Why do you Follow? · 1:13pm Jul 18th, 2014
If I post a new story or segment which doesn't completely svck, there's a chance I'll pick up a fresh follower or two before the thing falls off the New list. For Princesses Can't Cook, that new arrival number (as of this writing) was thirteen. And typically when I get a new follower, I'll mouse over their icon and take a quick peek at them. How long they've been on the site, if they have any submitted stories of their own... the usual.
Two of the recent ones stood out.
(Hoping I can do this while staying within the guidelines...)
One came in. Favorited the story. Posted a comment which seemed to include a partial, non-functional link. And then got banned. So long, farewell, bye-bye. Still on the Followers list, but if it was the perma-hammer, possibly not for long.
The other showed up and downvoted. Trust me, this was a downvote placer: the accompanying comment was sincere about taking the credit. S/he then went out and, judging from the activity, downvoted a bunch of other stories, also with CapsLocked commentary. (No, Regina, it wasn't just you.) And having downvoted those people, s/he proceeded to follow a number of them, and finished the night's work by founding a Group dedicated to trolling people. So as far as I currently have it worked out, I may have someone following me -- and ten others, some of whom were also in the New column at the time -- with the potential purpose of finding out when any of us post something new, just so they can downvote that for the fun of it.
It takes all kinds to make an Internet.
(Of course, I could be misreading this. There's every chance that Group is a stealth parody and will ultimately wind up discussing characters who happen to be actual trolls. And by 'every chance', I mean 'take a decimal point, about a thousand zeroes, and then throw a 1 in somewhere.')
So when you choose to follow someone... what are you looking for? Notifications on their new work? Have you ever followed anyone just for their blog? Are there friends keeping an eye on each other outside of Groups? Checking in on a never-ending cycle of avatars? Arranging the suckers for a pyramid scheme? Future harem? (Don't. Even. Think. About. It.) What?
Optionally, Equestrian trolls. Cave-dwelling Norse-based legends or Other?
State Of The Post-PCC Tropes: a couple of new subpage entries for Funny and Heartwarming -- I'm very dubious about the Heartwarming one -- added to Lethal Chef, Shout Out, and Stuff Blowing Up for the main page, approaching the possibility of two thousand unique visitors.
I follow Present Perfect mostly for his blog, as well as Viking ZX. As for you, I remember liking one of your stories enough to keep an eye out for others that looked interesting.
I follow writers for the stories that they deliver. In your case, your stories always catch my eye.
I follow you because your stories are exceptionally entertaining, and extremely philosophical. And I have yet to see you get involved in the mire of site politics, always a plus point.
I usually follow someone if I up-thumb two of his or her stories. It suggests a trend. With you, I was most definitely not disappointed.
Also, I imagine that trolls are a vastly diverse taxon in Equestria. Indeed, it could be something of a catch-all. Don't know what something is? Does it heal insanely quickly? Then it's a troll!
For notification when they post a new story.
I usually start following authors because i really liked a story. And then i proceed to ignore new stories and just read the blogposts
I follow people because they're friends, good writers, or, very occasionally, because they review and recommend fics. You're squarely in the second category. :)
Also, you should report that second person to a mod, malicious downvoting, and likely troll-grouping, is against site policy.
I usually follow someone if i like their stories enough that I want to be aware of it when they post more, but one or two of the ones I'm following are more for blog posts.
A bunch of the people on my following list are my fellow Pleasant Commentator And Review Group admins, because we're all pretty friendly with each other and I like to keep up with what's going on with them, Some people (like PresentPerfect and John Perry) I follow for their blogs. Others I liked at least two or three of their stories and wanted to read more (you're in this one). Others are people I just talk to a lot, or it's a combination of all these factors.
I follow people for two main reasons: stories (like shortskirtsandexplosions and you) and blogs (like PresentPerfect, you again, and alexmagnet). If I happen to become friends with other people through Skype or something (Regidar, Skeeter the Lurker, Professor Plum), I generally follow them, because they're people that I'm genuinely interested in.
Sometimes I follow people because I'm curious about them, like Art Inspired or The Fiery Joker. If something of a user's, whether it be stories, blogs, or what have you, stands out from the rest and catches my attention, I follow.
I primarily follow authors because I've liked several of their stories and want to know when they publish new ones.
The only person I started following for their blogs is John Perry. Not that some of my favorite authors don't have interesting blogs - but it's not why I started following them.
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...there are non-malicious downvotes?
