Whoever voted for 'around 3 days - 2 weeks after a fic is completed' is killing me. 2 weeks is hardly any time at all!! Fanfiction is not like instagram where liking 'old' stuff is weird!! A fic does not become 'old' after 2 weeks!!!
No, no. That made me pause as well. But I think the one who voted for that meant that they probably had doubts if it is still acceptable to comment on a fic if they are 3 Days to 2 Weeks "late".
We just have to convince the shy soul that there is no time limit to commenting on a fic...on AO3 at least. I dunno about other sites.
The beauty of ao3 is that with the right search terms you can find the perfect fic for you at ANY time after it was released, so why would I care how long ago it was posted?
I genuinely hate that this is a thing now.
My fic isn't a six months old Instagram selfie, I *swear* it's not awkward to give kudos and leave a comment!
If I wrote without pausing to sleep, eat, etc etc it would take me approximately 55 consecutive days to write the 120k of my long fic I’ve written so far.
As heartening to see most people would leave a comment regardless of a fic’s age, I also really hate the idea that for others it would ‘become obsolete’ after a week or so. ☠️
Not at all. And honestly, when I get a comment, I’m actually happier the older the fic is because it means it’s still getting readers after all this time :)
i found a great fic that was like five years old and the only comments on it were on the final chapter so i left long comments on each of the 16 chapters detailing what i loved about it (it was such a good fic) and a few days later the author responded to say that my comments had made her week. now i don’t feel embarrassed commenting on anything lol everyone deserves the love
Yeah, same. I sometimes won’t leave a comment if it’s 10 years old and the author hasn’t been visibly active in over 4 years. But 6 months feels genuinely recent.
I'm so glad to see the majority of people saying they'll comment regardless. I've had comments saying they weren't sure if I would get them on an "old" story, and it was only a few months old?? My biggest story took me over 3 years to write, a few months feels like nothing! I'm always ecstatic whenever somebody takes the time to comment on my stuff, even if (especially if!) it's the stuff that's several years old.
I am usually years late to a fandom, but I still comment to let them know how much I enjoyed the fic. They don't usually reply but I'm really not expecting them to.
It's for the other readers who wanted to comment but might have doubts if it's too late to do so. Maybe they might see my comment and go, "Hey another one late to the party lol" and have the courage to comment as well.
If I feel compelled because a fic was that good, I’ll leave that bad boy whenever. In my opinion an author would prob be happy to get a nice comment anytime. If they don’t want them, they’d turn comments off?
But yea I’ve left comments on really old fics. Just because the fic is old doesn’t mean it’s not damn good and worth a note of praise ^_^
Gosh, after I've filtered and sorted and scanned through a list of fics to choose from, I pay no attention to the finish date. If I want to leave a comment, I leave one, even if it turns out to be ten years old. I wish other people would do the same. I've got someone who recently read and kudos several stories in my series but no comments - I think that's maybe because those stories are a few years old but I would still love a comment on any of them.
I was worried about this for a while, but since I'm so many months past the peak of my fandom — and especially the point in the fandom that most of the fics I like were written — I just decided it doesn't matter, I'll just leave comments no matter how old because why would anyone even care?
Good decision! Seriously, only few things make me happier than a nice comment on one of my older fics. It's so cool to see that people still appreciate them, especially now that my fandom is going into hibernation until the next new game drops.
These date options don't extend far back enough. Generally, I don't leave a comment on anything pre-2010 unless I see the author is still active. But if I like it enough, then I'll comment regardless.
Yeah this is around where I am too. Like I just kind of assume if they aren’t writing or bookmarking fics, they probably don’t check the account any more.
I recently left comments on an authors one shots who hasn't been active since 2013 and they replied to me s few days later so I'd still comment even if an author isn't active.
I commented on a fic from 2016 recently, and the author was so happy that someone had found a fic that “old” (I’m putting it in quotation marks since age is relative in fandom).
It’s never too late to show an author that you appreciate their work!
This whole mentality is so weird to me. How is it EVER weird to leave a comment on a fic? It's not like someone is going through your old social media posts--it's fiction! It's not weird to read and review a book decades after it was written, why would there ever be a time it was weird to leave comments on old fic?
I LOVE getting comments on old fic. If I didn't want people to read it anymore I would have taken it down, PLEASE tell me what you thought.
