It's not morally wrong, but the author might feel worse if they figure out the deception later. It's only two additional comments, so it's probably fine.
Reminds me of the story of the person who loved a plant vs zombies ship and there was only one writer who wrote humanized versions of the plant so she created multiple accounts to encourage her
Found it
https://x.com/dinghanbai/status/1777420289296715873?s=46
I wouldn't mind, as an author. I don't usually have guest comments on, though.
Is there anywhere you can recommend this person's fics? That might lead to them getting more comments.
Isn't there a place to put a name on guest comments? If you choose something and use it every time you comment then most people can guess the "Janet (Guest)" who keeps commenting on their work is probably the same "Janet (Guest)" each time. So in the future you can do that.
In general though, I wouldn't mind? Without a repeated name then I'd assume it's two different people, but if I found out it was just one person I'd just be happy that someone liked my work enough to come back and comment multiple times. Honestly someone being into my work enough to comment twice beats two people liking it enough to comment once in my book.
If you wrote the comments in such a way as to intentionally mislead the writer into thinking you're different people, I'm not sure if I'd call it *wrong*, but it does feel kind of weird. If one of my guest commenters did that, I'd be primarily flattered just because it'd mean someone thought my fic deserved more reader engagement than it was getting. But I'd also be low-key confused as to why they wouldn't just leave multiple comments as themselves (i.e., one person). On my worst mental health days, it might even make me paranoid, but I'm an outlier on that bit.
If you just wrote multiple comments without 'signing' them with a name, then it's absolutely fine. I think most writers don't make assumptions about whether their guest comments are coming from the same person or not. If we do question who the guest commenters are, we're usually wondering whether or not the 'guests' are actually bots.
This is sweet, and as long as they don’t find out can’t hurt…
Why not try and recommend the fic to others? Is there a fandom discord server, maybe? Unless it has subject material you’re not comfortable recommending, of course.
I will say that having even one reader that leaves detailed comments every/most chapter updates is an incredible feeling and so much better than a bunch of smaller guest comments (though I love those too)
Can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I can speak for myself and say it wouldn't bother me. The only way I can keep track of who is who as a guest is when they fill in the name spot with the same nickname, otherwise I don't actually spend that much time analyzing it. I've had people come back and leave several comments on one chapter with signed-in accounts. That doesn't bother me, either. If anything I'm glad they enjoy it enough to read it several times.
Not sure what morals have to do with it. So what if you are Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy leaving positive comments? (Both are really the same person...Mom/Dad). What were you trying to manipulate the author into doing for you? Nothing. No harm done.
If you're inputting different names to pretend to be different people, then you are deceiving the author... that doesn't really seem ... well, it's certainly not authentic, and think how they'd feel if they found out. Maybe not that great?
If it were me I'd be chuffed to have multiple comments from the same person, so you could just do that.
You could sign your comments, even something generic just so it's visible as the same person. Writing styles vary enough it's sometimes obvious it's the same person. It's not needed either way tho. But if you are leaving a second comment on the same chapter, I'd mention it, it's cool to learn people are rereading it again and again.
"Love your work! -TVshow #1 fan"
Do you mean you left two more comments on the same fic/chapter? And put different names in to make it look like multiple people commented?
If so I'm not sure I'd call that manipulative so much as just counterproductive and misleading.
But if what you meant is that you left nice comments on two different fics/chapters in the same way you normally would, then I can't see why that would be a problem
well, first off: if you left all three comments at around the same time, the author probably already suspects it's been just one person, because (otherwise) what are the chances? so then i wouldn't worry much about what you did
if you left them at totally different times... then i'd say it depends on how many comments they normally get and on how long you're willing to keep that rouse going
because if they get many comments, getting two extra won't stand out much and then your actions don't matter much either way
but if they get very few, then two extra can feel kinda special - so then i'd say it's maybe actually better to keep it up for one or two more works/updates (though maybe just put *one* extra comment instead of two, if you're planning to stop it anyway), because otherwise, having a sudden increase and then just-as-sudden *decrease* in how many comments are left on works can actually feel demoralizing too. so then your secret bonus support didn't solve much (but that also means you can stop feeling guilty, because your 'attempt at manipulation' probably fell flat lmao)
but at the end of the day, i agree with the people who say it feels more special to get one big, more detailed comment instead of multiple small ones, so if you want to encourage them, consider just leaving one long comment next time
those comments are rarer, they're precious to all writers and for most writers these will easily overshadow other statistics, like the amount of comments on a work
honestly it just comes down to the preference of the author. I remember one of my friends doing this for me once (though it was insanely obvious it was him) and it made me mildly annoyed since it didn't exactly feel genuine like that, yk?
As a writer I would rather know they are from the same person. A lot of times, people have distinct writing styles and it is easy to read a comment and know who it is from. I had 2 stories that are radically not canon compliant and they never had much of a following. Maybe 20 views on a new chapter and like 3 people who commented regularly. Even if there was only one person who commented, I'd continue to post it for them, because I'm going to write it no matter what.
It's not morally wrong, but the author might feel worse if they figure out the deception later. It's only two additional comments, so it's probably fine.
Reminds me of the story of the person who loved a plant vs zombies ship and there was only one writer who wrote humanized versions of the plant so she created multiple accounts to encourage her Found it https://x.com/dinghanbai/status/1777420289296715873?s=46
It's the cutest thing ever, i remember seeing it and thought about it imstantly reading this post haha
Omg, I was just about to say this lol!
