cons but these are good thoughts to keep in mind!

[vriddy]

Oh jeez no, no one's miffed XD I might be worried if you answered every single comment but mine haha but that'd still be on me. I guess it's only when people are hypocritical I get miffed, like if you have a "never reply" policy but would get grumpy about authors not answering your own comments regardless. Because your reason is legit but everyone else is just [some bad adjective or other]. Otherwise, you do you and I'm happy to enjoy your stories :D

Totally recommend the nice things folder :D I've seen people call it a "brag folder" and other names as well, I think it was first recommended to me in a work context haha.

Good luck with all the thinking and weighing things :D

[pauraque]

I've always responded to comments, simply because it's been the norm in all the fandoms I've been in, and it's not something that bothers me to do. To me it feels something like... I've just performed in a play, and now I'm offstage and someone says to me, "You did great!" and I say "Thanks!" But then again, I've performed in plays with people who were embarrassed by having those interactions after a show, and would run to their car the second after curtain call to avoid dealing with them. So I guess it depends on the person. :)

In the fandom context, I think the bottom line is that very few people, if any, are going to notice or be concerned about whether you answer some comments and not others. If I did happen to notice that an author had answered my comment but not some that came before me, I would probably assume that they just didn't have time before. But in all likelihood I wouldn't notice at all. So I think it's something where you're fine either way and may as well just do whatever is most comfortable for you, since it actually affects you more than anyone else!

[jajalala]

Ahahah you're flashing me back to high school drama club... I was generally in the camp of "being embarrassed about having interactions after the show that acknowledge that I was onstage doing anything"

And it's a relief to hear that I'm probably overthinking it, and that you would give an author the benefit of the doubt for any odd exceptions (in the rare case where it would even be noticed)

[mirawonderfulstar]

I recently commented on your fic from over here, and I'm sorry if that flustered you! I did kind of assume from your mere presence on dreamwidth that you've been in fandom for a long time and I guess I just assume that everyone who has been in fandom for a long time has the same set of values wrt fic as I do, lol.

I don't know how common this opinion is in this day and age but I kind of view ao3 comments primarily as a venue for talking about the fic or the fandom so I tend to leave comments only when I have something to say and I only respond to comments if they're opening a line of dialogue about the fic (as a general rule). My ideal writer-commenter relationship has always been one where it lets me, a writer, learn how readers reacted to specific aspects of my fic so that I know what is working in my writing and what needs more polish. Getting a mass of comments praising my fic without offering any granular commentary feels to me a bit pointless-- telling someone you liked their fic is what the kudos button is for. Obviously It's nice to hear someone liked my writing but it's kind of like, "you get you didn't have to go out of your way to say so because there is a button that does that for you", I guess?

From a reader side, I really only comment if I have something specific to comment on so if I can't pinpoint something specific, I often do not comment at all. Again, that's what the kudos button is for.

Nothing about fic is obligatory. Writers don't have to share their work, and they don't have to engage with readers after posting it, or they can engage with some commentary but not others, and readers don't have to leave comments, or a specific kind of comment, and I would consider someone being upset that an author responded to someone else's comment and not theirs to be a little pushy, just as I would consider someone demanding a specific type of comment from all readers to be pushy. I've heard people who have been in fandom for a long time describe fic writing and the relationship between authors and readers to be a "gift economy"-- writing and comments are both shared with the understanding that the writing is the point unto itself, or the commenting is the point unto itself, and that neither place a demand on the other. I feel like a lot of people do falsely view commenting as like, a form of payment for the fic, which is a little frustrating to me. For me and the way I think about my writing and my participation in fandom, commenting is primarily a form of like... low-stakes analysis. A chance to do a little meta with someone and engage with their work at the same time, or have them engage with mine. Half the fun of writing to me is doing that kind of analysis, and inviting other people to do that analysis with me is what posting and sharing fic is all about.