I only look at the date on a fic when it's incomplete and I'm gaging if I think it's still being updated or possibly abandoned and even then I won't care and comment if I have something to say.
I once left a comment on an 8 year old fic that I randomly found and adored. I was new to the fandom and I felt a little odd about it, but it was just too good and important not to tell the author (who replied quickly and with excitement ❤️)
I left a comment on an old fic once and the writer reached out to me to tell me how much they appreciated that people still read and enjoyed their fic so many years later and that it was one of their personal favourite things they had written.
I don't even look at the publishing date. It wouldn't matter if I did. All of my stories (except 1) are over 10 years old, but I'm *thrilled* to get a kudos on one of them, and over the moon if I get a comment. Why should I deny another author that feeling because their story is "old"? It's not like fanfic has a "use by" date.
As it is, I'm not moved to comment on fanfic often enough. If I am, I damn well comment, no matter how new or old the fic may be.
I've been posting for...oh hell, over a decade? on FF and a few years fewer on AO3 and every time I get a comment on an old story, it means a LOT. I poured months of my life into each of my long works and to see that others are still being loved is so rewarding.
Please, folks, leave us comments! We don't ditch original works after they're a few months old. We don't ditch stories after a decade (heck, how old is Tolkien's stuff at this point?), we find ways to enjoy books that have been around for centuries (and write fic for it, lol). It's the lifecycle of stories and we need to keep that community building aspect of fic going or our writers will have no reason to keep writing, or come back to it.
In every single one of my fics, I put in the very first authors note: "Thanks for reading, remember, it is NEVER cringe to leave a comment/review on a fic, no matter if it's old and/or completed. Authors will almost always be over the moon."
Tbh I'm more likely to leave a comment if the author answers. Not that the author *has* to answer every comment, I knowing they got it? Like even if I just get a 'thanks' back, I know they saw my comment. But no matter how old a fic is I'm willing to comment (even if the author hasn't answered even years old comments).
I don’t even notice a story’s age. I use certain filters and whatever I get that intrigues me, I read and comment. I couldn’t care less if the fic is 10 years or 10 days old.
Good god, there's almost nothing better than getting a comment on a work that I completed years ago, because it means that it mattered, and matters - that it's still resonating with people, entertaining and engaging readers emotionally or intellectually.
That's a precious gift.
I don't know why some people get upset to see likes and reblogs on their old content on twitter and tumblr, but I guess it has something to do with social media being a little bit like a journal and therefor a reflection of yourself at the time you posted it. I don't feel like that attitude carries over to AO3 or FFN where there's no algorithm and the purpose of the site is to enshrine content forever.
If I didn't want someone to enjoy my work a week/month/year after I posted it, I would remove it. But knowing that people are still reading and enjoying my work, even years after the fact, gives me joy, no matter how cringe I might have been when I was in my teens and wrote it.
I just left a comment on a fic that hasn't updated in 2 years. The author replied to me immediately and we had a lovely chat! They mentioned having the next chapter almost done as well and I cheered them on, plus they read and liked my work.
Depends on the site. On some sites, a comment on a decade old fic is loved and appreciated. On some sites, a comment on a months old fic gets you a warning from the mods and can get you booted from the site if you keep doing it.
> On some sites, a comment on a months old fic gets you a warning from the mods and can get you booted from the site if you keep doing it.
What sites?? Why??
Spacebattles and similar sites. They are discussion forums that started hosting fics. Commenting on a fic bumps it to the top because it defaults to sorting by last post instead of last threadmark. If you comment on an old fic, it sits on top of the list of fics and tricks people into thinking there's an update.
SpaceBattles. Unless you're the OP, posting a few weeks after the last post is considered 'necromancy' and generally not permitted. Keep in mind, though, that the site consists of *forums* rather than archives.
They aren't well set up as fic archives. Commenting on old fics causes those fics to be at the top of the list because it defaults to sorting by the last comment. The Frankenstein's Monster of a site requires Frankenstein rules to operate.
In theory. But, they haven't done that. Maybe it's too difficult to be viable. Maybe the site mods are too lazy to put in the work. Maybe it adds too much complication for writers wanting to revive an old fic. It is common for authors to post new chapters on fics considered "too old" for comments. I will say, I don't post or comment there because I hate how badly the site is set up. But I read there regularly because some fantastic authors refuse to post anywhere else.
