hi it's raviv coming in to comment (pun semi intended) on the topic of replying to comments. as im sure u have noticed i DO respond to all comments and i don't know why!! i think part of it is that leaving a comment is a really nice thing to do that it is much easier to NOT do, and i think it's nice to thank people for taking the time to do that. also, for a similar reason, i love getting replies to my comments!! also bc as a fic author who loooves comments it's rly nice to know that i can give someone else that feeling, and when you dont get a reply it does kinda feel like just shouting "HEY I LIKE YOUR FIC" into a void. whereas when you DO get a reply it's like !!!!hey you're a real person and i made your day a little better!! and you made mine a little better too by writing something i really enjoyed!! isn't the world beautiful!! so. yeah!! that's my reasoning.
and re the question of timing: im not great at being timely in my replies. the only deadline i set myself for replying to comments is i usually try to reply to all the ones left in my inbox before posting a new fic, so that way the inbox is clear and readyyy for any new comments. this has been very good for my response rate lately, since ive been writing a lot, but when i'm in a lull i can and will go weeks or months without replying. which i think is okay? sometimes ill get a reply to a comment i left on a fic like...months or even years prior. and it's still nice when they're like "wow haha i never log in to ao3 anymore but i did on a whim and saw this, thank you so much!" bc then i still get to be like hey wow i made a person's day better in a way that was totally unexpected to them. PAST ME did that. so yeah. those are my thoughts re: replying to comments. i don't in any way hold it against anyone who doesn't reply to comments though, and i get why people don't, and i generally don't notice anyway. it's just nice when they do :)
ok between you, janni, and @talewt, i am wholeheartily convinced towards the side of replying to comments. i guess i used to feel like commenters were doing me a favour and i didn't want to bother them back with more thoughts--but now i feel a little stupid for ever thinking that bc i love getting responses so idk why everyone else would be different lol. i really like the idea of replying creating a stronger community around writing, too. and just somewhat repaying a nice thing. thank you guys sm for engaging with me on this--i was actually thinking of you three specifically haha you are very cool writers and it is good to get your opinion!!! :)


















