For authors: Would you try using polls to help encourage reader response? Why or why not?
Seriously considering it. I've often wished there was a way for people to register like without commenting, for totally selfish reasons; I write in a pretty small fandom where not many people read in the first place, so most of the time I get no comments at all, which gets disheartening after a while. Just knowing that somebody out there enjoys my work would be a huge morale boost. But I wouldn't want to seem pushy or desperate either, even if I secretly am!
For readers: Would you use polls after reading? Why or why not?
Probably only if I liked a fic. Which skews the results and probably isn't helpful, but I'm too nervous to click "Didn't like it" and leave; and I also think the author would want and deserve more than that. I assume the writer worked hard on their fic, and just clicking "Didn't like it" on a poll seems dismissive to me.
But especially on older fics, or fics whose author I don't know, or very short fics where there's not a lot to say, I'd love a way to register that I like it without invading the author's inbox to say nothing much.
What was the most awesome dinosaur ever, as rated by science?
Iguanadon! Who wouldn't love a thumbspike?
Is receiving feedback via poll as satisfactory as receiving feedback in other ways? Why or why not?
Eh, again, I'm skewed, because if I did put polls and people did answer them, that would probably be the only feedback I got, and I'd be delighted to get any. Everyone loves getting a comment notification with a nice review, but then again, not all feedback is more substantive than "I liked it!", so it's not as if I'm choosing between a long, in-depth review vs. a vote in a poll anyway. I think most poll-voters would probably not leave any feedback at all if the poll weren't there.
no subject
For authors: Would you try using polls to help encourage reader response? Why or why not?
Seriously considering it. I've often wished there was a way for people to register like without commenting, for totally selfish reasons; I write in a pretty small fandom where not many people read in the first place, so most of the time I get no comments at all, which gets disheartening after a while. Just knowing that somebody out there enjoys my work would be a huge morale boost. But I wouldn't want to seem pushy or desperate either, even if I secretly am!
For readers: Would you use polls after reading? Why or why not?
Probably only if I liked a fic. Which skews the results and probably isn't helpful, but I'm too nervous to click "Didn't like it" and leave; and I also think the author would want and deserve more than that. I assume the writer worked hard on their fic, and just clicking "Didn't like it" on a poll seems dismissive to me.
But especially on older fics, or fics whose author I don't know, or very short fics where there's not a lot to say, I'd love a way to register that I like it without invading the author's inbox to say nothing much.
What was the most awesome dinosaur ever, as rated by science?
Iguanadon! Who wouldn't love a thumbspike?
Is receiving feedback via poll as satisfactory as receiving feedback in other ways? Why or why not?
Eh, again, I'm skewed, because if I did put polls and people did answer them, that would probably be the only feedback I got, and I'd be delighted to get any. Everyone loves getting a comment notification with a nice review, but then again, not all feedback is more substantive than "I liked it!", so it's not as if I'm choosing between a long, in-depth review vs. a vote in a poll anyway. I think most poll-voters would probably not leave any feedback at all if the poll weren't there.