Banned from leaving a review

[Deleted member 45782]

So uhh anyone wants a cookie? ???

As long as they are not internet cookies.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

And as I said, this isn’t being made for profit. If it was, it would be a completely different scenario. When works are for profit, authors cannot do anything about it, and are best left to ignore it. You tend to forget, that this site is far from anything professional. Your comparison is a moot point at best. Hence, given that these works are free, the author has 100% control on what they do. Quit complaining about it. Don’t say anything at all, use your better judgment. I only give reviews if an author asks for it. Other than this, I mind which words I say. Taking into account what may come across as offensive. A ban is a ban, the fault is entirely on the person who got the ban.

- "Use your better judgement."

Yeah, that's the review. We judge, then give the review of the story.

 

[ForestDweller]

"If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it." -I disagree with this.

How will your story improve? You can think your story is super great and above all others, but what if your characters are actually super horrible and abusive to one another that it doesn't even make sense or a somewhat "believable" plot anymore? If you shut all comments down trying to point it out, you'll continue writing a story and then wonder why you don't see a lot of people reading it anymore...

You learn from mistakes. It stings when people point it out. But it helps us learn to grow.

That being said, I do not condone people that are super rude and offensive. I'm strongly against people outright excessively and offensively swearing at the authors, calling out slurs of all kinds at the authors, threatening them, etc. Those things should be removed and banned period. Some also have bad advice too, even though they mean well.

Honestly speaking, you have to sort out the really bad reviews and listen to the good reviews. And good reviews doesn't mean it will always be positive. That's why its called critical feedback. As long as someone is respectfully critiquing the story, like pinpointing the flaws with a few good notes of what was okay-good, then that can be a really valuable feedback. Maybe you didn't realize it, but your grammar was so hard to follow through that it deterred a lot people to continue reading. Or how you didn't realize your characters start to become overly toxic and one-dimensional. Sometimes we need another keen eye to point it out to us.

We the authors love stories like its our own kid, cause after all, it is our own creation. However, even parents can spoil their kids without realizing it, and that can cause a lot of kids to grow up sour and rotten. You wouldn't want a story to end up going so rotten, do you?

Don't cuddle too much that when you do come face to face with criticism, you can't handle it. Ofc, I don't think its great to take in all reviews cause there are some crappy ones, but learn to filter out and use the critical feedback to your advantage.

I think a lot of people are too afraid to give criticism. Good critical feedback, as long as its not super offensive and shit, is good and can help us improve as a writer.

A lot of people dream to be a good writer. Some even want to go on to be professional. But regardless whether some just want it as a hobby or professional, dreams just stay dreams unless you put in blood sweat and tears to make an effort to become a good writer.

Too bad the main criticism I got is something I couldn't change without rewriting the entire story.

It's like they want me to quit and start all over.

 

[Ral]

Too bad the main criticism I got is something I couldn't change without rewriting the entire story.

It's like they want me to quit and start all over.

Rebooting the story. Well, many authors did just that. Heck, many do it on their own will because they are unsatisfied with their story.

Still, the final decision lies on you.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Rebooting the story. Well, many authors did just that. Heck, many do it on their own will because they are unsatisfied with their story.

Still, the final decision lies on you.

Truth

 

[Nyan_sempai]

I think authors need to be challenged when readers feel something doesn't make sense or they face the risk of not growing as an author. Trial by fire if you will. They need to A. grow from mistakes, and learn to take reader discontent or B. never improve their writing

This is inherently dumb. You'll just end up with authors manipulating the reviews to game the system. Thankfully authors can't delete bad reviews.

Was there any need to call me dumb tho?

Jesus no... let's not turn Scribble Hub into Webnovel. As far as I know, authors there can delete reviews willy-nilly. I'm not sure if they still can though

I didn't say anything about deleting or manipulation or that is how it should be in general, I was just saying if someone can't take critique that's okay too. I was strictly speaking in the context of what happened. I wasn't asking for a reform or anything

Also if it makes you guys feel better, I am not an author myself. Never have been, and I don't feel strongly about it, so my opinion which was from an individual perspective doesn't change anything. SH is still SH.

