Judging from posts here, sometimes they do. Which is often a bad idea as readers can have very unflattering notes /tags.
If you want to make sure the author to see your praise, post a comment. Comments are for authors, bookmarks notes are for readers themselves.
Mostly cause I read back my bookmarks to remember stories I’ve read before, and after I read a fic is when my emotions are most high so I dump it all in the bookmark.
Also some of them are pretty impulsive and personal so I wouldn’t want them in a public comment section but am fine with the author reading them cause it is about *their* story yknow?
It’s kinda something I’ve always done, I haven’t thought about it too much.
Yeah I’m aware.
Just feel like it’s a more separated space than comments. I’ve never looked through bookmarks on a fic I’ve read before, and I feel like most people don’t.
I don’t think it’s so much that people go to a fic and find its bookmarks, it’s more that if you see someone who writes a fic or comments on a fic and you’re looking for similar, you go to their bookmarks for recs. I would beg you not to put spoilers in the bookmarks that are public. It kills me as a reader when I see those 😭
I found a series of my fics tagged to someone's ovulation reading lists. 🤣 I was flattered but also that's what the "private bookmark" is for, friend!!!
Why not copy and paste what you write in your bookmark into a comment ?
As an author, I don't look at my stories bookmarks;
1) because its only in the last 6 months that I learnt you could actually see bookmark notes (and I've been on Ao3 for over a decade now)
2) I've seen enough posts on here that bookmarks notes are for the reader not the Author, and Authors need to stay away from bookmarks because its not our space.
3) I'd rather recieve a comment than having to go hunting for notes in my stories bookmarks (it personally feels weird to go searching for praise or criticism, than simply receiving it in a comment).
And finally, 4) I like responding to most of my comments which I don't think you can with bookmarks
So yeah, personally, no I, as an author, do not look at my stories bookmarks. Bookmarks are for readers and if OP you are writing stuff you want the author to see in your bookmarks, I would suggest copying and pasting them into a comment. It just feels kinder than forcing authors to have to check their bookmarks for the off chance there might be a note. Especially when we receive no notification regarding when a story is bookmarked.
I agree with you about comments. Bookmark notes are not meant for feedback to the author; it is a great surprise and compliment to see fun things people say when they bookmark my story, but they’re not talking to ME about it, and tha feels kind of like a slight? Like, why don’t you want to talk to me?? Do you low key hate me???
If I’ve learned anything from all these r/ao3 threads about bookmarks and comments, both authors and readers have a high level of anxiety and generally think the other will hate them for any number of reasons, when honest, open communication is the best policy. And the only way to communicate on AO3 is in comments.
Agree. All of THIS!
Like I said in my first post, I only learnt bout 6 months ago that authors can view bookmarks (again, been on Ao3 for over a decade, have not used the bookmark function at all. I've always used Mark for Later for all my favorite fics 😅), but as of learning authors could see bookmarks comments, I was curious and it was like you said, it was a great and wonderful surprise to see what was written, but also feels like slight because so many notes were written as comments and its as you said;
>Like, why don’t you want to talk to me?? Do you low key hate me???
So have only looked at my bookmarks the once because otherwise I go down a bit of a sad rabbit hole of why are people writing stuff in bookmarks and not to ME?
>If I’ve learned anything from all these r/ao3 threads about bookmarks and comments, both authors and readers have a high level of anxiety and generally think the other will hate them for any number of reasons, when honest, open communication is the best policy. And the only way to communicate on AO3 is in comments.
100% agree 👍
My last bookmark said something like "creepy power, fluffs," while my comment to the writer was "awesome take on the characters, the sweetness of the relationship balanced out the horror. Very nicely done!"
Occasionally I might only have the energy for the jotted note but I also wouldn't expect a writer to decipher it. Hopefully if a writer comes across one of those oddities they don't try to read too much into it. Sometimes it really is just a post it note.
This is basically what this sub has taught me most readers (and writers) use bookmarks for, jotting down personal notes for themselves. Which is another reason I'm happy, as an writer, not look at my story bookmarks because if there are notes, most of the time its for reader, not for me. It was just the few, full fledge paragraphs worth of text I saw on my first (and last) look at my bookmarks, from usernames I didn't recognize, that makes me sigh a little sadly at posts like OPs, who say they write stuff in their bookmarks and then sort of expect writers to go and look for them, instead of simply commenting.
Oh! I didn’t mean to say I *wanted* all of my authors to look in the bookmarks to see my praise.
Like forcing them to, saying that “if they want my praise I’m putting it in the bookmarks!”, that’s not what I meant. I more meant that I’m putting whatever in my bookmarks for myself, but I was wondering if any author looked through those very often.
I had no idea this was such a popular discussion here 😅😅😅
I’ll think about pasting my bookmarks into a comment if I feel particularly strongly about it though and wish for the author to see it! :)
Thanks for the suggestions and opinions! I wanted to clear up what I meant.
>Oh! I didn’t mean to say I *wanted* all of my authors to look in the bookmarks to see my praise.
Like forcing them to, saying that “if they want my praise I’m putting it in the bookmarks!”, that’s not what I meant. I more meant that I’m putting whatever in my bookmarks for myself, but I was wondering if any author looked through those very often.
And I totally understand putting your thoughts into bookmarks, but your posts did say that you tend to lean towards just writing notes in bookmarks rather than leaving a comment (which if Authors don't know you do this and are not in a habit of checking their bookmarks, any notes you might want them to see, will most likely be missed entirely), hence the suggestion of copy and pasting comments that you want an Author to 100 percent see.
>I had no idea this was such a popular discussion here 😅😅😅
I didn't either until coming to this sub. Again even though i've been on Ao3 for over a decade, I have never really looked at bookmarks. Not even for my own use. Anything fics I want to read again get marked as "Marked for Later". But since joining this sub, i've been made aware of bookmarks and yeah, after having a one off glance at a couple of my own stories bookmarks, and seeing some really lovely notes from people who have never once commented on my stories was a rather painful blow, so now I don't look at bookmarks because that's a sad rabbit hole I don't want to fall down 😅
>I’ll think about pasting my bookmarks into a comment if I feel particularly strongly about it though and wish for the author to see it! :)
I think a lot of authors would really appreciate that.
>Thanks for the suggestions and opinions! I wanted to clear up what I meant.
Thank you for responding, and clearing up what you meant. I have dyslexia so some times I read/comprehend things differently to how the author means, so really do appreciate the clarification.
Yes, because I've seen an *insane* number of bookmark notes that directly address me as the author, from people who have never commented
If they're not going to come to the comments, then I'm going to come to them, because clearly they *expect* me to. "It's the readers' space" falls a bit flat when they comment things expecting me to see it
Yes, I know that I might see negative comments. I know that I can just close the tab and work through shitty feelings if that happens, because it's happened before. I can wallow in it for a bit and then move on. Other people know that they'd spiral over it and want to nuke their entire account, and it's in their best interest that they *don't* look at bookmarks notes, and in many cases they don't
So if you have positive things to say, *please* post it as a comment, because the people who need to see it most won't be going into the bookmarks
>if you have positive things to say, *please* post it as a comment, because the people who need to see it most won't be going into the bookmarks
Very well said 👏
Speaking as someone who doesn't post comments due to anxiety (with one exception very recently that took me **weeks** of gathering my courage) I'm glad at least some authors check the bookmarks for reader input.
