I wish writers left polls at the end of their work or why I don't go to cocktail parties.

[gaudinight]

Mostly I lurk.  I read like crazy, but I rarely comment.

It's not because I'm lazy.  It's not because I'm afraid of the writer's reaction.  It's because the LJ comment is an uncomfortable medium for me.

"I love you."  "You win at fandom"  "You're made of awesome."  "I'll be in my bunk."  "Awwwww."  "HAWT."  "Sigh."  "I want to marry you."

The

Comments

[ratcreature]

I get that anxiety issues are rarely rational, but did you ever get a negative reponse to just posting "Thanks, I really liked this story."? I never have. (Though one author replied with follow up questions and asked me to elaborate and I felt like a deerin the headlights.) I mean, I've seen some meta by people who criticize very brief and/or squeeing fb, but that's a tiny minority.

I leave fb like that all the time (though also a fair share of "guh.", "That was cool/funny/scary/..." and other stuff) but seriously, I comment with "I really liked this." quite often.

[gaudinight]

No, I've never gotten a negative reaction from any comment I've posted. In my experience writers are either gracious or silent. It's anxiety on my part for sure.

That's why I want to click on a poll at the end of each story because for me that would be easier.

I'm curious how many other people don't comment specifically because they're uncomfortable with the environment on LJ. It's this odd blend of public and private. It's casual and with an almost intimate feel but many people don't know each other at all. If I don't know people I like things to be more formal and structured.

Maybe it's just a freakish thing that's fairly unique to me. I feel welcome to comment but I don't feel inspired to. But I want the writer to know somehow that I enjoyed it.

[literarycrafter]

I feel welcome to comment but I don't feel inspired to. But I want the writer to know somehow that I enjoyed it.

This is exactly how I feel too so you're not alone in it.

The alternative issue I mainly wrestle with myself over is that more often than not I'm playing catch-up with my flist and so by the time I come to read a fic there are already loads of comments, many squeeing or saying how wonderful they found the story.

I'm looking at these comments and either someone, or even many people, have already put what I wanted to say exactly or else what they've already put is way better than what I was originally wanting to say.

Leaving a comment of "What they said" seems both lazy and kinda rude so I usually slink off back to my place in lurkerdom feeling unsatisfied that I wasn't able to find a way to say thank you without feeling like I was jumping on someone elses bandwagon so to speak.

[worldserpent]

I actually think the biggest barrier to such a system is that not all users can post polls. Basic users can't.

But, I think if there were another way to do it (LJ has a 'points' system or LJ borrows Vox's [this is good] feature), some people might use it. I discussed a related topic on my blog, and some people did say they found one liners to clog their inbox or suggested that for shy people, a one-click solution might be preferable.

[gaudinight]

I read your post on your blog about lurkers. It was very interesting and I think you are probably right that because on LJ lurkers are invisible, it is as if they don't exist, even though they are probably there in droves

[worldserpent]

Yeah, I think that kind of information might prove useful to them. I'm not sure if the emphasis on conversation would change, though. The previous model was mailing lists, although there were also web archives, but I am not sure if authors had access to individual stats on those

[gaudinight]

I think you are right. Conversation and relationship would still be paramount to writers and readers on LJ. Eprops would just be an additional way of getting feedback

[nomdefandom]

I think this is one area that MySpace wins out over LJ: the little ticky box for kudos points. No comment necessary, just award one or two points to indicate that you think what you just read was worth the effort.

[gaudinight]

That is exactly what I would wish for. To give kudos.

I'm old enough that I've never been on My Space except to check to see if my kid's My Space page was safe, not revealing her home addresses and such. It was bewildering to me, just like LJ was at first.

[thelana]

Word. I'd love that too.

[gaudinight]

I wish there were some easy way to make it happen by fiat.

[thelastgoodname]

I, too, would use a poll where I would not leave a comment. But as noted, it would have to be a simple, one possible answer, "I read this, and I enjoyed it," type of poll. No options, just a single click.

[gaudinight]

No options. Exactly. I don't want to rate fic at all.

[gaudinight]

Because lurkers are nearly invisible it is hard to estimate how many readers there are who don't respond because they don't want to comment but would click on a poll