I have recently found the condition that to vote one must comment, and activated it. It may reduce the score but it is more meaningful.
I believe this is the only way a vote can be substantiated. You have to comment as well as score.
Do you like this condition or not.
Comments please.
I don't use it. I find most voters on my stories are also commenters on my stories so I don't bother for the odd person who just tosses a vote.
"insensitive prick!" – Danielle Algo
I don't like that feature. I vote to show my appreciation. Most do it for that reason here on Luch I suppose, hence all the 4s and 5s. To then be required to comment feels like that appreciation isn't wanted/trusted.
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===
Feedback is always appreciated but I don't insist on it. Many readers don't have the time to comment or just don't like to do it. And some of them prefer to send a private message with their views to the author. I think the voting gives a good and quick indication of how your story is doing.
I hate forced comments - unless i feel strongly about a story, it will usually keep me from voting.
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Not a fan of this feature. It's difficult to see what you've written in such a small line, especially for people like me who sometimes leave (unnecessarily) long(-winded) comments.
Also, I have a habit of commenting before scoring so when I click on score, the feature sort of asks me to comment twice.
It won't put me off reading future works if the author is particularly awesome, but it can be a bit of a pain.
(My 2p as a reader.)
How interesting. I do force a comment because of some very strange voting behaviour on my stories but to be honest it hasn't made much difference. Now I just get wonderfully positive comments and a lower score that doesn't match them.
So I achieved nothing really, I think I'll follow you all, open things up and just not look at the scores.
I've always left my voting wide open. If they ever restore anonymous voting, I'll continue to allow that as well.
Clicking to vote and finding out I have to comment to do so is more likely to cause me to do neither.
I tend to not put much weight on votes. People are very kind here, well most anyway, and usually award a 5. I put more interest in the comments since it takes time for the reader to leave one. I would hate to keep someone from commenting because they're forced to or because their phone has a hard time with that feature as mine often does.
Forcing qualitative feedback through quantitive feedback rarely produces anything meaningful. If people are moved enough to say something, they will - forcing the hand of someone who just wanted to vote will result in bland, meaningless platitudes or critiques that won't do your confidence or writing any favours. I think the best way to improve the benefit of your comments is to post plenty of constructive comments on other authors' work . The better feedback you give, the better you get back in return.
Warning: The opinions above are those of an anonymous individual on the internet. They are opinions, unless they're facts. They may be ill-informed, out of touch with reality or just plain stupid. They may contain traces of irony. If reading these opinions causes you to be become outraged or you start displaying the symptoms of outrage, stop reading them immediately. If symptoms persist, consult a psychiatrist.
Why not read some stories instead
NEW! Want a quick read for your coffee break? Why not try this... Flash Erotica: Scrubber I've never used this feature and I dislike it. If I do leave a comment it will probably be much shorter and to the point than I probably otherwise would have left. The one-line box is very small and I don't like not being able to see my full comment before hitting 'post' (scrolling can be a pain).
As for my stories - whatever a reader feels like doing is fine by me. A vote, a comment, both, a PM, nothing. It's really reader's choice.
No, I don't. I do appreciate every comment, but I wouldn't want to force someone to provide feedback that they might otherwise prefer not to leave.
Want to spend some time wallowing in a Recommended Read? Pick one! Or two! Or seven!
I agree 100% with HeraTeleia, I would never want to force comments from people who read my work.
If they leave a comment and or score then that's great and I really appreciate it, but I am just as happy to see how many views I get tbh.
It seems that this feature is not popular so I have removed the condition. Thanks for the input.
Please don't force us to leave comments. I personally feel pressured to write (or try to write) something ink-worthy, and come up short.
If I might give an opposing point of view: I respect anyone's right to score my stories as they see fit. However, when you've spent hours, days or weeks on a story and put your heart and soul into it, it is deflating to see a low score and have no idea why it was given.
I understand that forcing comments will cost me scores, but I feel that's a price worth paying for avoiding anonymously awarded 1s, 2s and 3s.
The bottom line is that I want people to enjoy my stories and be turned on by them.
Danielle xxx
I don't mind it too much although I dislike that I can't properly read what I've typed in that line box and I also dislike the fact that spell checker doesn't seem to work in those forced comment boxes which is annoying when I notice I've made a mistake after posting!
I'm all for people having a multiple choice of options. That's one of the great things about this site. Choice.
I do not use this feature. Though as an author I thrive on comments, especially constructive criticism, I think readers should leave a comment because they desire to, not because they are prompted. With regards to scoring, I have mixed feelings. Votes in the current system are biased high due to lack of anonymity, but, while an anonymous system would result in more objective scores, it would potentially leave authors open to vindictive voting.
"It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.” Raymond Chandler
I used to use this feature, because I had issues with someone. So, someone else suggested I use this. I did for almost a year. It annoyed a lot of people and they'd say so in the comments. I felt badly, and wanted to see what the difference was between having it forced and unforced. I think I get a lot more scores now that people are free to do so without having to leave a comment. Though more times than not, I get both a score and a comment.
Whatever I get, I'm happy with. After doing it for so long, you learn to appreciate things a little more differently.
I don't enforce it and whenever I find that someone else does, I usually change my mind about voting at all. I only have on story so far, and when someone votes, it makes me feel good. When they leave a comment, even better, but I'm not going to force them. It seems like people are just fishing for compliments when they insist upon that.
She's a saint with the lips of a sinner.
- r.m. drake
I've gone both ways. I required because some idiot gave my stories ones and twos. I'm not writing at the level yet of the premier authors here, but ones? I'm always honest on my scores and will even take the time to send a private message if I see an editing error or something that obviously needs corrections. After seeing the predominantly negative opinion, I will consider removing the feature. I am always appreciative of honest appraisal. Nympwriter, Sprite, Bethany Fraiser, and several others are not shy about correcting me and I am grateful.
As a writer, I've used the feature before. But a few friends informed me that they didn't care for it; they left my stories voteless. So, I no longer use the feature.
I must say that it is nice to have a choice.
As a reader, I don't mind when the author uses this feature. However, I wish the writing space were a little bigger. It's difficult to proof my comment before pressing enter.
As a reader, I hate it! When I have a relevant, interesting comment to make, I do so; but I don't like being forced to write something in the comments just to give a score on a story. Most of the comments given on such stories end up being meaningless fluff -- a waste of time to read and write.
I think if a person likes my stories enough to vote a 4 or a 5, they should take a few extra seconds and explain what they liked about the story.
As a writer, a number is just a number, and not a real reflection of a writer's ability. Knowing what you did right to earn the high mark means a lot more.