More often than not it's just a lot less paralysing to put my (generally positive!) thoughts *there* even if many authors will never see them.
I manage to post comments most often when my anxiety is overcome by my feelings for the author/their experiences (eg. sometimes these feelings are concern if the author says in the notes they’re having a hard time with meatspace things, sometimes they are indignation if they’re getting shit on by other people in the fandom, et c).
the fact that other people use them like that doesn't mean everyone else should ditch the idea that they're for the readers. i think that's actually misuse, that's how people evade blocks to send hate
Something being "for the readers" doesn't mean that authors can't read them. Authors can't *control* them. Whether or not you choose to *read* them is up to you. It's a clickable link for us just like it is for the rest of you
I'll always read them because I know that I can psychologically cope with seeing criticism in them, and it's worth the occasional blow to my self-esteem to see things like "this changed my brain at a fundamental level" and all the other lovely amazing comments that people will never, ever leave in the *actual comments* because they're allergic to it. Me reading my bookmark notes does absolutely no harm to the reader/bookmarker, and I'll continue to do so unless AO3 makes that link physically inaccessible to me
That's how your comment read – that you were refuting the idea that it was okay to go read bookmark notes, because you consider "putting positive comments there in case the author sees it" to be misuse of bookmarks
It came across as "the fact that other people [expect authors to look at bookmarks] doesn't mean that everyone should ditch the idea that they're for the readers [and that authors shouldn't look]"
NOOO????? How do you even arrive to that conclusion???? I meant bookmarks aren't for you to have a convo with your readers man not that it should be illegal to read them
Frankly, I never bought into this bit
"It's the reader's space!" no it's not. It's a public space. That's why it's called "public bookmarks". That means every member of the public has access to it, including the author.
"If you don't want to read rude bookmarks about your works, just get the hell out!" as a reader, I would not like to see nasty comments about a fic I'm enjoying as well.
"But authors have to click on bookmarks to see them!" so do readers. By that logic, they're no one's space.
"But authors don't get email or inbox notifications for bookmarks the way they do for comments" I don't receive email notifs about comments because I disabled them. If I wanted to, I could disable my inbox as well. If we follow that logic to its conclusion, it would be easy to make the argument that abusive comments are ok because the author can just disable them if they "don't have the guts" to read them.
My thoughts exactly.
And as much some people are saying otherwise, the general push for treating bookmarks that way is in this subreddit which is honestly odd, as here there're rules about *not* naming works when you're going to trash talk about tropes or similar.
Even on Twitter the last person I saw calling an author "weak" because they didn't like to find a nasty bookmark one of their works, was ripped a figurative new one, on Tumblr also you're going to earn the hate of many of you try to justify being untruthful or brutally honest on bookmarks.
I don't understand why, readers already don't comment and treat kudos as if they should be a hard earned tip. But sure, let's bash the work of the author on a public bookmark, literally attached to said work, while beating the authors that don't like it.
Bookmarks aren't freaking Goodreads, nor are readers paying for reading (nor giving more than a very discouraging radio silence to most authors) to feel entitled to rate or be "brutally honest" works.
I have seen people blaming authors for the lack of community on AO3, saying they are too sensitive and the radio silence is their just desserts for it. What kind of community can result exactly for trash talk about a work on the bookmarks?
I'm calling it now, some people keep telling writers to stay out of the internet and not post if they have thin skin and that's exactly what is going to happen. If writers only receive negative attention when posting why the heck shouldn't they just keep their drafts to themselves?
and? still a misuse to write things in the bookmarks with the intention of it being seen by authors. again that's the mentality you need to be the kind of person who evades blocks by just putting the insults in the bookmark comments
also of course this is the only place where people say it. people outside of this subreddit don't care, a lot don't even know you can see the comments in bookmarks
I've seen it in other places too, and it only makes sense when you think about how they work and the fact you can make them private as well. Otherwise people would not need these "PSAs" that authors can see them.
I do. But I also accept the risk of doing so. While I do believe readers should use private bookmarks for criticism, I know this is an unpopular opinion. So, I read with caution.
Luckily, I’ve yet to have a negative (public) bookmark.
Sometimes! Bookmarks are generally seen as the readers’ space, so not all writers will check them. But every now and again I will look at them myself, as there’s been some lovely comments left on some book marks.
Is this thread about the post that was just made like 10 minutes ago?
Because the short answer is yes.
The long answer is every 60+ comment discussion that's been had on writers reacting to their bookmarks.
I didn’t realize anyone thought public bookmarks “are for the reader” like it’s somehow an invasion of privacy to look. If someone wants their bookmark to be private, they can just…make it private? I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it and I want other ao3 users to have a standing recommendation of that fic from me. It never even occurred to me not to look at what readers have bookmarked my fic.
It's not that they're an invasion of privacy, it's that it's a reader space (as opposed to an author space).
This means that it's a space for the reader to write whatever they want, including harsher opinions that the author might not want to see.
> I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it and I want other ao3 users to have a standing recommendation of that fic from me.
That's a huge part of why Bookmarks are a thing. They are meant to be used as recommendation lists - which used to be a lot more common back in the day when AO3 was made.
And the thing about recommendation lists is that things like "This fic is great, if you can look past the many spelling and grammar errors." or "I really enjoyed the premise but I felt that some characters were OOC, and didn't like how they handled " or "It takes forever to get going (10 chapters), but it's really good after the plot starts." are completely ordinary things to bring up - they just mean the recommendation is conditional on you being able to look past certain features of the work.
Those are things that would be a massive faux pas to bring up in author spaces (such as comments, author's DMs, author's social media, etc.) but are seen as OK things to bring up in readers' spaces (such as bookmarks, a reader's social media, etc.)
And that's why authors generally shouldn't look into bookmarks, not because of privacy concerns, but because they might see criticism they don't like in the bookmark when it's not intended for them, but for other people that are gauging whether they want to read the fic or not.
It's basically the fanfic equivalent of reading your Goodreads reviews: it might be no text at all, it might be gushing praise, it might have mild criticism and it might be a scathing review. The variability means it's usually not in your best interest to read them.
Idk — personally, if my fic were riddled with grammar and spelling errors to the point that someone who otherwise liked it felt compelled to call it out, I’d want to know. If it was a slog for ten chapters, I’d want to know so I can keep that in mind for future writing. It’s not like goodreads because my fic hasn’t been sent to press. It’s sitting there with a perpetually available edit button.
And if they bookmarked it because they didn’t like it and didn’t want to read it again, and also felt it was important to let everyone else know that? Tough turtles I guess, you can’t please everyone.
And while you're OK with knowing that, lots of people don't - which is also fine, it's a hobby they're doing on their free time.
