What's wrong with giving, what's wrong with giving, what's wrong with giving compliments? (Uh-huh!)

[taste_is_sweet]

I'm not apologizing to Demi Lovato, because I'm linking to the really cool video I stole the chorus from.

Let me say, O best-beloveds, that there is nothing at all wrong with giving compliments. I used to not do it very often, because it felt safer to keep things to myself than to court the potential embarrassment of engaging in a possibly unwelcome interaction. But then I got older and I decided that life is too short not to tell someone that you like their shirt or that they have beautiful eyes.

Last night I sent a message to someone I know on Tumblr just to say I really liked their posts, and I made them really, really happy. That made me happy too. Being nice is almost always a win-win.

I've mentioned before about how I leave kudos on AO3 for fics if I read them the entire way through, because someone went to the effort of writing the story. A kudo is a quick way of complimenting them for that effort. Clicking it says 'hey, I liked this. You did good.' Nice comments are even better, but a kudo is so easy it astonishes me that so many people don't leave them.

The last time I posted about leaving kudos (the link above), someone replied that they only give a kudo when something really moved them. Otherwise they thought that the hits alone were enough acknowledgement of the writer's effort.

I've honestly been thinking about that on and off for two years, and I still have a problem with it. While I can understand the principal--be happy anyone bothered looking at your fic--all that hits actually show you is that someone went to that page. Maybe they noped out after reading the tags. Maybe they got three paragraphs in and hit the back button in a panic. It's impossible to tell. But a kudo means that they both read the story and thought it was good, or good enough. And seriously, we're writing this stuff for free, here. Isn't a story that keeps you reading until the end automatically good enough for a lousy click on a burgundy button?

I know that some people like certain stories so much they read them several times, and unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose) you can only leave kudos once. But there are loads of readers out there who don't bother leaving them in the first place. Not one little compliment saying that they appreciate your time and effort.

And that, honestly, is just mean. Sure, no one forces a writer to put their stuff out there, just as no one pays us. But that's also the point. We don't have to do it. That fic you rolled your eyes at but still gave you ten minute's worth of entertainment is completely, totally free. Our only expectation as writers is that people will read our work, and our only hope is that they'll let us know they did.

So, why should anyone think they deserve a masterpiece before leaving a kudo? It's one click. One tiny, easy little click. But I can tell you as both a writer and reader that one tiny, easy little click can actually mean the world.

And life is too short not to say something nice.

Comments

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

If I read and like a story, I always leave a kudos. Because you're right, it's the easiest thing in the world to do.

I certainly don't write for any other reason than that I have a story to tell, and I post it because I want to share it with other people in my fandoms. But getting feedback, even a simple kudos, is so very happy-making. It lets me know I'm not just writing into a void.

Keep spreading the word, Taste! ::fistbump of solidarity::

[sholio]

... people think a hit constitutes feedback? What?

Actually, I know a lot of people (well, some people anyway) think a bookmark constitutes feedback, and while a bookmark is actually flattering (in a way that just getting a hit isn't) I still don't think of it as the same thing; a bookmark is for you, while a kudos or a comment is actively saying "thank you" to the author. (Though I do love going into my bookmarks and reading the notes that people have left. Some of them are truly a delight.)

But, yeah ... I think of a kudos as the absolute minimum I can offer on a story I enjoyed. The only times when I won't kudos is when the story hit one of my major DNWs near the end, or when I don't want to admit that I was reading it (as in the case of certain embarrassing kinks) -- yes, I know you can leave guest kudos in that case, but logging out and reloading and logging back in requires actually WORK. In any case, if the story was worth reading to the end and didn't violate the contract with the reader in any major way, a kudos is the very least I can do.

[ride-4ever.livejournal.com]

And then there is the opposite thing...the trolls who use the comment box to be mean, including mean comments that aren't even about the fic...like the troll who last week used the complimentary comment I made on a fic (and that's the only kind of comment I ever leave on a fic) as an opportunity to leave a reply to my comment in the form of telling me that I am "dense and stupid," that my "username is stupid," and that she has better things to do than read anything related to my OTP since it is "the wrong OTP". *facepalm*

[umadoshi.livejournal.com]

*nods* I leave kudos if I finish a fic, basically. And admittedly I read fic almost entirely via recs, so a high proportion of fics I click on are things I like at least reasonably well, but OTOH, I get scared off so easily by bad or annoying summaries that even when I am just poking around my success rate at clicking on decent stuff is still high.

[popkin16]

I don't tend to leave kudos or comments for side fandoms, weirdly. I know I should, but I put so much effort into my comments, sometimes I just want to read, be alone in my head, not reach out. It's different if it's a friend or an author I love.

SGA, on the other hand...the fandom is so small. I try to leave kudos and a comment on all fics, unless it contains something that I really don't care for (in which case I will just skip over the fic). I tell myself the author won't even notice...

Hits absolutely aren't any form of feedback. Kudos are the absolute minimum you can give an author to show appreciation. Even a comment saying, "Great fic!" can be heartening.

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

I agree - it seems churlish not to leave anything if you read to the end of anything longer than a drabble.

[mific.livejournal.com]

I completely agree that leaving kudos on a fic you read through is the way to go.

I'm sometimes bad about it as I almost always download fics to read on my phone or pad, and that means I have to be super-organised a) to remember what I recently read and b) to locate it again on AO3 or wherever and leave kudos &/or a comment. It's even worse with podfic, where the lag between downloading and listening is often a lot longer, so podficcers have to be philosophical about that and learn to treasure all comments.
The problem's a technical one with iphones, ipads and the safari browser (which you can't usurp to have another preferred browser), as the link saying "drop by the Archive and comment" at the end of a downloaded fic does take you back to the AO3 page for the fic - but you're not logged in as you, and the Archive won't accept a guest kudos filtered through Kindle (also, guest kudoses are OK but not as satisfying for an author, IMO). So you have to laboriously log in (and the interface via Kindle means your phone won't 'remember' your login details either, so it's all by hand).
What with all that, I don't always manage it. /o\

[mific.livejournal.com]

Me again!
Scrolling on further to catch up with my flist, I discovered two hilarious fics where AO3 itself is the fandom - they're about leaving kudos. They put my problems to shame!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/5993785 - Not Leaving Kudos by Bunn

which led to

http://archiveofourown.org/works/6097927 - Kudos At All Costs by rhymer23

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right! What's wrong with leaving kudos for free entertainment? It's absolutely dead easy to do, and it makes someone who gave you the gift of free entertainment happy. Why are people so entitled and miserly?

I sometimes wish I could leave multiple kudos--once each time I reread a fic I love!!

[inu-spockya.livejournal.com]

I have the same approach. there are very few stories I won't at least leave a kudo if I like it enough to finish it -- but passive-aggressive begging will change that every time. can't stand that whole "here's today's 500-word installment, please review!!1! and let me know what you want next in the story!!1!"

*shudders*

a lot of times I can't come up with what to say so leave a short comment and bail, but I keep hoping if enough of us do this, the culture will change. and if not, well, at least I'm trying to hold up my end of things.