Common Courtesy

Alright, so this is actually not as big as the title makes it sound, but it is about the forum, and courtesy. I got thinking this when I saw Krisexy's comment earlier today about how Felarya no longer inspires her anymore, because people only comment on something when they see something wrong with what's going on in the thread. That's kinda true and kinda not, though not the topic of this thread.

Back in "ye olden days" when someone commented on your idea, you went and commented on one of their ideas just out of common courtesy (title, anyone? ). Which is something I don't really see anymore. No ideas get any attention because no one comments on them...because no one comments on them. (if A=B, and B=C, therefore A=C) Though admittedly my bias is that this would serve me because I comment a lot (though not as much on other idea threads). Slimetoad posts a bunch of ideas all the time, but I rarely comment on them, for example. So if I commented on one of his ideas, then he would go back and comment on one of mine whenever he gets the time.

It's not an actual rule or anything, but I'm just saying that as far as common courtesy goes, if someone acknowledges you, its only polite to acknowledge them in return. That's all I'm saying.

Good idea! I intend to practice this as I agree everyone should.

Yeah, its like someone saying you're welcome, but no one says thank you.

Item acquired: Motivation.

But seriously, i have been trying to become more active for some time, and this is the straw that got the camel up off his ass. Now all that's left to do is come up with an idea worth commenting on, hmm...

Quest acquired: Use your brain!

Totally agree! I usually follow this concept on DA and I should really try to make use of it more here. Good thinking

I'm not saying you should comment on ALL of the ideas though, that's a bit excessive. Just the most recent one(s) would be enough. You don't need to read and comment on five of the most recent ideas.

I'm reigniting this thread for a single problematic purpose: It seems everyone has totally ignored what I said here. New ideas are the very blood of this forum, and Felarya as a whole. People need to comment, even if it's just "I like your idea, its very nice ". Seriously, I can count the cumulative comments on my ideas in the past year on my fingers and toes. We need to encourage other people to continue coming up with ideas by commenting on them. Never stop commenting on new ideas.

I surport this, I might be speaking for myself. But I think it's really hard for contributers to the forum to improve on their work when they are getting next to no commentation. If there's something they can improve on, they won't magically know this, because they woulden't of made the flaw in the first place if they did. Doesn't anyone want things on this forum to improve? Or are you just content in letting it die? Great contributers arn't just going to appear and make things right by snapping their fingers. We have contriubters trying to add something and they have next to no idea if their stuff is good or just a cliche ridden peice of crap, and therefore unable to better themselves.

Hell, even I could do better. I have tried commenting on the occational things, but I'll cetainly be willing to increase commenting if it can help

I'm in support as well, and I'll be doing my part for sure where I have the time. I myself find it very annoying to have to chase after people to get any feedback or criticism on my work. So I'm definitely up for raising awareness and improving our comment rate on new ideas.

And on a more personal level, there have been times when I've actually thought about giving up writing because I thought the lack of comments was because noone liked my stuff, and that all I was doing was putting my heart into something that everyone thought was trash. And there have been times where i've felt it almost effected my writing, I've had to delete chapters where the plot stoped being amusing and had delved into horrorfic and depressive subjects that betrayed the tone I orginally wanted. I am not pointing this out for attention, I just want to point out how the lack of feedback can impact the work of contributers

Some people are just too shy or might think that simply saying "good work!" is not worth it, even if they actually like it.

You can ask for feedback. Not insisting, but making clear you want to hear from other people what they have to say about your ideas, your stories... It isn't just people not wanting to comment, but maybe you, as a contributor or a writer, not encouraging them enough. You have to work on that too, not only expecting people to leave their caves and voicing their opinions at last.