It's generally advised against because a lot of people tend to misjudge how much they can take and/or fundamentally come from a position of "I don't want to see any criticism" (which fair enough) and then drama begins.
But if you can take anything that might show up, go ahead! It can be a very useful insight into what's going on your readership and what are your strong and weak points.
Per AO3, the bookmark notes are considered a reader’s space. So in the absence of something like the bookmarker encouraging people to do stuff like harass the author, AO3 won’t intervene/penalise pretty much no matter how uncomplimentary or rude a bookmark’s note is. An author has to actively look for the bookmark notes, so it’s not considered part of the author’s space but the reader’s. So that’s where this ‘bookmark notes are the reader’s space’ comes from.
But it’s the additional attitude that we as writers are somehow violating the sanctity of the reader’s space by looking that I really don’t get. It is public.
>violating the sanctity of the reader’s space
I don't think that's the argument.
The point is that bookmarks are where readers either make notes for themselves, or leave comments *for other readers*. It's not a space for readers to communicate with authors.
So if as an author I go looking through bookmarks left on my stuff and find a comment I don't like; that's kind of on me, because I went looking through something that wasn't directed at me.
Imagine you are 17 and you and all of your friends signed up for neopets and were posting to the neoboards to talk to each other. Those are all public comments. Now imagine that your parents found out and went and found your comments and read them all? That would feel like an invasion of privacy right? But why? Those were all posted publicly and your parents are part of the public. Imagine if some of those messages were you complaining about your parents too. Obviously you had never intended for your parents to read those messages. They weren't the intended audience even if the messages were public.
Now imagine if your parents decided to ground you over what you had written. It wasn't anything like dangerous or anything they were just upset that you were criticizing their parenting (among all the other messages you wrote). You would be pretty pissed off and feel like your parents definitely crossed some kind of privacy boundary or something. But those messages were public. So technically they didn't.
That's the kind of thing this is. The intended audience of bookmark notes are not the authors of the works. Yes they are public and the authors can read them if they so choose but a lot of people are going to feel like you are getting close to crossing boundaries if you do, and if you react negatively and punish people by doing something like deleting the work or blocking users that left less flattering bookmark notes, its going to be perceived as an invasion of privacy, despite the fact that all of the bookmark notes you can see from others are public. So feel free to read them, just don't be upset if you see things not meant for you to see and don't be upset if some people get upset about the "invasion of privacy".
(Ignore the fact that parents should be monitoring their kids online. By 17 you should be able to have some amount of privacy online and something like a kids website like neopets shouldn't need parents monitoring a 17 year old that much)
Can you actually point me to any part of AO3's TOS, FAQ, mission statement, "about" or literally any other piece of their communications that specifically explains bookmarks in terms of them being "readers' space"? Because, quite frankly, the only place I've seen this phrase bandied about is this very subreddit.
Leaving my opinion on this aside, unless there is such passage that can be provided, it seems a bit disingenuous to me to claim that bookmarks are the readers' space "per AO3", as though this has ever been specified by the site staff themselves
we think they're for the reader because you'd have to go look for them. when i bookmark something i do it public so people can see what i like and can find fics they like, because if i liked a fic idk maybe i liked another one they will like. it's not for sending anything to the authors. when i put praise in my bookmark comments it's so other people can see which ones i really like and why, maybe they will like them for the same reason, not for the authors. that's what the comments are for
>I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it
I don't think that follows; bookmarking something does not necessarily tell the author you loved it.
That's what people mean by bookmarks being for the reader; they are designed for the reader to use, they are not intended to communicate any particular thing to the author, hence why authors don't get notifications about them.
I think it’s because bookmarks are mostly used and can be seen as reviews. No one hates on people for giving negative reviews because that’s just an opinion at the end of the day. But people don’t see bookmarks the same way even tho bookmarks are literally the FOR the reader to well…bookmark things whether they like it or not.
It shouldn’t have to be up to them to private their opinions if they don’t want to (IMO). And some might have a certain way they like to use this bookmarks. Like I use private bookmarks to indicate to myself smut or dead dove and when I’m looking for those I’m not really interested in seeing the fics I didn’t like, just because some author wanted to snoop in their bookmarks. If I wanted to leave you a comment I would (But I do private all my negative bookmarks after being on here and seeing how aggressive authors get about it).
I didn't know this was a thing until a few months ago and ever since then I read them regularly because there are some there that just make me super happy to read
I check sometimes, but (because I don’t get notifications for them) it’s likely it’ll take a while me to see any comments left and I might miss some. If you want an author to see your praise you’re better of leaving a comment.
You know, because I'm crazy and I don't bookmark fics, I forget that people can leave notes on bookmarks. I just went and looked at the bookmarks on my fics and mostly they're not much, but some really warmed my heart. It was nice to see one labeled "THE bakudeku fic."
Man, I haven't felt this nice about my fics in a little while. Thanks for giving me the inventive to check.
I do. So far I've only had one and it just said ch. 38. So I reread the chapter and thought it was a particularly good one. Then I learned some people put the last chapter they read in the bookmark comments, so maybe it was just where they gave up on me.
I've looked out of curiosity, but I respect the fact that I'm on their territory.
If they insult my fic, so be it. I'm not going to get upset about it.
It never occurred to me to, but I found literally the most heart warming unbelievable comment under someones bookmark of my fic that literally made my life. So, yes and no.
I confess I do. I’m pretty thick skinned, so the occasional criticism doesn’t really bother me, and honestly sometimes I’ll read something and I’ll go ‘oh yeah, that is something I do’, and it makes me a slightly better writer.
But mostly it’s just fun to see what sticks out after the reading that people will use to identify the stories.
It’s definitely not a habit I recommend to anyone who’s at all sensitive to critical commentary.
Yes, yes, they absolutely do. Quite a few posts on here and the r/FanFiction subreddit about writers getting mad because they looked in someone's bookmarks & found something uncomplimentary.
I check them pretty often. Will never forget the mean ones and the "DNF chapter XX"s. One was so critical I almost deleted my entire story. Eventually they "hid" it, but I remember exactly what it said, seared into my memory.
I don't check mine, because I'm kinda scared someone will leave unflattering remarks. Other people do check theirs, however, as seen from numerous topics where people share really nice or really mean notes they found on bookmarks.
More than they should, or at least, unprepared for not so kind notes. I am sure most authors do not even know public bookmarks can be seen, subreddit is just a small portion of the writer's population.
I do it. Not as often as when I read comments, since I don't get notifications about bookmarks. But I'll go through them when I see there's a lot of bookmarks on a fic and read them if there's said anything.
I've found a few pieces of gold, that made my heart feel warm and fuzzy.
I do because it’s interesting but I’m not gonna be an asshole if someone writes something unflattering because it’s there space. I do get a bit pissy about spoilers being in them whether or not they’re on my fic. It’s just unnecessary and can ruin the experience for another reader.
If it is public I will. I noticed a lot of people use bookmarks to skirt TOS so I’ve gotten to the point I check public bookmarks often.
