I TOTALLY don't like commenting. At all. Ever. Never ever. ;)

I almost called you out specifically as a role-model in this case, but decided I'd let you're almost inevitable response be its own proof!

And for whatever it's worth, I never take your comments for granted. I deeply appreciate the time you take to comment, even if it's just playful banter.

Truly I do concur with you 110 percent on this situation tho! Comments are just TOTALLY desired. I've always deemed that a friendly comment even if it's simply a great job or well done really goes a long way to lift MY spirits, so as it should go to lift otherses. ;D

Yeah you knew me, I was gonna hound ya on here and state my case. Just wish more would be actively social. I think a lot of the biggest problems is people are allowed to watch WAY too many creators and by thus they start losing track of submissions and either don't clear them or nuke them and bypass. It's a shame!

Totally agreed here. I know that no one has time to comment on EVERYTHING, and that's ridiculous to hope for, but if more people just popped a couple comments here and there, it would really help.

It's a bigtime morale booster and makes people really happy! :D It's truth! Heheh sometimes I'll sneak a lil "commenter contest" in a submission, anyone who comments gets a surprise entry and then I just choose one at random and draw them a gift ;D

Rewards are nice, and they make you a good person; kudos to you!

You and I met through my free-art period where I gave our hundreds of freebies. I DEEPLY enjoyed doing that ... until I didn't. It only brought me abuse and ridicule. Be careful how much of that you're willing to take.

True, it's nice giving gifts and freebees to those who are willing to like respect me and be cool. It's those hungry monsters who keep wanting freebees that suck. That's why it's fun taking things like art trades. Art for art, makes you get something and me get something. Always fun> ^_^

That's exactly what I mean — Lots of leaches. I love giving back, even to the leaches when I can, but there is an emotional limit.

DON'T GET EMOTIONAL! AAAH AAAH! XD lol but seriously, you are a good egg KB :3

At no time in "Humpty Dumpty" does the poem state Humpty was an egg.

Hehehe...you got me there! Course all the kings horses tried to put you together again and man they only made you super flamboyant! :3c Now go put on your latex and DAAAANCE

Trying to find ways to encourage people to leave more comments is one of my goals. I think people can get a bit shy at times so trying to give playful, unobtrusive nudges encourage them to leave a comment would be helpful.

Thanks, Dragoneer! I was updating my journal to address exactly this as you were commenting. This is not an FA problem (so don't fret too much) — this is widespread. It could be that some systems are just more naturally geared toward commenting (Twitter), or that some sites just don't attract the audiences that feel the need to comment — the 'takers' who only show up long enough to get their fix and flee. For whatever it's worth, I've been posting the same artwork to FurryNetwork since the day they launched several years ago and only received my first and only comment *just two weeks ago*. There has been a markedly reduced sag in audience participation online (for me.)

Yeah. It's a curious thing, and I've noticed it, too. I've got quite a few ideas brewing as to how things can be improved. Granted, they're not easy fixes and will take time to implement. Trying to find a way to make commenting rewarding is difficult, especially in a way that comes off as natural and organic.

deviantArt has a feature I like. When you +fav a picture there a tiny lil' message goes "Don't forget to leave a comment!" I quite like that.

Yeah, I thought the "reminder" pop-up on DA was a nice nod of encouragement and helps to show that the DA Admin recognize this issue,... but it's not entirely on the various Admin to solve this problem. I believe it's a dual-edged problem — do you, the system Admin, wish to make things more rewarding for viewers, or for creators? It can't always be both, as I'm sure you know well.

Creators definitely want attention and the benefits that come with that, but most *viewers* just wanna get in and get out. There are too many places competing for attention. So many in fact (with so much creator content), that I think it devalues the contribution these artists are making and indeed the artwork overall. In the '90s, any creature with a tail would garner praise and attention from all around because the furry landscape was so barren, fans would covet anything the could find. Competition, skill and quality have gone way up over these years (a very good thing), but the side-effect has been that with *quantity*, fans treat artists and the artwork they create as "givens", and that rewarding them means nothing since 'it'll always be there.'

