On the other hand...

[selenak]

On a different note, I recently got feedback for two very old stories of mine in two different fandoms which were a bit odd. Not negative; it's just that both writers used the comment to tell me all about their specific headcanons. Basically, the comments went: "Nice story. Let me tell you in several paragraphs about my headcanon for this show/movieverse issue which is only vaguely related to what the story has been about." I'm a bit at a loss on how to respond. Especially since in neither case, the headcanon in question is something I agree with, but their comments were polite and I don't want to be rude, not least given that comments to fanfic have become rarer and rarer in general.

Meanwhile, nominations for the Rare Male Slash Exchange are happening. I participated last year for the first time, wrote Greek mythology slash and got both the Ben/Locke (from Lost) story of my dreams and two great historical fanfics, so I won't be able to resist signing up again.

Comments

[likeadeuce]

Oh my! At least they didn't demand that you write a sequel incorporating their headcanon?

Probably just the time to say, "Thank you so much for reading and commenting."

I do think as we get nostalgic about what fandom was like when more people left comments, it's easy to forget about all the time we sometimes had to spend puzzling over exactly what a commenter must have been thinking!

[selenak]

At least they didn't demand that you write a sequel incorporating their headcanon?

There is undeniably that. Though I wonder whether at least one of them had that in mind...

I do think as we get nostalgic about what fandom was like when more people left comments, it's easy to forget about all the time we sometimes had to spend puzzling over exactly what a commenter must have been thinking!

You speak truth!

[ratcreature]

Just respond with something generic like that you're glad they enjoyed it and commented, without engaging with the headcanon bit.

I think sometimes these kinds of comments happen because there just aren't any obvious venues to talk about specific fandoms any more that are easy to find. So you read a story, have a thought about a fandom (maybe only somewhat tangentially related to the fanfic), feel like sharing and there's no place to put that thought, but the author is at least in the fandom and there's a comment field there...

[selenak]

That sounds likely. (Insert nostalgia for the days of lj communities with fannish debates here.)

[lirazel]

If the fandoms are older and not particularly active, maybe the commenters are just excited to talk to someone about a canon they love? I mean...that's definitely not a way I would use fic comments and it's certainly weird from your side, but I'm betting they were like SOMEONE WHO'S INTO THIS THING I'M INTO SOMEONE I CAN TALK TO!

[selenak]

That‘s possible, and I empathize if this is the case, though while both fandoms are old, neither is exactly dead (Star Trek: DS9 and X-Men Movieverse, respectively). Anyway, maybe I should mention this DW as an option if they want to have fannish debates in my reply?

[lirazel]

Yeah, I don't know! Whenever I see someone do something that seems inexplicable to me, I immediately try to figure out what they may have been thinking...but but I could always be totally wrong!

[mildred_of_midgard]

got both the Ben/Locke (from Lost) story of my dreams and two great historical fanfics, so I won't be able to resist signing up again.

Wasn't it four? Two from me and two from cahn?

[selenak]

*headdesks* true! I had mentally put half of them into Yuletide, because of the Christmas theme, I guess!

[redfiona99]

I tend to go with "Thank you for your feedback, glad you enjoyed it" and gloss over the rest (with the exception of the reviewer who doesn't say anything about my fic but uses the comment to ask for extreme porn featuring a character I don't even write. Her, I ignore.)

[selenak]

Wise of you. Thankfully, this has not happened to me yet, but I got a fic dedicated to me featuring porn in a fandom I don‘t even know. I thought it was a mistake (i.e. wrong name in the dedication, confusion of identity) and wrote a comment to tell the author so, and when after some weeks they didn‘t change the dedication, used the decline the gift button.

[nostalgia]

Ah, weird comments. I admit I tend to ignore the weirder ones. One time someone was like "you could do this story with Rose instead, here is how" which was like okay maybe if you wrote that yourself instead of telling me about it?

[selenak]

Comments pushing for the commenters' favourite pairing of choice instead of what's offered in the story are just plain annoying. :)