 

[BenJepheneT]

You even admitted to going to leave a review because you were blocked. Even though you said "fair review", how fair can you be after being annoyed from being blocked? and can you guarantee that others will be "fair" after being blocked too?

I'm referring to the emotional and biased factor after a user gets blocked by the author. Leaving a review in that state? It's best to just go your separate ways. All types of communications are cut off after the block.

I'm going against the site owner here but Jesus Christ this seems like a London Bridge's reach's worth of an assumption to make. We don't even know the guy. Whether he leaves a fair or biased review is uncertain because the chance isn't even given.

And I get that writers can choose their feedback, but it just seems like a slimy slope down to making a shitshow where anything a reader will instantly get veto'd out of accessibility for other readers just because the writer didn't like it. I also get vice versa happens a lot but when that happens, we get a report button so we could have a third party to review it. Giving this privilege for writers to instant veto against readers saying things they don't agree with just seems like an encouragement to build an echo chamber. At least provide an option for writers to flag reviews they deem unsavoury so potential readers can see them and make the call themselves instead of just silencing one of them.
And to reiterate that point you've made, who'd know if that ban the writer made was rational or bias?

but if that's how the boat floats then so be it. I can't stop it, so all I can do is not participate.

if you don't like it, leave; is what they all say, don't they

 

[Valmond]

- "Use your better judgement."

Yeah, that's the review. We judge, then give the review of the story.

If you’re not gonna read everything, then stay silent. Don’t tag me again. Next time will be a report. I have already listed all of the points throughout several posts. If you get banned, it is on you, remember this. There are two sides to the same coin. I am done with this topic.

 

[UnratedX]

I think authors need to be challenged when readers feel something doesn't make sense or they face the risk of not growing as an author. Trial by fire if you will. They need to A. grow from mistakes, and learn to take reader discontent or B. never improve their writing

you can comment and he can ban you, that's just how it is. a lot of your comments dont have anything positive to say so he could have thought you were a troll. you arent going to grow as a commenter with only low effort criticism and crying foul on the forums. if you actually BELIEVE in that bull you should take this as an opportunity to grow and post constructive criticism that's not one line complaints and how many authors want to work with commenters they think are just bein a dick? you can work with them and say what you DO LIKE and not only what you DONT. good examples of constructive criticism are all over the internet.

 

[Tony]

I'm going against the site owner here but Jesus Christ this seems like a London Bridge's reach's worth of an assumption to make. We don't even know the guy. Whether he leaves a fair or biased review is uncertain because the chance isn't even given.

I feel like you're picking and choosing what you want to hear. I've gone through hundreds of thousands of reviews on NU at least and you can see when there's hatred towards someone (translators in NU's case), they will generally leave a bad review based on the hate alone. That's what I was trying to prevent over at SH. When an author bans someone, all communications are cut off between the two users. That's better for both sides.

...anyways, that's why I decided to implement it this way. It was from experience from NU I guess. Is this the best way? I dunno but I guess we'll see.

And I get that writers can choose their feedback, but it just seems like a slimy slope down to making a shitshow where anything a reader will instantly get veto'd out of accessibility for other readers just because the writer didn't like it.

Writers can choose their feedback? Are you referring to reviews? You're making it sound like writers can only allow 5 star ratings which isn't true at all. Yes, authors can delete any comment they want on their stories but not reviews. Reviews cannot be deleted by authors.

Even if I got more mods, no one is able to moderate thousands of comments every day so that's why I left it to the authors.

And to reiterate that point you've made, who'd know if that ban the writer made was rational or bias?

Yeah, who knows? but when there's hate towards two sides, it's best to avoid each other.

I guess it's easier to judge from the outside.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Writers can choose their feedback? Are you referring to reviews? You're making it sound like writers can only allow 5 star ratings which isn't true at all. Yes, authors can delete any comment they want on their stories but not reviews. Reviews cannot be deleted by authors.

I'm referring to the loophole (feature?) where simply banning a commenter straight up bans their ability to review. It's not outright stated, but the fact that the mechanic exists just seems to cut off the chance of a review entirely if the writer even senses a hint of animosity from a commenter. We don't even know what they wrote; we can only go by the words of the writer themselves. There's doubt to be given to BOTH sides, but simply allowing the writer to make that judgement call of a reader's ability to give a review solely off the comments they make seems one-sided. At least seperate the ability to ban someone from making comments from reviews.

