My pet peeve for the day: A-hole authors and sites who refuse to do anything about them

[bookworm51485]

I was reading a story the other day, an Avengers semi-AU where Loki is a hermaphrodite (as are all jotuns) and he's paired with Steve. It had over 20 chapters when I started, so every so often on my way through the story, I'd stop and make a random comment in response to a question asked by the author or something she said within the chapter. Then when I got to the final chapter, I left a bit of criticism. Loosely stated, but it was legitimate criticism. Then I received this response:

"okay, I was reading over your rantings and was all set to come up with a response to the constructive criticism part...what little there was...when I began to read further. You sound fucking insane. Ranting to me about wanting to see women's faces smashed on the floor and walls and going on about your dislike of women and the charm of little boys....Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you? I mean, I get it...fans can get a little manic...but c'mon, was all this necessary? Seriously...seek help, Bookworm. You obviously have some serious issues.

As for the story...meh...you can leave it where it is and go find something more suitable for your women destroying, little boy loving tastes. Seriously...I think we can both survive you not bothering with me and my little work of humble fanfiction. In fact...I'd prefer it. This is so not about the writing as it is about you being an odious human being, and I dont even know you."

My offensive reviews:

"Or instead of girl, it could be a jotun and be both :-P Personally, I don't think women are that interesting, I think women are frickin' nuts most of the time. I much prefer boys. I think there's an appeal to little boys that girls just don't have. A lot of it having to do with this pressure to be masculine that we put on men and that preciousness of that brief time when they're young when they don't worry about it and they're sweet and affectionate and cuddly. That, I think, is far more interesting, but that's me. I still vote for both :-/ That would be a first.

As for Thor, can someone smack him?"

*This was in response to the author asking about gender in the ANs and a monologue from one of her characters in which she expressed how fascinating she finds women. I, personally, find the psychology of boys and men more interesting because of the pressure to be masculine and how it affects their transition from boyhood to toddlerhood to childhood to adolescence and then adulthood. If you don't agree, that's fine but I don't think that really warranted the implication that I'm a pedophile. And the comment about women being fricking nuts most of the time was a joke. I usually figure when I say something really out there that people would realize that it's obviously a joke, but I guess some people need it blatantly pointed out to them*

"I think it would be quite enjoyable to see Hulk Smash their faces all over the floor and walls. And considering how handily he took down Loki in Avengers, I can't imagine he'd have too much trouble with them, especially with backup."

*In response to some very nasty characters within her story and for anyone who knows this universe, a blatantly obvious play on words based on Hulk's catchphrase (which I attempted to make even more obvious by capitalizing the word 'smash'. I guess she still missed it).*

No, the Hulk can't be knocked out that easily. Booo, the Hulk is like the ultimate in badasses. That was just a sad showing. Sad, sad, sad.

*In response to her directly asking the readers if it was that easy to knock the Hulk unconscious. And you want to know how she did it? By throwing him through a wall. A regular wall. Not a wall made of Adamantium lined with Adamantium with a core of Adamantium braced with Adamantium with an extra layer of a substance created one the core of a dying star. Just a normal wall. I can't see how anyone who is even remotely a fan of the series wouldn't have responded similarly to a direct question.*

"Oy. I was enjoying this story up until you did that thing that too many authors are guilty of. You have some seriously powerful players in your story, but you want the plot to go a certain way. So your powerful players all of a sudden become inexplicably weak and stupid and disorganized. It's frustrating. Frigga, Queen of Asgard? Won't take more than 2 minutes to take her down. The Hulk? Oh, all I have to do is throw him into a simple wall and he'll be out to the way. BUT we'll get taken down by Captain America, who subsequently won't be able to break out of the cell he was put in because it was built for the Hulk. The same Hulk that we took down by throwing him into a wall... Oy vey"

*I think this one is self-explanatory*

Now while I didn't expect that she'd be thrilled with the criticism, I didn't expect the degree of nasty I got in response. So I reported her to the site, which honestly has absolutely nothing in their TOS to address this situation. The closest category they had was harassment and this doesn't quite fit. But I figured since I wasn't asking for anything serious to be done in response, just a warning that that kind of response to criticism (that is not a flame) is not okay, I figured they might be receptive. Well, no. I got this response:

" Thank you for your report. However, we have determined that the comments in question do not constitute harassment. As per our TOS: When judging whether a specific incident constitutes harassment, the abuse team will consider factors such as whether the behavior was repeated, whether it was repeated after the offender was asked to stop, whether the behavior was targeted at a specific person, whether that target could have easily avoided encountering the behavior, whether the behavior would be considered unacceptable according to normal community standards, etc.