(I'm joking, of course. Some people tell me I'm horrible in very pleasant and reasonable ways.)
I honestly didn't know that Group was outside the bounds: I still haven't investigated that realm much. But you would definitely know than I here. If you feel it should be reported, then I'll file one.
(For my part, not only did I not want to use any names in the blog post, I didn't even want to link the Group in case doing so was seen as an attack.)
This probably won't end well.
ETA: I reported the Group, but not the founder. 'Malicious downvoting' sounds like the sort of Reasonable Doubt case a certain breed of lawyer lives for.
I follow people if at least some of their stories are something that I enjoyed reading for different reasons. It is mostly to keep tabs on an author in case they publish something else I'd want to read, and/or to keep tabs on the progress of 1+ incomplete stories the author might be working on. In that last case, if they declare the stories I waited to be finished are being cancelled, or lost cause or whatever, chances are they'll lose my following too.
As for you, I follow you to keep tabs on your stories, and I enjoy your stories because of the great worldbuilding and occasional exposition of your 'Triptych-verse's inner working. Seriously, I just about chuckle out of sheer mirth from just reading all the worldbuilding you do, it's amazing. Asking questions nobody bothered to ask, and finding answers to questions nobody knew had even been asked, and then presenting it in such informative way that isn't too long-winded, too deeply going, or boring, but at the same time tells exactly all that is needed to know. That is one of the main reasons why I follow and read your stories.
The second reason is that I am just waiting for you to heartlessly murder another piano.
I tend to follow mostly for their blogs. I do have a bunch of people I follow for their stories, but most of the really worthwhile stuff I will end up checking after it being recommended somewhere, hitting EQD, things like that.
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Actually, the mods can see who's downvoted a story. They're good at figuring that kind of thing out.
Usually I follow an author if they've impressed me enough that I want to see more of their work... or I know them personally lol.
But mainly its to get the updates when they post something new so I can privately squee and know I've got something new to read.
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Wish I could. At least I've never clicked that in the mistaken belief that it would provide the list...
I usually follow authors so that I can become a nervous self-loathing wreck from comparing myself to people who are more popular and successful than I am.
Actually, no, that's not the intention, but that's often how it seems to work out
I follow a writer when I like their stories so much that I want to read their other things even if they're different from the stories that first drew me there.
I keep my list small, because for me, follow means I actually want to read everything they've written, and will write in the future, and following liberally makes that completely impossible. It's hard enough as it is. I have a couple of people I follow because I know them in real life, as well, but they're not actually active here.
For you specifically: well, you've seen my comments. I find your stories entertaining, emotionally gripping, and technically fascinating. I only wish I could think of more substantive comments, as I'd quite like to enter into an in-depth discussion about the craft behind them, but all I can think of to say is "that was great, again"
I follow users if I read one or more interesting or entertaining stories by them, or if it's an account that is relevant to my site or reading interests (Knighty, various mods, the occasional EQD pre-reader, that EFNW account, etc.). I particularly like following a new user that posts a promising first story as a form of encouragement.
Follows are not necessarily endorsements.
I freely admit there are several folks I follow almost purely for the blogs. Which is to say they blog but don't write. I'd likely enjoy what they wrote but they don't so oh well.
You I follow because I love almost every word you've written, blog or otherwise and your stories almost never fail to make me cry from the power of the emotions.
I follow mostly to have an author's back-catalog on hand, if not for the new stories, and I almost always do so because of at least one really good story (yours was "Luna's Lottery Lunacy", if you wanted to know; I could probably list one for every author in my followed list, although I'd have to look at their stories list in many cases). I usually don't follow unless I've actually read such a story, so my read later list is stuffed with potential future followees.
Of course, I often can't catch up to everything after I follow someone, and there's a strong enough interrelationship between story writing ability and blog writing ability that I get a good selection of interesting blog posts -- both descriptions apply to you.
And of course it's not like there's any hard-and-fast rule; I've a few followees who I haven't actually read anything by yet, and I just followed djthomp for that sweet delicious story list. (I'm a lot better at adding mountains of stories to read than actually reading them.) And now that I'm at 61, I'll be more likely to follow (or unfollow!) someone until I'm back at a multiple of four, or at least an even number, which may be unreasonable but is still part of my reasoning.
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Believe me, I caught onto 'I must track what this person is doing so I can be prepared to stop so I can be prepared to stop it at all costs' well before this. I also don't see it as trying to amass any kind of army either.
