longlivefeedback

FAQ I AO3 A blog dedicated to discussing feedback culture in fanfiction and exploring features, userscripts, tools, and community initiatives to improve author and reader experience. [email protected]

[longlivefeedback]

I don't comment on fanfics I read because

too much effort

I didn't like the story and don't have anything nice to say

I didn't finish reading the story

I left kudos. Why say more?

I liked the story but I never know what to say in a comment

The author doesn't respond to comments

What's a comment?

I always leave a comment

Voting ended onFeb 10, 2023

If you comment on some fanfics and not others, pick an answer that applies most commonly to when you don't comment.

[longlivefeedback]

Results are in!

Thank you for taking this poll. The responses here and in the notes were really interesting and have inspired my next project for the LongLiveFeedback blog. So, announcing:

Commenting 101

This is a six-step action plan that is geared towards taking you from "I never know what to say in a comment" to "I always leave a comment." In short, if you are in the 62% and want to move into the 10% of superheroes that always leave a comment to fanfic authors, I've devised the following lesson plan:

Find your catchphrase

Describe the indescribable

Quote. Or paraphrase

Express interest

Talk about your favourite

Put it together

Because commenting is a learned skill, these "lessons" will be tips on How To Comment and are designed to help you practice commenting and build up your commenting muscle until it's second nature to you. I'll post a lesson each weekend and your job is to commit to writing comments from that lesson during the week.

Participation is voluntary and you get to grade yourself at the end of the course, but I will be soliciting feedback at the end of each lesson-week.

So if this sounds good to you, let's have some fun experimenting and finding a commenting style that works for you!

Without further ado, here's Lesson 1: Find your catchphrase.

[longlivefeedback]

On AO3, If I respond to comments anonymously, and turn off the anon and delete my replies, are they still in their op commenters inbox? And if they got an email, will it change to my username, or will it still say anonymous?

Hello,

Just to clarify, you can only post anonymous comments if you are the author of a work and the work is in an anonymous collection. If you are not the author, you can post as a guest, but it is not the same as an anonymous comment, I believe.

With that premise, here's what my experiment to answer this ask revealed:

If you (as the creator of a work) respond to comments anonymously, the person you are responding to will get a mail in their inbox from "Anonymous Creator."

2. If you turn off anon by removing your work from the anonymous collection, the message in the original commenter's inbox reveals your name.

3. If you delete your replies, the message disappears from the original commenter's inbox.

4. Emails do not get updated, resent, or deleted.

Hope this answers the ask, Anon! Here is the work on AO3 where I tested this.

[longlivefeedback]

Idk why someone needed to write a comment that they won't read this story because hate kid!fics on a story of mine that had no children or pregnancy.

🤔

I'm sorry Anon.. Maybe they commented on the wrong fic? Or they lack reading comprehension... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[longlivefeedback]

I absolutely love being able to comment on ongoing stories on sites like Ao3, because fanfic is one of the only times your comment and response has a real impact on the story!

I am an author, and if I see multiple comments picking up what I’m putting down, I know that I should keep doing what I’m doing. On the other hand, if I see comments misinterpreting the story/details in the story, that tells me that I should switch some things up.

Not to mention the amount of times a reader has suggested something that I end up incorporating into the story!

To sum this all up: especially especially in fanfic, your comments MATTER. A LOT. That is how authors get feedback, how we get ideas, how we form general connections through shared headcanons or opinions! Your comment is never just Lost To The Void; it will always have an impact.

Louder for the people in the back.

[longlivefeedback]

Hi! So I have an etiquette question. So I try to comment on fics with 0-2 comments. Something I've noticed is that others are only commenting 'update please'. Which I find rude.

Now if this happens on my fics- I typically let the commenter know that this is unmotivating to see that they only reason anyone comments on my labor is solely for more labor.

My question is, is it rude to reply to an 'update please' comment when it is on another author's story? It annoys me to see this happen to my fellow authors, but also it doesn't involve me.

Hello thank you for your ask and apologies for taking a while to respond.

My personal opinion is no, it is not rude, since fandom is all about community and it take a village to raise a child sometimes... I feel like maybe, it might even make the author's life a bit easier if they felt the same as you ('update please' comments are rude), to see that they are not alone in that view and not the only one shouldering the burden of telling off/educating commenters. However, this is of course subject to personal opinion, so I'll add a poll for the community to air their views (reblogs and additional commentary on this subject is always welcome of course).

