Please avoid off topic comments, this isn’t a promote your story topic, if you would like to promote a story, you can always do that in a pm
Apologies.
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Right.People just hate on stuff cause they can.Even outside of episode like lets say on youtube …if you don’t like what a person posts on his or her channnel then why search up the channel ,watch the video then leave a comment with all the things you hate about the video in the comments .Like come on…don’t do that.Honestly if a person takes the time to read my whole story then complain about how he or she hates it.Its okay boo ,you read it and you are just giving me more reads …SO KEEP ON HATING 
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Haters are just jealous and that’s true
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speaking facts 
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The discussion is pretty split on whether or not criticism should be given, with both sides debating on what’s the right thing to do, and the fact that criticism cannot be easily given to young (-er) authors because the assumptions are that:
- The author and their fan base can’t handle criticism (scenarios where both or either party react violently due to its popularity and influence).
- Giving criticism or just having a different opinion on a story is somehow portrayed as controversial or trivial.
- Criticism is seen as something that’s negative and ergo should be ignored
- The “if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all” argument
- White lies are better since they hurt less (scenarios where one just praises something that they know that they don’t like)
One of the main problems is also the fact that people don’t get what actual criticism is, regardless of how one feels about the feedback, because there will be that one or a couple of comments that will cause changes in the community, even if it hurts or affect other people, and that’s completely normal.
TLDR: The thing with criticism is, unlike insults, we need it from others to know our mistakes and to know where we need to improve, seeing as “nobody’s perfect” (in action in this case) is a truth that everyone preaches nowadays. So if that truth turns out to be a fact, and put into a scenario without criticism, how else would we know if we’re wrong? or where would our “imperfections” come off as ethically unacceptable to others?
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You pretty much sum everything correctly about this thread.
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I think what gets me the most is how people try to justify their criticisms by bringing in the psychological. I’m sorry but unless you have a psychology degree and you know me personally you have no right to say how a story or trope will or will not effect me. At the end of the day everyone is going to have things they are and aren’t comfortable with but that doesn’t mean we have to try and prevent authors from writing.
If you’re going to write potentially triggering content add a trigger warning and skip option. If you’re adding stuff in make it clear you don’t support it. Hell, add an author note at the end of the episode if you have to.
I’m sick and tired of everyone being told what they can and can’t write because a group of people feel the need to attack everyone over every little thing. Unless you’re in an author’s head you don’t know why they added in what they’ve added in.
Now, there are of course exceptions. Some people really do need to be called out but just because you write about a certain trope or in a certain genre doesn’t mean your story is automatically problematic.
The issue isn’t the “cliche” it’s specific stories. Someone writing about bad boys, vampires, werewolves, etc. isn’t the issue it’s how it’s done. We need to stop grouping every single author together and yelling “problematic!” and instead focus on individual stories.
Plus, half of the things I’ve seen people complain about aren’t even toxic/problematic issues they’re just people pointing things out rudely so. 
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I wish I could heart this comment a million more times, honestly. 
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Aww thank you 
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I think people want to see Episode as inherently different from other types of media we consume, but it’s not. Any author—whether they’re published by a big company or uploading stuff on wattpad or writing on episode or self-publishing a zine or even writing fan fiction—necessarily opens themselves up for criticisms of all types. I think if the most someone has to say is “this story sucks” they may as well keep it to themselves, especially since how we express ourselves within the community is governed by community guidelines.
But even if no one “asked for” feedback…they’re going to get it. You take that risk when you move something from your personal computer / notebook into the internet. So people are going to tell you if your story is paced really quickly and doesn’t allow the reader to get attached to the characters. They’re going to tell you if one of the characters you’re supposed to root for has more concerning attributes than redeeming ones. They’re going to tell you that overuse of cliffhangers that turn out not to be cliffhangers lessens the impact of cliffhangers used to denote a big change in the story.
None of these things have to be done “rudely” but the problem is if you bring them up at all, you will still get told you’re insulting someone. Any serious writer should always be seeking to improve their skills—both technically and in regard to impact. When stories contain tropes that are racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc - the people outside of the groups being stereotyped or fetishized don’t get to decide what’s harmful to that group.
When it comes to the glorification or making light of abuse, SA, unhealthy relationships, etc - people can debate all they want about what “qualifies” someone to talk about that, despite decades of research on the topic of the cycle of how media and reality influence each other and despite millions of people talking about how media has influenced them. It doesn’t change that media portrayals both inform and are informed by sociocultural conditioning.