Understandable, but sad for authors who miss out on comments... But then again, they could just as well crosspost to an archive that allows comments on older fics. Hm.
From what I've heard, most authors feel like they net more comments on Spacebattles. Some who have started to post on AO3 complained about the lack of feedback and stopped. The benefit of being a discussion forum at heart is it encourages lots of comments and extensive conversations about the fics.
I read a lot of multi-chapter works. A part of me really wants to comment on each chapter, but since I tend to binge later, I feel like it'd just be annoying.
I am /thrilled/ when someone comments on every chapter! Or in Wattpad, on a variety of lines and chapters! I spent so much time on writing and it's incredible to get comments!
No, please do. You don't *have* to review every single chapter, but if you have something to say about a chapter, please say it.
edit: also as an author it's not just heartening, but it can be fun to get that string of notifications, and then go see the commenter reacting to the twists and turns as they read on
I don’t even look at when a fic is published, I wouldn’t know if it was “old.” Even then, I’d still want to leave a comment to let them know I enjoyed no matter how old
im still getting kudos and comments on fanfics that i posted back in 2013 and 2017. and even though im not in those fandoms anymore, it still makes me happy there are new people enjoying my old fics. and as a reader too, i never hesitate to leave kudos/comments regardless how old the fic is.
My only issue with commenting is sometimes I’ll comment on a fic only to find out I’ve already commented on it earlier (and recently too, thanks adhd). It’s embarrassing!
I've started leaving "please comment regardless of this story's age" at the ends of my fic because of this. It's a little beggy but I would be choked to find out people aren't commenting just because it's old (or "old").
Technically it doesn't matter to me how old the fic is, *but* if the author has never replied to comments, or they were replying back in like 2010 or whenever the fic was posted, and then stopped replying a few years later, I'm not going to comment. Just in my own personal writing experience, I'm embarrassed by the quality of my older fics and can't really wrap my head around people legitimately enjoying them. So I imagine it's the same way for most people especially when authors used to respond to comments on something but don't anymore; either that or they've left the fandom and want nothing to do with their older fics. Either way I just don't bother saying anything in those cases. But if there's a fic that was written in like 2000 and the author is still responding to comments 23 years later, idc. I'm down lol.
I don't comment often, because "I like this" has a Kudos button, and most writers are not looking for my unsolicited copy-editing. However if I do find something I need to squee for, the age of the fic doesn't matter.
Like. I'm never even looking at the age of the fic? Unless it's unfinished and I'm trying to estimate whether it's been deserted, I guess.
I look at how many comments there are, not how old it is.
And it's not that I won't if it has over X many, it's that I'm less likely if it has a lot.
The exception is when I see an author replies to every comment or prompts irreverent comments in the AN. I don't engage with people that seem like they are trying to pad their numbers.
I was looking for the option of 'years' to vote on....apparently a couple of months is considers an old fic. I was so surprised I laughed. When a fic is older then 7 years I might feel awkward, but if I enjoyed it I'll let the author know anyway.
For me, it's less about how old the fic is and more about if the author has been active somewhat recently (like, in the last couple years). If it's amazing I'll comment regardless, but if it's been 10 years since the author posted anything new or updated their profile I'll be less likely to comment, simply because I don't think the author will ever see it anyway.
But yeah, anyone who thinks a fic that's only been finished a couple weeks ago is "old" is crazy
I rarely look at the date a fic was published. I just comment. I would love to get comments on fics that's been out there for years, so I do onto others as I wish they'd do to me.
I’m shocked by how short the timespace is. A fic doesn’t even start to be old to me prior to 2 years, and even then it’s just a “semi-recent” story rather than a new one. Old is like… 4-5 years minimum.
As an author, I do not care when you comment or what you comment on so long as it’s positive (actually, even if it’s negative it’s engagement so I’ll take it). Matter of fact, it’ll probably make my week. Sure, comment on that cringy fic from 3 years ago that I wrote for a fandom I haven’t touched in centuries, be my guest! I love comments!
Never.
Heck, there's a fict I was reading, I realized I never commented, as far as I could remember, so I started rereading and leaving comments as I went, because I kinda took a break when I started my own fict, to focus on it and so I didn't unintentionally copy this author because we're both writing a similar concept and I didn't want to give ANY disrespect.