Is it rude to reply to an 'update please' comment as another reader/commenter? (assuming 'update please' is the whole comment)

Yes, it is rude

No, it is not rude

Neutral, it is neither polite nor rude

I don't know

Something else (please reblog/comment to elaborate)

Voting ended onMar 22, 2025

[longlivefeedback]

Genuine question re:smut

(And I'm not even sure if this is a question just you could answer but)

Would telling an author you got off reading their smut fic be a good comment or a wildly inappropriate one?

It probably would depend on the author and how your comment comes across, but let's hear from some authors:

How would you feel about a comment saying your fic got someone [the reader] off?

I would kill for a comment saying that. More please! 💫

Satisfied. Mission accomplished 🚀

Same as any other comment/Just happy to get a comment ❤️

Thank you, but would prefer not to know that 🙈

Waaay too much information eww 🤢

Hmm it's complicated (feel free to elaborate on tags/replies) 🍫

Don't know how I'd feel about it 🤔

Not an author, just wanna see results

Voting ended onSep 19, 2024

[justleaveacommentfest]

JUST LEAVE A COMMENT FEST MASTERPOST

DAILY THEMES DETAILS

HELPFUL COMMENT RESOURCES

FLOATING AO3 COMMENT BOX

BINGO CARD FROM LAST FEST AND LOTS OF COMMENT RESOURCES

HELPFUL COMMENT STARTERS

GUIDE TO LEAVING LONG AND DETAILED COMMENTS

FIC AND COMMENT TRACKING TEMPLATE

FIC AND COMMENT TRACKING TEMPLATE FOR APRIL 2024

MORE TO COME!

[longlivefeedback]

Hey I want a bit of help about how to comment specifically on smut fics... I always find it So, so difficult to comment on them even if I normally have such an easy time commenting on other types of fic... Idk what to say so they just end up sitting upon on my tabs on my phone forever....

Not sure how long this ask has been sitting in my inbox, but...here's something to start you off perhaps, Nonny?

That was hot 🥵🌶️🔥

The way you wrote them was so amazing! X is so good at ABC! 🫣😍

I enjoyed reading this so much!

The way X takes care of Y made me melt

The way you kept up the excitement/anticipation had me hooked and the payoff was spectacular!

This fic had me asldkfhjwldkvnlkc-ing I love it so much

👏👌🙌🫶

Or use the ACD method that has just come to my attention 😅😂

However, an interesting thing I just noticed is that if you blank out the word "smut" from your ask, the example comments I listed could be used in any other kind of fic. So...since you're already comfortable with commenting, I think the root of your problem is that it is your perception and mentality around smut fic specifically.

For some reason, you may view smut fic differently from other types of fic and put it in a different category in your mind. I'm not going to tell you that you have to get over yourself or view smut fic differently (and to some extent, I suspect that smut fic writers understand and perhaps even expect the social/personal shyness of their readers), but if you really have it in your heart to comment, I would say try leaving a short, generic comment first, and once you feel like smut fics are a safe space, then have at it :)

Don't worry about comparing yourself to how you comment on other types of fic. Just accept that commenting on smut fics is more difficult for you, and adjust your expectations for yourself. You leaving even a single emoji is probably more than 95% of a fic's readers, so don't beat yourself up about not being able to leave a coherent comment. I love your attitude about wanting to comment on smut fics! Thank you for reading and (trying to) comment!

[feedthefandomfest]

Comment Bingo: Old Fic Edition

Very simple rules: connect 5 squares in a line by commenting on fics that suit the task in each square

Very simple goals: encourage newbie or nervous commenters; encourage fandom writers to KEEP WRITING

STEPS:

Download Bingo Card HERE (png) or HERE (jpg) or HERE (pdf)

Complete the tasks on the card, marking off each as you go, until you've completed 5 in a line (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal; NO double-dipping; kudos ♥️ is a free space)

POST your winning card (or list your filled squares) and tag @feedthefandomfest! Glory in your victory.

