The Benefits of Subscribing, Recommending, and Commenting

Feedback on Mibba is often a hot topic for discussion. Whether it's users discussing lack of comments, the number of recs their story has received, or even whether their subscribers are getting notifications when they updated, it's no secret that many Mibbians value feedback a lot. While it's commonly believed that comments are the best form of feedback an author can get, it's easy to forget that some people never have time to comment so they resort to the other methods of giving feedback. This article is to highlight the benefits of three different types of feedback: subscribing, commenting, and recommending

Subscribing

This form of feedback is when a reader either finds a story that has an interesting summary and title and saves it for a time when they are free, or when they have read all the current chapters and are eager to see what is next for the characters. What many people fail to realise is that subscribing is probably one of the most valuable types of feedback available. It's not a one-time thing, or even something that is public, but when that subscriber number rises it means that people are that interested in what the author has written to the point where they will click a button that will send them email notifications to alert them about the next time it has been updated.

Often the type of feedback less appreciated, subscribing is a good way for users who access Mibba on their phones to scroll through the stories section of the site and whenever they find a story that piques their interest, subscribe to it so that whenever they next have spare time, they can check out the story in depth. The privacy of this method enables users to confidently subscribe on the go and then unsubscribe if it ends up not being their cup of tea without the author - or other users - knowing what they have done. And for most users, being able to keep that privacy is vital so that they can't be harassed by an author who wants to know why their story wasn't what they wanted to read. After all, everyone has different reading tastes and there is nothing wrong with finding a story that is not what you enjoy reading.

Commenting

Easily the feedback a lot of Mibbians desire, it is probably the one out of all three that is given less. It's easy to think that commenting on every story that you read is an easy task, but in reality, it's not. On a good day, within two hours on Mibba, the average amount of stories that can be clicked on to read can be around twenty. While this might seem like a small number, imagine picking up twenty different books by twenty different authors and then having to write a review on each of them, even if some were not appealing. Although comments aren't exactly the same as a lengthy review, many users feel that they should only comment when they have something worthwhile to say which then makes the amount of comments they leave less than it would be if they commented a quick, 'loved it!'

Either comment should be appreciated by authors as commenting is the only feedback that shows a reader has truly read the story and will stay with the story through its duration. A recommendation can be removed, and a reader can unsubscribe, but no matter how many times a story is started and discontinued, so long as the body isn't deleted, the comments remain. That means that whenever authors feel disheartened, they can read through all their comments and see that their work is appreciated by more than just themselves.

The main benefit of commenting as a type of feedback is that it's the only one that gives the author an alert, allowing them to see that a new comment has been written on their story. With subscribing and recommending, the author is not aware of a new one unless they check the number and remember what it was previously on. This means that for many users, they can log in on a bad day to find an alert waiting for them, and have their mood lifted when they find a comment that compliments their writing. After all, any comment, even one that leaves constructive criticism, gives a compliment because that person decided to sit and write a comment even when they could have spent that spare time doing something in their real lives. If every comment is appreciated, it matters not how many are given.

Recommendations

The newest way to leave feedback on Mibba is via the recommendation system. This allows users to press a 'recommend' button and instantly recommend that piece to all their friends - at least, those subscribed to them. When visiting the 'My Mibba' page, users can see all the recommendations that their friends have made, therefore promoting that piece far more than either commenting or subscribing does. It also appears on a user's profile, and if it's set to allow all registered users to view their activity, even more people can see what has been recommended. If one user recommends one story, that single action could be seen by perhaps fifteen people, and out of those fifteen maybe seven would click on that story and give it four more recommendations. Those four recommendations can then set off a chain of more recommendations, giving that one story more coverage than leaving a comment would do.

While some users believe that this method of feedback is lazy, it is actually a more beneficial way to gain an audience and even allows users to promote a story that they see potential in but don't like to read themselves. It's a method that some users make use of to promote their friend's stories, or even an entry submitted for a contest they've hosted. This makes it the least personal type of feedback of the three, but all feedback can only mean one thing: you're doing good.

Three very different ways of giving feedback means that Mibba is a site that allows many people to read stories while on their laptop, on the go or on a five minute break at work. A lack of comments doesn't mean people aren't leaving feedback because those that subscribe and recommend are showing that they appreciate that piece of work, in the easiest way for them. They all have their benefits -- they also all have their disadvantages, but what doesn't? The main thing is that people from all over the world access Mibba and read stories that have no limitations that are set in the real publishing world, and that's the best thing about the site.

But remember, no matter the feedback received, the only one that matters is what you, the author, thinks of your own writing.

Special thanks to Goddess of Floyd and silent hearts. for editing.