Viewers know that if one artist dries up, 10 more will be there to fill the void. So viewers have very little incentive to encourage creators ('favorite' artists notwithstanding). Conversely, creators have very little incentive to share their work if no one seems to even care. (Which is very much the boat I am in: I am on no fewer than 9 different platforms and if break 6 comments on any given piece split between them I'm having a really good day). Professionally, one would say an artist creates for himself not for his audience — yes, ... but there is no reason to *post* that work to a public forum if it's "only for me". My work will enjoy the same utter silence in a sketchbook on a shelf.

It is not my place to make changes to FA, but I for one have always appreciated the space you and this service have provided for me to interact with people. And despite this favor to me and this fandom, having space to host my work is really only a very small component. Sharing work is meaningless if no one engages it, and a creator receives no benefit if no one comments... which leads to commissions, academic growth, inclusivity, and a host of other very tangible symptoms.

I agree that communication should be organic and un-baited, but if I may so humble as to make a suggestion, consider this — FA is essentially an esoteric social network. The social media world in which we live is 100% designed around hollow rewards. Faves, likes, retweets and hearts are the instant-gratification currency in which we now trade, rightly or wrongly. It is the unfortunate new standard for business. I would change it back to pre-MySpace if I could, but I cannot.

Also, I think many people are timid of even faving work on FA because then that image winds up on their own gallery page and often the things we want to fave reflect kinks or themes we don't necessarily want to broadcast. Simultaneously we want to encourage and reward the artist in some way, but privacy can often be an issue. (I have students that follow me even here, for example, and sometimes I want to fave something but cannot because of what that has the potential to reflect. Nothing illegal or sinister, mind you, but even things like characters getting drunk). But solutions like FurryNetwork's "promote" feature (which is a less public version of the 'fave'), is basically useless as it really does nothing of value for viewer or creator... just a hollow button click.

I really wish that either we lived in a time where hollow platitudes were not so actively coveted and weaponized as some form of pseudo-appraisal of worth, or, that I was a stronger person who didn't care so much about collecting these trinkets, but I really do care. Sadly. Whether we want to believe in them or not, the unintended competitive value that comes from "views" and "likes" provides a measure of real data for an artist — one that can artificially inflate one's ego, or utterly destroy it.

Many apologies for the brain dump. As you can see, I really do care about all of this and a vanity issue like 'comments' and 'likes' *IS* very important to me. But not merely because of my ego or my pride, but because I am a story teller and my work is utterly pointless if no one is participating.

what about badges? i htink DA does something like that. top commenter, +5000commenter etc

I see that FA has badges of their own, but as far as I can tell, most badges are still driven by some form of 'passive popularity' ... you have to have received a number of 'things' from other people before you, the creator, get the reward.

For the badges that reward viewers (like for commenting), it's just an icon you can put on your page that really holds no value to most people. Its rewarding to know that so-and-so is a decent person and likes to comment a lot, but outside of that knowledge, what benefit is there? We kind of rely on the notion that we'll go, "Ooo, I want one of those", but it's not effective enough to change people's behavior in my very limited opinion.

But to this note, THANK YOU for stopping by to comment!

I have an idea: It's a bit wild, but hear me out. Going back to what I wrote about "video game currencies" and "viewer versus creators" — What about a system that rewards both creators and viewers by developing a form of FurAffinity currency? A little like DA's "llamas" I suppose, but some sort of trinket, — say, FA "pawstamps" — that can be accrued by any FA registered member for completing simple tasks like leaving a comment. Let's say 100 comments equal roughly 1 US dollar. These pawstamps have no real world value, but perhaps they can be used in FA as a method for paying for commissions with artists wthin FA. The artist can use those pawstamps to in turn 'pay' for other things within FA, like perhaps access to special beta services — or perhaps FA can partner with a furry printing company as offer prints of artwork, etc. The details and rules of all of this would need to be worked out, but the idea is to increase traffic on both ends by providing something that is mutually beneficial to both halves of the equation.

Yeah. Comments are drying up or have dried up.

It's not just FA either. e621 also the # of comments left on any piece has dwindled to about nothing.

This is consistent with what I've experienced as well. It's disheartening. I also remain uncertain about whether it's the fandom's behavior or the value of my own work/reputation that is in question. There are, afterall, some creators on this very site that generated over 50,000 views and 300 comments in little over 6 hours on a single piece... so, there's that.

