RogueMudblood

Storyline development is fine, but something as long as my senior thesis isn't something I'm going to read unless it's in print. Babisko asked for opinions, I gave mine as a reader. Yours may differ.
We're talking about reading online - that's my opinion.

Storyline development is fine, but something as long as my senior thesis isn't something I'm going to read unless it's in print. Babisko asked for opinions, I gave mine as a reader. Yours may differ.
We're talking about reading online - that's my opinion.

As a reader, I don't like super long chapters. Anything that makes my scrollbar look thinner than a sheet of notebook paper (yep, I've seen 'em), is too long, and I'm not going to read it.
Around 3000-5000 words is generally good, but it also depends on what you're writing about. Some subject don't lend themselves to superbly long chapters. While expounding on things can be good, sometimes more is just more.
And I don't think under 1000 words always indicates it being rushed. The DD&DT bi-weekly challenge here in the forums requires the submission to be less than 1000 words. It can actually be quite a challenge to write a comprehensive piece that fulfills the requirements without making it feel rushed or forced.

Storyline development is fine, but something as long as my senior thesis isn't something I'm going to read unless it's in print. Babisko asked for opinions, I gave mine as a reader. Yours may differ.
We're talking about reading online - that's my opinion.

As a reader, I don't like super long chapters. Anything that makes my scrollbar look thinner than a sheet of notebook paper (yep, I've seen 'em), is too long, and I'm not going to read it.
Around 3000-5000 words is generally good, but it also depends on what you're writing about. Some subject don't lend themselves to superbly long chapters. While expounding on things can be good, sometimes more is just more.
And I don't think under 1000 words always indicates it being rushed. The DD&DT bi-weekly challenge here in the forums requires the submission to be less than 1000 words. It can actually be quite a challenge to write a comprehensive piece that fulfills the requirements without making it feel rushed or forced.

I don't actually think that this is off topic for the original question of whether good reviews in general can be trusted. Your general 'good' review of "more please" is so prevalent because readers tend to be afraid to say exactly what they think about a piece. So I do think that a discussion of why you wouldn't leave a review of how the story needs work fits into this conversation, given that it directly highlights why the question needed to be asked in the first place.
Why should we be concerned over whether we can trust a good review? Because even the crap stories get them. And generally they're exactly the same.
The last quote in my last post you can Google and come up with a lot of reviews. Because that's exactly what that person types on every single story they read.
So if every story they read warrants a "good" review, then obviously they like everything, regardless of content. But what if you didn't know that? What if it was someone who changed their reviews enough - using a base stock formula? Say they left a review on your story that says "Good job! I really like this. When's the next update?" and one on a story that has clearly never seen spellcheck that says "I really liked this! I hope your next chapter comes soon." - can you trust the review you got from them? No. You can't. Because they leave that on every story.
If what's being agreed upon is that it's not worth the time to leave a review - and DG, I understand your reasons, I'm not debating that point - telling the posting user that they could benefit from some grammar lessons (but more nicely, obviously), then we're also agreeing that the general "good job" "great fic" "this was nice" review cannot be trusted.

On a side note: I hate the phrase "grammar Nazi" - it marginalizes a series of events that cost over 10 million people their lives, and nearly destroyed several nations as well as introducing a terrifying amount of power into play that shaped the formation of politics and world events for the next sixty years (and continues to do so). I'm not a fascist because I think someone should respect the language in which they write and attempt to communicate effectively in it in order to tell their story.
I know that's off topic for the thread, but semantics generate reviews, accuracy generates reviews, and the ability to effectively communicate generates reviews.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Alright, this one had a couple of gems:

and

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DemonGoddess061

To be fair, I don't think that there's any room to complain about reviews on a fic all being positive when what's being said is that you won't leave a negative review.
I understand DG is blunt as a spoon - and generally, so am I. Bronx is one of the most diplomatic individuals I know when it comes to saying something that needs said.
While we may have to disagree on the point of leaving the review, I appreciate your point about "tilting at windmills," though I've left enough concrit to know that there's about a 60/40 ratio - with the larger percentage being the ones who leave the review and will possibly learn from it. As for the 40, when they delete my review, or continue writing poorly, I stop reading their work.
As to the writers who want fanpoodles, yeah, we're all familiar with them. And they get the fanpoodles with their all of three recycled plot lines because they write in a popular genre. Those writers can usually be identified very quickly by their diva tendencies.
That being said, some people actually like being bad writers, because they see "everyone else" doing the same and think it's perfectly fine, and those of us who want more are the ones who are out of our gourds.
Well, I haven't gone 'round the twist - not just yet. But with the response to even the idea of leaving concrit on bad stories, I can answer the question originally asked "Can we trust good reviews?" with "No. Not unless they tell you a particular positive aspect of your story."

