So, Trixie gonna complain about downvoting. (And not for the reason you likely think.) · 6:10pm Feb 17th, 2013

Yup, Trixie has an issue not with random down-voters, but with the concept that down-voting requires an obligation to do more. Trixie is not directing this complaint towards any specific writer, so put those torches and pitchforks away, Trixie's gotten chased by enough of those by now.
No, Trixie is only complaining about a few concepts, namely...

-Someone down-voted me but didn't explain why or tell me how to get better, I either dislike them for it, feel their opinion is now completely invalid or both.
-Someone up-voted me but didn't point out why they liked my story, They are obligated to criticize my story constructively and politely!
-Someone down-voted my story before it was up long enough to be read completely, or while admitting to of not read the entire thing (Or at all). That makes them an idiot! And their opinion is invalid, they have no right to down-vote me!

In all three cases, Trixie noticed a rather common trend both for commenter and writer: A sense that the viewers are completely obligated to read through the entire story then provide a time-consuming strip down of everything they did or did not like in a polite, kindly worded review.

Trixie finds this, quite simply... Bafflingly silly (Not stupid, silly. Big difference... And yes Trixie knows Bafflingly isn't a word, shut up.) that this is randomly expected. While there is no actual rules on Fimfiction for up or down-voting stories, (Trixie checked, twice.) there is a guide on doing it for comments. (Which was quite simply: Like it, up-vote. Don't like it, down-vote.) The main issue here: We all have lives, our free time is not inherently infinite* and there's quite simply not enough time for such a thing. That is of course assuming that for some reason, we are more obligated to treat fanfiction differently then everything else in life that is capable of being reviewed. Does everyone get told off that they need to watch every movie, play every video game, read every book and try every food then analyze every little thing about it to decide if they like it or not? No? Then why is fanfiction any different? Heavy emphasis on the 'fan' part. Not to be rude, but while a writer may be fond of a story they spent weeks, months or... hours working on, that doesn't make it some special snowflake of life that claims the devotion and time of everyone else just because.

Now onto the more specific complaining, yay!

-Someone down-voted me but didn't explain why or tell me how to get better, I either dislike them for it, feel their opinion is now completely invalid or both.

Now let's pretend you go for a walk and find, what appears to be a pile of steaming dog... well you know. Quick, what's the chance you'll go 'eww' and walk away in disgust? Now what's the chance you'll go 'Wow! I absolutely hate/don't like/find this disgusting/why is this on my bed? I better get my tools out then spend the next half an hour pulling it pieces, learning everything about it, nitpicking every little bit about it, then track down the dog that left this here and constructively explain my views that I'm under no sense of obligation to give!'? That's what Trixie thought.** Yes, in a perfect world, everyone would do such a thing and totally explain why. But the thing is, if you are being down-voted, it means people disagreed, for some reason. This will happen regardless but really, take a look at your story and it should be evident what is causing the vast majority of these down-votes. As the writer, you are literally the only one obligated to make sure your fic is of high quality. Reader's are under no obligation, that is why they are readers and not polite proofreaders here to make your life easier. (That would be these guys here.)

-Someone up-voted me but didn't point out why they liked my story, They are obligated to criticize my story constructively and politely!

Similar, but not quite the same issue here. Quick, what does writing a good story usually infer? Escapism, an emotional roller coaster ride, the ability for just a short while to get lost in a fantasy world. These are not elements you can throw at an average reader then expect them to come out criticizing, be happy with your short, "Awesome!" and "I loved this!" comments. Of course you'll get readers (Like Trixie!) who enjoy analyzing things they like to find out why, who will frequently point out what they did or did not like, and all that.
But the thing is? By the very concept, those types of people are a minority. They are not your inherently "Good" fans and readers, they are just your naturally inquisitive, analytical readers. The guy's who are lost for words, having little to show outside of a profound sense of enjoyment and post-immersion afterglow are not nonconstructive with their casual comments. It means your story is doing its job and making the average reader have their hit of that escapism high. It gives you as a writer, the feedback you need to compare it to your other works and find out what it makes things pop. So don't belittle your poor, one word comment, emote spamming readers. They are appreciating your work, and likely in a situation that makes it difficult if not impossible for them to review and analyze without kinda... ruining the entire magic of ~~friendship~~ fanfiction.

-Someone down-voted my story before it was up long enough to be read completely, or while admitting to of not read the entire thing (Or at all). That makes them an idiot! And their opinion is invalid, they have no right to down-vote me!

Rhetoric question time! Yaaaay rhetoric! Does making a good product mean your job ends or starts at making the product?
No, no it does not. It starts at the advertisement and introduction. Trixie (And your average reader) doesn't especially care if you wrote the best story ever to grace the world, if you do not actually, say... Make it look pretty, very few people are actually going to bother reading it. Quick, when was the last time you were in a bookstore? Another Rhetoric (Isn't Rhetoric fun!) Trixie doesn't care. Now how many people do you see find books from the following process.
1. Go into a section for a genre that interests them.
2. Look for a catchy title and cover.
3. Read the little summary thingie on the inside flaps.
4. Look at the back of the book for reviews on it's quality.
5. Decide whether it's worth reading or not.