Which sounds like the world's worst Pinky & The Brain episode. "Once I finish creating my account, all I need to do is compose the greatest work of pony fanfiction in history -- while leaving a dangling sequel hook. Followers will gather, Pinky, oh, they will gather indeed. They will clamor on my user page, asking what they can do to make me add that completely idiotic-looking Roman numeral to a subsequent effort. And once we reach the crucial number, I will simply inform them that all I require is that they help me to -- TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"
...first person to say this is an actual story which I have to write up? Had better be able to get away rather quickly.
I primarily follow authors who wrote several fics I highly enjoyed, in order to get a notification whenever they post a new story. I also follow John Perry for his blog, and some friends for the heck of it. Changing avatars annoy me to no end.
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No kidding, but not as much as changing usernames.
I follow my heart.
Every author I follow here has written something that made me want to see more of their work. This includes the two mutual follows I have with co-authors I've worked with on stories, of course - which is good as it means I enjoy working with them and want to keep doing so!
You probably have a pretty good idea of why I follow you considering the tenor of my comments on your stories and the messages we have exchanged. See again the first sentence in this post
I have yet to unfollow anypony, and don't look forward to the possibility as it would have to be because of something particularly egregious. My heart is not particularly fickle
Light and laughter,
SongCoyote
I follow friends. Those authors who I follow are usually not well-known, but write stories of consistent awesomeness.
I follow people for liking their work. And really I should probably follow more people than I do, I pay more attention to the fic than the author so sometimes I dont see that they are by the same people. For instance you I followed because I suddenly realized that about 4-5 of the fics I loved so much that I nearly broke my laptop with the passion of my upvote were all by you and your wonderful worldbuilding.
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(Nnnope.)
(Sorry, but by unanimous vote of the Council of Friendship, you're not allowed to start any new stories until you get Orange is the New Blue, A Mark of Appeal, and Tryptich moving again.)
I follow people for a bunch of different reasons. "Oh, this guy's written a bunch fics I quite enjoyed" being the most common one, though I'm not afraid to follow a writer for a single great piece, or even for the potential of upcoming deliciousness(on that note, it also means that I'm not too hesitant to unfollow someone who fails to deliver). And I have followed authors solely for their blogs; this is the case with John Perry, and it was the case with BookPlayer... but man her stories can be really good =P
And, uhhh
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Say Estee... have you ever considered branching out to other fandoms, like, oh, I don't know... off the top of my head, "Pinky and the Brain"? >.>
(Good luck catching me in Norway)
...
(Oh drat, you could just incentivise Daedelan to do the job...)
I follow people because they're "Interesting" to a certain degree. I may never read all their stuff, but it gives me a collection to go poking through during lulls when the Muse is off drinking in a bar or visiting Blueshift (Seriously, did Blue set a Musetrap over at his house? Because it's always over there when I need it.)
I generally follow a person if I've read several stories of theirs that I like (you, Eakin, Hoopy McGee), or if they write a long fic I've read of superb quality (Kkat, JasonTheHuman, Arad). Then there's the fewer ones that I follow primarily because of what they write on their blog (Soge, Fimfiction Drama). So pretty much in all cases, it's an indication that I like the way that they think/write.
I follow people whose stories or blog posts I want to read, or because they're my friends.
Generally I follow people whose writing style I like. I follow a few people for their blogs, like John Perry. I also on rare occasions follow authors in the hope a story on hiatus or cancelled will come back.
I do find in general that people whose writing I like also write blogs I want to read.
When it comes to following, I have three considerations:
It's an author, who has written one or more fics which I enjoyed, and where I would like to get a notification if said author posts another.
It's a blogger, whose blogs are of consistently good quality. Some of those bloggers blog about writing, some about worldbuilding, and some just about random stuff.
It's someone who I have a genuine interest in, in a manner which does not relate to either of the other two categories.
When it comes to garnering followers, I nearly always click onto their user page, skim through their interests to see what we have in common, and then write a polite thank-you on their page. I rarely go deeper than that; if one of my followers had just read one of my stories and promptly formed a group called "Let's Downvote Everything Admiral Biscuit Writes," I probably wouldn't know about it.
If I did find the group, I'd join. Just to mess with them.
I'm surprised no pony has mentioned Bad Horse in the "blogs are amazing" catagory.
