I really don't understand how "without getting kudos or comments a fanfiction author is going to assume that people who clicked their fic didn't like it" became a controversial take.
I don't know why some people think an author should imagine, or guess that people who click their fic enjoyed it it when nobody is telling them that.
If you're re-reading a fic constantly, or leaving it up in your tab so that it re-loads every day for a hundred days the author is not going to know that unless you tell them. They'd love to hear it. It would make their day.
And if you don't tell them you liked their fic, there's no reason for them to assume you did.
Writers on AO3 when they see the hit counter on their fic go up and get an email that someone left kudos or a comment: Yay! People like my story! This made my day!
Writers on AO3 when they see the hit counter on their fic go up but the number of kudos/bookmarks/subscriptions/comments doesn't change: Oh. People are reading my story, but I guess they didn't like it.
Writers on Tumblr when they see notifications on their story: Yay! People are liking my story! Oh, somebody left a nice comment! Oh, they even reblogged it! That was so sweet of them!
Writers on Tumblr when they see 0 notes on their story: Nobody read it.
Also, just for fun, here are the stats for my fanfic with the most hits:
Almost half of the comments are my replies, so there are actually 27 individual comments. And almost 27,000 hits. So, basically a 1:10,000 ratio.
Do you still think writers are being unreasonable?
While 27 comments may not be much when someone gets them gradually, it's a lot to read through to make sure you're not contributing to unintentional spam.
unintentional spam?? I'm sorry this is just such a foreign idea to me.
I promise you there are vanishingly few authors who would be upset to receive more than one comment saying the same (positive) things!
If I receive multiple emails of comments on something I write, there is an actual zero percent chance of me being upset by it. Literally would make my day, week, month. Love your authors! Comments do not have to be detailed analysis - something as simple as “<3” conveys so much. (In fact, the very first comment I got on AO3 was “<3” and I treasure it.)
Spam your local fic author with comments. You never know what could happen.
They might fall in love with you.
Happened to the Goob author. Happened to me.
I made one of my dearest friends this way. And I bet she'd be completely unsurprised to know I still have her comments saved.
Tell 'em how long it's been, @sparklingganymede.
27 comments is NOT spam!! Most are just like "thanks" and "I liked it" and such. But let's be generous, let's say each comment takes an entire two seconds to read. That's 54 seconds. That's less than ONE MINUTE. Get over yourself and start commenting on the fic you read, omg seriously. And if you're all "but I meant email spam, 27 emails is a lot" - you know can just turn off email notifications, that's a thing you can do. But what if some of the comments are really long? Umm, yippee. For real. The person who left me the longest comment I ever got is my best friend still over a decade later. So like?? COMMENT ON THE FIC!!
I get a little rush each time I get an email with a comment. Even if its just a thumbs up type thing. It helps me to know that even when I struggle to write, people are out there appreciating my work. I never turn off email notifications, and I love that I still get 2-3 emails a day telling me about the kudos I'm getting on my stories, even ones I haven't updated in literal years. It always makes me smile.
Your authors just want to know you care.