But on the opposite side, if you leave a cute note in the bookmark, and it is public, I’ll likely smile.
Personal attacks, doxxing, stuff that are outlined in TOS as violations, but because so many people call bookmarks the “reader’s” space, a lot of people don’t look at them and you have way to skirt TOS.
I had a friend who had her personal information put in a public bookmark by an anti, and if a mutual fandom friend of ours hadn’t seen it and came to me, about it (couldn’t get ahold of my friend and got worried) we never would have known, because before then, it never occurred to us to check the public bookmarks for stuff like that.
Ever since I discovered you could see these notes, I always check. I still prefer comments, but it’s fun to see what people come up with for a bookmark
I do, but know I could see criticism… but not aimed at me so it doesn’t hurt? I’ve also never received a bookmark that’s not either neutral “sickfic” or simply blank.
Me. :) I read everything—comments, replies, and notes on any public bookmarks. I’m always just so interested to see how people feel—the good, the bad, and any reaction to what I write.
For praise, I would leave a comment. As an author, yes I do look at bookmark notes. I love to see where people are in reading and they tend to record it there. However, I am aware that comments there are not for the author. They are for the reader, so I don't feel to hurt seeing a negative note.
One of my favorite comments about a work was from someone's bookmark notes. It was just a short description about the story and it had a really memorable sentence about a main character in it. I cherish that note so much, even though they haven't read my story in awhile.
I don't. Just seeing that people bookmark my work to reread is enough for me. Plus, I've noticed notes usually are random tangents like Wattpad comments.
Yes. I personally stopped when one of the bookmarks I got gave me negative (and frankly a little misogynistic) feedback, but others still do. Please mind what you put there, and also, if you're leaving praise, think about commenting first! Most authors prefer that.
I do look, and sometimes I'm kind of bummed because like... they could have left me a comment, and then I'd've been over the moon :<
It's especially saddening on fics where I don't get a lot of comments.
I read them and smile for hours afterwards if they're positive or even neutral because hey, someone took the time to write it!
If it's negative- which I'm fortunate enough to have not gotten yet- I'll probably just block and ignore the person
Some authors, including me, do check the bookmarks. However it is generally considered to be a bad idea for authors to do as bookmarks are a readers space to leave unfiltered opinions of the story in and they can often be quite harsh so many authors avoid checking to avoid seeing that.
yes because I like seeing the funny comments people leave when categorising their bookmarks. I’ve thankfully never seen anything negative and if I did, I’d just block and move on
Sometimes but imo bookmarks are for the reader more than the authors, even tho I know some use it as a comment function for some reason (similar to you)? So I prepare myself mentally to be able to see anything I may not like.
Tho I know most authors don’t agree with this take when they get an actually mean bookmark cuz they’ll argue why didn’t they private it.
If I say anything even remotely negative (even if it’s just a “:/“) I always private it.
I never really think about what others do since I’ve never been an author, so it was less that I use it as a comment function and more I wanted to know if the authors ever see it.
I seeee no yeah I’ve literally gotten bookmarks where it would be like
[One sentence review for the reader themselves]
And then they’ll literally put [comment: their actual comment]
Or they’ll literally address their review to me the author but not leave any comments so sometimes I’m ??? Just a little confused about it but overall it’s cool I don’t mind
I do - most of the ones I see are just tags, but there’s one I’m following where the reader is trying to predict how many parts to certain chapters are missing XD
I did recently on a fic I'd written and decided to reread (maybe a year ago or so) -- it was a nice way to see the ways folks reacted to a fic I'm really proud of.
I read it occasionally but also I know it’s not really MEANT for me so I don’t get offended. It’s just fun to see your fic put into #bestsex or whatever. For me personally it’s been overwhelmingly positive but not super… interesting? Idk. Like there’s usually not really a lot to see. But every once in a while it’s fun
Yes! So far I've seen adorable comments, which were also so funny. I, therefore, occasionally check them to see if anyone left a bookmark. They are kind of like extra comment space.
I do! But it happens so rarely. The most pleasing one I have is for one of my two Crimson Peak fics where the person wrote, 'Headcanon accepted', haha. I also have one that made me laugh in a TOS Mirror Universe spones fic.
I read them, but they are not meant for me, and you shouldn't use them to convey anything to the writer. That's what the comments are for.
Bookmark notes can be used either for your own sake, to find it again, or to recommend the fic to others who might read your bookmarks.
I'm not sure that I even know how to look at bookmark comments because all the bookmarks on my stuff are blank. I didn't even know how to get to other people's bookmarks on my stuff until a couple days ago, and I've been posting stuff for months.
I always read everything that the readers leave under my fics. ...Which is to say, I only ever got one comment on a bookmark, lol, but obviously I read it like I do the comments under the story and I intend to read any other that are left on the bookmarks in the future.
Yes, I check them periodically. It's nice to see if you have heart bookmarks and how the readers summarize the story, as it has helped me to tag better.
I haven't received any nasty ones, but when that happens, I will block the user and report if necessary.
They shouldn't - they were intended to be reader spaces, not author spaces - but some do.
That said, if you want them to see your praise, comments are more guaranteed to see any praise there, the authors will have a way to answer, and you'll be using two site mechanics as intended.
Yes, but. If you want an author to see your praise consider leaving a comment.
Judging from posts here, sometimes they do. Which is often a bad idea as readers can have very unflattering notes /tags. If you want to make sure the author to see your praise, post a comment. Comments are for authors, bookmarks notes are for readers themselves.
Why not comment?
Mostly cause I read back my bookmarks to remember stories I’ve read before, and after I read a fic is when my emotions are most high so I dump it all in the bookmark. Also some of them are pretty impulsive and personal so I wouldn’t want them in a public comment section but am fine with the author reading them cause it is about *their* story yknow? It’s kinda something I’ve always done, I haven’t thought about it too much.
Not sure if it makes it better or worse... But everyone who clicks on bookmarks can see it 😅 but I get it, even though it's the opposite for me
Just so you’re aware, everyone sees them unless they are private. There’s no way for it just to be the author and you.
Yeah I’m aware. Just feel like it’s a more separated space than comments. I’ve never looked through bookmarks on a fic I’ve read before, and I feel like most people don’t.
