I donât like to get all lecture-y and stuff and all of my followers have been absolute sweethearts (love yâall!) but Iâve been watching a lot of fellow authors having to deal with anons who are getting a bit rude or presumptuous and Iâm tired of it and I know they are too!
Now, this anon may not have meant anything by it, and if thatâs the case Iâm sorry for using this as an example, but this issue is bigger than a single ask. There have been repeated offenses all throughout different blogs and Iâve had to witness friends deal with it all in real time. With this authorâs permission, Iâm reblogging this post with my own thoughts, as well as othersâ on the matter.
Iâve made a small list of things that you probably shouldnât say to authors and why. Some of you may see this as a bit much, but trust me when I say this happens WAY too often to be ignored.
Asks that show you clearly havenât read the important information authors post - Many authors have master posts, links, and introductions for a reason! At most all it takes are a couple of searches or a glimpse at the archive to see posts with important information such as rules, demo status, and general information on the game. This community is centered on games you read, so please take some time to READ the important information provided by authors.
Single-word asks - Most of the time these come off as just blunt and demanding. Itâs one thing to have a short simple ask and itâs another thing entirely to have to open your inbox only to see âDemo?â At the very least add some more to it like âI was wondering if the demo was out?â I know that there are many people that do not have English as their first language and thatâs completely understandable and you should feel comfortable interacting with us. But please understand that authors canât tell any of that when receiving an ask and seeing a single-word demand doesnât make a great impression!
Unsolicited advice - If authors ask for it? Great! Go ham and share your lovely knowledge! I know many of you simply want to help, but a lot of times it just comes across as condescending. We can handle ourselves friends! Coding may be a pain in the butt sometimes, but unless we ask, we really donât want you copy-pasting the choicescript wiki/etc in our inboxes! A lot of it is also how you approach it because once again, tone is incredibly fickle online and good intentions may seem condescending without you meaning it.
Thirst asks (Depending on the situation) - Please respect authorsâ wishes if they say no nsfw. Your magical powers of sexy pressure arenât going to change our minds. Also, some of yâall are getting a bit too comfy with the ROs and characters... Please remember that weâre actual humans that have to read some of the stuff you send us. If the moodâs fine and the authorâs okay with it then go crazy! (but not too crazy...) Thereâs playful jokes and consensual nsfw and then thereâs âI am not an erotica machineâ so please take a breath and think about what youâre sending.
Super specific insert prompts - I hope yâall know this but if you send an ask for a sexy situation between a âFive foot two mc with brown hair who is shy and obedient and blushes when a big tall male RO accidentally brushes against her shoulder to grab the salt shakerâ we know that itâs getting a little... personal. Same thing goes with super edgy prompts. Iâm not here to shame any of you guys because guess what? We love how you add your own characters and perspectives to our work! Itâs actually makes it all worth it in the end. But you got to realize that if your prompt writes out half of the story then youâre asking for a commission, not a free answer.
Overly edgy asks - Not to be all âhaha edgy gross! Yucky!â but thereâs a line between expressing your reactions to a story and just dunking on characters, plots, etc. I canât speak for every author, but getting an ask saying âI seriously want to beat up [insert characterâs name]â when they arenât made to elicit that reaction just stings. Authors really put their all into stories and a lot of characters are like their children. You can express frustration and have healthy rivalries, but try to take into account how your comments come across to the author. Also please keep in mind that a lot of stories arenât made to accompany your personal power fantasies...
Asks that may trigger the author - With this itâs immensely important to check the established rules and ask the author first if theyâre comfortable with a certain subject. Everyone is different and thatâs why communication is important, but Iâve noticed some general triggers. Extreme gore and violence are a hit or miss depending on the author and game mood. Some may love it and others... well, we donât want to be used as machines to help you live out your murder fantasies. Pregnancy asks and the like also seem to not mesh well with a lot of people so be mindful of that!
Asks pressuring authors - Thereâs so much to unpack here that I could write a whole post the size of a COG story on it, but Iâll cut it short. Constructive criticism is great and can help improve stories, but in the end, authors have the ultimate say in what they write. You want a different plot? A different mood? Different ROs? Then please, by all means write your own story or find one thatâs more to your taste. Donât guilt authors or try to catch them slipping because neither of those things help your case at all. Iâve seen people get possessive over ROs, challenge their sexualities, pressure for more ROs, want to derail the plot. The list goes on and on. See something problematic or handled in a bad way? Please tell us, we want everyone to be comfortable! But donât try to mass pressure anyone to make something they donât want, because then youâll get a half-assed story and an unmotivated author.
Treat the author like your therapist - We get it, life can be rough and everyone has their own struggles. However, you have to remember that we are simply people that write fun games and stories, not mental health professionals or close confidants. We really do want you to be happy with our work and our hearts go out to any of you who are in a dark place. We care about you! But we are not the people that you should vent to, and projecting these issues onto our games and characters to guilt us into making changes just for you isnât acceptable. Please, if youâre having troubled thoughts and are going through something, contact someone close to you or one of the many help resources online!
Be a bigot of any sort - This should be the most obvious part of the list and it pains me to know that I have to include it because thereâs always someone out there that wants to be an absolute peanut. Whatever youâre sending, make sure you read it first and fix it until you know for sure that it wonât come across as hateful or ignorant. Repeat after me. Donât be racist. Donât be sexist. Donât be homophobic. Donât be antiSemitic. Donât be a dick. Period.
I hope I didnât scare any of you, but this needed to be said. Really, authors are almost always laid-back and chill and we love our readers! But we need to draw a line every so often because so many people take our politeness for granted. We are people and we should be treated with respect and human decency. Nothing less.