SEARCH TIPS:

This card requires some familiarity with AO3's search filters. Once you've narrowed your results according to fandom/ship/additional tags, certain squares require you to sort the results by Date Updated, which is the default. Other squares require you to search for fics posted within a certain range of years, which you can do by scrolling on the search menu to More Options:

Note that to enter a date range, you must format the date as shown.

REWARD:

✨ victory badges ✨

New badge for this card, but here are examples from previous cards:

Tag me when you earn a bingo (or double, triple, quadruple... FULL CARD bingo) and I'll reblog a shiny badge with your name on it to commemorate the win.

FAQ:

Can I comment on tumblr or only on AO3?

Either one is great! This card especially is more designed with AO3 in mind, but some can be adjusted to suit tumblr as well, so I say go for it. Tumblr fics deserve love, too.

Can one comment count toward multiple squares if the fic fits more than one category?

Since the goal is for as many fics to receive comments as possible, try to comment on a different fic for each square.

Is there a time limit?

Nope! Take your time or set your own deadline, whatever works for you. This blog is still in its early experimental stage, so feedback welcome. Play around and let me know what you like and what might be added/changed—including ideas for squares on future cards!

Do I have to record progress on the actual card?

Nope! If it’s easier to keep track in a different way, that’s fine. This is all very honor system, so if you say you earned a Bingo, we’ll call it a win 🎉

Some people have been tracking not just completed tasks, but the fics they read along the way, so that when they post a bingo, they can also promote the fics/authors in a little rec list. Not required, but definitely cool to see!

Can I adjust the task in a particular square to suit my comfort level?

Of course! If you deliver something in the spirit of the task, then it’s all good. Use your best judgement in constructing a comment that will make the author smile, and you can consider it a job well done.

In general, so long as each square has produced at least one comment, you’re golden and I salute you 🫡

Happy commenting!!

[glassheadcanon]

@longlivefeedback

[longlivefeedback]

Thanks for the tag! Could be a fun thing for anyone who wants to try it 👀

[dathen]

Still obsessed with Arthur Conan Doyle’s letter to Bram Stoker gushing about how wonderful a book Dracula is, but particularly how it makes such a good template for leaving fic comments, so I’m gonna to a BREAKDOWN:

Just say you loved reading it - “I am sure that you will not think it an impertinence if I write to tell you how very much I have enjoyed reading Dracula.”

Comment on a detail of the craft or structure that impressed you - “It is really wonderful how with so much exciting interest over so long a book there is never an anticlimax.“

Comment on how it emotionally affected you - “It holds you from the very start and grows more and more engrossing until it is quite painfully vivid.”

SHARE YOUR BLORBO FEELINGS - “The old Professor is most excellent and so are the two girls.”

Show appreciation for them as an author - “I congratulate you with all my heart for having written so fine a book.”

Next time you don’t know what to say on a fic you enjoyed, just use the ACD method~

[lourdes-archieve]

@Fanfic writers:

My friend send me this link, is a series on a profile on Ao3 (tumblr) that has different tutorials to insert things to fanfics via html code, I thought I would share bc it’s really cool

Lists of tutorials:

How to make images fit in mobile browsers

This is a tutorial/live example on how to make large images fit on mobile browsers but remain normal size on desktop browsers.

How to mimic letters, fliers, and stationery without using images

This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic the look of letters, fliers, and stationery (as well as other forms of written media) without using images. For all your epistolary fic needs.

How to make a “choose your own adventure” Fic

This is a tutorial/live example on how to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" fic. While this has been explained before (see here), this particular tutorial shows you how to use a work skin to hide the next parts from the reader until they click through to get to them.

How to make linked footnotes on Ao3

This is a live example of how an author can create linked footnotes in their work with only a little bit of HTML and no workskins required. This is best viewed by clicking "Entire Work". While I've included the actual coding in bold and italic once you click "Hide Creator's Style", there's a more detailed explanation here.

How to change text on Ao3 when the cursor is hovering over it (or clicked on mobile)

This a tutorial/live example on how to have text change or appear once a cursor is hovering over it. Helpful for pop-up spoilers, language translations, quick author's notes, etc.

How to mimic author’s notes and Kudos/Comment buttons

Anonymous on tumblr: do you have a skin that would mimic the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons section from the end of a fic? the desired effect being that the fic could go on after the “end” of the fic, so after the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons

Here's a tutorial/live example to do just that, with some of the buttons actually functioning. I'll explain more inside!

