I've been thinking about commenting, and this is what came out (:

What really bugs me is how comment-lazy people are. When I look at the comment count on my stories (or art) and then compare that number to the hits it got? There's a huge difference. HUGE. Which means that literally hundreds or thousands of people have looked at that fic or drawing without commenting.

Why?

Is it so hard to type a few words of praise, encouragement or even constructive criticism? Is it? Are people really that lazy? Or is there another reason for the lack of comments?

It doesn't always have to be a long, well thought-out comment either. A simple "nice!" or "loved it!" sometimes makes my day, especially when it's a piece I'm not entirely sure about.

A while ago (a few years), I started making the effort of commenting whenever I read something or look at something. No matter whether I liked it or not - I always try to find something positive to say or try to let the author or artist know what I liked about it or how they could've improved it, or what they could've done to make me, personally, like it better. I don't always write a whole novel, no, but especially if I like something, I comment. On fics, I even comment on every single chapter.

Why? Because comments encourage people to keep posting their great work or to keep improving their skills.

Now, I have to admit that here on DeviantART, the situation is a little tricky and different. You check your messages, see the thumbnails of all the art people you're interested in have uploaded, and you usually don't even look at them. Or if you do look at them and like them, you just toss them into your favourites folder and don't bother to go back and comment.

And I do that a lot, I admit. I usually only comment here on DevART if I really, really, really like something.

I guess in this post, I'm mainly talking about fanfiction on livejournal or various archives.

BUT, now that I've realised that I've been a shitty DeviantART commenter, I will try to do better from now on! (;

Anyway... where was I? Right!

Of course, there is the other extreme. People who are really popular in fandom (or in any situation, really), tend to get so many comments that they can't even look at all of them, let alone reply to all of them. And they get that many comments, no matter if their art/fic/post/what-have-you is interesting or not. Some people can talk about how they just sat on their bed doing nothing for half an hour, yet people still comment, and said author/artist gets 1,000 comments on an entry that's completely pointless while other beautiful art pieces or stories don't get a single comment.

I guess I just... don't get that. And I think it's sad that so few people actually make the effort of commenting.

So... don't be one of them (:

If you see something you like, or have something to say about, even if it's only a simple 'I like this' - comment. It will make the person who posted the art/fic/graphics in question happy, and that alone should make you want to comment more.

Anyway... Just my thoughts.

<3