Hello Kross,

I'm still around on here, just not as frequent anymore. Work has been keeping me very busy these past few months and haven't really had much time for furry interaction at all. But I know what you mean about the comment thing, hope you are doing well overall. *hugs*

Hello hello! Well its good to hear from you nonetheless, and I hope all goes well for you! Don't wander too far! We like you here!

i think alot of people jsut dont know what to say without sounding like a broken record or other than "i like it"

That's a fair statement, but I can tell you — at least as far as I'm concerned — any statement at all is amazing to receive. It tells me that someone is out there, and that they were motivated enough to at least say *something*.

It's sometimes hard to tell if a content creator wants just any type of feedback on their work. In my case, I actually do try (in years past not so much) to leave some type of comment on everything I add to my favorites list. Including many pieces that I don't necessarily add. People sometimes forget: Just because it's not "faved" doesn't mean it's not liked!

I'll be honest though ... it only takes a couple of negative experiences to make me rethink doing this. Some months ago, I made what amounted to a playful comment on a submission. Nothing that could be misconstrued as critical. The artist took it the wrong way and hid my comment. They never said a word to me about why it bothered them. I only found out by sheer chance. I apologized to the offended party and hoped that they might offer an explanation of what bothered them about it, but all I got was crickets. I know the anonymity of FA (heck - the internet in general) has a way of making some people feel like they may say ANYTHING. Even if the things said amount to creepy shit you might never say face to face IRL. I like to think I have a fairly moderate filter in place when it comes to speaking my mind. However, this particular act of censorship made me feel pretty uncomfortable and made me wonder if I should just clam the hell up and return to full lurker mode.

I just moved on instead, though! I've found that most of the artists here are pretty good natured, and will even banter a little in the comment sections of their submissions. One just has to get a feel for it. Good times.

First and most obvious, thank you so much for your comment here!

I can't declare why certain people get bent out of shape about receiving comments, which I would think could only be a good thing unless the comment is just total hatred and garbage.

This comment sums it up for me: "Just because it's not "faved" doesn't mean it's not liked!"

... I totally understand this. There are tons of images that I like without faving or commenting on. I would be really impractical to expect people to comment on and/or fave everything they enjoyed online. At the same time, consider this: I'm not a mind reader. If anything, I'm a skeptic with low self-esteem. I see that an image garnered 100 views but not a single comment or fave ('boo hoo', I know). If all I get is silence I interpret that to mean that, "100 people saw this. No one liked it. It didn't speak to anyone on any level whatsoever." All a 'view' means is someone clicked on it... took it in... and then said, "Oh," and then left. 100 views equals 100 shrugs.

I know I'm being very melodramatic at the moment, but I'm just trying to make a point. For me (and me alone) 100 views means next to nothing. It could be 100 unique views or 1 kid hitting the refresh button stuck in a loop (theoretically).

Speaking of clicking on things — don't feel too bad about that hidden comment. I've accidentally hidden comments because I clicked where I shouldn't have and there is no way to unhide them. It remains possible it was an accident.

And regarding getting back crickets .... EXACTLY!!

If I had a dollar for every comment I've left with glowing praise to a creator online who never even so much as said "thanks", I'd be too rich to care about "faves" and comments! :3

But of course!

"... I totally understand this. There are tons of images that I like without faving or commenting on. I would be really impractical to expect people to comment on and/or fave everything they enjoyed online. At the same time, consider this: I'm not a mind reader. If anything, I'm a skeptic with low self-esteem. I see that an image garnered 100 views but not a single comment or fave ('boo hoo', I know). If all I get is silence I interpret that to mean that, "100 people saw this. No one liked it. It didn't speak to anyone on any level whatsoever." All a 'view' means is someone clicked on it... took it in... and then said, "Oh," and then left. 100 views equals 100 shrugs.

I know I'm being very melodramatic at the moment, but I'm just trying to make a point. For me (and me alone) 100 views means next to nothing. It could be 100 unique views or 1 kid hitting the refresh button stuck in a loop (theoretically)." I'm trying to be more cognizant of this. I'm sure you aren't the only artist who feels that way. That makes perfect sense.

You're right. It could have been an unintentional action on the artist's part. Maybe I read too far into a mis-click.

^__^ I think I'm going to make t-shirts that say, "100 views = 1 shrugs"!

But seriously, thanks for your thoughts and I'm only trying to be slightly melodramatic. I'm not jumping off of any bridges anytime soon, but the silence does bother me greatly. I see myself now as that elderly foxcat who's lost his spectacles and is too feeble to realize he's been reciting stories to a room full of empty armchairs.