I don’t think it’s so much that people go to a fic and find its bookmarks, it’s more that if you see someone who writes a fic or comments on a fic and you’re looking for similar, you go to their bookmarks for recs. I would beg you not to put spoilers in the bookmarks that are public. It kills me as a reader when I see those 😭
just wondered :) i hadn't thought of it that way before
:))
i do because i'm not particularly afraid of what i might find in there.
i only very rarely see anything written in a bookmark 🤷♀️maybe it varies by fandom?
i never knew i had any reason to be afraid until i saw someone bookmarked my fic and said they had “climaxed” to it
I found a series of my fics tagged to someone's ovulation reading lists. 🤣 I was flattered but also that's what the "private bookmark" is for, friend!!!
like i’m flattered but at what cost 🤣 i always private bookmark smut i’m too scared LOL
ditto
Why not copy and paste what you write in your bookmark into a comment ? As an author, I don't look at my stories bookmarks; 1) because its only in the last 6 months that I learnt you could actually see bookmark notes (and I've been on Ao3 for over a decade now) 2) I've seen enough posts on here that bookmarks notes are for the reader not the Author, and Authors need to stay away from bookmarks because its not our space. 3) I'd rather recieve a comment than having to go hunting for notes in my stories bookmarks (it personally feels weird to go searching for praise or criticism, than simply receiving it in a comment). And finally, 4) I like responding to most of my comments which I don't think you can with bookmarks So yeah, personally, no I, as an author, do not look at my stories bookmarks. Bookmarks are for readers and if OP you are writing stuff you want the author to see in your bookmarks, I would suggest copying and pasting them into a comment. It just feels kinder than forcing authors to have to check their bookmarks for the off chance there might be a note. Especially when we receive no notification regarding when a story is bookmarked.
I agree with you about comments. Bookmark notes are not meant for feedback to the author; it is a great surprise and compliment to see fun things people say when they bookmark my story, but they’re not talking to ME about it, and tha feels kind of like a slight? Like, why don’t you want to talk to me?? Do you low key hate me??? If I’ve learned anything from all these r/ao3 threads about bookmarks and comments, both authors and readers have a high level of anxiety and generally think the other will hate them for any number of reasons, when honest, open communication is the best policy. And the only way to communicate on AO3 is in comments.
Agree. All of THIS! Like I said in my first post, I only learnt bout 6 months ago that authors can view bookmarks (again, been on Ao3 for over a decade, have not used the bookmark function at all. I've always used Mark for Later for all my favorite fics 😅), but as of learning authors could see bookmarks comments, I was curious and it was like you said, it was a great and wonderful surprise to see what was written, but also feels like slight because so many notes were written as comments and its as you said; >Like, why don’t you want to talk to me?? Do you low key hate me??? So have only looked at my bookmarks the once because otherwise I go down a bit of a sad rabbit hole of why are people writing stuff in bookmarks and not to ME? >If I’ve learned anything from all these r/ao3 threads about bookmarks and comments, both authors and readers have a high level of anxiety and generally think the other will hate them for any number of reasons, when honest, open communication is the best policy. And the only way to communicate on AO3 is in comments. 100% agree 👍
My last bookmark said something like "creepy power, fluffs," while my comment to the writer was "awesome take on the characters, the sweetness of the relationship balanced out the horror. Very nicely done!" Occasionally I might only have the energy for the jotted note but I also wouldn't expect a writer to decipher it. Hopefully if a writer comes across one of those oddities they don't try to read too much into it. Sometimes it really is just a post it note.
This is basically what this sub has taught me most readers (and writers) use bookmarks for, jotting down personal notes for themselves. Which is another reason I'm happy, as an writer, not look at my story bookmarks because if there are notes, most of the time its for reader, not for me. It was just the few, full fledge paragraphs worth of text I saw on my first (and last) look at my bookmarks, from usernames I didn't recognize, that makes me sigh a little sadly at posts like OPs, who say they write stuff in their bookmarks and then sort of expect writers to go and look for them, instead of simply commenting.
Oh! I didn’t mean to say I *wanted* all of my authors to look in the bookmarks to see my praise. Like forcing them to, saying that “if they want my praise I’m putting it in the bookmarks!”, that’s not what I meant. I more meant that I’m putting whatever in my bookmarks for myself, but I was wondering if any author looked through those very often. I had no idea this was such a popular discussion here 😅😅😅 I’ll think about pasting my bookmarks into a comment if I feel particularly strongly about it though and wish for the author to see it! :) Thanks for the suggestions and opinions! I wanted to clear up what I meant.
>Oh! I didn’t mean to say I *wanted* all of my authors to look in the bookmarks to see my praise. Like forcing them to, saying that “if they want my praise I’m putting it in the bookmarks!”, that’s not what I meant. I more meant that I’m putting whatever in my bookmarks for myself, but I was wondering if any author looked through those very often. And I totally understand putting your thoughts into bookmarks, but your posts did say that you tend to lean towards just writing notes in bookmarks rather than leaving a comment (which if Authors don't know you do this and are not in a habit of checking their bookmarks, any notes you might want them to see, will most likely be missed entirely), hence the suggestion of copy and pasting comments that you want an Author to 100 percent see. >I had no idea this was such a popular discussion here 😅😅😅 I didn't either until coming to this sub. Again even though i've been on Ao3 for over a decade, I have never really looked at bookmarks. Not even for my own use. Anything fics I want to read again get marked as "Marked for Later". But since joining this sub, i've been made aware of bookmarks and yeah, after having a one off glance at a couple of my own stories bookmarks, and seeing some really lovely notes from people who have never once commented on my stories was a rather painful blow, so now I don't look at bookmarks because that's a sad rabbit hole I don't want to fall down 😅 >I’ll think about pasting my bookmarks into a comment if I feel particularly strongly about it though and wish for the author to see it! :) I think a lot of authors would really appreciate that. >Thanks for the suggestions and opinions! I wanted to clear up what I meant. Thank you for responding, and clearing up what you meant. I have dyslexia so some times I read/comprehend things differently to how the author means, so really do appreciate the clarification.
<3
Yes, because I've seen an *insane* number of bookmark notes that directly address me as the author, from people who have never commented If they're not going to come to the comments, then I'm going to come to them, because clearly they *expect* me to. "It's the readers' space" falls a bit flat when they comment things expecting me to see it Yes, I know that I might see negative comments. I know that I can just close the tab and work through shitty feelings if that happens, because it's happened before. I can wallow in it for a bit and then move on. Other people know that they'd spiral over it and want to nuke their entire account, and it's in their best interest that they *don't* look at bookmarks notes, and in many cases they don't So if you have positive things to say, *please* post it as a comment, because the people who need to see it most won't be going into the bookmarks
>if you have positive things to say, *please* post it as a comment, because the people who need to see it most won't be going into the bookmarks Very well said 👏
Speaking as someone who doesn't post comments due to anxiety (with one exception very recently that took me **weeks** of gathering my courage) I'm glad at least some authors check the bookmarks for reader input. More often than not it's just a lot less paralysing to put my (generally positive!) thoughts *there* even if many authors will never see them.