When it comes to younger writers, I do think we all need to be more mindful of how we approach things. We can’t hold young teenagers to the exact same standards we hold adults. I’m not saying there’s one correct way to navigate that and I’m certainly not saying I have all the answers. In my experience, perfection isn’t demanded - but accountability is. So people not changing the pace of their story despite getting feedback about it? I mean, personally I would take the feedback into consideration, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t. Not changing stories you’re told contain racist or homophobic, etc elements, as people from those groups have informed you about? That’s where accountability comes in. Refusing to change and gaslighting marginalized people regarding their own experiences is when we start going beyond being “imperfect” to being harmful. Telling someone you won’t add a trigger warning to a chapter and scene with attempted date rape because it would “spoil the plot”? Harmful.
There’s really very few things that are unforgivable the first time they happen. I’m not denying there are people who go out of their way to insult authors and I’m not condoning that. And I’m not condoning the people who send death threats or -for example- antisemitic comments in retaliation for an author being problematic, even if they refuse to change. I think that’s gross. But people should not equate all criticism or feedback with insults. Like I said before, making your work public opens you up to the opinions of others and you will have to accept that not all those opinions will be exactly what you want to hear.
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Everyone has a right to their opinion, and they also have every right to criticize your story. That’s just how it is, people will criticize your story no matter what, it’s what happens with popular stories or stories that pick up steam. No story gets zero criticism. But what is really making people stop writing, or detering authors from writing, is the amount of hateful comments they get for absolutely nothing. Constructive criticism is NOT the same as insulting the author’s story just because the MC did something you personally did not agree with. You are not the MC. You play the MC, and sometimes you don’t have a choice in what the MC does because then the story wouldn’t be about the MC, it would be about you.
I agree that the community has become heavily toxic, but we have to rely on each other for support and motivation. If a story is cliche, then let it be cliche, for God’s sake. It’s not your story, it’s theirs. If you don’t like it, move on. There are many hidden gems that are waiting to be discovered and you obviously knew that the story was a cliche if the description describes a… cliche! They may like to write cliches, and that’s fine. Everyone probably wrote a cliche story or two in their life, or even thought about it. We all start somewhere. Some people need to think of what it’s like to be in other author’s shoes when they say these hurtful things towards them. The months of hard work and dedication could be thrown away just for a couple words that you could’ve easily kept quiet. Coding is already difficult enough as is, pointing out every little detail in such a rude manner can seriously make an author lose motivation. If the author is not using any harmful cliches (such as mafia or supporting abuse) then DON’T insult them, there’s literally no point.
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and thus exactly why a lot of authors need to know how to take criticism as a whole and not just because its easy to write it off or dub as hate or spam, just because criticism tells one where the faults are, doesn’t mean that it’s out there to hurt or degrade anyone, when really, it’s there to help to improve because nothing is perfect, but it can be at it’s best to reach its full potential.
Insults don’t equal to criticism, but even if you don’t ask for it, it’s bound to happen, because anything made public will be subjected to public criticism - that’s a no-brainer right there that a lot of the community still doesn’t get at times.
I think a big factor that also contributes some problems in the community is how the relationship and influence of both the author and their readers are (I’ve seen the fanbases from Ora’s and Roxi’s side and those two alone have me in shock of how much they’ve “influenced” their readers over the years their stories have been on the platform) I mean, if an author can only display all of the wrong problems in their story, doesn’t change it, and instead normalize it, then its the fanbase that’s at risk because none of us can control what they can do outside the app - and that (for me at least) is the most horrid thing an author can do in the platform
I’m only thankful that Episode’s standards have gone up as the community grew along with it (both the stories and the users), but with the divide that’s going on and the mix-match between criticism and insults, the users and younger authors have to realize the differences between the two because the “don’t like? don’t read” argument is barely an argument at all in the first place, when if fact the actual argument is “don’t like? tell them where your didn’t like it and how it affected you and their story so that they can improve, and if they don’t, their choice, their loss.” and “well, if you just didn’t like it for no reason whatsoever and you can’t pinpoint it, hold back for a second and figure it out. or just don’t say it at all if there really is no reason at all”
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I agree. Teenagers are very prone to influence (I’m saying this as a 14 year old myself) and our brains are still developing. Feedback is usually a two way street, if you ask for it, you should probably follow through, otherwise whats the point of even asking for it? I mean, unless the feedback was vague or something that changes the entire plot altogether, then it’s up to you.
Extremely. Trigger warnings are a must even for minor scenes. It’s always better safe than sorry, especially nowadays where it’s common for stories to include those types of scenes as part of the plot. People who are told to change their story because they included something offensive/harmful to a group of people, and don’t? Toxic. It is then clear that you knew what you were doing in that moment, and refused. Those type of people don’t deserve to write stories because stories are based on a story that are told, not opinions. Racism shouldn’t be promoted in stories unless it’s absolutely clear that you’re against it. The second your story disrespects someone else’s existance is the moment your story is no longer a story, it is just one long essay with nothing more than your ignorant opinion that other people shouldn’t exist solely based on something they can’t change, or doesn’t apply to you.
That is what you signed up for when you press “publish”. It is what you sign up for when you list your story under “honest reviews.”
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That’s very true, and I agree. Though the “don’t like, move on” only applies to those who hate on stories (even though they’re very well coded and the plot is excellent) just because of a small reason like the MC doesn’t end up with the first LI, or someone in the story dies. Like… okay? That’s the reason you’re writing an entire paragraph and calling the author names? Don’t like it? Move on. They did nothing wrong, and just because you may not like it, then that doesn’t mean the author has to cater to you when they have thousands of readers who do like it.
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I agree to a certain extent of that post. I do agree that you can write about whatever you want to write about. You have that free will to do so. If you want to write about a bunch of cliches, by all means. Nobody can stop you from doing that. I believe a lot of people confuse negativity and downright hate with constructive criticism. I feel like once you put your story out in the public. Everyone has that prerogative to place feedback, input, criticism, and whatever else. The same thing happens with movies, shows, novels, and books. Those authors and/or producers also have to deal with constructive criticism or negative comments.
The one comment that everyone loves to throw around “don’t read it if you don’t like it.” Isn’t valid because how are we supposed to know we don’t like something if we haven’t read it? Of course, if you find yourself hating the story, then yes. Stop reading it. But, as I said, people have that right to comment on anyone’s work as long as it is public.
Everyone has different opinions, different taste. So, my advice is, just ignore it. If someone is constantly bitching about you adding cliches to your story, ignore it. Of course, it’s not something you want to hear, but you can’t do anything about it because it’s someone opinion. One person complaining shouldn’t affect you when they are just one person out of the bunch. The same line “If you don’t like it, don’t read it” can be applied to people’s opinions about your story. “If you don’t like that comment being made, then don’t acknowledge it.”
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I agree girl 
For all the people saying “it doesn’t affect me”, cool, it’s not about you lol. It’s about all the people who came forward saying how harmful certain tropes are and how potentially triggering they may be, which was quickly discredited with things like “let people write what they want” or “it wasn’t even toxic/problematic”. It’s about how some people think it’s ok to glorify the pain other people have endured for the sake of their story. It’s not about whether someone is comfortable reading something or not, but why is there this need to romanticize abuse just for a quick story? Why does a trigger warning ruin a plot twist, why is your story more important than the people it might be triggering, why do you go to all these lengths to justify glorifying the mafia, abuse, and SA? Why can’t you just not write about sensitive topics if you’re not willing to research them and tackle them with care? People know their triggers, but how are they supposed to know what’s coming if it’s just thrown in to spice your story up? Why can’t you just research what you’re writing about so you don’t end up fetishizing a group of people or glorifying toxic situations? People’s pain, trauma, and stories are not and will never be your entertainment. Stop acting like it is. You may have not found it problematic, but if people come to you telling you it is, and you still don’t care, that just goes shows who you are as a person and your lack of sympathy and morality for other’s situations. Keep putting your episode stories above actual people.
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I actually agree with this a lot and talk about it often. I do think the biggest difference between Episode and traditional media is the closer, more personal nature of the relationship between reader and author. On one hand, many people are both auth it s and readers. But the bigger matter, I think, is readers are personally interacting with authors regularly. And while not all those relationships are necessarily very deep, they are very present and very prominent. Our interpersonal relationships and interactions have an even wider sphere of influence than just media we’re distanced from.
It’s kind of like, especially when you’re younger, and you meet musicians and authors you love and you want to make a good impression and that gives them a certain amount of power over you. Add that to a daily reality and it’s a huge sphere of influence. I don’t think that’s inherently a bad thing because the possibility for positive influence is there too! But it just means when authors refuse to accept feedback - especially about harmful elements - or they wait years to address it, they’re normalizing that defensive position and that all criticism is an insult and no one should have to address things that harm people. But on the flip side, they can also model working through imperfect behaviors in a way that brings the community closer together.
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I’d like to mention that, I’m talking in terms of cliches. Cliches that aren’t harmful. Since that’s the impression I got from the OP.
I agree with this. I saw this comment. Not sure where or by who. But, I have said in the past that just because something doesn’t necessarily affect/trigger you, it doesn’t mean it won’t affect the next person who decides they want to read that story as well. Everybody handles things differently. So, to write a comment saying “it wasn’t even toxic/problematic” To you, it wasn’t! But, you don’t know what others have dealt with or are going through.
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