Haha. You totally should.

Nah, I feel you. I know. But hey, you've still got a few of us who are willing to pop into the parlor for "Story Time with Gramps"...

Truthfully I don't often leave comments unless someone openly states they want them due to drastic issues with negative reactions to comments from other people or myself.
I'd say it has to do mostly with the fact most artists of big names are getting--harsher, and because of that people grow weary of interacting with artists due to the fear of negative responses or general approval.

For the record, I'm a fan of your work and I always look forward to the in the submission feed, I just however try to avoid commenting due to what I said above. One too many negative responses and I prefer to not take the risk.

This makes me super, super sad. Unless you're hitting people over the head with negative feedback, I don't know why anyone would push back on you. True, many artists have thin skin and only want to hear how amazing their work is and can't handle un-solicited critiques. But at that point, I think the onus should be on that person to state, "No critiques" on their gallery since *they* are the exception to the rule. Commenting on someone's work is, A) What his whole thing is all about, and B) something a decent person does.

Also: Thank you so much for your compliment! I really hope I'm providing what you're looking for! ... Please feel free to leave critiques and comments all day long on my gallery... I absolutely want to hear what people are thinking, good or bad.

No problem! I've never left really any negative critique except on one or two particular artists and that was due to political preaching--I'm heavily adverse to politics of either alignment.
It usually has to do with the god complex that the popufurs of the community get, especially in the closed species or animation department; to list names being Jasonafex, the recent protogen controversy or even Ctrl-z, popular but absolutely intolerable. It's led to an era of silent appreciation, albeit inconvenient. Everything is either controversial or imposing in some way or another. Cliques and constant gatekeeping are whats killing casual interaction between artist and customer.

I will say however I do appreciate very heavily your positive outlook on feedback of any kind, it's very refreshing. I hope you get what you're seeking, and have a wonderful day.

I try to avoid all politics while in the Furry domain, with very limited exceptions. I'm here specifically because I dislike the problems of the world. I don't want to bring the drama with me (though I will protect what I love).

Thank you again so much for your compliments! And please! I like knowing what people think.

I wonder its its because of submission "saturation", meaning when people follow thousands of artists, it becomes more of a lottery of luck to spot arts, or nearly impossible to reply to everyone. The sheer number of artists have multiplied by a factor of 10 or more probably in the last 10 years. I noticed if i don't check FA for a day or two there are literally a hundred or more submissions, and sometimes we don't have the time to go through them all sadly.

Hi there! Oh, I totally understand that. I don’t expect people to respond to every image they find, or even a portion of them, really. But here’s a good example, (not that I am trying to argue simply for argument’s sake), but there was a time where I did not receive a single comment for almost 2 years. And on FurryNetwork, I received only one comment in three years. I think that goes beyond bad luck, or lottery... I think it speaks to a much larger trend.

And of course, thank you so much for stopping by!

Your welcome. *hugs* i do see your work and check out your journals when i can & see them, just i don;t comment or reply as much as i should maybe.

I thank you profusely, and appreciate that more than you know!

... And I'm not [necessarily] begging for attention. I don't need everyone to comment all the time. I may be a drama queen sometimes, but I'm no diva. The issue I am most disturbed by is the sudden vacuum of acknowledgment. It was very sudden that all communication (likes, comments, faves, etc) all just dried up. It's like everyone got up and left halfway through the movie and I'm just sitting in the theater all by myself wondering what just happened.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but it may have to do with the fact that some people's watch lists are so long they only have time to fav the pics they see.

Heck, I'm watching over 5000....

And then there's the fact that a lot of people here are socially awkward, so actual communication is scary and hard. I myself have been blocked by several artists for saying what I thought was just an innocent joke.

A common thought here has been one of "oversaturation", and I do agree that this is a real and permanent hurdle. A hurdle of positive growth and greater acceptance. And more specifically, a hurdle born of an influx of competitive talent which doubtlessly overshadows the has-beens like me. There is no doubt that fandom interests shift and move away, and that only a select few will enjoy perpetual followings, the void opened quickly and without warning.