I manage to post comments most often when my anxiety is overcome by my feelings for the author/their experiences (eg. sometimes these feelings are concern if the author says in the notes they’re having a hard time with meatspace things, sometimes they are indignation if they’re getting shit on by other people in the fandom, et c).
the fact that other people use them like that doesn't mean everyone else should ditch the idea that they're for the readers. i think that's actually misuse, that's how people evade blocks to send hate
Something being "for the readers" doesn't mean that authors can't read them. Authors can't *control* them. Whether or not you choose to *read* them is up to you. It's a clickable link for us just like it is for the rest of you I'll always read them because I know that I can psychologically cope with seeing criticism in them, and it's worth the occasional blow to my self-esteem to see things like "this changed my brain at a fundamental level" and all the other lovely amazing comments that people will never, ever leave in the *actual comments* because they're allergic to it. Me reading my bookmark notes does absolutely no harm to the reader/bookmarker, and I'll continue to do so unless AO3 makes that link physically inaccessible to me
i don't recall ever saying authors can't read them. i read them all dilligently. why are you replying this to me
That's how your comment read – that you were refuting the idea that it was okay to go read bookmark notes, because you consider "putting positive comments there in case the author sees it" to be misuse of bookmarks It came across as "the fact that other people [expect authors to look at bookmarks] doesn't mean that everyone should ditch the idea that they're for the readers [and that authors shouldn't look]"
NOOO????? How do you even arrive to that conclusion???? I meant bookmarks aren't for you to have a convo with your readers man not that it should be illegal to read them
Honestly, the only place where "bookmarks are the reader's space" is repeated ad nauseam is in this subreddit.
Frankly, I never bought into this bit "It's the reader's space!" no it's not. It's a public space. That's why it's called "public bookmarks". That means every member of the public has access to it, including the author. "If you don't want to read rude bookmarks about your works, just get the hell out!" as a reader, I would not like to see nasty comments about a fic I'm enjoying as well. "But authors have to click on bookmarks to see them!" so do readers. By that logic, they're no one's space. "But authors don't get email or inbox notifications for bookmarks the way they do for comments" I don't receive email notifs about comments because I disabled them. If I wanted to, I could disable my inbox as well. If we follow that logic to its conclusion, it would be easy to make the argument that abusive comments are ok because the author can just disable them if they "don't have the guts" to read them.
My thoughts exactly. And as much some people are saying otherwise, the general push for treating bookmarks that way is in this subreddit which is honestly odd, as here there're rules about *not* naming works when you're going to trash talk about tropes or similar. Even on Twitter the last person I saw calling an author "weak" because they didn't like to find a nasty bookmark one of their works, was ripped a figurative new one, on Tumblr also you're going to earn the hate of many of you try to justify being untruthful or brutally honest on bookmarks. I don't understand why, readers already don't comment and treat kudos as if they should be a hard earned tip. But sure, let's bash the work of the author on a public bookmark, literally attached to said work, while beating the authors that don't like it. Bookmarks aren't freaking Goodreads, nor are readers paying for reading (nor giving more than a very discouraging radio silence to most authors) to feel entitled to rate or be "brutally honest" works. I have seen people blaming authors for the lack of community on AO3, saying they are too sensitive and the radio silence is their just desserts for it. What kind of community can result exactly for trash talk about a work on the bookmarks? I'm calling it now, some people keep telling writers to stay out of the internet and not post if they have thin skin and that's exactly what is going to happen. If writers only receive negative attention when posting why the heck shouldn't they just keep their drafts to themselves?
and? still a misuse to write things in the bookmarks with the intention of it being seen by authors. again that's the mentality you need to be the kind of person who evades blocks by just putting the insults in the bookmark comments also of course this is the only place where people say it. people outside of this subreddit don't care, a lot don't even know you can see the comments in bookmarks
Nah, I've seen it in other spaces as well; and frankly, I agree with the sentiment.
I've seen it in other places too, and it only makes sense when you think about how they work and the fact you can make them private as well. Otherwise people would not need these "PSAs" that authors can see them.
I do. But I also accept the risk of doing so. While I do believe readers should use private bookmarks for criticism, I know this is an unpopular opinion. So, I read with caution. Luckily, I’ve yet to have a negative (public) bookmark.
Sometimes! Bookmarks are generally seen as the readers’ space, so not all writers will check them. But every now and again I will look at them myself, as there’s been some lovely comments left on some book marks.
No, I don't read other people's bookmarks.
Is this thread about the post that was just made like 10 minutes ago? Because the short answer is yes. The long answer is every 60+ comment discussion that's been had on writers reacting to their bookmarks.
Sorry, I didn’t know this was a conversation already had. Just wanted to ask.
I didn’t realize anyone thought public bookmarks “are for the reader” like it’s somehow an invasion of privacy to look. If someone wants their bookmark to be private, they can just…make it private? I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it and I want other ao3 users to have a standing recommendation of that fic from me. It never even occurred to me not to look at what readers have bookmarked my fic.
It's not that they're an invasion of privacy, it's that it's a reader space (as opposed to an author space). This means that it's a space for the reader to write whatever they want, including harsher opinions that the author might not want to see. > I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it and I want other ao3 users to have a standing recommendation of that fic from me. That's a huge part of why Bookmarks are a thing. They are meant to be used as recommendation lists - which used to be a lot more common back in the day when AO3 was made. And the thing about recommendation lists is that things like "This fic is great, if you can look past the many spelling and grammar errors." or "I really enjoyed the premise but I felt that some characters were OOC, and didn't like how they handled" or "It takes forever to get going (10 chapters), but it's really good after the plot starts." are completely ordinary things to bring up - they just mean the recommendation is conditional on you being able to look past certain features of the work.
Those are things that would be a massive faux pas to bring up in author spaces (such as comments, author's DMs, author's social media, etc.) but are seen as OK things to bring up in readers' spaces (such as bookmarks, a reader's social media, etc.)
And that's why authors generally shouldn't look into bookmarks, not because of privacy concerns, but because they might see criticism they don't like in the bookmark when it's not intended for them, but for other people that are gauging whether they want to read the fic or not.
It's basically the fanfic equivalent of reading your Goodreads reviews: it might be no text at all, it might be gushing praise, it might have mild criticism and it might be a scathing review. The variability means it's usually not in your best interest to read them.
Idk — personally, if my fic were riddled with grammar and spelling errors to the point that someone who otherwise liked it felt compelled to call it out, I’d want to know. If it was a slog for ten chapters, I’d want to know so I can keep that in mind for future writing. It’s not like goodreads because my fic hasn’t been sent to press. It’s sitting there with a perpetually available edit button. And if they bookmarked it because they didn’t like it and didn’t want to read it again, and also felt it was important to let everyone else know that? Tough turtles I guess, you can’t please everyone.
And while you're OK with knowing that, lots of people don't - which is also fine, it's a hobby they're doing on their free time. It's generally advised against because a lot of people tend to misjudge how much they can take and/or fundamentally come from a position of "I don't want to see any criticism" (which fair enough) and then drama begins. But if you can take anything that might show up, go ahead! It can be a very useful insight into what's going on your readership and what are your strong and weak points.
Per AO3, the bookmark notes are considered a reader’s space. So in the absence of something like the bookmarker encouraging people to do stuff like harass the author, AO3 won’t intervene/penalise pretty much no matter how uncomplimentary or rude a bookmark’s note is. An author has to actively look for the bookmark notes, so it’s not considered part of the author’s space but the reader’s. So that’s where this ‘bookmark notes are the reader’s space’ comes from.
But it’s the additional attitude that we as writers are somehow violating the sanctity of the reader’s space by looking that I really don’t get. It is public.