I feel like you're picking and choosing what you want to hear.

I'm only speaking from my experience. I've interacted with both sides before. It's a mostly 60/40 verdict weighing against the reader, which I think is a fair percentage to assume that not all feedback given from a bad impression from the writer is gonna be a one-sided beat down against their story. But if that's what you've seen yourself then I can't refute your experience; again, I can only speak from mine.

Yeah, who knows? but when there's hate towards two sides, it's best to avoid each other.

I guess it's easier to judge from the outside.

I guess it is. I have no problem with this. The only issue I took from was the assumption that OP was gonna make a biased review RIGHT OFF the bat. The rest I have nothing to say, for or against.

 

[Ral]

Well, it is up to Slavin to decide what to do from here on.

Yeah, who knows? but when there's hate towards two sides, it's best to avoid each other.

Is this just your assumption or did you actually investigate it? Slavin criticize the story in the comments and the author banned Slavin. That is all we really have. There is nothing that proves conclusively that there is actual hate on both sides.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Too bad the main criticism I got is something I couldn't change without rewriting the entire story.

It's like they want me to quit and start all over.

Sorry to hear that. I'm not telling someone to completely throw out the story.

Not referring to you, but it just seems that some people in the threads also complain about certain story types that powercreep and all too OP so sudden, or the protagonists and the characters are arrogant assholes, the characters are being toxic to each other, etc. Do you think some of those stories maybe should received some constructive criticism to improve?

That is not to say every story is like that. There's probably also plenty of good writers on here too. All in all, it is still your freedom to choose how you want to write the story. If you know what you want to write your story, then go for it. Your story may turn out better than what some reviewers thinks. So don't lose hope, and go for your story ForestDweller :). I don't know what your story is, but good luck on whatever you're writing on. Just know that there will be some people that say stuff, you can either try to look at your story and see if maybe it does need some improvements, or you can just continue to strive forward and writing your story. Do what is best for you.

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And sorry to that person who wants to ban me. But let me clarify a few things, I did read your posts. And I re-read all of them again. I'm not sure why you sound so offended. I did not swear, I did not cuss, I am not trying to insult you. I am just replying to this post with my opinions, just like how everyone else is on here. I see you also tag people or "quote" people on here too so....

I agree that if you already got banned, and you're trying to leave a review would the review be on how the actual story is, or how you're feeling pissed about the author banning you? Would that really be an honest reflection of the story then, or coupled with you wanting to vent?
However, what I don't agree with is someone's comment, that if you have nothing good to say, don't say it at all in this sense, because that sounds like limiting to only and all positive reviews then.

I do agree that freedom of speech should also mean being responsible with how you approach and say things cause there may be some consequences to what you say. If you're gonna be outright offensively rude, racist, etc., to people, don't cry when people are voicing their strong opinions against you and you face the consequences of what you said and how people are going to see you as.

But I don't think constructive criticism is that. If it is, then its not good constructive criticism. Its just toxic comment/review.

 

[Tony]

I'm referring to the loophole (feature?) where simply banning a commenter straight up bans their ability to review. It's not outright stated, but the fact that the mechanic exists just seems to cut off the chance of a review entirely if the writer even senses a hint of animosity from a commenter. We don't even know what they wrote; we can only go by the words of the writer themselves. There's doubt to be given to BOTH sides, but simply allowing the writer to make that judgement call of a reader's ability to give a review solely off the comments they make seems one-sided. At least seperate the ability to ban someone from making comments from reviews.

First of all, the feature is called "block" which could be found via https://www.scribblehub.com/account/ -> "Users Blocked". I would be surprised if authors knew that it would also block users from commenting and reviewing imo as it's not stated anywhere that it does that. I said it on discord once and told a few authors (4-5?) about it. Not sure if I said it anywhere else so I don't think it's that well known. Even if they knew, I think it'll be hard to block bad reviews.

No feature is perfect though and I get that. I'm not saying "OMG THIS FEATURE IS THE BEST!!!!!". I'm saying that "once blocked, all communications should be cut off which includes profile posts, comments, reviews, etc..."