Again, not really sure how common this opinion is now, and please don't feel pressured to change your habits based on it. I think a lot of shifting factors within fandom have kind of made it hard to have a universal rule of ao3 commenting etiquette. I certainly think it could be nice if people could get into the mindset that commenting on fic is not transactional and view it more as a way to talk to someone about something you both love, but this was a much simpler ask ten years ago when ao3 had like 50,000 users who all knew each other through six degrees of separation than it is now when there's like three million people on ao3. For me, it might be worth leaving an author's note on future fics inviting concrit in the hopes of getting more commentary I want to respond to. For you, it might be something entirely different. Good luck with it in any case!

[jajalala]

Omg no worries at all!! It's a good kind of fluster, so no need to apologize. I appreciated your comment, but please forgive me for not responding on AO3 XD.

Oooh I love that point about having something to actually comment about. I've seen lots of encouragement on tumblr and such telling people to just comment an extra "kudos", but I agree that the comments offer a place to do something that kudos can't... AKA actually breakdown what someone liked/didn't like/felt something about etc. My writing definitely improved after I started writing fanfic, and although there are many reasons for that, I think one of the big ones was the continuous semi-specific feedback... Especially since I'm generally part of large/active fandoms, there's usually enough response that I can parse out which chapters/sections garnered the most/least response and start to suspect why. And when people actually specify in the comments what they liked or found compelling about a chapter/story then it's a very helpful barometer for me to see like "what part stuck out to people at the end? Was that a part I wanted to stick out? Are they having the emotional response I intended, or is it something else entirely?"

Thanks for the good luck, still not certain how I want to proceed but I related to these thoughts of what kind of comments I most enjoy receiving and leaving.

[mirawonderfulstar]

Ah good I'm glad it's a good kind of flustered XD Don't even worry about it, I don't mind at all.

"what part stuck out to people at the end? Was that a part I wanted to stick out? Are they having the emotional response I intended, or is it something else entirely?"

Yes this exactly! A good comment can really help you see your writing from the outside and it's so helpful.

[seleneheart]

I respond to comments that are respectful of my time and effort.

I don't respond to comments that in the vein of 'write more'. I also screen comments on fic in some fandoms because I've had bad experiences with the fans of the fandom overall.

[jajalala]

Ahahaha the dreaded "write more".... One of the few comments that make me sigh.

And oof that sucks on having to screen comments due to the fandom, but I'm glad AO3 has the tools to do that.

[corvidology]

Do whatever makes you happy.

I always respond to comments because I appreciate them but only in the degree that answers the comment. So if they say "I loved this!" I say "thank you!" and don't launch into a multi-paragraph response.

The only 'sin' you can really commit in the eyes of the readers is to selectively respond to say your mates.

I do think I should add though that if you do enjoy receiving comments some people will stop leaving them if you never respond to them at all.

[jajalala]

"Do whatever makes you happy" XD probably the best guiding principle to live by, especially in a free space like fandom.

Ah yes, I do enjoy receiving comments... but also it's sort of an "it's out there, readers can do what they want" sort of thing for me. If I enjoy a story idea, it's getting out there regardless of how many people respond to it. If a reader's line they draw is that they stop commenting if an author doesn't respond, to me that's their prerogative... and not quite enough to compel me to change all my habits quite yet.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[corvidology]

"it's out there, readers can do what they want" sort of thing for me.

As a writer for tiny/non-existent fandoms I totally get it! :D

[tropicsbear]

When I first started writing fic, I don't think I ever explicitly formulated comment response policy; like, I never mulled it over and decided, "Okay, this is how I'm gonna do it." But I suppose if I had to put it into words, it was, "I'll only reply if I have something to say."

These days I make more of an effort to respond. Especially since I'm in a much better mental headspace, I rediscovered the joy of interacting with fellow fans on the internet, even if it's something as simple as thanking them for a nice comment.

But I also don't push myself if I'm not in the mood or don't have the energy. On those days, I just mentally thank them and hope they feel the good vibes somehow 😂

Re: artificially inflating the comment count, AO3 stats page lists comment threads instead of individual comments! So if you wanna check the "actual" number of top-level comments, you can.

[jajalala]

Oooh going by instinct... powerful. Also fabulous to know about the stats page! That's certainly good for accurate statistics-tracking (obviously stats aren't everything.... but data is fun, love when it's accurate)