Upon request, I added a new functionality for author in the comments section of stories.
If a comment is abusive, you can request that it be deleted. There is a waste basked for each post in your story's comments, clicking it will result in a yellow banner with 'Delete request received' message.
Moderators will look over the comment and if it's abusive, will delete it for you.
Thank you.
I'm thick-skinned so I haven't needed such a facility so far.
However I have noticed that as a serial progresses, some of the early comments lose their relevance. Is this another issue authors are concerned about?
AJ
Is this another issue authors are concerned about?
I doubt it. I do know a few authors have wanted to be able to delete the posts to the comments they've made because they couldn't edit them.
Would the moderators be able to delete an abusive (or outdated?) comment for a particular story even if the author decides to temporarily hide those comments from the readers?
even if the author decides to temporarily hide those comments from the readers?
If you report it, we can delete it. However, when you hide comments, you hide them from yourself too.
So you would need to show public comments, then view comments and click delete on the ones you want deleted, and then you can hide the comments again.
However, just because a comment gets reported, it doesn't mean that it will definitely be deleted. Fair but negative comments will not be deleted. Abusive comments will get deleted.
However, just because a comment gets reported, it doesn't mean that it will definitely be deleted. Fair but negative comments will not be deleted. Abusive comments will get deleted.
That's fair.
However, just because a comment gets reported, it doesn't mean that it will definitely be deleted. Fair but negative comments will not be deleted. Abusive comments will get deleted.
The complaint that I saw in the authors' forum -- which I assume was from the same author who inspired this change -- was not about complaints abusive to him or to his story, but to comments abusive to a person he quoted at the start of each chapter.
Sounds familiar. There are two competing sides to the requested 'delete option for public comments', one which Ernest pointed out is the author's inability to edit their own comments (an embarrassment, but not harmful) and the second is the larger threat to readers by abusive comments.
Although this is welcomed, given how common these types of comments are on ALL social media outlets, I'll keep my one story comments locked, just to protect my users from further abuse.
I didn't really have that many public comments, and most of those I did have could easily have PMed me personally. But I won't allow isolated individuals to heap hateful tirades on my readers for their own benefit.
When the coast is clear, and everyone who posted forgets about it, I may reinstate them and then delete the two posts, but I'm not about to swing the barn door wide open after wolves have already descended on my literary livestock. After all, this is about protect my readers, not about my own fragile ego.
From past experience of comments on Lit. This is a feature I will not use unless and until I am able to delete comments myself, (as is the case on Lit).
Whilst I can appreciate the views for and against, for me it's about control, my stories, my control. I don't doubt the abilities of the moderators, I just can't see the value of that extra step, or the likely resentment should a delete request not be granted.
Thank you. I wish it were not needed. As most of you probably know, I wrote a story that probably could have done with a better title and summary/blurb. The irony is that attacks on it seem to have come from people who were offended by those, but did not read any of the story.
So far, I asked to have one attack without any content deleted, as in "sucks to be you." I'm not yet sure about asking for deletion of raving from people that indicate they didn't read the story and attack over title and summary. I may rewrite the summary and encourage that main attacker to review -- the really harsh words come from one, non-reader, commenter.
The anger claims to be directed to my deliberately delving into current politics, although the story itself is completely in 1972.
The story has a distinct planned sequel, and I will certainly work harder on the title and summary.
