The Etiquette of Holiday fics

[geoviki]

Like all the rest of you, I'm delighting in the reams and reams of new stories and art (and this year's art is especially terrific!). There's the granddaddy, merry_smutmas, and then others like harry_holidays, hd_holidays, smutty_claus, lupin_snape.... an embarrassment of riches!

As we are encouraging each other as writers and artists, I'm trying to leave feedback as well. One thing that caught my notice, though, has left me feeling uneasy, and I wondered what your views are: In your opinion, is it uncouth to leave concrit that's negative on a fest fic? (Disclosure: this is not anything that's happened regarding my own fic, just other folk's.)

I don't see the author requesting any, for one thing. Personally, I won't do it, but then I never leave anything less than praise unless I'm asked specifically and privately. If I don't like something, I just pass it by. Which unfortunately is the same response to something I've not yet read, so the writer is never sure if I'm unhappy or just behind (if the writer even cares what I think), but there you go.

But IMHO, these stories are gifts. And I can't see criticising a gift. Am I over-sensitive? What do you authors and artists think?

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I always note if I was unable to finish a story, and my comments are always based on what I have read of it. I don't think it's unfair to say "I couldn't finish reading this story and here's why."

I would agree that it's poor taste if I were actually "leaving" my reviews on the fic. But I'm not. I'm writing them in my own journal and leaving only positive feedback on fics I liked.

But I really don't think we're going to come to an agreement on that. I was only commenting because I resent the idea that I must be writing reviews specifically to cause harm or wank. I don't know how you even found my journal, but I've now unjoined the smutmas comm so that if anyone reads the comm's flist, my posts won't show up on there. (Still possible to come across them via friendsfriends or just random journal hopping, but there's nothing I can do about that other than flock and I don't want to do that because it means I have to friend everyone back who friends me, which I don't like to do.)

[geniusartist.livejournal.com]

It was easy to come across your LJ when you're also a participant in smutmas. I randomly go to people's LJs that I don't know if I think I might have something in common with that person, or they've written stories I like, or out of general curiousity.

Point taken regarding your purpose for posting your reviews.