On this site, I don't have any worries reviewing something I didn't like.
I know that I'm not overstepping by telling them what I thought, because I always try to do so in a courteous manner. I give points in their story to back up my opinion, and I always try to point out something about the story that I did like - even if it's just the use of active voice instead of passive voice.
An example
One reason I don't have to worry about what I say within the boundaries of civility on this site is simple: flames aren't allowed. So if I review your story with actual viable criticism, and you flame mine in return? I report. The end.
On FFN I have the option to block a user, and I use it quite frequently. Here, I don't have to worry about slow mod response, so I don't need to block users. I don't just say that because I'm a member of the staff, I say that because we actually care about our readership, and anyone that's flamed would get the same treatment, as long as they had abided by the terms of service themselves.
I can say that I haven't had the issue of retaliation reviews on this site. Most of the users here (not all, mind, but most) will either simply delete the review if they don't like it, and ignore you, or they'll accept you have an opinion and respond to you. Some will just ignore the review.
I don't have a problem in the world telling someone what I thought of their story, especially when they make it publicly available. I understand the hesitation, but rest assured, retaliation would not be permitted as a response to true concrit.

Why I hate the star/plus rating system:
Friends will up-vote their friends' stories. No matter how atrocious the writing. Pairings are down-voted just because someone doesn't like them, regardless of how good the story was. Drabbles and Twitfics are down-voted simply because of what they are, regardless of their content. It is utilized as a form of retribution for any number of things. Users will leave a "rating" rather than a review. The last one doesn't bother me so much because I thrive on praise, but because if it sucked, tell me why. I can't get better at writing if you don't tell me what I did wrong.
(Having said that, please, by all means, tell me what I did right as well so I don't keep trying to improve something that is in an acceptable place, but neglect something that is in vast need of improvement.)



Case in point of that:

That review meant the world to me. It told me one thing I needed to know: did I convey what I intended?

And, Daye, I can honestly say that I didn't get a "more" review on any of my stories until 2013-09-05. The story was Published [2013-05-11]. Even then, there was a bit more to it, and it was spelled correctly as well as being a complete sentence.

I will say this - I generally won't 'vote' on a story in the archive (can't say I never have). I will, however, leave a review that will offset the "MOAR" reviews by leaving actual concrit. Anyone who is looking for a solid review would hopefully see that and consider it before simply clicking on the link and being disappointed by a five-star rating.

So, you have a story or stories on another website, and you want to add a link to your story on our archive to take people there, and you want to know if that’s allowed?
No, it’s not.
Why? Because the AdultFanFiction website isn’t a place to advertise stories on other people’s websites. If we allowed that then our archives would quickly get filled with people advertising, not just stories, but everything else, thereby completely undermining the whole purpose of our website. If you wish to advertise your stories elsewhere then you’re more than welcome to pay to advertise on our website. You can get more information about advertising on AFF here.
You can include links to character or world wikis for your fandom, or fan art that inspired your story, though. Things like this are there to benefit your readers, in helping them to understand your fandom or story better.
What you need to keep in mind is that AFF is totally free to you. You don’t pay to join, to upload stories or to read stories. But it’s certainly not free for us. There’s still the hundreds of dollars that need to be paid every month for the hosting. That’s why we’re very particular about unauthorised advertising.

from a published news article:
Hyuk!

You: I have a problem, and I’m using Internet Explorer.
Us: Yeah, the problem is that you’re using Internet Explorer!
IE truly is the handiwork of the devil. It’s not just this website that often has problems with things not working properly with IE, it’s a great, great many websites. Any web designer will tell how much trouble they have to go through to make websites IE compatible, and even then not always successfully. Not only is it bad, it frequently has gaping security flaws, as well.
So, you have a problem with something on this website not working properly, or doing something that it shouldn’t be doing? You’ve been given tech support here, without the problem being resolved? And you’re using IE? The solution is almost certainly the crappy browser! But you do have viable alternatives. Here’s a list of the most popular browsers:
Firefox
Google Chrome
Apple Safari
Maxthon
Opera
Comodo Dragon
Puffin
Even if, for some unfathomable reason, you’re too in love with IE to stop using it entirely, it’s still always a good idea to get at least one other browser, because if a website doesn’t look or function properly in one browser, it might work properly in other. A backup in any situation is always a good thing. So go on, do yourself a huge favour and upgrade to a browser that doesn't suck.