How to wrap text around images

This is a tutorial/live example on how to align images to the left or right of the screen and have text wrap around them.

How to mimic email windows

This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic email windows on AO3 without the need to use images.

How to make ios text messages on Ao3

This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic iOS text messages on AO3 without the need to use images. There's also a chapter on how to have emojis displayed on AO3 as well.

How to make Customized page deviders

Bored with the default page dividers? This is a tutorial/live example on how customize your page dividers with no images needed (though I do show you how you could use images if you wanted to do such a thing).

How to make invisible text (That can be highlighted)

This is a live example how to make invisible text that can only be seen by highlighting the text. Tutorial is included in text, and you can always leave comments about questions you may have.

MOBILE USERS: Sadly, this probably won't work for you, since highlighting in a mobile browser is different than web. I've tried correcting this, but have yet to find a solution.

How to make a rounded playlist

Original coding and design is from layouttest. I make no claims for it, just tweaked it so it will work on AO3.

How to create notebook lined paper on Ao3

This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of lined notebook paper in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.

Sticky notes on Ao3 without using images

This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of sticky notes (aka Post-Its) in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.

How to make deadpool’s thinking thinking boxes on Ao3

This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of Deadpool's thinking boxes in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.

How to make newspaper articles on Ao3

This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of a newspaper article in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.

[dduane]

This is really useful and I'll always reblog it.

[actual-changeling]

In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.

I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!

From what I've seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!

I'll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here's the link.

The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.

(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that's me.)

If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.

The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I'll summarize regardless.

insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box

add to comment box -> once you're done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box

delete -> self explanatory

on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic

The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.

Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it's such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.

[gallusrostromegalus]

HERE'S THAT BITCH IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR

[writingsfromspace]

This refers to writing posted on tumblr!

"None of the above" here means "I'd rather not get a comment at all than any of the options listed"

Writers! Which of the following would you MOST like to receive in response to your writing?

Keysmash (kjafldsgjflk) or scream (AAAAAAAaaaahhhhhh)

Emojis of any variety (🥺 <3 (ㄒoㄒ))

Reaction image/gif (I don't think I can add one of these here whoops)

Any of the above

None of the above

Not a writer/see results/clicky button

Voting ended onJan 24, 2024

Reblog for sample size please I am but a little writeblr

[longlivefeedback]

Hey! Not sure if this is the right blog for this, but I have a question about responding to comments on Ao3. I usually respond to all comments I get, but this year was really stressful and for a while I didn't mentally feel up to answering comments. I'm getting back into responding now and was wondering: is it taboo to respond to a comment you got months ago? I want to thank the writer for their words, but at this point have I missed my window?

No taboo that I'm aware of! In fact, receivers seem to love any response to comments, regardless of how long they took to arrive!

If you're still feeling antsy about being "too late" to respond, consider this permission to respond to any comments you have sitting in your inbox, no matter how much time has passed!

[pod-together]

We're having a weekend-long event to listen to and comment on Pod-Together 2023 projects! Yesterday went really well, and it will be fun to see how high our stats can get by the end of the day. As of this post, we've had: 18 people participating 44 hours, 56 minutes, and 26 seconds of podfic listened to 122 comments left And we've gone from 37 Pod-Together 2023 projects awaiting their first comment down to 6! If anybody would like to participate, you can join the pod-together Discord or just listen and comment on your own and then add a row to the tracking spreadsheet with your minutes listened to/comments left!

[longlivefeedback]

Do you think there's a skin or a script or something or other to comment on specific chapters while reading in entire work? Like a comment button somewhere around the chapter end notes.

There used to be a floaty review box thingy script which may or may not be what you're looking for, but as I've never personally used it, I don't know if it still exists and works.

Opening this up to the blog for anyone to reblog or chime in on with information. Sorry I don't have a good answer right now, but hopefully someone in the notes does @frogwithapen !

[spider-shoes-archive]

shoutout to the slow artists. the artists with hardly any time for art. the artists who reach the end of the day with no energy for art. you got this i believe in you and you are no less valued than anyone else

[spider-shoes-archive]

to be clear. when i say artist i mean every kind of art. drawing writing music sculpting embroidery idc this post was for you and i am sending my love your way