Review types

[Altari]

It seems my reviewers fall into 4 categories. Do yours?

1) Teh Awesome

These are the reviewers we all hope for. They give criticism or praise honestly. Their reviews are coherent and not total babble.

2) Sticklers

They try to masqueade as Teh Awesome, but fail.

I read your story and kinda liked it. But you failed to account for act 2 scene 4 of Episode 138 where so-and-so says such to so-and-so. You really need to watch it again to be sure you're staying true to form.

3) The illiterate lolz-catzers

ZOMZG IT WAZ AMZGN?? PLZ WRAIT Mr ktx!?! I wub dat so-and-so suched wid so-and-so!!1 SQUEEZZZ!!! Wtng 4 mr?!

4) The non-descript

That was interesting/different/new.

The last group (#4) gets under my skin the most.

Edited June 26, 2008 by Altari

[JayDee]

Mine are more along the lines of:

1) Those who don't read story codes and disclaimers, or take hints from summaries and titles, and are disgusted, horrified and so mentally wishing I was rotting in a ditch, and want to share this.

2) Everyone else.

[cu-kid9]

My reviewers are usually the #1s and #4s. I usually don't get too many that are in all caps and nearly unreadable - it's usually either or My #4s are usually more like "I love it. Update soon." Err...

While getting a review from the last group isn't nearly as satisfying as getting one from Teh Awesome, I don't complain about them, usually - at least they reviewed

[sumeragichan]

Mine are more along the lines of:

1) Those who don't read story codes and disclaimers, or take hints from summaries and titles, and are disgusted, horrified and so mentally wishing I was rotting in a ditch, and want to share this.

2) Everyone else.

That first one drives me nuts when I see that on any fic. If you don't like the subject matter don't read it! If you're too stupid or lazy to read a summary, title, or tags... Don't go on a rampaging rant on the author who gave ample warning.

[Concepcion33]

The number 4 group never fails to amaze me. Especially when you have 10 chapters worth of material for them to draw from. Yet the best thing they can come up with is "This is gggrrreat!" Makes them kinda sound like Tony the Tiger, lol. I'm not trying to be a SoB or anything because I'm sure the number of review counts you have attract new readers if they think a large amount of other people like the story. But I can't say that new readers would be impressed with these types of reviews that really say absolutely nothing about the story.

We're not asking for a play by play of each scene and each character but this isn't brain surgery. But they can still write a sort of interesting review with one or two sentences if they know how to word it right, Compare Example one and Example 2.

Example 1

Reviewer A: I really like this story.

Example 2

Reviewer B: Very interesting plot. Leaves you waiting to see what happens next. Nice other dimension, and imagery.

Cant wait for more

Reviewer B told me so much more than Reviewer A and the length of the review wasn't that much longer. I appreciate people for being courageous and brave enough to leave a review, but these one liner types we can really do without.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Concepcion33

[DrunkenScotsman]

In defense of those who don't seem to read story tags and disclaimers, there have been instances where I went into a fic, having read those warnings, and decided to try it anyway, hoping that the way the particulars were handled would keep the story readable. Specifically, there have been a few N/C fics that still came across as 'sexy' based on the way those scenes were written, and others which were dark and gritty rape-fics. The latter really turned my stomach, as I was expecting the former (N/C but written in such a way that it still feels like a normal sex scene, where one can forget it's N/C). I've left a few bad reviews for such stories, because they were, as I said, sickening.

[RogueMudblood]

as I was expecting the former (N/C but written in such a way that it still feels like a normal sex scene, where one can forget it's N/C).

The point of that tag though, N/C or the more recent Rapefic, is as a warning. Rape is a nasty thing. It is dark, and it is disgusting. Leaving the author a negative review because you had a normal reaction to rape? Well, at least the author knows they wrote the rape scene out well enough that it's believable.

I honestly don't feel that there is a possibility of forgetting that non-consensual sex is rape, and I've read/skimmed stories that have tried to romanticize it; however, being as this thread is about reviews and not how one perceives the violent degradation that is forced intercourse, I'll not go into details.

Suffice to say, that, differences of opinion on that aside, I don't think leaving a negative review when it is clear the author intends the piece to be dark (by labeling it N/C or Rapefic) is necessary. I've been told that JayDee writes wonderfully, that the stories are always plotted well and the scenes are thoroughly riveting. However, because of the subject matter chosen - and I take advantage of the warning tags that are provided to authors for use in summaries - I refrain from looking at JayDee's work except for sorting purposes for cleanup.

As I said above, the most that you're accomplishing is telling the author that they've accomplished recounting the very negative aspect about which they first warned you. Having said that, negative reviews can fit into the categories described above as well.

I didn't like this clearly gives the author no other feedback and is not helpful to them as a writer.

I read this because I thought you would romanticize the point where Draco rapes Hermione, but I see now that isn't the case tells the author what you didn't like about it (and a bit about you as a reader as well).

Both of them are short, but at least the second one, though negative, tells the author what part of the story had a negative impact.

And I will, very sincerely, tell you that I try to leave at least some "criticism" in my reviews - I think this may be where people refrain from doing this. Criticism isn't just "you had this wrong" (type 2 in the first post); it's also when you tell an author that they wrote this part believably, when you tell an author that the point at which character A interacted with character B was done well. Positive criticism is still a critique of the work, but when people see that word, all they seem to think is of its negative connotations.

[JayDee]

Three and a half years since that post... and little has changed tbh.

[DrunkenScotsman]

Just pointing out that sometimes content warnings aren't 100% indicative of what you'll actually find in a story. Maybe the example I gave wasn't the best, but I can't remember another specific instance. Believe me, though, whenever I review, I make a point to say exactly what I like and don't like, and why.