unpopular fandom opinion alert

[fahye]

I really, really dislike the AO3's Kudos function.

If I get one, all I think is 'seriously, you liked it but you couldn't be bothered to leave a tiny comment?' and if I don't get one (new most depressing thing ever: the ability to calculate the Hits:Comments ratio on a fic) all I think is 'they must really have disliked it if they couldn't even be arsed to CLICK A BUTTON EXPRESSING POSITIVE OPINION'.

I can see why people like it, but it doesn't sit right with my idea of fandom courtesy. If I like something enough to read it all the way to the end, I leave a comment.

ETA: It has been pointed out to me that in my kneejerk sulkiness I missed the fact that it has accessibility merit and also oh-man-the-server-is-dead-again merit. Both good points!

~

ANYWAY. Despite that, this has been a fantastic year for Yuletide! I have been reading and bookmarking like crazy.

Comments

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I've been pushing kudos buttons today because it's easier to get them through the overworked server than comments. (I couldn't get them through every time, but I tried.) I bookmarked everything, and I intend to go back and leave fuller comments on the stories I've read, but it wasn't really possible today.

[sainfoin-fields.livejournal.com]

I love the kudos. Not everyone is -- indeed, MOST people are not -- able or willing to write comments and since most of the ones I get are "I liked this" I don't see the difference between that and a button which communicates "I liked this." I take great issue with the idea that a person's level of interpersonal engagement is commensurate to their worth as a fan.

[misura.livejournal.com]

You do know there's the option of turning the hit count invisible to yourself, right? (It's what I've set it to, because I know how my mind works with such things.)

Re: the Kudos, I ... don't quite know. I've seen people use it as an extra thumbs-up (a comment equals love, a comment plus kudos equals big love, only kudos equal love in a time of server overload) and given that nobody likes 502s, for Yuletide, the kudos seem a nice way of leaving a comment without leaving a comment.

[laleia.livejournal.com]

Personally, I leave kudos when I liked something but also had a lot to criticize about a fanfic. I don't like to leave criticism in reviews, nor do I like to lie about how much I liked it (say that I liked it and not mention the myriad issues I may have had with it), so kudos for me are a compromise. Generally, I leave them on fics I wouldn't have reviewed in the first place, had the kudos button not been introduced.

Plus, I've always had issues leaving reviews -- they always end up stilted and brief and meaningless ("I liked it") or long and gushing (but generally in a rambly way that makes me feel uncomfortable about revealing too much about myself). There have been countless times that I've typed up a review and left it sitting in a tab because I wasn't comfortable with it, and ended up just closing the tab without ever posting the review because I felt that I would be coming off too forward, or too obsessive, or too strange, or too insincere. Kudos are a way for me to avoid that.

But then, I also rarely view the "hits" number as "people who've read my fanfic". I usually see it as "people in my fandom who found my premise/summary intriguing enough to click on the link" -- possibly because I am also aware that probably half the hits are me, because I like to reread my own fanfic to check formatting (especially on ff.net!), or to see if there's anything I missed, or just cause. :)

[roseblight.livejournal.com]

they always end up stilted and brief and meaningless ("I liked it") or long and gushing (but generally in a rambly way that makes me feel uncomfortable about revealing too much about myself)

Yes, this.

(And how illustrative.)

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

new most depressing thing ever: the ability to calculate the Hits:Comments ratio on a fic

WORD.

I can see why people like it, but it doesn't sit right with my idea of fandom courtesy. If I like something enough to read it all the way to the end, I leave a comment.

DITTO.

[miscellanny.livejournal.com]

I dunno. Kudos are better than nothing? I'd rather kudos than no comments but a few bookmarks, showing people like it enough to want to read it again but not enough to tell me, y'know?

Although that's more of a problem with people than AO3, obviously.

[ormery.livejournal.com]

I feel super awkward leaving comments on things. I know that's just my problem, but there's very rarely a fic or piece of art or wev that that I can manage to articulate my feelings about without getting incredibly anxious. Because it's really hard for me, I'll make that extra effort if it's something I really, really liked, which usually involves me leaving the tab open for hours, sometimes days, while I work up the guts and the brains to put my thoughts into words and hit the send button. I really like it when sites have a "like" or "favourite" button or wev that I can press without having to spend a couple hours freaking out over how to phrase it. ._.a

[ariastar.livejournal.com]

I was grumpy at first, but then I found myself leaving kudos and made my sulky inner voice shut up. Given my druthers I'd still rather have comments, but I have made peace with the kudos.

[soda-and-capes.livejournal.com]

AGREED.

[buhfly.livejournal.com]

The majority of the fic I read is on, like, my phone and stuff while I'm stuck places or waiting. Sometimes commenting can be v difficult and frustrating. :(

[themis.livejournal.com]

(new most depressing thing ever: the ability to calculate the Hits:Comments ratio on a fic)

No kidding - there's a reason I turned hits off. I'd much rather think that four people read my story than that 150 people read and hated it. Also, hits aren't ever quite accurate are they?

My feelings on the kudos function are mixed, but right now I find it a valuable way to let someone know I liked their story even if it didn't provoke enough thought for me to leave much of a comment.