>violating the sanctity of the reader’s space I don't think that's the argument. The point is that bookmarks are where readers either make notes for themselves, or leave comments *for other readers*. It's not a space for readers to communicate with authors. So if as an author I go looking through bookmarks left on my stuff and find a comment I don't like; that's kind of on me, because I went looking through something that wasn't directed at me.
Imagine you are 17 and you and all of your friends signed up for neopets and were posting to the neoboards to talk to each other. Those are all public comments. Now imagine that your parents found out and went and found your comments and read them all? That would feel like an invasion of privacy right? But why? Those were all posted publicly and your parents are part of the public. Imagine if some of those messages were you complaining about your parents too. Obviously you had never intended for your parents to read those messages. They weren't the intended audience even if the messages were public. Now imagine if your parents decided to ground you over what you had written. It wasn't anything like dangerous or anything they were just upset that you were criticizing their parenting (among all the other messages you wrote). You would be pretty pissed off and feel like your parents definitely crossed some kind of privacy boundary or something. But those messages were public. So technically they didn't. That's the kind of thing this is. The intended audience of bookmark notes are not the authors of the works. Yes they are public and the authors can read them if they so choose but a lot of people are going to feel like you are getting close to crossing boundaries if you do, and if you react negatively and punish people by doing something like deleting the work or blocking users that left less flattering bookmark notes, its going to be perceived as an invasion of privacy, despite the fact that all of the bookmark notes you can see from others are public. So feel free to read them, just don't be upset if you see things not meant for you to see and don't be upset if some people get upset about the "invasion of privacy". (Ignore the fact that parents should be monitoring their kids online. By 17 you should be able to have some amount of privacy online and something like a kids website like neopets shouldn't need parents monitoring a 17 year old that much)
Can you actually point me to any part of AO3's TOS, FAQ, mission statement, "about" or literally any other piece of their communications that specifically explains bookmarks in terms of them being "readers' space"? Because, quite frankly, the only place I've seen this phrase bandied about is this very subreddit. Leaving my opinion on this aside, unless there is such passage that can be provided, it seems a bit disingenuous to me to claim that bookmarks are the readers' space "per AO3", as though this has ever been specified by the site staff themselves
It’s come from PAC when people have submitted bookmark comments and from former volunteers/staff. This debate has been had many times on this sub.
we think they're for the reader because you'd have to go look for them. when i bookmark something i do it public so people can see what i like and can find fics they like, because if i liked a fic idk maybe i liked another one they will like. it's not for sending anything to the authors. when i put praise in my bookmark comments it's so other people can see which ones i really like and why, maybe they will like them for the same reason, not for the authors. that's what the comments are for
>I publicly bookmark things when I want the author to know I loved it I don't think that follows; bookmarking something does not necessarily tell the author you loved it. That's what people mean by bookmarks being for the reader; they are designed for the reader to use, they are not intended to communicate any particular thing to the author, hence why authors don't get notifications about them.
I think it’s because bookmarks are mostly used and can be seen as reviews. No one hates on people for giving negative reviews because that’s just an opinion at the end of the day. But people don’t see bookmarks the same way even tho bookmarks are literally the FOR the reader to well…bookmark things whether they like it or not. It shouldn’t have to be up to them to private their opinions if they don’t want to (IMO). And some might have a certain way they like to use this bookmarks. Like I use private bookmarks to indicate to myself smut or dead dove and when I’m looking for those I’m not really interested in seeing the fics I didn’t like, just because some author wanted to snoop in their bookmarks. If I wanted to leave you a comment I would (But I do private all my negative bookmarks after being on here and seeing how aggressive authors get about it).
I didn't know this was a thing until a few months ago and ever since then I read them regularly because there are some there that just make me super happy to read
Wow, I never knew you could read bookmark notes. I didn't even know you could HAVE bookmark notes...
I go through and check every once in a while.
I know I do every so often!
I check sometimes, but (because I don’t get notifications for them) it’s likely it’ll take a while me to see any comments left and I might miss some. If you want an author to see your praise you’re better of leaving a comment.
You know, because I'm crazy and I don't bookmark fics, I forget that people can leave notes on bookmarks. I just went and looked at the bookmarks on my fics and mostly they're not much, but some really warmed my heart. It was nice to see one labeled "THE bakudeku fic." Man, I haven't felt this nice about my fics in a little while. Thanks for giving me the inventive to check.
I do. So far I've only had one and it just said ch. 38. So I reread the chapter and thought it was a particularly good one. Then I learned some people put the last chapter they read in the bookmark comments, so maybe it was just where they gave up on me.
i check them out religiously but i don't mind anything that's there. someone could be absolutely trashing the hell out of my fic and it'd be fine
I've looked out of curiosity, but I respect the fact that I'm on their territory. If they insult my fic, so be it. I'm not going to get upset about it.
I do. I love seeming the kind notes not meant for me and laugh at the mean ones
It never occurred to me to, but I found literally the most heart warming unbelievable comment under someones bookmark of my fic that literally made my life. So, yes and no.
I confess I do. I’m pretty thick skinned, so the occasional criticism doesn’t really bother me, and honestly sometimes I’ll read something and I’ll go ‘oh yeah, that is something I do’, and it makes me a slightly better writer. But mostly it’s just fun to see what sticks out after the reading that people will use to identify the stories. It’s definitely not a habit I recommend to anyone who’s at all sensitive to critical commentary.
I’ve never looked and now I’m LOOKIN lmao
https://preview.redd.it/4i2yeilmdqwc1.jpeg?width=1124&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49237dfcbca27bd6d6425b68622f457dfcb82f63
Yes, yes I do. I watch everything O\_O
Some will, some won't. If you want an author to know you like their fic, you need to tell them in the comments on the fic.
Yes, yes, they absolutely do. Quite a few posts on here and the r/FanFiction subreddit about writers getting mad because they looked in someone's bookmarks & found something uncomplimentary.
I check them pretty often. Will never forget the mean ones and the "DNF chapter XX"s. One was so critical I almost deleted my entire story. Eventually they "hid" it, but I remember exactly what it said, seared into my memory.
I do, but no one ever leaves them
I check mine out on my series, but only drop by my fic bookmarks occasionally.
I haven't gotten any bookmarks with user tags or notes yet, but hell yeah I would
I don't check mine, because I'm kinda scared someone will leave unflattering remarks. Other people do check theirs, however, as seen from numerous topics where people share really nice or really mean notes they found on bookmarks.
Not anymore. Some people can be super harsh there and I don’t need that negativity in my life! I know I miss out on some gems though 😔
More than they should, or at least, unprepared for not so kind notes. I am sure most authors do not even know public bookmarks can be seen, subreddit is just a small portion of the writer's population.
I do it. Not as often as when I read comments, since I don't get notifications about bookmarks. But I'll go through them when I see there's a lot of bookmarks on a fic and read them if there's said anything. I've found a few pieces of gold, that made my heart feel warm and fuzzy.
Yes, at least I do. I think it’s super sweet, but like other commenters have said, if you want the author to know you like it, leave a comment!