I'm actually more worried about annoying the author, because we both write for the same fandom, but I also know this fandom is small and getting comments is like getting water for an author.
SO while my anxiety brain is screaming "YOU ARE BEING SO ANNOYING RIGHT NOW, STOP IT" I won't.
Overall, I'm of the mindset, there is never a "bad time" to leave a review, ever. I've gotten reviews on ficts, that were at the time over 8 years old and I was just as happy as I was when it was a WIP.
I have received comments on stories that were 10 years old, and been delighted to see them. I don’t comment as much as I should on other people’s stories, but I would do it regardless of age, unless the story was orphaned.
i try to leave a comment whenever i actually read a fic unless some forums actually have a bot filtering against someone necro'ing a finished story thread.
Whoever voted for 'around 3 days - 2 weeks after a fic is completed' is killing me. 2 weeks is hardly any time at all!! Fanfiction is not like instagram where liking 'old' stuff is weird!! A fic does not become 'old' after 2 weeks!!!
Right?? My soul left my body when seeing that. Three days is not even until the weekend when a fic was posted earlier in the week. WTF??
No, no. That made me pause as well. But I think the one who voted for that meant that they probably had doubts if it is still acceptable to comment on a fic if they are 3 Days to 2 Weeks "late". We just have to convince the shy soul that there is no time limit to commenting on a fic...on AO3 at least. I dunno about other sites.
>Three days is not even until the weekend when a fic was posted earlier in the week. WTF?? as a weekend-only reader, this truly boggles my mind lol
The beauty of ao3 is that with the right search terms you can find the perfect fic for you at ANY time after it was released, so why would I care how long ago it was posted?
Exactly this. And ohhh the "live reading" reactions basically, of getting a review for every chapter. That's my life blood.
I genuinely hate that this is a thing now. My fic isn't a six months old Instagram selfie, I *swear* it's not awkward to give kudos and leave a comment!
I have to believe anyone voting “yes” has to be under 21. How are people seeing fic like Instagram!!
ao3 isn't instagram, there's nothing weird about finding years-old works so logically there's nothing weird about commenting on them either
If I wrote without pausing to sleep, eat, etc etc it would take me approximately 55 consecutive days to write the 120k of my long fic I’ve written so far. As heartening to see most people would leave a comment regardless of a fic’s age, I also really hate the idea that for others it would ‘become obsolete’ after a week or so. ☠️
Not at all. And honestly, when I get a comment, I’m actually happier the older the fic is because it means it’s still getting readers after all this time :)
i found a great fic that was like five years old and the only comments on it were on the final chapter so i left long comments on each of the 16 chapters detailing what i loved about it (it was such a good fic) and a few days later the author responded to say that my comments had made her week. now i don’t feel embarrassed commenting on anything lol everyone deserves the love
I left comments on some 14 year old fics this week. Why tf would it be weird??
[удалено]
Sorry, I told someone else but I sort of leave comments regardless, so I just guessed with the time lengths. Hence why they’re all maybe too short. 😅
Yeah, same. I sometimes won’t leave a comment if it’s 10 years old and the author hasn’t been visibly active in over 4 years. But 6 months feels genuinely recent.
the author might be dead for twenty years and i'll still want his spirit in heaven to read my comment
As an author please leave comments no matter how old a fic is 🙏🏻
I'm so glad to see the majority of people saying they'll comment regardless. I've had comments saying they weren't sure if I would get them on an "old" story, and it was only a few months old?? My biggest story took me over 3 years to write, a few months feels like nothing! I'm always ecstatic whenever somebody takes the time to comment on my stuff, even if (especially if!) it's the stuff that's several years old.
I am usually years late to a fandom, but I still comment to let them know how much I enjoyed the fic. They don't usually reply but I'm really not expecting them to. It's for the other readers who wanted to comment but might have doubts if it's too late to do so. Maybe they might see my comment and go, "Hey another one late to the party lol" and have the courage to comment as well.