Now how many people do you see who use this process.
1. Go into a section at random because they don't want to discriminate against types of stories.
2. Look for any title and cover.
3. Buy it on the spot.
4. Read the entire 800 page novel.
5. Hate the entire thing.
6. Happy with their decision to waste their time reading a story didn't like.

Ya, that's what Trixie thought. Now you can argue that fanfiction isn't quite the same, most fics aren't nearly that long!
... Except it's relative, the amount of spare time a person has is generally going to depict how much time they really have for such a thing. (Which is why you will occasionally get readers who go "I didn't like your story and here's why..." But as with all other 'constructive' types, these are an incredible minority, not the majority. )
Now, it should be evident to what Trixie is working towards stating, right? (... Does Trixie really need to point out this is Rhetoric? No? Good.)
As a writer: You do in fact, fail if you can not make an intriguing advertisement for your work, it isn't the readers fault, in any way, shape or form. (In the spirit of being helpful: Synopsis guide, And Title assistance) It's completely unrealistic and quite frankly, silly (Trixie refuses to say it's stupid, Trixie can see where the perspective comes from.) to expect your readers to feel obligated to read the entire story before forming an opinion.

Yes, Trixie gets it, all that work, days, weeks, months, maybe even years of work... All dismissed with a roll of the eyes and a down-vote without being seen.
But quite simply, if that's happening enough to piss you off... Sorry to say, but you need more work! (You heard me non-existent writer that Trixie is referring to for the ease of writing this!) A decent story synopsis, title, image, character tags, story tags, and preferably, your Author's notes in an actual comment, NOT in the story itself, (even in the box for it, because nothing really breaks immersion like reading a sad, love filled drama, then right as you go to flip chapters and keep reading to see what happens to Bon Bon... "lol i was so tired when i wrote this like srsly, i also feel obligated to leave random statements at the end of every chapter for no real reason outside of stroking my ego, hurr."... Okay, Trixie may be a tad bit biased against that one...) and yes, you even need to make sure your intro is easy to swallow. I don't care if your writing suddenly becomes stellar 5k words in and the plot twist 17k words in is absolutely to die for. If the first several chapters, hell, the first paragraph, is absolutely dry and gives the hesitant reader no reason to keep going.

... Don't expect them to, just so you can feel better about the reasons they disliked your work. It's really quite silly... By which Trixie means, you look incredibly butthurt to everyone else even if they don't say anything. (Consider this the only time Trixie will say it directly. )

So, again, as with the previous two concepts frequently used by many a writer and reader alike. The responsibility and obligation lays with the writer not the readerwho just tapped the down-vote button. They are under no obligation or need to review or give a reason for it, they are under no obligation to read the entire thing, they are under no obligation to give second chances, or really take any more time then it takes to look at that title+synopsis and down-vote.*** Yes, it's not the fairest thing ever, but guess what, virtually nothing else works that way, there's literally no reason for this to be any different.
Of course, it doesn't mean there's no reason to try making things better (And not because of that silly, misunderstood friendship is magic, love&tolerate crap, because you buggers actually care without needing to rely on misunderstood memes.) but don't expect everything to magically fall in line to a magical world where everything you write will be responded to with constructive comments, 100% of the time.

Also, as a side note, if you expect nameless down-voters to respond, ranting in a stories comments section with a bunch of other people about how pissed off it's making you and how many unpleasant things you desire to do to said down-voters, reeeeeallllly isn't helping. Especially if they are shy to begin with as their reason to not say anything.

Now to finish this up with a fairly important fact Trixie doesn't intend on hiding or dancing around: Trixie is not an unbiased third party, Trixie is someone who legitimately does down-vote without commenting(****) and as such, is inherently biased so do take this entire thing with a grain of salt, Trixie isn't trying to play ethical high-ground, just point out her take on things. (And complain, because... seriously, There's no way Trixie is going to complain in blogs or stories where people are throwing around violent, gore filled fantasies about down-voters like Trixie, or at the very least angry mobs... Trixie's had enough angry mobs, thank you very much. )

*That is to say, it's not inherently infinite unless you are DaemoN, Regidar or Trixie.

**Yes, Trixie totally thought you'd choose a stupid, unlisted third option. Trixie is smart like that.

***Unless, you know... Knighty writes a rule about it, in which case Trixie will shut up.*****

****Well, kinda... Trixie will downvote without commenting, unless Trixie likes it or thinks it has potential. In which case, yes, Trixie will generally throw a quick set of nit-picks at the spelling mistakes, awkward word choices and such. And throw the story into Read-Later so that the down-vote can later turn into an up-vote.

*****Trixie totally wouldn't shut up, just stop complaining here... loudly.

TL;DR People have their inherit right to opinion (Even if Trixie dislikes the concept of right to opinion) and that does not change, just because they don't have the time (Or desire) to spend time they aren't obligated to spend doing things that is inherently the responsibility of the writer. Opinions, they have value, even if you disagree with how they are formed. Trixie enjoys complaining.

Now, then, with everything off of Trixie's chest and out in the open...

You all still love Trixie right?

inb4 silly wall of text comments.

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So, Trixie gonna complain about downvoting. (And not for the reason you likely think.) · 6:10pm Feb 17th, 2013

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