I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: Europe
Registered: July 2019
Messages: 104
You do a great job Tim, and if a few more readers could take time out to start a thread on a book they are enjoying, that would add movement to the forum and recognition (public) for the many authors who contribute their time and work. One of the aspects offered by online publishing is the opportunity to discuss stories and hear back from the author in person.
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13771
Thanks my friend.
Authors like Nick Hall, Nigel Gordon, even Rick Beck rarely get a mention. Sometimes I think it is becaise of the quality of the writing. Maybe if it were rougher around the edges...
Rck's of course, suffers from eyesight issues, but the quality streams through the sometimes weirdly spelled prose.
New athors, too. I publish them and then wonder why folk don't say anything. The site stats show they are well read, of course.
We know that not every tale is great literature, but every take paints a picture, and I only publish those whose picture means something to me.
Location: USA
Registered: September 2018
Messages: 13
I will often forget about the forums - not purposefully, mind you - but still find them a great exchange both in refining points of something written, or via a way of boosting one's morale. So, taking for granted? I agree...
I suspect, that like me, a lot of readers just lurk, ie do not sign in to read the stories.
For perfectly valid, nay essential, reasons to post a comment requires signing in, which might not take long but is still a faff. Some sites offer a 'stay signed in' tick box, but I don't consider it good practice to tick the box and would urge others to take the same approach.
Another site allows the posting of comments immediately below the story (although sign-in is required). The format appears to generate significantly more comments. But like most other sites there appears to be a core gruop who post frequently. I am aware that to adopt this model would probalby require a major rework of the site and therefore not feasible.
Another issue is the perceived value of free goods, but I shall leave that topic to the economists to fight over.