No Comment

I don't see the point of deleting them as they may be read and enjoyed. Sometimes I lack words for a comment even though I enjoy the piece I sometimes think I don't want to just write 'enjoyed'- maybe I should? Sometimes I don't think my comment is adequate- but it's better to write just a couple of words than nothing at all I suppose. You never know in a few years time maybe your piece is high on the list of readings and may even get a cherry.A lot of pieces don't get comments but they are read nevertheless- I'm sure. Hope this comment helps you a bit? ;)Pia

Like Pia I don't comment on everything I enjoy reading on the sight, but whether right or wrong I tend to comment more on the writers whose work I have enjoyed and who have given me feedback in the past rather than those who tend only to make comments in response to comments about their own work. Having said that, I never comment on work that I don't think is good, or is not to my taste just for the sake of it, regardless of who it is written by. I have taken certain poems off the sight that did not receive feedback and feel a little like you about this, (Although I have not deleted them and have edited some and reposted) others I have left on that at first did not get any comments, over time they have recieved feedback. Maybe choose a story writer you admire and if you are unsure of the quality, ask for some brief feedback. Hope this helps :-)

I would definitely leave them on the site. Fatboy's right - you might well find that someone decides they like a piece and then searches through your other work. I also don't always comment on something I've enjoyed - especially when I can't think of anything useful to say, other than "I liked this" - I always think that sounds a bit lame. The best way to get comments is to comment on other people's writing.

I don't comment on everything I read either, and I will admit that the ones I do comment on are either pieces that have compelled me to comment, or are pieces by other writers on here who comment on my work a lot and vice versa. Sometimes I just don't have the words or time to comment on many pieces, and I too have some pieces on here that have never had a comment on them, but I keep the majority of them up as they represent my writing and thoughts at that stage of my life. And, as it's already been said, you never know somebody may have enjoyed them and just didn't comment. Keep them up and be proud, I say :)

I said the word 'comment' seven times there, obviously I comment a lot more than I thought I did!

I've just read a couple of yours and left comments myself, both were brilliant by the way. I've only had chance to read those two so far so haven't seen your full collection yet. Do you write poetry, can I ask? Just got me thinking that it might have something to do with the lack of comments you recieve on some of the pieces you mentioned (time-wise) - it cannot be your storytelling, as from what I've seen so far you've no problems there :) I don't tend to read an awful lot of short stories on here, it's the poetry that draws me, and also lack of time and just wanting to read as much as I can as quickly as I can, but I think it's safe to say that I'll be reading more of your stories from now on. Just thought it might be a similar situation with other readers. The two I've read had a lot of comments and have gone down very well with people, so it all looks well so far! Which ones have you not had comments for? I'll check them out and let you know what I think :) Thanks for reading my stuff and enjoying what you've read so far. The raport between writers helps, too, as regular readers of your work can give you the best analysis, if you ask me. Lots of people have helped me no-end on here and getting feedback, positive or negative, is what this place is all about I suppose. Anyway, hope some of that helped! :)

I can understand your dilemma, well-wisher, as I have asked myself the same question. My criterion is based not on number of comments but on how many hits a particular piece receives. If after a reasonable interval I find that it hasn't moved much from the initial impact or has remained at the same level then, given that the daily input to the site is quite substantial, I start to believe that not many people will go back to read that particular contribution and that perhaps it should be removed from the site. Considering that there are over 16,000 users on ABC, albeit not all active at the same time, stories or poems that are read by only a handful of people may be only cluttering up the site. But don't let my thoughts influence you, use your own discretion. Best, Luigi.

Luigi- I don't think any pieces clutter up the site. I think all users have equal opportunities at submitting and hence the chance to get a read. Its not the amount of reads that counts or comments for that sake. A piece may very well be read long after and still have relevans and merit. Like well-wisher you become more aware of others work later on maybe. People tend to surface now and again with their work either by subject or author when you look them up with a particular interest. I don't think we should be selective by barring certain pieces of work. That would be a sort of censorship. Hope I didn't misunderstand your comment? Pia

Pia, I am sorry that I didn't make myself clear. I wasn't advocating censorship. Good heavens no, I am all for freedom of speech. I was talking about my work and what I may consider if it didn't prove too popular. I am sceptical about people reading stories or poems in retrospect, given the increasing volume of subs, but I concede that you could be right. Luigi x

Well you see I did misunderstand your message. Nevertheless I personally don't believe in deleting, though I have been tempted myself to do that with some of my pieces but I leave them to clutter. When I discover a writer who is new to me I like to go back and study some of the older stuff- see if you deleted it I wouldn't be able to read it then, would I? If you feel you would want to delete something what would be your reads count ? Just curious ;) Pia I even think some pieces get 'lost' on the site- don't you think so Luigi?

Hello again Pia. In answer to your query, anything that reached a read count of less than fifty and remained static around that number would be in line for the chop. I reiterate that I am talking about my work alone. At the moment I have got two in that category, so if you want to 'save' them keep reading! Only joking Pia, but at the same time I like to introduce fresh material in place of that which, for the reason stated, appears stale. Luigi x

I think I understand Luigi. I also think it looks a bit silly with only 28 reads-but have never thought of chopping them out!!! Pia ;)

I read this forum topic with interest due to the fact that I have only hours ago joined the site primarily for feedback on my work. I have never had people read my work before and I find it hard to gauge what people like and dislike due to having no comments on my work before. I also believe some pieces of writing may become really appealing to certain demographics after being posted so I don't see a need for anyone to ever remove any work posted. Regardless of content I hope writing is a passion that never dies due to any negative comments or lack of "reads" Dan