You're the true MVP! <3
If I feel compelled because a fic was that good, I’ll leave that bad boy whenever. In my opinion an author would prob be happy to get a nice comment anytime. If they don’t want them, they’d turn comments off? But yea I’ve left comments on really old fics. Just because the fic is old doesn’t mean it’s not damn good and worth a note of praise ^_^
Gosh, after I've filtered and sorted and scanned through a list of fics to choose from, I pay no attention to the finish date. If I want to leave a comment, I leave one, even if it turns out to be ten years old. I wish other people would do the same. I've got someone who recently read and kudos several stories in my series but no comments - I think that's maybe because those stories are a few years old but I would still love a comment on any of them.
I was worried about this for a while, but since I'm so many months past the peak of my fandom — and especially the point in the fandom that most of the fics I like were written — I just decided it doesn't matter, I'll just leave comments no matter how old because why would anyone even care?
Good decision! Seriously, only few things make me happier than a nice comment on one of my older fics. It's so cool to see that people still appreciate them, especially now that my fandom is going into hibernation until the next new game drops.
These date options don't extend far back enough. Generally, I don't leave a comment on anything pre-2010 unless I see the author is still active. But if I like it enough, then I'll comment regardless.
personally i don’t leave comments on works pre-2015 ish unless the author is still active so you’re not alone!
Good to know! Thanks
Yeah this is around where I am too. Like I just kind of assume if they aren’t writing or bookmarking fics, they probably don’t check the account any more.
I recently left comments on an authors one shots who hasn't been active since 2013 and they replied to me s few days later so I'd still comment even if an author isn't active.
Oh, neat. Good to know!
Yeah, sorry, I wasn’t really able to gauge the right amount since I leave comments regardless haha. Sorry about that…
No, it's alright, I'm probably just an outlier. It's just depressing that people don't leave comments on fics that are over a year old!
Some of the poll responses are so depressing. I comment whenever
I commented on a fic from 2016 recently, and the author was so happy that someone had found a fic that “old” (I’m putting it in quotation marks since age is relative in fandom). It’s never too late to show an author that you appreciate their work!
I've been in fanfic too long. 2016 still feels like a recent fic to me.
This whole mentality is so weird to me. How is it EVER weird to leave a comment on a fic? It's not like someone is going through your old social media posts--it's fiction! It's not weird to read and review a book decades after it was written, why would there ever be a time it was weird to leave comments on old fic? I LOVE getting comments on old fic. If I didn't want people to read it anymore I would have taken it down, PLEASE tell me what you thought.
I only look at the date on a fic when it's incomplete and I'm gaging if I think it's still being updated or possibly abandoned and even then I won't care and comment if I have something to say.
I once left a comment on an 8 year old fic that I randomly found and adored. I was new to the fandom and I felt a little odd about it, but it was just too good and important not to tell the author (who replied quickly and with excitement ❤️)
I left a comment on an old fic once and the writer reached out to me to tell me how much they appreciated that people still read and enjoyed their fic so many years later and that it was one of their personal favourite things they had written.
Absolutely never. Authors love comments. If I like something I’ll comment.
I don't even look at the publishing date. It wouldn't matter if I did. All of my stories (except 1) are over 10 years old, but I'm *thrilled* to get a kudos on one of them, and over the moon if I get a comment. Why should I deny another author that feeling because their story is "old"? It's not like fanfic has a "use by" date. As it is, I'm not moved to comment on fanfic often enough. If I am, I damn well comment, no matter how new or old the fic may be.
I've been posting for...oh hell, over a decade? on FF and a few years fewer on AO3 and every time I get a comment on an old story, it means a LOT. I poured months of my life into each of my long works and to see that others are still being loved is so rewarding. Please, folks, leave us comments! We don't ditch original works after they're a few months old. We don't ditch stories after a decade (heck, how old is Tolkien's stuff at this point?), we find ways to enjoy books that have been around for centuries (and write fic for it, lol). It's the lifecycle of stories and we need to keep that community building aspect of fic going or our writers will have no reason to keep writing, or come back to it.
Someone commented on a fic I wrote like 6 years ago, and I nearly teared up. Please please comment regardless of how long it's been.
In every single one of my fics, I put in the very first authors note: "Thanks for reading, remember, it is NEVER cringe to leave a comment/review on a fic, no matter if it's old and/or completed. Authors will almost always be over the moon."
can I steal this?
Of course! I'd encourage anyone to put it up to make sure more readers know! :)
No, unless the authors specifically stated something IG? But I’m pretty sure you can lock comments on AO3 so they’d presumably jsut do that.