Your comments were repeated, but the authors were not. In addition, you could have easily avoided encountering the behavior. When you comment negatively on a work (especially by criticizing an entire gender as uninteresting and frickin nuts most of the time), you should be prepared to receive a negative reaction. If you are not prepared to receive that reaction, then it may be easier not to comment."

So essentially, don't ever give constructive criticism because then an author can react any which way they want and we won't do a thing. Oh, and this behavior is perfectly acceptable according to normal community standards. And it's my own fault for having the nerve to comment on a story once for every few chapters I read and to include something negative in those reviews.

No wonder people are afraid to review anymore. Because you can be abused in response and no one is willing to do anything, not even a simple warning. This was AO3 btw, the site which is supposed to 'save' us from ff.net, but as far as I can see, they have the potential to be just as bad. Just with porn not being against the rules.

I started a petition on the matter, asking AO3 to recognize their importance of their readers/reviewers and include protection for them against abusive authors who don't want/can't take Constructive criticism in the TOS, so if anyone might be interested in signing it, I'll post the link. Even if you don't think this applies, I know we've all encountered authors whose behavior easily qualifies.

Edited May 26, 2014 by bookworm51485

[DemonGoddess]

You're right. This is exactly WHY people are leery of leaving reviews. Honest concrit gets labeled as flames. I see NOTHING AT ALL that you posted that I'd consider a flame.

So.....you're ebil because you pointed out that the Hulk is not that easy to beat? Because you pointed out that Loki (even in the COMICS FFS) is a kind of a hermaphrodite? Does this person not realize that in the mythology he actually spawned children himself? That they acknowledge it in the comics is only right, yes?

This person is obviously NOT a real fan of the 'verse, or they would've GOT the jokes you threw in. I did, at a glance, without even really READING. It was that obvious.

Of course, I'm thinking this particular author falls in to the same trap that I see with so many these days. "If you don't worship me in reviews, and give me nothing but GLOWING reviews, you're attacking me". That's utter bullshit, but it's what I see.

[bookworm51485]

I think, for me, the site's response bothered me almost more than the author. They saw absolutely nothing wrong with her response because ultimately it was my own fault for commenting negatively. For her, she'd been getting her ego stroked since this story started. Looking at her reviews, she could do no wrong in the eyes of her readers and she clearly got off on that. So my review would have been a tux awakening. But that the site wasn't even willing to say, "Hey, that was kind of rude. Let's not do that again" was amazing to me. And then that they had the nerve to blame me for the issue on top of that..? Wow. It's looking like AO3 is clearly not what they're being touted to be.

[DemonGoddess]

Looking at this from a staff POV, I can tell you that in this for instance, we'd look at both sides. If we saw issue with you, we'd let you know. By the same token, if we saw issue with the author's responses to you, we'd let the AUTHOR know.

Yes, we've ..erhm.. mentioned to authors who go off on a tangent with concrit calling it a flame, and then in turn flaming the reviewer, that we don't accept that from them. On the other hand, legitimate flames from reviewers are ALSO dealt with. What's kind of odd, is on this site, it seems that if a reviewer is going to flame, they rarely do it logged in, or unlogged in with an email or a real pen name.

[bookworm51485]

And that's the best policy to have. It makes sense, it doesn't act like one side of the puzzle shall always remain blameless.

Sometimes I'm a little blunt, but I just don't think I deserved to be called an odious human being or a pedophile. I do try to make it habit of either logging in or leaving my username with whatever reviews I give so a person can be free to respond (in a mature manner hopefully, I've had more than a few authors who've disagreed with my criticism and let me know, no name calling involved, and I'm okay with it), though I'm not in the habit of flaming (I don't see the point of wasting my time). Nothing I hate more than someone who's perfectly willing to spew all kinds of crap but doesn't have the guts enough to get the response.

[BronxWench]

I have an AO3 account myself, simply because I have one fanfic I work on sporadically, and one friend who is sure he'll go to hell for reading here. (I like warmth, so I'm fine with a well-toasted afterlife myself.)