That's what a block feature should do, right?

If it ever becomes a problem, I would change it of course but I would like to try it first. I personally think it's been working fine so far. There will always be complaints and compliments with every single feature which is normal. Don't worry, if it ever becomes a problem, it'll be changed.

Well, it is up to Slavin to decide what to do from here on.


Is this just your assumption or did you actually investigate it? Slavin criticize the story in the comments and the author banned Slavin. That is all we really have. There is nothing that proves conclusively that there is actual hate on both sides.

Yeah, I looked into it. If there wasn't any dislike for each other before, it seems like there is now. That's all I can say as the comments are deleted so I shouldn't post them here even if they were public at one point.

 

[Ral]

That's what a block feature should do, right?

This really depends on implementation.

If it ever becomes a problem, I would change it of course but I would like to try it first. I personally think it's been working fine so far. There will always be complaints and compliments with every single feature which is normal. Don't worry, if it ever becomes a problem, it'll be changed.

This also depends on what exactly you want from it. Sure it functions the way you want, but what exactly you expect to gain from this feature? Maybe improve the platforms usability? More harmonious culture? Encourage writers?

Yeah, I looked into it. If there wasn't any dislike for each other before, it seems like there is now. That's all I can say as the comments are deleted so I shouldn't post them here even if they were public at one point.

Dislike is not the same thing as hate.

 

[Sabruness]

I think it's everyone's right to leave a review, but please don't be that guy who tries to coach what authors should write if they didn't ask for it.

THIS, THIS, THIS SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH THIS.

A review is one thing, where criticism can be expected, but it sounds like OP was trying to preach about what they wanted from the story and how the story didnt meet their demands and expectations all while regurgitating all of this into (i presume) chapter comments which is a wholly inappropriate place for stuff like that.

If the story is in bad taste, you can report it, no one is stopping you.

except the issue is not that the story broke any rules or guidelines but that, it seems from OP's post, that they didnt seem to like that the story wasnt going the way they would have liked it thus tried to preach to the author in comments and thus got banned for it and ONLY then did they go try to do a review but were blocked. Of course, that's going by the limited info in OP's OP so *shrugs*

OP would have been better off just leaving the story, making a review and moving on.

 

[Ral]

THIS, THIS, THIS SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH THIS.

A review is one thing, where criticism can be expected, but it sounds like OP was trying to preach about what they wanted from the story and how the story didnt meet their demands and expectations all while regurgitating all of this into (i presume) chapter comments which is a wholly inappropriate place for stuff like that.


except the issue is not that the story broke any rules or guidelines but that, it seems from OP's post, that they didnt seem to like that the story wasnt going the way they would have liked it thus tried to preach to the author in comments and thus got banned for it and ONLY then did they go try to do a review but were blocked. Of course, that's going by the limited info in OP's OP so *shrugs*

OP would have been better off just leaving the story, making a review and moving on.

Okay. You are making assumptions on Slavin's part. There was nothing like that at all from the post and the comment is now not available.

 

[Tony]

This also depends on what exactly you want from it. Sure it functions the way you want, but what exactly you expect to gain from this feature? Maybe improve the platforms usability? More harmonious culture? Encourage writers?

What do you think a block feature should do? You don't have to overthink everything.

Dislike is not the same as hate.

Oh then it seems like they hate each other. I'm looking from the outside though so who knows? That's what it looks like. Are you happy now? lol

 

[Ral]

What do you think a block feature should do? You don't have to overthink everything.

You can make limited versions of it for flexibility or you could also go to the extreme like keep the banned from accessing the story and the author's profile, seeing the author's comments in other stories, etc.. essentially making the author invisible from them. Essentially, you can control on how limited or encompassing the block is.

Oh then it seems like they hate each other. I'm looking from the outside though so who knows? That's what it looks like. Are you happy now? lol

Well, I'm checking because the dynamic is totally different. Essentially, hate has the connotation of the desire to cause harm and strong resentment. Saying some hates someone have a more serious weight than just saying someone dislikes someone.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Well, I guess if the author doesn't want any negative feedback on his/her work then let him/her be. It's his/her own growth that would suffer anyway. This is the internet, so we're free to do anything we want, including not listening to others' opinions.