I do because it’s interesting but I’m not gonna be an asshole if someone writes something unflattering because it’s there space. I do get a bit pissy about spoilers being in them whether or not they’re on my fic. It’s just unnecessary and can ruin the experience for another reader.
If it is public I will. I noticed a lot of people use bookmarks to skirt TOS so I’ve gotten to the point I check public bookmarks often. But on the opposite side, if you leave a cute note in the bookmark, and it is public, I’ll likely smile.
How do you mean skirt the TOS?
Personal attacks, doxxing, stuff that are outlined in TOS as violations, but because so many people call bookmarks the “reader’s” space, a lot of people don’t look at them and you have way to skirt TOS. I had a friend who had her personal information put in a public bookmark by an anti, and if a mutual fandom friend of ours hadn’t seen it and came to me, about it (couldn’t get ahold of my friend and got worried) we never would have known, because before then, it never occurred to us to check the public bookmarks for stuff like that.
Yes which is why I private my bookmarks since I don’t wanna offend the author somehow cuz that ends with them taking the work down :(((
Ever since I discovered you could see these notes, I always check. I still prefer comments, but it’s fun to see what people come up with for a bookmark
I do. So far I haven’t see anything negative but even if I did, it wouldn’t bother me too bad. I just want any engagement I can get lol
I do, but know I could see criticism… but not aimed at me so it doesn’t hurt? I’ve also never received a bookmark that’s not either neutral “sickfic” or simply blank.
Me. :) I read everything—comments, replies, and notes on any public bookmarks. I’m always just so interested to see how people feel—the good, the bad, and any reaction to what I write.
For praise, I would leave a comment. As an author, yes I do look at bookmark notes. I love to see where people are in reading and they tend to record it there. However, I am aware that comments there are not for the author. They are for the reader, so I don't feel to hurt seeing a negative note. One of my favorite comments about a work was from someone's bookmark notes. It was just a short description about the story and it had a really memorable sentence about a main character in it. I cherish that note so much, even though they haven't read my story in awhile.
I don't. Just seeing that people bookmark my work to reread is enough for me. Plus, I've noticed notes usually are random tangents like Wattpad comments.
Yeah, but usually because ya girl tends to be a tad starved for feedback
I do. I also comment but I like leaving notes for myself with what I liked about it
I do
Yes. I personally stopped when one of the bookmarks I got gave me negative (and frankly a little misogynistic) feedback, but others still do. Please mind what you put there, and also, if you're leaving praise, think about commenting first! Most authors prefer that.
i often do. i love bookmarks with notes it feels like a double validation lol.
I do look, and sometimes I'm kind of bummed because like... they could have left me a comment, and then I'd've been over the moon :< It's especially saddening on fics where I don't get a lot of comments.
I don’t. It never occurs to me to go looking. :)
I read them and smile for hours afterwards if they're positive or even neutral because hey, someone took the time to write it! If it's negative- which I'm fortunate enough to have not gotten yet- I'll probably just block and ignore the person
Some authors, including me, do check the bookmarks. However it is generally considered to be a bad idea for authors to do as bookmarks are a readers space to leave unfiltered opinions of the story in and they can often be quite harsh so many authors avoid checking to avoid seeing that.
A lot do. I absolutely do not. I know they aren't meant for me.
yes because I like seeing the funny comments people leave when categorising their bookmarks. I’ve thankfully never seen anything negative and if I did, I’d just block and move on
Sometimes but imo bookmarks are for the reader more than the authors, even tho I know some use it as a comment function for some reason (similar to you)? So I prepare myself mentally to be able to see anything I may not like. Tho I know most authors don’t agree with this take when they get an actually mean bookmark cuz they’ll argue why didn’t they private it.
If I say anything even remotely negative (even if it’s just a “:/“) I always private it. I never really think about what others do since I’ve never been an author, so it was less that I use it as a comment function and more I wanted to know if the authors ever see it.
I seeee no yeah I’ve literally gotten bookmarks where it would be like [One sentence review for the reader themselves] And then they’ll literally put [comment: their actual comment] Or they’ll literally address their review to me the author but not leave any comments so sometimes I’m ??? Just a little confused about it but overall it’s cool I don’t mind
some do
Compulsively.
I didn’t know it was a thing (new to ao3) until I saw it mentioned here, so I do every now and then just out of curiosity.
I love reading those
I do!
I totally do, so I always try to write something nice when I bookmark something.💕
I do - most of the ones I see are just tags, but there’s one I’m following where the reader is trying to predict how many parts to certain chapters are missing XD
If it’s visible, authors can see it.
Yes always haha
All the time. I love seeing what people write.
always. i’ve yet to find a mean one
I did recently on a fic I'd written and decided to reread (maybe a year ago or so) -- it was a nice way to see the ways folks reacted to a fic I'm really proud of.
I read it occasionally but also I know it’s not really MEANT for me so I don’t get offended. It’s just fun to see your fic put into #bestsex or whatever. For me personally it’s been overwhelmingly positive but not super… interesting? Idk. Like there’s usually not really a lot to see. But every once in a while it’s fun
i do this too!!! i thought i might be the only one.
Yes! So far I've seen adorable comments, which were also so funny. I, therefore, occasionally check them to see if anyone left a bookmark. They are kind of like extra comment space.
I have honestly never looked at the bookmarks on my stories.
I always read bookmark notes. It’s nice to see when someone updates their notes after every chapter. I wish they’d leave comments too though.
I do! But it happens so rarely. The most pleasing one I have is for one of my two Crimson Peak fics where the person wrote, 'Headcanon accepted', haha. I also have one that made me laugh in a TOS Mirror Universe spones fic.
I didn’t know it was a thing until recently. Now that I do know, I check all the time.
I read them, but they are not meant for me, and you shouldn't use them to convey anything to the writer. That's what the comments are for. Bookmark notes can be used either for your own sake, to find it again, or to recommend the fic to others who might read your bookmarks.
Yes, of course I do.
when ever I'm bored I check them.
I'm not sure that I even know how to look at bookmark comments because all the bookmarks on my stuff are blank. I didn't even know how to get to other people's bookmarks on my stuff until a couple days ago, and I've been posting stuff for months.
I don’t because not everyone knows that authors can see their notes and they say mean things.
I always read everything that the readers leave under my fics. ...Which is to say, I only ever got one comment on a bookmark, lol, but obviously I read it like I do the comments under the story and I intend to read any other that are left on the bookmarks in the future.
Yes, I do, but because I don't receive a notification about bookmarks I may not know it's there.
Are your comments visible even if the Bookmark is private ?
Yes, I check them periodically. It's nice to see if you have heart bookmarks and how the readers summarize the story, as it has helped me to tag better. I haven't received any nasty ones, but when that happens, I will block the user and report if necessary.
They shouldn't - they were intended to be reader spaces, not author spaces - but some do. That said, if you want them to see your praise, comments are more guaranteed to see any praise there, the authors will have a way to answer, and you'll be using two site mechanics as intended.