Best Enemies

The Commentathon has had good participation, and there are four winners already (that I know of--others might have gotten their comments in and not reported back, which is fine as well). Congratulations to aralias, self, trinityday, and renuki, all of whom came in at 10+.

There's still time to report comments (and sneak last comments in under the wire) over the weekend, and be celebrated accordingly. As much as people who write, art, and generally produce fanwork, people who comment extensively in terms of comment content and/or duration are the people who keep a fandom alive, and should be recognized as such!

BUT WHAT IS A COMMENTATHON?

Some fandoms do something called a Commentathon. This can mean something much like our own Anon Meme (see links), or it can mean, as we're using it, a group drive to comment on fanworks--to show some appreciation for fic, art, vids, etc.

There are many reasons why people don't comment on work they enjoyed. Perhaps they were busy just then, or forget to. Sometimes the fic is older, and they think their comment would be untimely. Perhaps they think a work already has enough comments, just aren't in the habit of commenting, or don't think they can write a sufficiently 'eloquent' review. Maybe you didn't have time to read something that looked promising, and would have forgotten about it or missed it entirely, but for the Commentathon reminding you?

WHY COMMENTS ROCK YOUR FACE CLEAN OFF YOUR BODY, LEAVING IT TO SLIDE DOWN INTO A GOOEY PUDDLE ON THE FLOOR, WHICH HOPEFULLY NO ONE STEPS IN:

Commentary, constructive or simply appreciative, is so necessary for the development of authors and the nurturing of a healthy fandom. Telling an artist what you liked, both in terms of pieces and elements, will help her know her own strengths, and write/craft pieces which explore said strengths and focus on improving in areas that have not garnered similar appreciation. It will improve her work, and your reading experience. It will tell her that you cared enough to click, that you enjoyed a piece if you did, and that her efforts are appreciated.

A fandom with a lot of commenting going on is a more active, discursive, productive fandom. It's a two-way process, rather than just Giving or just Taking. People who get comments feel validated. Though the joy of writing/arting may have spurred them on, generally they produce more fanwork and form more friendships where commenting is heavy. Sometimes you can really get to know people via commenting on their work and getting into a convo, and that's one of the best parts of fandom. If you're not big on commenting, and currently lurk like lurky mclurkerson from lurksville, the Commenathon could
be the start of building a commenting habit.

WHAT THIS ISN'T (BESIDES A BAKE SALE, A TEA PARTY RALLY, AND A BICYCLE HORN THAT ONLY PLAYS 'HAVIN' MY BABY, WHAT A LOVELY WAY TO SHOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE'):

I'm not telling you to say you liked anything you didn't. I'm just saying 'hey, take a few minutes over the next two weeks to browse our back-catalog and see if there's something you missed.' I'm also not suggesting leaving scathing criticism of stuff you didn't like--of course your behavior's your business, but that's rarely the best way to help authors, or indeed anyone, come around to your point of view about their work's weaknesses, and, if unsolicited, it's straight-up rude. Fandom's a gift economy, not a wank trough.

A review doesn't have to meet any standard of length or eloquence. We're not the London Review of Books--no one is judging you here, and every review is a neat little reminder to the people producing stuff that they're not howling into the void. A simple, quick 'I liked this,' is a great start for the comment-shy.

THE GHOST OF COMMENTATHONS FUTURE:

Some Commentathons are themed--great fic with women, great fic w/ people of color (like, where such characters are included and such issues are addressed in a well-handled, sensitive way). Obviously with our particular niche of fandom it'd be difficult to do either of those examples, and this Commentathon will be unthemed. But future ones may not be! If this goes well, we may do these perhaps tri-annually or something? I think it's a valid and worthwhile thing to do, and good for long-term fandom upkeep for the aforementioned reasons.

THE IMPORTANT BIT:

WHEN:

This Commentathon will last TWO WEEKS, from today until THE 15TH OF OCTOBER.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Try and leave AT LEAST ten comments on various fic and fanworks over the next two weeks. SIGN UP if you like--not mandatory--and COMMENT HERE as you go, with a list of what stuff you showed love--people can use this as a recs list, and it is your badge of Awesome Personhood, you Fandom Girlscout of Rock. Ten comments is not so bad! That's only one a day during week days! You can totes do that, right?

PRO TIP: So you're the person who stares at the baleful white comment box for 45 min at a time, trying to come up with the Perfectest Comment Ever. In most cases, leaving a comment? Should NOT stress you, and should take no longer than like 5 min. If you have this issue, you might try checking the time, spitting it out and calling it done 5 min later, tying up your sentence and submitting, noting one particular thing you liked, or resorting to I Liked It if you've got zilch. It's better than no comment, and doesn't waste your time/frustrate you.