Why I hate the star/plus rating system:
Friends will up-vote their friends' stories. No matter how atrocious the writing. Pairings are down-voted just because someone doesn't like them, regardless of how good the story was. Drabbles and Twitfics are down-voted simply because of what they are, regardless of their content. It is utilized as a form of retribution for any number of things. Users will leave a "rating" rather than a review. The last one doesn't bother me so much because I thrive on praise, but because if it sucked, tell me why. I can't get better at writing if you don't tell me what I did wrong.
(Having said that, please, by all means, tell me what I did right as well so I don't keep trying to improve something that is in an acceptable place, but neglect something that is in vast need of improvement.)



Case in point of that:

That review meant the world to me. It told me one thing I needed to know: did I convey what I intended?

And, Daye, I can honestly say that I didn't get a "more" review on any of my stories until 2013-09-05. The story was Published [2013-05-11]. Even then, there was a bit more to it, and it was spelled correctly as well as being a complete sentence.

I will say this - I generally won't 'vote' on a story in the archive (can't say I never have). I will, however, leave a review that will offset the "MOAR" reviews by leaving actual concrit. Anyone who is looking for a solid review would hopefully see that and consider it before simply clicking on the link and being disappointed by a five-star rating.

Why I hate the star/plus rating system:
Friends will up-vote their friends' stories. No matter how atrocious the writing. Pairings are down-voted just because someone doesn't like them, regardless of how good the story was. Drabbles and Twitfics are down-voted simply because of what they are, regardless of their content. It is utilized as a form of retribution for any number of things. Users will leave a "rating" rather than a review. The last one doesn't bother me so much because I thrive on praise, but because if it sucked, tell me why. I can't get better at writing if you don't tell me what I did wrong.
(Having said that, please, by all means, tell me what I did right as well so I don't keep trying to improve something that is in an acceptable place, but neglect something that is in vast need of improvement.)



Case in point of that:

That review meant the world to me. It told me one thing I needed to know: did I convey what I intended?

And, Daye, I can honestly say that I didn't get a "more" review on any of my stories until 2013-09-05. The story was Published [2013-05-11]. Even then, there was a bit more to it, and it was spelled correctly as well as being a complete sentence.

I will say this - I generally won't 'vote' on a story in the archive (can't say I never have). I will, however, leave a review that will offset the "MOAR" reviews by leaving actual concrit. Anyone who is looking for a solid review would hopefully see that and consider it before simply clicking on the link and being disappointed by a five-star rating.

I have a fanfic that I had posted on other sites but that I had never posted here because I thought it was too twisted for AFF. Reading this thread made me realize that there's no such thing, so I posted the story last night. Thank you for the inspiration.

You can find more info on why her stories are gone here.

A: A very good point got made in this post. So few people actually put the things they liked specifically into reviews that they send. Sometimes, I wonder why a reader will refrain from explaining the elements they enjoy. Many writers seem to have this specific frustration of not knowing the powerful elements that keep their readers involved with the story. The please update with more version does seem to be the normal variety of positive feedback reviewers give to writers.

What's really bad about all this, is when looking at Microsoft's help sites and communities, users are told to upgrade their OS so they can use a "modern browser". Mind you, all the OTHER "modern browsers" work just FINE on XP.
Developers, on the other hand, are told to pretty much break their sites for all the other browsers, so it's compatible to IE. Not happening.....

So if people possibly needed a reason to switch browsers to a better one than IE (meaning, any other browser) then switch now! IE is the devil's handiwork.

Nominally, anything that actually says what the reader/reviewer thought, enjoyed, connected with, etc etc. If they liked it, telling me what they liked is better than "Hey this was great, update with more soon!" or some such, as I've received a few times. A review is a review, but some really are better than others in that respect.
Something like what I received from Aya/GossamerSilverglow a few days back really demonstrates the better review type - detailed, constructive, asking questions about things and posing suggestions for errors.

What you are asking for is not an improvement. Period.

Not to mention that the age verification page only comes up when the cookie has not been set, or the cookies have been cleared from the browser. Having to set a cookie once is not onerous, nor is it requiring our readers to jump through hoops.
This is making a mountain out of the proverbial molehill, frankly.