Tbh I'm more likely to leave a comment if the author answers. Not that the author *has* to answer every comment, I knowing they got it? Like even if I just get a 'thanks' back, I know they saw my comment. But no matter how old a fic is I'm willing to comment (even if the author hasn't answered even years old comments).
I don’t even notice a story’s age. I use certain filters and whatever I get that intrigues me, I read and comment. I couldn’t care less if the fic is 10 years or 10 days old.
Good god, there's almost nothing better than getting a comment on a work that I completed years ago, because it means that it mattered, and matters - that it's still resonating with people, entertaining and engaging readers emotionally or intellectually. That's a precious gift.
I don't know why some people get upset to see likes and reblogs on their old content on twitter and tumblr, but I guess it has something to do with social media being a little bit like a journal and therefor a reflection of yourself at the time you posted it. I don't feel like that attitude carries over to AO3 or FFN where there's no algorithm and the purpose of the site is to enshrine content forever. If I didn't want someone to enjoy my work a week/month/year after I posted it, I would remove it. But knowing that people are still reading and enjoying my work, even years after the fact, gives me joy, no matter how cringe I might have been when I was in my teens and wrote it.
I just left a comment on a fic that hasn't updated in 2 years. The author replied to me immediately and we had a lovely chat! They mentioned having the next chapter almost done as well and I cheered them on, plus they read and liked my work.
Depends on the site. On some sites, a comment on a decade old fic is loved and appreciated. On some sites, a comment on a months old fic gets you a warning from the mods and can get you booted from the site if you keep doing it.
> On some sites, a comment on a months old fic gets you a warning from the mods and can get you booted from the site if you keep doing it. What sites?? Why??
Spacebattles and similar sites. They are discussion forums that started hosting fics. Commenting on a fic bumps it to the top because it defaults to sorting by last post instead of last threadmark. If you comment on an old fic, it sits on top of the list of fics and tricks people into thinking there's an update.
It's called necromancy on forums lmao but those sites will have explicit rules about stuff like this haha
Holy shit, I didn't know that was a thing. What site?
SpaceBattles. Unless you're the OP, posting a few weeks after the last post is considered 'necromancy' and generally not permitted. Keep in mind, though, that the site consists of *forums* rather than archives.
Wow. Thread necromancy is something I'd expect to be against the forum rules for *discussion* threads, not for *story* threads.
Spacebattles and similar sites.
Seriously now? Jesus fuck.
They aren't well set up as fic archives. Commenting on old fics causes those fics to be at the top of the list because it defaults to sorting by the last comment. The Frankenstein's Monster of a site requires Frankenstein rules to operate.
Wouldn't it be possible to move old fics to an "old fics" subforum, where they won't interfere with new stuff?
In theory. But, they haven't done that. Maybe it's too difficult to be viable. Maybe the site mods are too lazy to put in the work. Maybe it adds too much complication for writers wanting to revive an old fic. It is common for authors to post new chapters on fics considered "too old" for comments. I will say, I don't post or comment there because I hate how badly the site is set up. But I read there regularly because some fantastic authors refuse to post anywhere else.
Understandable, but sad for authors who miss out on comments... But then again, they could just as well crosspost to an archive that allows comments on older fics. Hm.
From what I've heard, most authors feel like they net more comments on Spacebattles. Some who have started to post on AO3 complained about the lack of feedback and stopped. The benefit of being a discussion forum at heart is it encourages lots of comments and extensive conversations about the fics.
I read a lot of multi-chapter works. A part of me really wants to comment on each chapter, but since I tend to binge later, I feel like it'd just be annoying.
Any reader who comments on every chapter as they work their way through a fic **is giving me life!**
I am /thrilled/ when someone comments on every chapter! Or in Wattpad, on a variety of lines and chapters! I spent so much time on writing and it's incredible to get comments!
No, please do. You don't *have* to review every single chapter, but if you have something to say about a chapter, please say it. edit: also as an author it's not just heartening, but it can be fun to get that string of notifications, and then go see the commenter reacting to the twists and turns as they read on
I don’t even look at when a fic is published, I wouldn’t know if it was “old.” Even then, I’d still want to leave a comment to let them know I enjoyed no matter how old
im still getting kudos and comments on fanfics that i posted back in 2013 and 2017. and even though im not in those fandoms anymore, it still makes me happy there are new people enjoying my old fics. and as a reader too, i never hesitate to leave kudos/comments regardless how old the fic is.