I've read your statement on your gallery, and yours is a strong point: Watching a person is gift enough. Faves and comments are extra special bonuses that come when they come. I agree with this thought, and would never seek to convince you otherwise. Though it sort of proves my point in its own right — comments and faves are a form of proof that an artist has managed to connect with you on some level. For a piece to remain devoid of activity would mean it was a failure; it spoke to noone. When a whole gallery remains silent, it means the artist (or something he's doing) is a failure. Hence my freakout.

My qualm boils down to this: I consider myself a story-teller with my art – literally with written chapters and illustratively through image making. If no one interacts with it in any way, then my efforts are meaningless and I do not grow. "Are people avoiding my work because they find no value in it?" ...But yet don't tell me, so I just keep making the same mistakes over and over? Or are they just too distracted to say anything?

The most important element of what I am is that I enjoy the connection with other people — it's why I create art. If the other end of the phone is dead, I'm hanging up, and that unravels my entire purpose for being an artist altogether.

Thank you so much for the comment — your point is well taken and I'm so sorry to hear that others would pull the nuclear option and block someone over what I'm assuming were casual comments. Though we do live in a very 'on-demand' world filled with a raging case of entitled individuals who crumple into spite at the first sign of hardship.

Oh... I know that feeling all to well... especially when you want them. Hell... I tried the Weasyl critique request a while back... nothing but static...

Same. SAAAAAAAAAME. It's a shame, really.

I love your work and always have, but I usually have a hard time thinking of anything more profound to say than, 'Duh, pretty art' or the like.

I appreciate that, Ardashir! Very much. And for whatever it's worth, any comment at all shows me you took the time to say something. It's like sending a greeting card or a text message. You didn't have to do it, but you did, and it's a way of saying you're thinking of someone.

I always make a point of replyin’ to comments I get but yeh. Artstation is artstation, never had much interaction there besides favs and followings, I love it and give it as much attention as my other places but it’s hard to see it as anything else besides a repository of (admitedly very good) art.

Twitter.. well I get some replies from my regulars, and by that I mean 1-2 people amond the 100 or so followers I have. I’m not surprised in this case due to twitter’s ephemeral nature and my glacial output pace.

Pixiv.. it’s weird.. like not a day goes by I don’t get followers despite my pooir output, but comments and all I get few. It gets further complicated because it’s a japanese base site and for whatever reason I don’t get notifications about the comments.

FA.. its somewhat similar to the twitter situation.. I get comments but usually from the regular folks who already have my measure (and I theirs) so they’re more at ease. Don’t usually get comments from new folk. Sometimes I wonder if it’s due to intimidation or somethin’, like we don’t bite lol. 😂

I used to comment on everything. Everything! Hours of comments a day on occasion; I lived for it, even if only a few folks ever seemed to notice or encourage more.

But then, as you note, the great comments collapse. Hundreds of faves, but nary even a "nice" to be seen. So I just kinda... stopped. Seemed like shouting into the void, y'know? Oh, I'll still comment on the occasional bit of work that a friend puts up, since I know they're reading it and are perhaps somewhat amused, but I almost never place any commentary on new stuff or artists these days since it just kinda vanishes. Speaks more about me and how I see things than anything else, I suppose.

To be honest, I think this is more of a social thing that's above and beyond the confines of FA or the other gallery sites. Perhaps a change in people's response patterns overall? Hm, it's an interesting subject.

I do remember your comments! And I did notice their absence. Some individuals were so prevalent that when they stopped commenting I was afraid something terrible happened. You're not the only one, to be sure!

Yeah, the comments-collapse mirrors the "thank you" collapse that is also unfolding — I used to thank everyone for faves and watches, but holy hell, the grief I still get over that! People full-on losing their minds in PMs to me over how annoyed they are with people thanking them — to the point where some of these people would un-fave and un-watch me over their annoyance. I'm flabbergasted. I don't know how thanking someone could possibly be so horrible as to cause grief, but alas — this is where we are. And this is the same for the flip side of the coin — why so so many creators lose their minds when someone comments on their work? I understand some people are thin-skinned and/or not interested in critiques... but, why post it publically then?

When people comment on my work, I always respond, and I always match the seriousness of the content; a joke for a joke, a rebuttal to a point. If you took the time, I will too.

And don't even get me started on my expanding (pun intended) hatred for Social Media in 2019.

People are too afraid to speak their minds for fear of "possibly" saying something wrong.

