Hi Snitchseeker readers and writers.

As your Fan Fiction Administrator, the only real complaint I hear about our Fan Fiction department is the high number of spam and discussion posts in fan fiction threads. It's difficult to enjoy a story when it's interrupted by a bazillion "PAMS" messages and off-topic chatter.

It's my opinion that once a fan fiction story is finished and sent to the 'Finished Fics' forum, it's an end product, like a book. All the comments and suggestions from readers during the writing process have either been implemented or ignored and no further work will be done to the story here on SS. Therefore, those comments and "Please add more soon" messages are no longer important and don't benefit the thread. We've already established that those posts get in the way of a reader's enjoyment of the story, so let's think about removing them.

Let's make 2007 about cleaning up spam and making our Finished Fics forum more like a library of finished books than a collection of discussions.

I do want your input, though.

As readers and writers, how do you feel about the mods removing extra posts from finished story threads? The process we've planned will mean that you won't see any loss of your post count numbers, even though those comment/pams posts will be gone.

Please cast your vote in this poll and if you have any comments, questions or suggestions about this issue, please post them here. We'll leave this poll open for a month and make a decision based on the results. That decision will become policy.

Thanks for your input!

I hate the idea. Which is like ... wow. Cuz I rarely hate things. I can't speak for other people's fics but my readers (all six of you ... no wait, he left, five er no four? *numbers dwindle*) don't just write PAMS and two sentence replies, and I like reading their comments, and I've always thought it was sad that people couldn't leave comments on finished fics (I hate that too but nobody cares what I hate so I keep it to myself. I mean I hate Rep *smacks* ).

Couldn't you possibly move reader posts to the back of the story?

For the record I think it's a lame complaint. If you don't know who wrote the story and can't just skip to the author's posts ... seriously, it's just a sign of our lazy culture. You can't skip comments? For the record I have dial up so ... if I can have patience you can have patience.

I think the writer's should have the option of choosing whether this should be done to their fics or not, or they should have the option to have X posts removed. There's funny stuff I wrote in my comments and I like going back and reading some of the comments now and again (for sentimental reasons) from my readers, they weren't all suggestions some of them are critiques ... and I'm probably the exception having had such literate readers but I think it would be sad.

Readers comments, at least my reader comments, also show how the story evolved and helped things along, it's a sign of the creative process, fanfiction ISN'T a book, it's being written while the readers read it, like Charles Dickens in his day, only different because you get to see the author interact with the readers, that's a formula that isn't in any other form of literature. Stephen King doesn't get feedback as he writes ... and I for one think it would be a shame to lose that.

Maybe if the policy were to delete only those posts that were less than a paragraph or just said PAMS then I could understand destroying the clutter. Couldn't they just be moved to the back of the thread?

In conclusion. I think the policy is lame because its for lazy readers. It's not that difficult to skip posts. And I for one would hate to lose my readers comments. Obviously whatever SS says goes, but that's my opinion and not a personal attack if it's specifically any one persons idea.

Personally, i really love the comments, i find it's really interesting too look over an old FF of mine and read it along with the comments and see how i could improve or have improved. I find that the comments are helpful too.

However, i do find the 'PAMS!' Ones fairly irritating. I do like the idea of having the finished FF's forum more like a library though, that sounds really good. It would help stop having to scroll through pages of comments.

I also agree with Ottery's comments though, i think thats the charm of an FF having people really admire and encourage you to continue the fiction and it's nice to be able to see that when you go through them again.

Moving all comments to the back of the thread...good idea too. Meh, theres my two cents

I personally think just leave everything as it is

Just for the record, the complaint wasn't that they were difficult to read, but that it was difficult to ENJOY reading, because of the clutter and tendancy for MOST of these threads to be full of "garbage" posts (spam, flattery and PAMS, none of which add anything to the story).

edit: Also, I want to point out that the proposal isn't to disallow comments during the creation of these fics, but after all the writing is done. After a fic is truly finished, all the discussion should already have made it's impact on the thread, right? The story is edited to implement any suggestions the writer has accepted, etc. It's no longer a process, but a finished product. And obviously, writers have plenty of time to save these comments in their files during the month we generally let pass between the final update and the movement to the Finished Fics forum.


I'm so glad I asked for input. I'm very surprised at the results so far, so please please please, keep the input coming, and get all your readers/writers/friends to vote and discuss this with us. I want to hear more.

I don't really see the point... I mean, I'd understand you taking out TRUE spam (posts like 'OMG! LOVE IT! PAMS! PAMS!') I understsand, but not all posts. Some are rather interesting to read, like I got a comment about holy cows on my thread because I made a comment about cows in this chapter. Stuff like that is worth keeping.
So I'm kinda half-and-half. Just totally taking out comments (it might 'disrupt' certain readers but just skip through them or if they're proactive they can go through the story first and copy it into a Word document before reading or sumthin) I don't see the point, but taking out classified spam that just annoys every1 (including the authour), would actually be better...
but it'd take more time on your part...

But I agree with Blackened, comments are important to the story. Iit is a 'crucial part of conception within itself' (basically its important to see others views on what you write).

