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Many people have complained that the AO3 comment rate is too low and have proposed explanations as to why, but there's another under-discussed factor that might be at play.
Sorry about going MIA last weekend, but I'm back with Lesson 3 💪 But before we get into it, how are we doing with describing the indescribable and commenting in general?
Has this Commenting 101 series been helpful?
Yes! The tips have helped me comment more/start commenting. More please!
It's helping a little bit, but I'm starting to not comment again.
The tips haven't helped me. I still want to comment but can't/don't for reasons.
No. The Commenting 101 series is irrelevant to me because I don't comment ever.
N/A to me cuz I already comment, but the series is helpful & should continue
Not helpful at all. LLF should spend their time elsewhere.
I just found this post and have no idea what the Commenting 101 series is.
Other (Send an ask or put in notes?)
Voting ended onMar 12, 2023
Alright. So let's talk about quoting bits of the fics and commenting on them in a comment. Personally, it's one of my favourite ways to comment because I find it easier to focus on a specific thing/sentence/paragraph/turn of phrase that I really like and gush about it to an author. By doing this, I can also focus on the bits of the story that I really really liked, and not worry about the parts that I didn't like so much. Win-win for everyone!
The one downside of this particular commenting technique is that it does take a relatively high amount of effort and is not as easy as a keyboard smash or entering a bunch of smileys and a catchphrase into the comment box. But hey. Some fics are worth it :)
So, here are some tips on how to quote while commenting:
Keep 2 tabs open.
Use a third party browser script that gives you a floating review box.
Paraphrase.
1. Keep 2 tabs open
Easier on a computer, but I've done it on mobile before. This is literally having two tabs open to the same chapter/fic as I read. When I get to a sentence or phrase that I really like, I'll copy it from my reading tab and paste it into my second tab which has the comment box open.
Sometimes I'll notate what I am thinking in the moment for that quote, and sometimes I'll leave it for the end and experience all the bits I loved again 😍. My comment at the end usually looks something like this:
"Sentence I really like"
~~ I really love how you described this character!
Everything from "Start of a paragraph/section..." to "...end of paragraph/section" is giving me life!!
"Paragraph I really like"
~~ This was perfection and made me cry 😭
and so on and so forth.
It's nice when I notate as I go, because when I'm done reading, I've got quite the comment already written and I usually just round off the comment with a catchphrase like "This was all wonderful! Thank you for writing and sharing!" and hit post, easy-peasy.
2. Use a third party browser script that gives you a floating review box.
This is not something I personally use, but the people who do have really loved it and I love the concept of it so here it is for you to try and see if it works for you!
There are a couple of scripts:
AO3 Floating Comment Box by ScriptMouse. This is a script to create a floating comment box at the bottom of the page for works on AO3. Box will be closed by default, and can be open/closed using the button in the top left corner of the window. Thanks to @memorizingthedigitsofpi for the link!
AO3 Review + Last Chapter Shortcut + Kudos-sortable Bookmarks Tampermonkey script by @ravenel. Click on the link to take you to the original post describing the tool and here's a follow up tutorial post by @bourbon-ontherocks on how to install the script. Credits to @altschmerzes and @castillon02 for the links!
I think these are only for browser on computers (so no mobile?) but please feel free to correct me in the notes if anyone knows.
3. Paraphrase
Let's be real. While Tips 1 and 2 are really just giving you tools to make commenting easier, when it gets down to it, commenting really requires you to, well, comment on something.
So what to do if you forgot to take notes as you read, didn't feel like doing it as you were reading, or found it just too hard to wrangle on mobile?
Paraphrase.
Just refer back to that one thing that caught your attention ala:
"I really love how you described this character in that part!"
"That part where you wrote about that thing that happened to that character is giving me life!!"
"That part where you that happened was perfection and made me cry 😭"
Yes, this does require you to remember and be able to point out and talk about certain parts of the fic. It can be a lot to remember particularly if it's a long chapter. So, as I've stressed in previous lessons, don't let it paralyze you. Just pick one thing you can remember and have the ability to comment on.
Remember:
Just quoting and commenting on one thing is better than nothing.
When you cannot quote, paraphrase!
And as always, when in doubt, comment your catchphrase.
If you want more help constructing a comment or validation that you're writing good comments, please send in an ask or submit a screenshot!
Hello, does anyone actively use a Tampermonkey script that makes commenting on AO3 easier because there's a floaty review box on the page as you read? Can you send me a link to it to share out on this blog?
