(no subject)

[wiseheart]

Terrific. Some f***ing moron has just torn "Auguries of Immortality" to pieces on FF.Net, because they think they found some canon mistakes. I'm so sick and tired of this. Why do these idiots always target me? I research myself into an early grave, and yes, there might still remain certain mistakes, I'm not a machine, after all, but having all the efforts ignored and just the mistakes pointed out f*cking *hurts*!

It's a story that has had some positive reviews so far, and now I might have to remove the whole thing and lose the good reviews if I don't want to appear as an ignorant fool, because this self-righteous idot just *had* to leave a signed review.

I mean, I don't mind if people correct my mistakes. But having them listed on the review board in painstaking detail is something that will remain there, even after I've corrected them, telling everyone what an idiot I am. I hate these people, I really do. Would it kill them to PM me the list, since they're signed in anyway?

Edit: In case you're interested, my answer to the f***tard via PM is behind the tag.

Honestly? Yes, people who only read a story to find mistakes and only review to make the author look stupid, do annoy the living highlight out of me. Especially if they do it on the review board, where the mistakes remain documented, even after they have been corrected. I find it simply self-righteous and not the least helpful.

I've done a great deal of research for this story; I always do. Despite that fact, mistakes always remain, since I'm not a machine. Now, had you PM-ed me about them, so that I could correct them would have been helpful, and I'd have thanked you for it. As this wasn't the case, and you probably just wanted to feel superior against someone who might not spend all day with geeky stuff, it's just annoying. I'd thank you if you could stay away from my review board for the future.

Fanfic is supposed to be fun, not a way to ridicule people. I might have to remove the whole story and loose all my positive reviews because of you, in order not to look like an ignorant fool. Thank you so much. Just leave me alone in the future, please.

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

A very mean-spirited review, stuffed full of self-importance and not much else. Apart from a misspelling of "canon".

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So, it's not just me being overly sensitive again, right? Sometimes I think my hide is too thin, but this really hurt. I'm seriously considering removing the whole story and then reposting it, but that wouldn't only mean losing the reviews but the few people who put the story on alert would lose connection, too.

God, why must people always kick other people in the teeth?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I think the review makes the reviewer look bad rather than you (and I think this is always the case with these kinds of review). People form their own opinions on stories (and read them before they read reviews). The reviewer in question seems to be quite young (bio says 15): it does come across as someone wanting to prove themselves.

Is it worth putting a note in your bio that if people want to offer lengthy or detailed criticism, you'd prefer to receive it by private message?

And have you thought of looking at another archive, like Archive of Our Own?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I hope you're right. I just wish people who *like* my stuff would take half this effort to tell me about it. I'm just so fed up with all this nastiness - especially coming from snot-nosed kids who could be my grandchildren. It can take me the whole joy in writing.

[makamu]

May I second the recommendation for the Archive? I have never liked multifandom archives, but this one is very different and ridiculously easy to use :)

*hugs*

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, I found it very easy to use, and my motivation to familiarize myself with yet another archive was extremely low.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

My problem exactly. Moving 120+ multichapter stories... *shudders*

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! Not sure what you mean - where the review is - but sounds as if I'm better off not knowing!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

It's on Fanfiction.Net, and yeah, you're better off not knowing.

The thing is, I really don't get that many reviews, at least compared with the popular authors of my many fandoms, and a good portion of the ones I get are from the kind above. It's just so frustrating, you know?

[cirdan-havens.livejournal.com]

*pat pat* I know what you mean. Totally sucks. Thankfully we have the option of deleting such comments. But it's exactly the kind of thing that makes you want to draw away from posting stuff.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

This is a signed comment, so I can't delete it - unless I delete the entire story with all the positive reviews. :(

[jilba.livejournal.com]

I suggest 2 possible courses of action. If this person writes, go pick their stories to pieces. I have got rid of one nasty person that way. Didn't like a dose of their own medicine!

Or.. a good oldfashioned curse...works wonders...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

They're not worth it - a 15-year-old kid with a single story under their belt, written in French. Besides, I won't do that to a fellow amateur writer, no matter what.

