Are 'Thank You' Comments Necessary?

My story's been up for 4 or 5 days and its gotten 2 comments so far, but even if it had like 70 i would definitely take time to respond to the comments. That person took their time to comment, I would feel bad if I didn't say at least a 'thank you' :]

I pretty much always leave comments. If someone took the time to read my story and write a comment, I'm always gracious and thankful toward them. Maybe I'm just a softie.

^ You're not a softie. I don't care how many stories I'd have to go through, I thank every single person. If someone leaves me a really nice comment, I'll be nicer in my thanking.

I just think it's common courtesy. If someone says they like your outfit, you'd thank them. Same goes for writing, I suppose.

I always leave a thank you in my author's note and then if the comment was really spectacular and detailed then you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going straight for their profile.

I know when I give really long comments, at like three good parapgraphs long it's nice to see that the author appreciates it. And as been mentioned, they took a lot of time for you, a quick "thanks" no matter how much there are aren't that difficult. Even if it'sin the author's note, y'know?

I know that some people tell me that they feel a little more appreciated when I mention them.
:)

Keep the readers happy!

I usually leave them the same thing as everyone else, but I still say something. Let them know that I read it and appreciate it.

I like leaving thank you comments because I think it's a nice thing to do. And I have had the strangest and loveliest conversations that started off from a simple 'Thanks for the comment...' etc.

I tend to get a lot of comments that simply stay around "I like it." and "keep this going!" and other short things like that. So if there's a comment like that, I probably won't give them a personal thank you.
But when I get longer comments, I definitely give a thank you, and I almost always get an awesome conversation going with that person.
I'll also comment back if someone has a question in their comment. Or if they say something that make me want to explain or say something back.

I generally don't leave thank you comments, not because I'm ungrateful or anything, but because I generally just put "comments are always appreciated" or something along those lines in the A/N as a way of showing my gratitude. If I'm already having a convrsation with someone, then I'll just tack on, "oh yeah, thanks for the story comment," but I don't know, I've never been one for thank you comments.

I actually get a little annoyed when I get them myself, particularly if I left a comment on a story for a comment swap, so since thank you comments tend to annoy me as a reader/commenter, I don't want to annoy others by leaving them

If someone leaves me a really thoughtful comment, I'll usually go to their profiles to thank them. But I don't think it's necessary for every comment, especially if they say something like, "Update!"

I always say 'thanks for the story comment'. If it's a thoughtful comment I'll say 'thankyou for the story comment' and if it's super super thoughtful and nice and stuff then I'll tell them how much I appreciate it and I'll thank them and stuff.

Well, usually I list all the people who have commented at the end with a thank you!

But if someone is a regular commenter, I will message them saying it personally...

There's one thing about thanking that just kind of irks me:
When someone thanks me for commenting on a story that they've entered in a contest of mine.
I don't know, maybe I'm one of a mere few that actually do this, but if I'm hosting a contest, I will comment on every single entry I get.
So saying thanks is just kind of unnecessary, honestly.

With the introduction of the comment swap feature, I've grown even more frustrated with receiving "thank you" comments, only because I don't feel like people are actually thanking me, they're only defending their story against any concrit I've given them Aaand, it's for comment swap, it's not like I'm actually commenting out of the goodness of my heart. No need to thank me

I don't get many comments so I go to their profiles and thank them. It irritates me when I see authors commenting on their own stories in order to thank people though.

I always leave 'thank you' comments on the person's profile (never my story itself, although I did accidentally do that once). I just think it's polite to do so, even if the comment was just "Love it!" or something like that.

I never get that many comments, so I always go to their profiles and thank them, because I truly appreciate those few people who take the time to let me know what they thought. I also love replying to questions or doubts -although those kind of comments are sadly hard to find. I guess the only way in which I'd choose to leave a general thank you in the a/n would be if I got LOTS of comments all at once, but I doubt that will ever happen!

However, I only bother to go and leave a "thank you" in those cases where it actually fits. When readers only say "I need more! Update soon!" I don't even know what to reply. I honestly find those comments kind of rude, too demanding.

About when it's the other way round, I don't feel exactly offended when authors don't thank me for my comment, but I love it when they do. On sites like Livejournal, where authors actually reply in the same thread so you can see whether they do or not...I don't like it when a story's been on for a long time and it's obvious that they never replied to any comments. Especially when there's some long, elaborated ones.

Pretty much every comment I’ve ever gotten has had at least the smallest amount of either criticism or pointing out a part they enjoyed the most. I always reply to these, especially because I like to discuss different parts of the story and tell the reviewer my view on my story and the parts I thought were weaker.

But generally I reply to every comment. Mainly because I absolutely love to get them, and the feeling of knowing someone enjoyed my work is one that I never feel I can express with a simple ‘thank you’. Usually my thank you posts are long and lead to small friendships between other members. I know this doesn’t apply to everyone, and with large amounts of comments it’s difficult to have a proper in depth discussion, but I still feel that the author should at least make a reply to all the comments at some point thanking everyone, and possibly telling them their progress on the next chapter.

I don't think they're necessary, but they're certainly nice. I always reply to comments, because comments mean so much to me. If somebody else has taken the time to let me know they read my work, I feel like taking five seconds to let them know I appreciate it is the least I can do. Sometimes, I even comment back on something of theirs.

I almost always thank my commenters, unless I happen to be at schools when I click the alert and forget it later. I think thanking commenters shows how appreciative you are of their comment, and since it's so simple, why not do it?

Maybe it's not necessary, but I always thank people that comment and recc my work, because they didn't have to. They took time out of their day to comment and recc my story, so a 'thank you' in the author's note is the least I could do for them.