It's a highly contradictory site, and governs by committee. That, for me, is the "enough said" part right there.

For myself, I adore good solid concrit. I will never improve if I don't know where I need to improve.

[pittwitch]

What's AO3?

*sarcasm*

Any REAL writer will embrace real concrit. While it stings, the benefits outweigh the temporary pain.

[BronxWench]

And it's still FAR kinder than what an editor will give you.

[bookworm51485]

That's my attitude in life. When I did my Comps, I sent my paper to multiple people and told them to be brutal, to rip it to shreds and let me know every little thing that they saw that was wrong. I didn't agree with everything and some things I left as they were, but ultimately my final draft was a lot better than the one I initially sent out. Criticism is the life blood of improvement. I love it. I just don't understand when/why it became a bad thing.

[pittwitch]

It is only "bad" for those who have no love or care for the craft; those who are only writing and posting for the asspats from their fanpoodles. The rest of us are still willing to withstand the sting.

Sadly, I tend to stay far, far away from writers who only want the glorification. They're fairly obvious in some fandoms - which is why I check the reviews page before I start an unknown/author story. And, at times, I'm suckered in ... if I leave a concrit review - I've been known to time the speed of the deletion.

I wonder if that's one of the reasons folks call me a witch?

[BronxWench]

But you're our Witch, love!

[bookworm51485]

I get the other word that rhymes with witch :-P

Though sometimes I got a really nice note from an author thanking me for a well thought out review and then expressing frustration that all they get usually are ones that are frivolous and butt-kissy. That's the only reason I bother anymore, otherwise I would have quit reviewing a long time ago. But even now, I don't review nearly as often as I used to.

My reply to the author did get deleted though. I responded with exactly why her overreaction made her look like an idiot and she deleted that one, though left the others. I guess she didn't want the reviewers already rushing to her defense to see that one.

It is only "bad" for those who have no love or care for the craft; those who are only writing and posting for the asspats from their fanpoodles. The rest of us are still willing to withstand the sting.

Sadly, I tend to stay far, far away from writers who only want the glorification. They're fairly obvious in some fandoms - which is why I check the reviews page before I start an unknown/author story. And, at times, I'm suckered in ... if I leave a concrit review - I've been known to time the speed of the deletion.

I wonder if that's one of the reasons folks call me a witch?

[pittwitch]

IRL, a long time ago (last year) I held a position wherein witch was the nicest thing I was called. I've since retired.

Don't stop reviewing, please? Reviews are like crack for the imagination. They're also the reason I revamped my entire style of writing. Yes, that first review stung like hell. After I gave that person's advice careful consideration, I started down the path to becoming a much better writer. So, even if they delete the reviews - the seed has been planted. Don't let them throw you.

Oddly, I have had many review replies requesting beta services - services which I no longer have the opportunity to provide.

Review as much as you read.

[bookworm51485]

First time I've been back on my computer and on this website in while. But school is finally out, so I can finally relax and it's such a nice feeling. I'm definitely not suited for elementary schools, the little ones. They're exhausting.

I don't think I'll ever stop reviewing completely, but I likely won't do it nearly as often. Every time one of these situations comes up, it usually ends up reducing my will to review just a little bit. I still try to keep it up, especially when I find an especially receptive author (there is one on AO3 who is pretty awesome in that no matter what you say, she takes it in stride and will sometimes even use it to shape how she directs her story: bluedemon92), but I'm feeling less and less inclined.

I've gotten a few requests from people to beta and I have one author who saw one of my reviews and PMs me on ff.net periodically asking me to read and review her story. The problem is I read it and it's not horrible, but it has a lot of issues and I'm not sure I want to deal with the potential response I might get if I give constructive criticism (even though she is asking for it). Eh, it's a hard thing, made harder by sites that refuse to do anything about the really nasty authors out there.

Someone suggested that instead of a petition that likely wouldn't make any difference, I should just take personal action against the author and post her information so people would know what kind of author she is, so since I posted one good author above, I post her link as well: InnercityIsis. What's sad is that the story isn't all bad, it's mainly just the end where she completely jumps the shark (and of course there's the fact that she's a raging bitch as well:-P).

Edited June 9, 2014 by bookworm51485