On Mon, 27 Oct 1997 10:07:46 -0600, Nicholas Leifker
<nwl9354@unix.tamu.edu> wrote:

David Homerick wrote:

Note, though, that my comments were added as I went through the story.  In
many ways, they are a log of my response to the story.  Yes, I did get flip.
 I *felt* flip -- the story was heavy-handed and lachymorose.

Okay.  In other words, you weren't willing to give an honest, respectful
negative C&C.  That is an insult, David, whether you were intending to
or not.  

For what it's worth, had this been my fic, I would've welcomed the kind
of comments that David posted.

If the effect of one of my stories on a reader is drastically different
than what I intended, then I want to know about it. If my fic induces a
reader to shout "Gimme a $%&* break!" then I want him/her to say so,
because otherwise I won't know. I can't work on figuring out what caused
the problem until I'm aware that there might be a problem in the first
place.

But, you say, it's the way in which he said it that was the problem.
Okay, but just remember that David didn't have to respond to this fic at
all. If you get enough C&C that you can afford to be selective about the
kinds you want, good for you. Some of us don't. Personally I value *any*
honest reader feedback, and I'd infinitely much rather have honest
flames or sarcasm than no response at all.

Public or private? Again, just speaking personally, I'm always happy
when those who comment on my fics decide to go public. It gives others a
chance to agree or disagree. Had David sent his comments privately, no
one would have been able to rush to the defense of this story. Yes,
there is the chance that these kinds of comments will turn off readers;
but in this case the story got a lot of strong positive reaction from
other readers, so it hardly seems like a danger here.

Just my 2 Yen....


Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics