Well… anyone who makes their story public is going to receive opinions — negative, positive or both and tbh people are entitled to their opinions. It’s fine to not like a story, it’s fine to have an opinion on what you think is problematic. What I will say though is it’s never okay to blatantly hate or sh*t on a story just because you “don’t like it” or “hate the author.” Negativity (or more a differing opinion I should say) can still be expressed in a civil way.
I’m not saying it’s a good thing to ignore people, but receiving a lot of messages, especially repeating questions can become both overwhelming and tiring. It’s a bit like becoming desensitized to something after being exposed to it over and over and over or getting sick of the monotony. I think it’s also important to take into account that some people are just not people persons or don’t have the time to respond to everyone and sometimes they don’t see everything they’re sent or tagged in.
I don’t think reasons like this would categorize them as “toxic” unless they had a really high opinion of themselves and thought others were/are below them or something, but I doubt that’s the case for most of them.
I’m a bit of a people-pleaser and a push over, so I do try my best to reply to people, appreciate others’ efforts and support people but sometimes this becomes overwhelming, sometimes I forget and sometimes it all just drains me emotionally and I need a time-out. I can only imagine the myriad of messages, comments, fanmails and tags that popular authors get on a regular basis. I admire people that can shut off or don’t feel the need to please or respond to everyone, but at the same time I have an appreciation for those who try their best to make the time for many.
Haha…. Hi! That’s me! The first part anyways. I’m open to criticism if it’s light but I generally don’t want or like “constructive criticism” unless I actually ask for it and seek it out. To some people, the criticism can come off as really offensive, especially if it’s unsolicited and they’ll react in a way that shows that, but I do think they should take a breather and consider what they’ll say back before snapping without thinking. Easier said than done though!
Asking for constructive criticism and then clapping back when they get it — that’s different. That’s contradictory and defensive. It’s not a great trait to have, and sometimes it’s a way of seeking praise and positive attention that results in a backlash to the reader if what the author is seeking (positive attention) isn’t given or given in a way that they don’t perceive as positive and/or helpful.
I will agree, some authors have treated their readers terribly and sometimes haven’t shown an ounce of appreciation, but I can understand some authors becoming fed up with the same questions being asked multiple times and/or being too overwhelmed by their fanbase (or haters which could also count as readers technically if they’ve read their stories haha).
Yes, I would agree that there are some toxic members in the Episode community, but there are toxic members in pretty much every community.
But it just wasn’t worth it. And I’m glad I could think maturely.
This user started calling everyone “maggots”, the b word, “peasants”, no-life… All those petty insults you can hear 11 year-old’s trying to mimick to be “the cool kids”,.