So sometimes the only time you will get comments is if you spell it out in a post what kind of comments you want, at this point it would have to be a header or footer in every submission.

And even then there are A LOT of artists here and sometimes in a single day there can often be over 200 submissions in a persons watch list.

If people are hitting the favorite button on a submission, it is likely something they enjoyed.

There are so many artists that go on rants over criticism they don't want (anything negative), or that they don't like "creepy" comments (eventhough they make porn and never define what "creepy" is), or that you should only comment if it is highbrow artistic commentary on their style, or that only other artists should make comments on art because non-artists apparently don't "know" art, or that leaving a comment like "Oh I like this" is annoying...

And so on and so forth...

And because of that, the average person assumes most artists are that way and just avoids commenting even on people that want it.

Hi hi! Thank you so much for commenting!

Your point seems to be a common theme in this thread — viewers being afraid of the artist for one reason or another. And the fact that ant artist would freak out over a comment is super petty. I totally understand that many artists here are too young, inexperienced, thin-skinned or disinterested to process critiques like a 'professional' might, but in my opinion then, those individuals need to make clear they are not seeking comments or critiques. In truth, I feel these creators were expecting showers of praise and felt attacked when someone offered anything else.

It's a good point, though. I do NOT make any deliberate requests on my work seeking comments or critiques specifically. Perhaps I will start doing that now (if people even read that much).

Content and oversaturation is another common thought here, too. And there is no doubt about that. Quantity and quality have both risen tremendously, and will only continue to do so. Yay! (?) But I do not expect anyone to comment on EVERYTHING I produce, or even to fave it. I have my melodramatic breakdowns, but I'm not a total diva. I expect people to comment and fave whatever excites them enough to do so. And absolutely, a fave is definitely a form of passive comment, so I would never expect both. My crippling paranoia has come from a lengthy and ongoing period where I am watching all communications drop off into rock-bottom lows. As an artist, I am watching the communication stream dry up almost completely and that worries me; is this a trend of cultural indifference? Or is my work just passé?

But I think you've identified what I've suspected in part — We are all victims of what Social Media has taught us: Everyone is anonymous. All crimes are victimless. The ends justify the means. Everything is on-demand.

I'd say on the last part there it is more like social media has taught us that if you dare to speak outside of the group consensus, that you will be destroyed by the social media "outrage brigade".

If everyone is truly anonymous, then they should be MORE likely to make comments.

Considering most people in furry have characters and identities and personas online tied into their real lives so much, they aren't as anonymous as one might think, so again are afraid something they "might" say, "might" offend, so they self censor and just don't comment at all.

And you are so right, even as the fandom gets bigger and bigger, people seem to be communicating less, at least around the main art sites like this.

There was a really big drop-off a few years ago during the "Instant messaging wasteland" as AIM shut down and people moved to Skype, then Skype got bad, and people moved to 20 different messengers like discord and telegram and whatever else, usually changing names and such to the point people couldn't keep up with all the programs and hopping around needed to communicate now.

And as people spread themselves thinner and thinner across all the various "anti-social" social media platforms, they are less likely to comment on every little thing they see every day.

It just seems to be the way things are going with the times.

The 'outrage brigade' is a great way to describe most social media interaction these days. I think that is completely accurate.

I would have thought that anonymity would lead to more likely commenting, and I think it did for a time. I certainly remember the novelty of being able to wander in and out of forums and chats without fear of tarnishing my 'real self'. And I think that form of thinking is what built up over time into the trolls and griefers that felt total apathy for the very-real people and conversations they were brutalizing either in 'good fun' or freedom of conequence. And of course, I feel the trolls built up enough of a presence that the anti-trolls took forums in the form of early Facebook social warriors (rightfully) sticking up for the little guy. And from there, we're in all out war of words — one side against the other in all aspects regardless of beliefs. The "Annymous" quality here has been replaced in 2019 with the belief of, "why bother? No one is listening to what I say anway." The tables have turned; the commentor is no longer concerned about being annonymous as a form of protection, but is rather concerned with the knowledge that the recipient is annymous and they're probably not paying any attention to what is being said. (This is all just conjecture, of course).