I mean, what's the point in commenting on someone's thread overall if it's just gonna be deleted in the end?
It's no fun to the readers that read along the way when its active to just read without suggesting things (some people do that), or offer support or something...

So I guess I'll go with no on the whole idea!

That's a really great point, Beloved! Begs the question too; do we write fan fiction for others or just for ourselves or our egos? For whom is our thread made to entertain?

Don't we comment to encourage the writer, to ask questions, give constructive criticism and contribute, as others say, to the process?

Sorry. But just for the record, Ottery should read more carefully ... and also for the record, if I wanted more people to enjoy my stories, I'd use smaller words.

Whatever happens I'll still post my stories on SS but ... what would be the point then? I could just as easily go to Fanfiction.net or one of those other sites where people post stories without interruption. Even on LJ. I'm sentimentally attached to my readers remarks (all two of you ... ) but I'm heartily ♥ against it. At the very least, you could ask the writer's who wants their comments removed or not. Please?

i would have to go with a no on this one. i admit, sometimes it gets a little annoying trying to find the author's post, and sometimes i even skip over them if there is a short, not colorful chappy.

but i enjoy reading the comments, it gives the thread mor personality, really, lol.... i think that the author should get to decide the fate of their story, does it get spam free, or kep the comments? that should be up to those who created it.

the posts that are just "PAMS i love your story!" do get annoying because there are endless amounts of those, and i think those should go. but the posts that are long, and actually have to do with teh story, those should stay because they have constructive criticizm and important stuff in them.

also, a think that authors, and i myself am going to start doing on SS, to make it easier for people to read the story without skipping over the comments, is just, on the first post, have links to the other posts that contain chapters and updates to the story, just to save time, because with those links you can always comment yourself, but without having to skip over the endless "PAMS!" posts and contstructive criticism posts.

The PAMS thing does get annoying, But, like with a first time writer, the comments help them correct their story. Like if they misspelled a word and they didn't catch it. Someone might make a comment and tell them. Or if the chapter was really good, they could comment with like positive comments and it could make the author feel better about the story.

Yeah, I have no straight-forward point. Sorry. >.>

Commenting about your example of fanfiction.net: They are a very sucessful fan fiction site and I have been quite addicted to the fiction on offer before, for the sole reason that it is JUST the fiction and by the writer. I have in the past enjoyed reading one of those fictions most likely more than a fiction on Snitch Seeker.

There is a fiction I'm reading right now on SS and there aren't many commenters at all and it is the ONE fiction I enjoy on SS. I adore it infact, because you know where you are! Other comments are very distracting.

Thanks for posting, everyone. Please keep those comments and ideas coming!

As a reader, it would make things so much easier in the finished fanfics to have all of excess comments removed and leave it as a finished Book. However, often the author of a fic will comment to specific legitimate questions or give small hints or tidbits in their comments to readers that enhance the story, or explain a confusing point. It would be a shame to lose those comments that have actual bearing on the story itself. If it is a case of removing all or none however, I would say remove them all and leave only the story itself as a final product.

So what your saying is that less comments makes you enjoy a fanfiction more. Granted, no one argues that point. My point is, why should the readers dictate what happens to the writers fanfiction? And why should this just be a blanket rule? All finished fics have their comments removed. Why not a choice? I'm not trying to oppress anyone and say, All finished fics shouldn't have their comments removed so why should they all have them removed.

Why, all or nothing? It's something called compromise.

I respect that people might not read my finished pieces because of all the comments, that's my loss, it's the readers choice ... this rule prohibits choice, you're saying all or nothing. I say, can't the writer choose? They're our stories, and not everyone has to agree with me. Readers don't dictate the course of our stories (sometimes ) so why should they dictate the fate of our finished product? Moreover, readers who don't comment! They've expended no effort to say, your work is good, or your work is bad, they just want to read something all finished, they stand to lose nothing as opposed to readers who start a fic, that may or may not be finished, they don't even get to enjoy the cliffhangers we wrack our brains trying to create. I still say it should be a matter of choice, and the writer not the reader should have more say, because even if you remove the comments to make it easier for you to read, who's to say you're going to like my story anyways?

Oh is that what that word means?

That's why we're here, discussing it. It may not be all or nothing. Everyone gets to chime in with their two cents here and we'll see what the most popular opinion is.

I like to read the post and replies people have made in the story, it shows how everyone felt about it, however if there are too many "PAMS" then it can get quit annoying having to scroll through lots of them to get the the rest of t he story.
I like the idea that Quidditchchick said about putting the comments into a seperate thread.

Okay, here is an idea. How about you put all the parts of the story together, so it'll be one long flowing process, while you put the comments below the fanfiction? That way people can come on and read the story in one shot, and later if they wish, they could read the comments, but the comments won't exactly be a separate thread?

This poll will close on 02-08-2007 at 10:58 AM. Please speak up if you have any comments or suggestions about this issue. Thanks!

That's a pretty cool idea, too.

Thanks everyone, for your input. The FF staff will be discussing this and we'll let you know as soon as we've decided on the plan.