Re: A Comment, ramble from Nov 1st, 2009

Ah yes, lurking. What a nice (NOT!) word to describe the behaviour of not jumping in and spewing forth opinions etc. There used to be a time when it was considered good manners to wait and get a feeling for the style and content appropriate to the environment one entered. Am I that old? Has the world in general changed that much without me noticing?

I've had my share of being thrown off Internet Relay Chats for "lurking". Funny, I always thought "good riddance", these people were not what I would have been looking for, anyway. It irks me, however, that this seems to hold true for the Athenaeum, too, at least a related forum.

UK, I understand, and in part share, your reluctance to send feedback to authors. I tend not to give "what I don't like" comments myself, even though someone might profit from constructive criticism. The rare occasion I do is when an author explicitly asks for it. Otherwise, I think that my personal concept of "better" is just that -- personal, and rarely applicable to others.

From an equally personal point of view, I can however, tell you that "I liked your story" will probably not bother an author, no matter how full her mailbox may be. Worst thing that can happen is that you won't get an answer, but you can be fairly certain that it's never unwelcome. It might even help motivate the writer to keep up her work. Writing involves a certain amount of work, and who would be annoyed at a "thank you"? That's not "stupid emails", that's being nice. But, above all, it is *your* choice whether or not to "feed the bard".

All that being said, I think your idea to contribute to a review site is excellent. It's also a lot more work than just dropping an author a line -- shame on those calling you a lurker.

Should you want to discuss the topic further, I am
joanarling@e-scribblers.com, or do our grunts the favour of sending them another ramble

:-) I look forward to reading your (and others') reviews.

Joan

Atonement

• Just Playing by Bitterfic (Rare & Small Fandom Femslash).
  
  BtVS
  
• Chapter 9 of Vanilla by BeccaA (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 5 of The Scooby Gang and a Baby by liljemsey (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 17 of Enter the Darkness by DarkSly (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  
• Chapter 23 of The Callie Chronicles by Jinxgirl (BuffynFaith.Net).
  
  Fried Green Tomatoes
  
• Dionysus' Kiss by Sangerin (Saffic).
  
  Legend of the Seeker
  
• Bitter Pills in Sugar Coating by Janine (Saffic).
  
  Original
  
• Chapter 4.12 of Flowers of Edo by Nene Adams (her web site).
  
  
• Chapter 6 of Earthbound by JM Dragon & Erin O'Reilly (Academy of Bards).
  
  Spooks Omen
  
• A Taste of Salt Air by Sangerin (Saffic).
  
  Stargate SG-1
  
• I Am Your Density by Tittamiire (Area 52).