Your theory matches my own, but in reading your words I envision the fandom as a form of some ancient civilization that outgrew its borders and splintered into the world, creating new pockets of creativity to evolve exclusive of the main body. This is very interesting now that I think about it. I believe this is exactly what is happening now — "Furry" has splintered into many subgroups and the only reason I think this bothers people is because the internet keeps us connecting despite the distance. We get to see the evolution in real time, and this makes us perhaps uncomfortable; like when children flout their parents in rebellions of independence.

If this trend holds to the model, then it's very possible that we'll begin to see all the gaps begin to fill in as growth occurs. Like seeds sprouting in a field.

For me it's mostly laziness, although I will comment occasionally on pieces if I have something to say. But I usually won't offer any critique unless specifically asked, and it's kind of lame just to post "nice!" so that means I won't say anything at all. Since I'm kind of picky about what images I like, hopefully getting a like on a post will at least tell people I appreciate the work.

Hey there, Roz! Thanks for stopping in!

This seems to be a common thought here, and it's 100% valid: people only want to comment if A) the feel comfortable enough to do so without retribution, or B) they have something worth saying. I don't take issue with any of that. Or laziness either, for that matter. People can do and say or not do and not say however they're comfortable. No one owes me anything, so I feel honored by each view, fave or comment that does roll in.

And for whatever it's worth, speaking only for myself, I consider a single-word "nice" comment of equal value to a full paragraph dissecting the symbolic meanings of the character's leg positions. The point here to me is that I got someone to say something. I don't need pages and pages of comments to feel valid, I just need to know someone is out there at all.

I never comment on anything, unless I have a real urge to give one. My participation in feedback comes from giving the image a favorite, but I've personally never been one to leave comments. Maybe more people feel the same as I do, but it just doesn't seem necessary to comment praise on every image I like; at some point, the praise loses its value and just becomes a copy-paste in my eyes.

Hi there, Foxy! Thank you!

It's been a very common statement here — people prefer not to comment unless they have something to say, if at all. And that is all anyone could ever ask for. I don't expect you or anyone to comment just to comment, or to justify why you faved something. You can remain as silent or as boisterous as you wish! My concern has been in the trend I'm experiencing... I used to receive comments and faves with much higher frequency, which would help me grow and directed me as to what things were getting reactions and how I might improve. And then suddenly most of that dried up. And of course, my low-confidence automatically has me believing this is because my work is boring or bad. ...Until I read that lots of people are experiencing this same problem with silence and non-responsive viewers. So now I'm back to wondering: is it me? Or is it the whole fandom?

And just because I feel it's important to mention: I for one would never care about the quality of a person's comment. I find lengthy heartfelt critiques are just as valuable as one-word statements. It's the thought that counts, and the more a person puts into it, all the better.

Thank you so much for sharing!

I suspect people are just more anti social nowadays. I'm seeing a huge lack of comments even on my gallery nowadays. Excluding "Milking The Golden Stallion" and "New Gallery Directions?", my last 19 submissions garnered only 28 comments (which exclude my replies and heart emojis), where almost half of those comments came from just 1 submission out of said 19.

I recently posted a survey for my viewers to complete. Out of all my characters people wanted to see more of, Lisa took the #1 spot. I recently wrote a 4,359 word story detailing her origins. With 1500+ views and 50+ faves, it only got 1 comment.

All in all, if any of my submissions get any comments, it's usually 1 or 2 legitimate comments, and almost never spark a conversation. However, a strong number of my most recent submissions net 0 comments, unless you count heart emojis as valid comments. So it's not just you.

I would definitely say some form of antisocial — or perhaps really, hypersocial. Self-important and unconfident at the same time... which is definitely where I am now. There was a time that I felt very confident about what I do and how I do it. But as this social experiment has continued, I feel more and more left out, forgotten, alone and disconnected. Part of that is age, to be sure. But really, despite my tenure in this stew of communication, I think everyone is expecting what the world has promised them: Attention. And no one is happy with 2 or 3 likes anymore; they want 2 or 3 thousand. Ten thousand. This is a form of narcissism corrupting even the most timid and introverted personalities... 100% me, I think.

