Another meme

[brigdh]

Here's my anonymous writing comments thing. Because everyone else is doing it, so obviously I must too! Or I just really like getting feedback of all kinds, whichever.

Comments

[wolfpilot06.livejournal.com]

Ooooh...*links to own profile* Had I time now, I would totally reread your stuffs and give concrit. *gazes mournfully at midnight-due project* =(

**Wolf**

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm not really expecting anything very detailed. Most of the responses I've seen other people get are just "I really like your stuff", "stop writing that one pairing!" or "you should write longer stories" instead of in-depth reviews.

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

You know, the temptation to just cruise the comments for people whose work I don't know is a sad and dangerous thing. I haven't done it yet, but I can feel my resolve beginning to crumble.

I feel like a complete slacker on the commenting aspect of the meme, because so far the only people I know for sure are doing it are you and untrue_accounts, and there's really nothing I can say to either of you anonymously that I wouldn't also say non-anonymously. (Which is, roughly, damn you're good. Coupled with the ever-annoying, write more so I have more to read. And, in Mely's case but fortunately not yours, the even more annoying, Why do you have to fall for fandoms I'm not interested in? It's so sad for me, not that this should be construed as a demand that you stop it.)

Nevertheless, despite all that this suggests to me about the utility of the meme, I'm more than half tempted to go put my name on the list. Surely, somewhere there's somebody who's been waiting for the opportunity to say, Bitch, I hate you. Why do you have to write Hisoka like that?

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm just as bad as you, because I also haven't commented for anyone else (though there's a huge number of people on my flist who have signed up, mostly in Western fandoms), and yet I signed up anyway and want them to comment to me.

But I just don't have much to say that I haven't already said to them. I could add some unhelpful comments of 'nice work!', I suppose, but I've been lazy about it. Still, like you, I couldn't help but feel that there's surely someone out with some critism just waiting for the chance to write it out.

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

I have to think that you are absolved of any obligation to post 'nice work' comments for people, since you are so good about commenting on things when people post them in the first place -- something I admire and wish I could emulate. And anyway, I would think that the point of the anonymous thing would be the grand gesture: the rare occasions where somebody really wants to say some one of (i) I love your work so much it would be embarrassing to carry on like this if I had to sign my name; (ii) Bitch, I hate your work and all it stands for; or (iii) I really want to give you detailed, substantive critique/feedback, and I don't want there to be any messy personal issues attached to it. Maybe there are other reasons to want to be anonymous, but they're not immediately springing to my mind.

Getting any one of those three reactions would be pretty cool (even #2, because if you've hit that kind of nerve there are probably interesting reasons for it). But I suspect that even with anonymous posting enabled and a fuss being made about it, there's not a lot of serious criticism going on. I blame society: it seems to have become such a taboo to say anything less than glowing about anybody's work that now no one will do it, at least in the absence of some personal animus. Not even under circumstances where they wouldn't have to take responsibility for it.

Which, heavens, may make criticising stories a more serious taboo activity in our society than shoplifting. Or, according to some studies, rape. Which is such a scary thought that I'm going to stop right there.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Wow. I see where you're coming from- there are probably plenty of terrible things people would do if they were assured of not being caught- and to put this meme in that context is such a terrible idea that it does make me worry for the state of society.

Though I can almost understand why some people are so reluctant to offer criticism. You'd think that anyone who signs up for this is going to expect at least the possibility of getting a comment that falls into the #2 category, or something similarly critical if not quite to that extent, and yet I've already seen some people react horribly just by browsing a few pages of the comments. This meme is far from obligatory, so they must have been under the impression that negative feedback was such a horrible taboo that even in these anonymous circumstances there was no chance of getting any.

And the poor people who were trying to offer criticism have now been so discouraged that I can't imagine they'll be as free with it in the future. Not that rape isn't also incredibly discouraged, of course, but even being able to make the comparison says very worrying things for the future of criticism, at least in fandom.