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Well, when I did what I did, there was a good reason. This adult writer got it in for me and a couple of other people because she didn't like one of our friends, yet was afraid to take the friend on. So this person tormented us instead. We responded by taking her stories for spelling, grammar, etc, and in a couple of weeks she'd gotten the message and moved on. Your situation is different with a kid doing the flaming, so maybe it's better ignored, even though it's painful to you.
*hugs*

[artemis10002000]

It's your choice, of course, if it really bothers you that much knowing that review is out there on the net, but I think you should at least wait a bit before you make a decision about deleting and reposting it. I don't think peoples opinion of you and your story will be affected by that review. If people care enough about your story to read through the reviews, I expect they'll already have formed their own opinion.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

It is such a pity that people are such idiots! Sadly ff.net seems to attract more of them - possibly because it seems to be where most people start off in fandom.

I would try not to worry too much about the review being there on the page - it seems that most good stories on fanfiction.net get some bad reviews. If nothing else it encourages people if they read the reviews after the story because it shows that the author actually pays attention to what is said. (I know it is easier to say than to do) It is a pity that signed in reviews can't be deleted. I must say that I gave up looking at reviews for stories there before reading - because the reviews don't seem to have anything to do with the quality of the story.

[jen-rock.livejournal.com]

Before I posted the latest chapter of Knowledge Burns, I got a review that took umbrage with one line in one chapter and whined about how if I was going to make the characters so OOC, why bother calling it an Underworld fic?

At first, I was irritated, especially since the story is labelled as an AU but after I calmed down, I wrote a reply where I listed all of the reasons why that particular quote made perfect sense in the context of the story. I mean, I'm trying to create a fleshed-out society and culture for the Lycans and there are bound to be differences from the movies where there's much less depth. They never replied back so either they realized I was right or they didn't care.

I wouldn't take down the story just because of one snotty review. They just come off as pompous and anyone who likes the story isn't going to care what they have to say.

[crowdaughter.livejournal.com]

I've just read the review. You know, somebody whio declares himself a geek, but is unable to spell "canon" correctly, is something of an... interesting person to give you correntions, Anyway, nice of him to give you an unwanted beta reading. I think the correct response to this guy is "thank you for your review and the information. Please considr this fic AU in all regards you have mentioned. I hope you will consider not to return to my fic since it is obviously not satisfying to you. Thank you for the time you took reviewing me."

And either ignoring him or even banning him from then on.

{{{hugs}}}

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, you saw what I answered him - that was about the most polite I could get, not that such a snot-nosed kid would have deserved to be polite to, but I didn't want to lower myself to their level.

I've banned them all right, so at least in the future I'll be safe from them. And I know I take it to the heart unnecessarily. It's just so that I don't like having a list of my supposed stupidity available for anyone to read. Must be that frigging intellectual "I've-finished-three-colleges-and-always-do-my-homework" reaction. *sighs*

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

I'm with Crowdaughter on this one. Although I feel an adolescent boy who cannot (or cannot be bothered) to spell correctly does not deserve to courtesy of a reply from you, you are a teacher, and you would be honoring your life's work by showing this self-important child an example of how responsible, mature adults treat other people's creative efforts.

And don't you dare take your fic down because of some self-important child who makes himself feel less inadequate!!! Do not give him that kind of power over you!!! I don't read reviews before I read a fic, and I suspect I'm not alone in that. And any sensible potential reader who does look at reviews first will see all the positive reviews and ignore the one obviously written by a nitpicky nerd.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You see, it's exactly that. Just a few minutes ago, I got an alert from FF.Net that someone has put this very same story on both their Alert and Favourites list. So I do know that there are people out there who still like it - I just wish they'd like it a bit more verbally. Yeah, I know I'm an attention whore, but I can't help it.

Still, it's the people who have the story on alert for whom I won't take off. If I ever find it in myself to continue it, they'll want to know. Hopefully. It's reviews like this that killed my inspiration to continue the Alternate Voyager pilot. I find things like this very hard to deal with.

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

Ignore the bad review; the person who wrote it is merely making himself look like an idiot. He's not worth getting upset over!