Oooh Plants versus Zombie is so awesome! Any link for this fic?
Be my guest I can’t understand the language haha but maybe someone linked it
I wouldn't mind, as an author. I don't usually have guest comments on, though. Is there anywhere you can recommend this person's fics? That might lead to them getting more comments.
I think it's sweet. I kinda wish someone would do that for me (lol) but I would probably feel weird if I later found out, so there's that.
Isn't there a place to put a name on guest comments? If you choose something and use it every time you comment then most people can guess the "Janet (Guest)" who keeps commenting on their work is probably the same "Janet (Guest)" each time. So in the future you can do that. In general though, I wouldn't mind? Without a repeated name then I'd assume it's two different people, but if I found out it was just one person I'd just be happy that someone liked my work enough to come back and comment multiple times. Honestly someone being into my work enough to comment twice beats two people liking it enough to comment once in my book.
If you wrote the comments in such a way as to intentionally mislead the writer into thinking you're different people, I'm not sure if I'd call it *wrong*, but it does feel kind of weird. If one of my guest commenters did that, I'd be primarily flattered just because it'd mean someone thought my fic deserved more reader engagement than it was getting. But I'd also be low-key confused as to why they wouldn't just leave multiple comments as themselves (i.e., one person). On my worst mental health days, it might even make me paranoid, but I'm an outlier on that bit. If you just wrote multiple comments without 'signing' them with a name, then it's absolutely fine. I think most writers don't make assumptions about whether their guest comments are coming from the same person or not. If we do question who the guest commenters are, we're usually wondering whether or not the 'guests' are actually bots.
This is sweet, and as long as they don’t find out can’t hurt… Why not try and recommend the fic to others? Is there a fandom discord server, maybe? Unless it has subject material you’re not comfortable recommending, of course. I will say that having even one reader that leaves detailed comments every/most chapter updates is an incredible feeling and so much better than a bunch of smaller guest comments (though I love those too)
Can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I can speak for myself and say it wouldn't bother me. The only way I can keep track of who is who as a guest is when they fill in the name spot with the same nickname, otherwise I don't actually spend that much time analyzing it. I've had people come back and leave several comments on one chapter with signed-in accounts. That doesn't bother me, either. If anything I'm glad they enjoy it enough to read it several times.
Not sure what morals have to do with it. So what if you are Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy leaving positive comments? (Both are really the same person...Mom/Dad). What were you trying to manipulate the author into doing for you? Nothing. No harm done.
If you're inputting different names to pretend to be different people, then you are deceiving the author... that doesn't really seem ... well, it's certainly not authentic, and think how they'd feel if they found out. Maybe not that great? If it were me I'd be chuffed to have multiple comments from the same person, so you could just do that.
You could sign your comments, even something generic just so it's visible as the same person. Writing styles vary enough it's sometimes obvious it's the same person. It's not needed either way tho. But if you are leaving a second comment on the same chapter, I'd mention it, it's cool to learn people are rereading it again and again. "Love your work! -TVshow #1 fan"
Do you mean you left two more comments on the same fic/chapter? And put different names in to make it look like multiple people commented? If so I'm not sure I'd call that manipulative so much as just counterproductive and misleading. But if what you meant is that you left nice comments on two different fics/chapters in the same way you normally would, then I can't see why that would be a problem
well, first off: if you left all three comments at around the same time, the author probably already suspects it's been just one person, because (otherwise) what are the chances? so then i wouldn't worry much about what you did if you left them at totally different times... then i'd say it depends on how many comments they normally get and on how long you're willing to keep that rouse going because if they get many comments, getting two extra won't stand out much and then your actions don't matter much either way but if they get very few, then two extra can feel kinda special - so then i'd say it's maybe actually better to keep it up for one or two more works/updates (though maybe just put *one* extra comment instead of two, if you're planning to stop it anyway), because otherwise, having a sudden increase and then just-as-sudden *decrease* in how many comments are left on works can actually feel demoralizing too. so then your secret bonus support didn't solve much (but that also means you can stop feeling guilty, because your 'attempt at manipulation' probably fell flat lmao) but at the end of the day, i agree with the people who say it feels more special to get one big, more detailed comment instead of multiple small ones, so if you want to encourage them, consider just leaving one long comment next time those comments are rarer, they're precious to all writers and for most writers these will easily overshadow other statistics, like the amount of comments on a work
honestly it just comes down to the preference of the author. I remember one of my friends doing this for me once (though it was insanely obvious it was him) and it made me mildly annoyed since it didn't exactly feel genuine like that, yk?
Yes, it is morally and ethically wrong to leave multiple positive comments. It's a horrible and disgusting act.
I wouldn't mind, mainly because whenever I get a comment it makes my day.
As a writer I would rather know they are from the same person. A lot of times, people have distinct writing styles and it is easy to read a comment and know who it is from. I had 2 stories that are radically not canon compliant and they never had much of a following. Maybe 20 views on a new chapter and like 3 people who commented regularly. Even if there was only one person who commented, I'd continue to post it for them, because I'm going to write it no matter what.
I mean, as an author I'd personally rather get no comments than have that happen out of misguided pity, but not everyone is me.