Hello mates:
Before talking about this subject, I want to make it clear that this concern I have is not coming from this forum, but from other websites. Without further ado, I will expose the topic:
As a newbie writer who uses the internet, there is a topic that worries me a lot, which are ambiguous comments about literary texts, something that proliferates on writer's websites. I refer to comments like these:
Example 1: Very good story, I loved it.
Example 2: The beggining hooks, I hope continuation
Example 3: An attractive story, enjoyable and well written, I liked it. Greetings
These comments are suspected of not having read the text, since they do not mention anything about it, and may be written only to receive visits to their own texts or another selfish gain. Sometimes, if they are asked things to be more concrete, they retain so much ambiguity that one has a reasonable suspicion that they have not read the text and are trying to conceal themselves. Example of this:
Commentator: An attractive story, enjoyable and well written, I liked it. Greetings
Author: why is it attractive and enjoyable? Why did you like it?
Commentator: It is attractive because it is written with great sensitivity, resulting in a beautiful story, and enjoyable because it is pleasant to read and does not get tedious.
Unfortunately, this, together with the "likes" and "follows", are some of the problems of websites of writers who share their texts. I think it should be fought, but with all possible consideration, because, in fact, we have no evidence about noone of people who comment like this do not read the texts (although in some particular cases we can have such evidence...I have a funny anecdote about that). And really, it is possible that there are people who read the text and only comment “very good, I liked it” because they are spared with words/in a hurry/whatever (we should let the benefit of the doubt, at least at first).
What strategies occur to me to start to fight against this problem? My ideas are the following:
Idea 1. When we receive a comment like this, we must follow the following protocol:
1. Ask the person who wrote the comment what they liked about the text (such comments are always “positive”). If he/she have said something more concrete than "very good, I liked it", but still ambiguous, ask him/her specifically (for example, if he/she says that the story is attractive, ask him/her about what he/she found attractive).
2.If the answer remains ambiguous (very probable), it is time to let him/her see that the ambiguity of his message causes suspicion. This matter is very delicate, since the person may be offended/disturbed. That is why we must point out the following points:
A) That you are not accusing him, because every person is innocent until proven otherwise.
B) That the ambiguity of his/her comment does not show that he/she have not read the text, but there are reasons for a reasonable doubt.
C) That such doubt will be dispelled if he/she makes a more concrete and less vague comment.
D) That the distrust comes from previous experiences in which it is stated that they have made similar comments without reading the text.
Despite all that diplomacy, I think it is very likely to bother, but it is a sensitive issue and I do not think it can be said softer than as I put it. The only way not to bother is to not say anything against that kind of comments, which is negative because then, they will continue to proliferate.
Anyway, this is a personal opinion of mine, based in my own experiences. I have surfed in a bunch of virtual communities of writers (all of them in spanish, this is the second time I write in an english site) and I have lived this kind of experiences.
Well, my questions to you:
1. Are ambigous comments frequently posted in non-spanish writting sites?
2. Do you agree with my proposed strategies to fight against them?
Best regards.
Before talking about this subject, I want to make it clear that this concern I have is not coming from this forum, but from other websites. Without further ado, I will expose the topic:
As a newbie writer who uses the internet, there is a topic that worries me a lot, which are ambiguous comments about literary texts, something that proliferates on writer's websites. I refer to comments like these:
Example 1: Very good story, I loved it.
Example 2: The beggining hooks, I hope continuation
Example 3: An attractive story, enjoyable and well written, I liked it. Greetings
These comments are suspected of not having read the text, since they do not mention anything about it, and may be written only to receive visits to their own texts or another selfish gain. Sometimes, if they are asked things to be more concrete, they retain so much ambiguity that one has a reasonable suspicion that they have not read the text and are trying to conceal themselves. Example of this:
Commentator: An attractive story, enjoyable and well written, I liked it. Greetings
Author: why is it attractive and enjoyable? Why did you like it?
Commentator: It is attractive because it is written with great sensitivity, resulting in a beautiful story, and enjoyable because it is pleasant to read and does not get tedious.
Unfortunately, this, together with the "likes" and "follows", are some of the problems of websites of writers who share their texts. I think it should be fought, but with all possible consideration, because, in fact, we have no evidence about noone of people who comment like this do not read the texts (although in some particular cases we can have such evidence...I have a funny anecdote about that). And really, it is possible that there are people who read the text and only comment “very good, I liked it” because they are spared with words/in a hurry/whatever (we should let the benefit of the doubt, at least at first).
What strategies occur to me to start to fight against this problem? My ideas are the following:
Idea 1. When we receive a comment like this, we must follow the following protocol:
1. Ask the person who wrote the comment what they liked about the text (such comments are always “positive”). If he/she have said something more concrete than "very good, I liked it", but still ambiguous, ask him/her specifically (for example, if he/she says that the story is attractive, ask him/her about what he/she found attractive).
2.If the answer remains ambiguous (very probable), it is time to let him/her see that the ambiguity of his message causes suspicion. This matter is very delicate, since the person may be offended/disturbed. That is why we must point out the following points:
A) That you are not accusing him, because every person is innocent until proven otherwise.
B) That the ambiguity of his/her comment does not show that he/she have not read the text, but there are reasons for a reasonable doubt.
C) That such doubt will be dispelled if he/she makes a more concrete and less vague comment.
D) That the distrust comes from previous experiences in which it is stated that they have made similar comments without reading the text.
Despite all that diplomacy, I think it is very likely to bother, but it is a sensitive issue and I do not think it can be said softer than as I put it. The only way not to bother is to not say anything against that kind of comments, which is negative because then, they will continue to proliferate.
Anyway, this is a personal opinion of mine, based in my own experiences. I have surfed in a bunch of virtual communities of writers (all of them in spanish, this is the second time I write in an english site) and I have lived this kind of experiences.
Well, my questions to you:
1. Are ambigous comments frequently posted in non-spanish writting sites?
2. Do you agree with my proposed strategies to fight against them?
Best regards.