If someone said your story was awful I'd have given them grief for being rude. All the views counter counts is hits on the url. It does not mean people liked it. I find it interesting that you felt no/little feedback was a "good sign."

Have you read some of the stories that have gotten a lot of feedback?

Around here we subscribe to the 'If you can't say anything nice about someone's efforts, don't say anything at all' rule. I think that's what Lilith may have been getting at. Trouble is, people say they want feedback but when they get it and it isn't favourable they get upset as you have done.

I never said that Lil. I was just saying that if anyone had an issue with the reading of the story then they could have said something to me then. I have done another story only recently which is also on my signature and it seems to be ok.

Lil you make a very good point about how "no/little feedback was a good sign", but I'll be honest. I've posted a couple of stories here, and neither one has a feedback thread started by anyone about them.

My friends here, that have read the stories I have written, have told me that they liked them, but nobody felt the need to post any feedback. (note: IMW did start a feedback thread for a story I wrote)

I don't plan on becoming a writer, but I would welcome feedback on MY stories. I can take constructive criticism should I recieve it, but as Lou pointed out, the general practice is "if you can't say something nice.....".

I guess if ALL posted stories had links to a feedback thread at the bottom of the last page of the story, maybe more feedback would be written. This would require the moderator to "post" the stories, however, so that the link would automatically appear, instead of the story being posted by the author.

1nutworld,

Interesting development here.

I too avoid posting public criticisms of others’ stories. On those few times I have responded with suggestions, I have done so via PM. That way, if the author disagrees with my criticisms, there is no loss of face.

Jseal, that is exactly how I would handle the situation as well. If I am going to be critical of someone's writing, there is no need to make it an embarassing situation as well. I know if I were to be criticized, I would want it to be done in private, just as I would hope it happens with my performance at work.

Respect the person, even when being critical, of their actions or deeds.

I always wonder, though...how much criticizing or opinion is enough?

I got into a minor argument on another erotica site with a similar issue because I belong to the "anally-retentive good grammar/spelling/tense" camp and the ones throwing stones at us were making the point that since it's all amateur, fun in the doing and for free, we shouldn't be expecting the world over a few or more smudges on the chassis.

My quibble was that seeing mistakes that, maybe to me, are easily corrected with some triple-checking, help to make a good story better (if not great) and that if people really care about what they want to show to others, most especially with erotica, they'd take the extra steps, commissioned for or not.

Then again, when you read comments and they're ALL virtually praising the said piece, you start wondering if you're really thinking too much about amateur erotica. Or if you're getting elitist just because you want something more out of it than others, when if it made them satisfied just dandy, is all the barometer the writer needs to know they did a good job.

I dunno... :truce:

All I can add is that if we had Grammer Nazis at pixies, this would a sad & lonely place...

nice.

listen to the man, mark.
personally speaking, i welcome any and all criticism of my scribbles (in fact, i wish peeps would do it more) and urge you to do the same. you’re the one who can take that criticism and use it constructively or choose to disagree but don’t blow it off.

conversely (and rather perversely considering what i just wrote) in re to stating my opinion about someone else's story on this site ... unless i was asked to personally edit a story, i would never offer any criticism or suggestions. in my past experience, people just don’t want to hear it. and frankly, i find the more awful the story, the more pissy the writer gets about any criticism.

wyndhy, I think that's because if someone's grammar is consistently poor, it is not simply sloppiness or lack of proof reading, but an ignorance of the basic rules of English grammar. If someone is unaware of how badly something is written/ spelt/ punctuated, they don't realise how difficult it is for someone else to read it.

I find it difficult to read anything when Loulabelle's picture is right next to it. :hot:

That's why I just look at the pictures...