I can't entirely explain the lack of commenting. Even Dragoneer (above) mentioned that it's a concerning topic even among the administrators of sites like this one, so clearly it is not you or me alone. The void of comments is likely a symptom of everything mentioned above:
• Fear from would-be commentors that creators will become annoyed with their comment
• Fear from would-be commentors that their comment is not valid/creative/wordy enough to matter
• Apathy — since 'someone else will comment instead' or 'what difference does it make?'
• Competition — since there is so much content online no, commenters only note on really oustanding pieces or random pieces

And even as you said to me once before, the authors and written-word artists have it even worse. Any pain I could ever complain about as a visual artist is nothing compared to the authors. At least my artwork is 'immediately satisfying', unlike the labor of (God forbid) having to READ something which takes time and effort and gets very little attention by comparison. ... I have uploaded over 350,000 words to FA in 12 separate chapters and I've received zero comments, emoji or otherwise. I know that's a very common author problem, but it makes it no less crushing.

How does one heal apathy? Scream louder? Work harder? Or just stop trying and hope someone notices?

It could also be that FA's been around long enough that most of what's circulating really doesn't seem all that new or innovative, at least not enough to comment and discuss concepts. I've noticed most of the people that tend to comment are people that are either new to FA or have a notably strong affinity to what's being posted.

That survey I mentioned earlier had over 110 participants, and I only posted the survey twice - once in my journal, and another in my gallery. It goes to show that people still peruse FA, and the drop in comments is likely more attributed to complacency than a lack of interest.

It's a good theory, and I've certainly tested it. I'm on literally every social network and gallery site. And while I assume that the majority of 'my audience' overlap services, I also expect that there are unique patrons to each service as well. In either case, I get literally zero comments from any source. From Twitter to SoFurry, FurryNetwork to Deviant Art, no one comments, no one faves, no one likes. It's the most depressing thing ever. Just a large collection of crickets and tumbleweed. I'm really considering just packing it all up. This might just be the glaring sign I've always been afraid it was. Maybe I'll just be the creator that only shows up to random conventions with a scraggly grey beard and weathered coat drawing in the corner while people ask, "say, isn't that KB? Didn't he draw or something?" And they'll say, "Who? Oh. *shrugs* whatever."

And then maybe I'll train the next karate kid or something.

As a content creator, I too love talking about the pervy ideas bouncing around in my noggin, but I've come to realize that comments shouldn't be used to fulfill a sense of validation or a sense of acknowledgement. VCL didn't support comments, and Doug Winger did pretty alright just by uploading delicious lewd arts. When I see my stuff hitting 4chan, g.e-hentai, e621, or other upload sites, and someone asks for source, I often see my name being referenced even if it was an upload that garnered no comments here on FA. Just because people don't comment doesn't mean people don't care.

I admit I hardly comment now a days. Even when I first joined this site I hardly commented. I've just been the lurking type that silently supports the artists. It is sad that this trend of creator's works not getting a lot of fan reaction/feedback if any at all has seemingly grown in the few years I've been on this site. I don't mean to not show the creator that I like their stuff past +Fav'ing their works and I do want to make a better effort to comment more. I'm just terrible at commenting haha

Commenting has lost its importance, I think. This thread is the most activity I have ever seen on anything I have ever posted since the beginning of the internet. I wonder now if its apathy toward commenting in general, low interest in sharing thoughts, or if all of that energy is just being consumed elsewhere. Places like Telegram and Discord are electric with activity, but gallery sites are drying up. Maybe it's just that the model of having a gallery site is passe and outdated.

And to be clear, I constantly struggle while walking that very thin line between "a creator needing to advertise for attention" and "a creator who wants attention for his skill, not the volume of his cries." Organic growth seems to be a false concept. I pick on one particular creator a lot (which is probably unfair), but there is a certain hyper-popular artist on FA that recently posted a YCH for a ridiculous $5,000 which was CLEARLY an attempt to create a stir and draw a crowd. And it worked like a charm, since that one image garnered more views, comments, and likes in 8 hours than my entire gallery has in 12 years... And someone bought it, which is whole 'bother level of disgusting, but I digress.

I DO very much appreciate the lurkers and silent watchers. Watching someone in silence is still a fan, whether they comment or not, and I would never mean to say that those folks are undesirable. If anything, it's merely my low-confidence that wishes people would speak up because I as a creator don't know if the artwork I am posting is being shrugged off as mediocre, or if the themes I'm sharing are boring, or if people are just collecting things in private. It's not that I feel EVERYONE needs to comment — it's just that when NOONE comments (ever), I start measuring the worth of my skill and wonder what I'm even doing.

.. But thank you very much for weighing in! I appreciate the thought.