Dual Comment Swap Features

I'm all in for this idea.

Oh hell yes! I mean, there's so much people in here that just want comments to make a count, even if all they say is "omg I love it!" Sometimes I feel like they're saying they love it just to be polite when, in reality, they didn't even read it! I have this story I've been working on that seems to be nobody's cup of tea on mibba and I'm pretty sure most people don't even read the first sentence of the first chapter just because they read "Roman Empire" on the summary, and then they'll just leave random comments, just to make sure they get comments back.

I agree that adding more words to the count wouldn't control the quality, as most people would only repeat themselves or maybe post random spam just to fill in the requirement. Maybe we should approve the comments on our stories before they're actually posted? That way, we could erase those who are spam and just keep the ones that actually say something interesting about the story/character/etc. Kinda like a spam filter on our e-mail inbox, you know?

@ Ned Flanders
I think the user might say it's not an adequate comment when it is though. Or maybe they hate that use or don't like the con/crit they gave, so they would say it didn't count.

I don't think the author themselves should get to decide what counts and what doesn't.

@ dru chases the wind.
Well yeah, it would make sense if we just filtered spam like "OMG I love it" or "This is great", but then of course some people would use the said filter to prevent constructive criticism and only approve comments that said the most amazing things about the story, that is true.

I think there should be Review Swap and Comment Swap, two distinct things, like angel mentioned. So that people who only want to make number get what they want and who wants actual meaningful review gets it, too.

The thing with the Review Thread here on the forum, is that people hardly ever check it :s

@ Ned Flanders

Fanfiction.net has just implemented a feature where users can decide whether or not to approve comments from people that aren't members of the site or anonymous comments (because those are the ones that tend to be harassment or bashing), and I don't think it's a terrible idea.

Even if not allowing the actual writer of the story to approve it, maybe have a section of staff that glances through comments before they're posted, like with books and articles.

@ i saw sparks
Well, people on Mibba have to have an account to comment, so I don't quite see the parallel...

@ dru chases the wind.

It keeps comments that are harassment or bashing from being allowed on someone's story What's so bad about that?

I mean, it's sort of obvious that comment swap needs serious moderation, so I don't think the idea of getting comments approved before they make it to someone's story page is incredibly absurd.

@ i saw sparks
I don't either, but I think the author of a story deciding what comments are worthy or not being worthy of counting is a bit silly. They should report them for mods/admins to decide.

@ dru chases the wind.

I mentioned that a section of staff should approve them, as books and articles are approved now...

i saw sparks:

Even if not allowing the actual writer of the story to approve it, maybe have a section of staff that glances through comments before they're posted, like with books and articles.

That's not really "silly" if two sections of the site are already run that way. Catching the comment before it makes it onto someone's page is better than getting a comment that breaks the rules, reporting it, being out of the comment for the swap, and having the comment stuck on your story forever.

@ i saw sparks
I think that's better given the two choices, but those aren't really are only two choices are they?

We could tweak the system so the person reports the comment, the comment is removed, and their story goes back into the queue for commenting. I think that's better than either of the other two.

(Because it would take longer to approve every comment that it would take to look over the ones authors report.)

After reading all the comments on this thread, maybe it's not two features that are needed. I think with the comment swap right now some people take it just like it reads; a comment on anything related to the story that they received, and they wouldn't be wrong on that because after all a comment is a comment no matter what you put. A comment generally seen is something like:

"Wow. This was just amazing. I'm so in love with your writing. The characters [insert names] are so cute. The layout... I can't even. I'm so excited for more. Please update. I've subscribed."

Which are completely fine with me if you happened to find my story not through comment swap. But for the majority of us it isn't about watching the comment number go up, it's about receiving feedback (and maybe a little complement at the end to make us feel good about the story) that we generally don't get through regular means.

I believe the comment swap feature should be more feedback / critique based since this is a writing community and generally that's why people post their work on such sites- to get out there and see what the reaction is. Maybe by having a name such as Critique Swap more people would realize it's not just about a vague comment but actually about taking the time to read the story and find things that could use improvement.