This blog has discussed it before, but it was the other mod that had knowledge of it and we've been out of touch. It's also been awhile and Tumblr search is terrible, so I figured I would crowdsource for more up-to-date information if possible.
When you feel too tired/sleepy/overwhelmed/at a loss for words, just write 1 sentence down and you're done! The goal of this is not to be perfect. In fact, forget about perfect! Forget about needing your comment to be special, or that the author might not appreciate such a short comment. We're taking baby steps here and the most important thing you can learn this week is that something is better than nothing.
So start with something generic. Pick something short and sweet. Use one of the examples above. Leave it on every fanfic you read.
Let me repeat that for the people at the back:
Leave it on every fanfic you read.
Leave it at the end of that chapter you're reading. Comment on that fic you just opened. Just write those 2, 3, 4 words. Tell them LLF sent you. That we made you do it. Even if it doesn't feel great just leaving such a short sentence, do it. You can change it for the next fic. But start.
Start with something, even if you're not 100% happy with it. Don't worry about not getting it right the first time. You can iterate and change it up in the next fic or chapter you read and comment. And you can keep changing it up until you get something you're happy with. Even if it doesn't work out this week, there's next week. This will be your go-to sentence. Something that you can use without thinking. So keep it stupid simple.
Now, once you've started, you can stop and hit post on your comment. The only learning for this lesson is that you write something and develop a catchphrase for yourself this week. You can leave more than just your catchphrase in a comment, but it must be included in your comment.
And that's it!
I'll be asking how the week goes for you next weekend, and if you need more help getting started, my ask box is open.
Remember:
When in doubt, comment your catchphrase.
Something is better than nothing.
Goal of the week:
Leave your catchphrase on every fanfic you read.
And for the 10% of you who always leave a comment, I have a question for you:
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Hello, never done this before but I saw this as the place to send a suggestion for A03. I did also read the "Common Requests" and didn't see this, which was kinda surprising to me.
I would like to see an additional bit of data storage for the Reading History part of user profiles that logs what chapter they were last on for each fic. Essentially, this would replicate automatically creating a bookmark, but without a description or tags, and entirely private to each user.
As I said, I am aware that Bookmarks can accomplish this, but i'm not very familiarized with how bookmarks work and I consume fic works very quickly. I don't always want to create a bookmark when I might frequently jump between PC and Mobile, or start reading another fic entirely and forget to go through the process of making a bookmark. While this might be a QOL change, I still think it would be nice to see.
Here's an example of what I mean, formatted as a sort-of CSV table.
<Name>, <Last Visited>, <Most Recent Chapter>
So it would look like:
Work 1, 11/30/2022, 4
Work 2, 12/3/2022, 18
Work 3, 12/14/2022, 7
Then, when the user visits that fic from their History, they automatically get redirected to their most recent chapter. For Work 1, that would be Chapter 4.
Let me know what you think!
* * *
Mod dragonling here 👋
I must confess that I am not savvy enough in how the data collection and data infrastructure on AO3 (or any other website for that matter) works so take my somewhat uninformed opinion. Also, a disclaimer that I do not work for AO3, this blog is not officially linked to AO3, and the views below are my own.
First, I can see the appeal. It would be nice to be able to move between devices (mobile and computer) and not lose your place in a fic. However, I do not know if this is something that AO3 would entertain. AO3 has stored IP addresses for 48 hours for hit counter functionality and after doing a quick scan of their Privacy Policy I think it's possible to build and implement a feature like you're asking for, but not being part of AO3, I don't know what their stance is internally on something like this.
I actually don't think that bookmarks on AO3 have the functionality you've described here. Bookmarks on AO3 save a fic down into your "Bookmarks" folder, but they do not—to my knowledge—save your place/chapter in a fic.
All that being said, the functionality you are looking for seems like something using a browser that tracks you across devices (Firefox? Chrome??) might have already. Any thought about exploring that option more?
But I'll let people more knowledgeable on this subject chime, supplement, or correct any of my points above. In closing, I welcome people to use this post (and blog) as a forum for discussing new features they'd like to see on AO3, but if you would like a direct answer from AO3, you should submit a Support and Feedback ticket.
Hi! I'm just starting out on writing fics and love feedback, so ofc I jumped on this when I saw it, y'all are 100% okay with a random human like myself using your template and stuff to premote getting feedback? Just making sure, y'know
Yes. Please feel free to use our LLF Comment Project template in your author notes.
I hope it encourages your readers to comment and brings you lots of feedback!