So 129 comments later, I am feeling somewhat meta-d out, and at the same time, all the more thoughtful about this feedback-response thing.

Before this post I really hadn't thought much more than that I think it's polite to respond to the fedback you get, although I've never expected that all authors will have either the time on inclination to do so. 130 comments later, I still think it's more favorable to respond to feedback, but I think the reason why has changed. While I will always believe that saying thank you and you're welcome are completely warranted in all exchanges (of compliments, gifts, or whatever other analogy one might apply to feedback,) responding to feedback isn't just about being polite, it's also about ackowledgment. Most readers are just that, readers. And while a lot of them try to take on other fannish activities, on the whole, readers are always going to feel like second class citizens in a culture built around the ability to write (or vid, or draw, etc.) Livejournal is based around written communication and a system of comments, replies, and counter-replies. When an author consistently fails to acknowledge their readers it frustrates me and it disappoints me.

Not all writers are going to have time to reply to all of their comments and keep communication going. And that's fine with me. But I think even then, it's far more preferable for them to address their lack of reply in some manner than it is for them to ignore the issue entirely. If the sga_hate meme was anything to go by, silence, in this case, breeds contempt.

I don't think a lack of response to my feedback is a personal slight. I'm never going to go around saying "I hate _____ because they didn't respond to meeeeeee!" I'm never going to start keeping track of whether or not an author replies to my feedback, but if I start to notice the habit, I'm probably always going to be less inclined to leave them detailed feedback in the future. Like everyone else, I have a limited amount of time to spend reading fic and leaving feedback, I'm always going to be more inclined to respond to someone who I know will enjoy my feedback than to someone who doesn't respond at all.


In completely other news, I was invited by my Italian friend (that's friend of Italian descent to those of you who aren't from the US and to whom countries of origin are actually, you know, countries of personal origin) to "go to Northbeach and watch Italy slaughter the US" on Saturday. Interestingly, after seeing the SF Giants play the Pittsburgh Pirates (baseball) last Saturday and watching both the 3rd and (currently! omg it's looking bad for the Mavs!) the 4th game of the NBA finals, this will be the fourth sporting event I will have actively watched in one week. I am feeling quite sporty all of a sudden.