If that was to happened I think the character count should not change because by people realizing it is a critique comment they will exceed that limit. Even if they just meet that requirement at least they would be able to give feedback on something, which is better then what seems to be happening to some of you now. If they did leave a comment such as the one above, one can always report them. I think by reporting a comment and having your story thrown back into the mix for a replacement comment is a really good idea. It keeps everything fair for everyone.

Also, even if there was a second comment swap feature for feedback what stops those from moving over to this one? Sure you can report them but right now you can do the same thing. It won't stop the vague comments from appearing. There will always be people who will go over to the second comment feature and not leave the comment you were hoping for while you left a great critique for someone else. Having two different comment swap features just doesn't seem like it would solve the issues.

To me making the comment swap a critique swap is a better way to show people that they should actually leave a comment about their thoughts and opinions on what could be improved with the story.
[Hopefully my rambling makes sense to someone other than me.]

@ dru chases the wind.

But with the way that the reporting system seems to shut down all the time, it's frustrating to have to hunt down and figure out what members of staff are online, copy and paste a gazillion links to everything and hope that they figure out/see the comment you're referring to

I think it's easier to just catch the comment before it gets on the story's page. Yeah, it takes a little bit more effort from staff, but it's really no different than the process for approving books. It takes as much time to read someone's blurb for a book as it does to read comments that come through the swap now.

If the comment doesn't make it to the person's page, then there's no need to put the story back in the waiting list for commenting because the shit comment never counted in the first place. I also feel like it would be more effective in weeding out all of the bad commenters because not everyone who gets a bad comment is aware that it's against the rules, so they don't report it.

A story editor does a lot more than read a blurb to approve a book. They check for plagiarism, proofread, verify publishing information, upload the correct cover image and make sure its not a duplicate. Editors do a lot already, outside of bools, so lets not make it seem like they dont already have enough to do.

There are thousands of comments posted on Mibba everyday, as opposed to a few articles or books. We dont have the resources to approve them individualy and outside of the swap, the merit or quality of a comment is irrelevant. Its completly different than approving books because we would also have to read the story to see if.its legitimate.

You dont need to report to an online staff member. Just send any editor or admin the story name amd username of the commentor. All reports go to Dujp anyways since this is a beta feature.

@ Kurtni & @ dru chases the wind.

(Conclusion from page 2)
So then, perhaps the comment swap update could be an increased character count (not ridiculously high!), clearer rules for the kind of comment you have to leave, points being deducted if you leave a poor comment, and if you receive a poor comment you get another comment credited to you.

I do think that having staff review every single comment that goes through the comment swap would be a bit excessive, even though a lot of them aren't very good quality comments. I think the rules simply need to be clearer on what sort of comment you should leave.

I also think that simply changing the name to Critique instead of Comment wouldn't do much, because there's still that low 200 character minimum. It has to be raised so people simply put more effort into their comments so they can't just write something that doesn't have any feedback in it.

@darkfallenangel
Well it's not just changing the name but also putting down more rules / clarification that it isn't just a comment but a critique. Also even if the character minimum is raised you still could not put effort into the comment and still reach the new min without feedback.

@ the dalliance.
I think there will be a small number of people who don't leave proper comments regardless of what rules are in place, but they will soon be reported and banned anyway. Having a higher character count will encourage proper feedback though, since it's a lot harder to ramble about nothing for a higher character count than 200.

@ darkfallenangel
True but if the character count is too high then it might be harder to leave feedback if people before you already summarized just about everything. But then they could always add their opinion about the story. The trick is finding the magical character count number that will be just right for everyone. I agree (and see now) 200 just isn't cutting it for proper feedback and a having a higher min. might just force people to actually put thought into their comment.

@ the dalliance.
Why would you even read the other people's comments before leaving your own? What they say is irrelevant to your comment. If you end up saying the same thing, then perhaps the author should recognize the same compliment or criticism is coming from different people and means something.