There are a few people I follow primarily for blogs, notably John Perry, Present Perfect, and Amy Clockwork. Functionally speaking, the same is somewhat true of Bad Horse because of his very high blog to story ratio, and substantially all of both are worth reading. Mostly I follow because one or more stories have impressed me enough that I want to be sure I see any new ones posted, even if they aren't caught in one of the recommendation nets. Near the beginning of my time registered on the site, I sometimes followed because it had a more neutral connotation that "favorite," yet I wanted to get updates on individual stories. Since then, I've kept follows to people of whom I am sure I at least want to see everything they put out, even if I don't end up clicking through.
The one exception to this, I believe, was TheJediMasterEd, whom I followed on Bad Horse's advice. I have never once regretted this move.
When I follow writers it's usually because they either
a) have a ton of stories that I am consistently interested in and like very much
b) have one story that I really really LOVE but they tend to drag their feet on updates for it, so I watch them for blog posts and updates on it.
You fall in the former category, plus you have three stories that I do love a lot ("Time and Motion, Dunce Caps, and Sunbutt are my favorites of yours, though I'm also eagerly awaiting an update to Stupid Direction Face). So I guess you fall in both categories.
...I think, mathematically, that makes you one of my favorite authors on the site
I came on board after reading On The Application Of Time And Motion Efficiency Studies To Initial Relationship Formation, because it sounds like something I'd say. (In a story of my own, I posited a mare's PhD thesis: "Vision and Revision: Failures of Memory Retention in Aging Pegasi"; I attribute this to distant ancestors among the once-lost Jargonian tribe.) I've stuck around ever since.
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Estee: "Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Daedelean?"
Daedelean: "I think so, Estee, but I'm allergic to wood glue."
To keep an eye on when new content comes out. Sometimes that means stories, sometimes just blogs (RBDash47& DPV111, though neither actually do said blog posts any more
), oftentimes stories and blog posts about those stories. ...In other words, pretty much just its intended use.
eh, if i like 3 or more (or all if they have less than that) of their stories i follow to see if they have new content later.
Curses! Foiled again!
Honestly I follow you for the stories timeline. *Yes I rant and am sad that not even the Tropepage has an up to date version of the Timeline.* But yeah barring a need for an Episode List [since the timeline does touch upon and interact with each other here and there, and the more OCD of peeps makes it more organized since you don't always say where in the timeline it's connected. Or forget to say.
But when I follow anyone it's for one or more of the following:
1) They make an amazing series that I enjoy so much that I can read it multiple times without being bored.
2) Their fics as a whole have utterly amazing characterization, world building, interactions, and story structure.
and
3) Their style, personalities [in comments / reader interaction], and abilities are just inspirational / endearing / touching [in one form or another].
You hit all three. But usually, it's one or another.
When I follow people, it's because I like their work and want to be notified when more comes around. Blog posts are just a bonus. :D
I usually follow people whose stories I liked. Naturally I hope they will write more.
As a quick look through the list of those I follow would probably confirm, the more stories they had written that I liked the better the odds of being on the list. After all, someone who has written 5+ good stories is likely to write even more. I generally enjoy reading said user's blogs, so it's kind of a win-win in that department.
I followed a bunch of people because I made the mistaken assumption that it would automatically tell me when a new chapter of that author's story is published.
But, even though I was mistaken, I don't regret it, at least because some authors do say when they've updated a story. And, since I'm following, if someone makes a blog post, I might read it and even comment.
I follow someone if certain criteria are met:
1) I've read one or multiple of their stories, and enjoyed it beyond a given value of "default enjoyment".
2) The story overview indicates that the author has a tendency to write material that interests me with a certain level of quality and will continue to do so.
3) The ratio of "stories writen by the author that interest me" to "stories writen by the author that do not catch my interest" is in favor of the former, or at the very least not drastically outweight by the latter.
As for why I am following you ... same thing!
I especially like how you can turn seemingly "simple" situations and escalate them.
Some year(s) back, I'd already read "100% Move = 50% Fire" and "A Total Eclipse Of The Fun", so when I stumbled back into your account through "Luna's Lottery Lunacy", I decided to check out what else you'd written.
I think what first caught my eye was "A Mark Of Appeal". I remember glossing over part of the description, dismissing it as "probably a clopfest", and then noticing that it didn't have a sex tag.
...It's a shame that things like that are so common on the site that it comes as an intriguing surprise twist when a character has a talent for "extremely attractive" and it doesn't involve clop.
Next thing I read was "Orange Is The New Blue", aaand by then I was convinced of your writing prowess.