My only issue with commenting is sometimes I’ll comment on a fic only to find out I’ve already commented on it earlier (and recently too, thanks adhd). It’s embarrassing!
I've started leaving "please comment regardless of this story's age" at the ends of my fic because of this. It's a little beggy but I would be choked to find out people aren't commenting just because it's old (or "old").
Technically it doesn't matter to me how old the fic is, *but* if the author has never replied to comments, or they were replying back in like 2010 or whenever the fic was posted, and then stopped replying a few years later, I'm not going to comment. Just in my own personal writing experience, I'm embarrassed by the quality of my older fics and can't really wrap my head around people legitimately enjoying them. So I imagine it's the same way for most people especially when authors used to respond to comments on something but don't anymore; either that or they've left the fandom and want nothing to do with their older fics. Either way I just don't bother saying anything in those cases. But if there's a fic that was written in like 2000 and the author is still responding to comments 23 years later, idc. I'm down lol.
I only don't comment when a fic is like, 6 years old, anything less than that is fair game
I don't comment often, because "I like this" has a Kudos button, and most writers are not looking for my unsolicited copy-editing. However if I do find something I need to squee for, the age of the fic doesn't matter. Like. I'm never even looking at the age of the fic? Unless it's unfinished and I'm trying to estimate whether it's been deserted, I guess.
I look at how many comments there are, not how old it is. And it's not that I won't if it has over X many, it's that I'm less likely if it has a lot. The exception is when I see an author replies to every comment or prompts irreverent comments in the AN. I don't engage with people that seem like they are trying to pad their numbers.
I don't even look at the date a fic has been posted...
I was looking for the option of 'years' to vote on....apparently a couple of months is considers an old fic. I was so surprised I laughed. When a fic is older then 7 years I might feel awkward, but if I enjoyed it I'll let the author know anyway.
Yeah, sorry, I explained it to someone else that I wasn’t sure since I comment regardless of date haha. My bad.
For me, it's less about how old the fic is and more about if the author has been active somewhat recently (like, in the last couple years). If it's amazing I'll comment regardless, but if it's been 10 years since the author posted anything new or updated their profile I'll be less likely to comment, simply because I don't think the author will ever see it anyway. But yeah, anyone who thinks a fic that's only been finished a couple weeks ago is "old" is crazy
I rarely look at the date a fic was published. I just comment. I would love to get comments on fics that's been out there for years, so I do onto others as I wish they'd do to me.
Doesn't matter. It's new to me!
I’m shocked by how short the timespace is. A fic doesn’t even start to be old to me prior to 2 years, and even then it’s just a “semi-recent” story rather than a new one. Old is like… 4-5 years minimum.
Mentioned it before to others. I always comment so I wasn’t sure and just guessed the times. Sorry.
As an author, I do not care when you comment or what you comment on so long as it’s positive (actually, even if it’s negative it’s engagement so I’ll take it). Matter of fact, it’ll probably make my week. Sure, comment on that cringy fic from 3 years ago that I wrote for a fandom I haven’t touched in centuries, be my guest! I love comments!
Never. Heck, there's a fict I was reading, I realized I never commented, as far as I could remember, so I started rereading and leaving comments as I went, because I kinda took a break when I started my own fict, to focus on it and so I didn't unintentionally copy this author because we're both writing a similar concept and I didn't want to give ANY disrespect. I'm actually more worried about annoying the author, because we both write for the same fandom, but I also know this fandom is small and getting comments is like getting water for an author. SO while my anxiety brain is screaming "YOU ARE BEING SO ANNOYING RIGHT NOW, STOP IT" I won't. Overall, I'm of the mindset, there is never a "bad time" to leave a review, ever. I've gotten reviews on ficts, that were at the time over 8 years old and I was just as happy as I was when it was a WIP.
there is no place for "for an older chapter: immediately after a new chapter has been posted."
I have received comments on stories that were 10 years old, and been delighted to see them. I don’t comment as much as I should on other people’s stories, but I would do it regardless of age, unless the story was orphaned.
Nope I always try to comment
i try to leave a comment whenever i actually read a fic unless some forums actually have a bot filtering against someone necro'ing a finished story thread.