...someone posts something illogical in a review. Like; 'Well I don't like Sesshomaru with Kagome, I'm a Inuyasha/Kagome fan...' When it is specifically marked as sesshomaru and kagome? This isn't really aimed at here obvioiusly, but I got that in review on fanfiction and it just irked me a bit. A lot of people that fail at reading come to fanfiction sites...

hn... not really, but I can see how that might be irritating to some authors. Reviews like that have in my experience usually followed with something like "I'm not a S/K shipper, but Im glad I took a chance on this fic, because I'm hooked. I absolutely love how you portray these two characters together, and didn't think I ever would." those reviews make me happy Plus I'm always up to the challenge of trying to creat a few converts. Dont let it upset you too much - if they are complaining about it rather than praising you, then just chalk them up as if they are too stupid to read its a s/k then they are probably too stupid to appreciate your work anyways. <3

Moxy, I'm so glad you have that outlook. I have to admit, when I first started reading InuYasha fanfics, I was really...SURPRISED when I came across a Sess/Kag pairing. At first I was like, "NO! This is wrong on so many levels! Kagome belongs with InuYasha!"
But then I came across some more Sess/Kag pairing fics, and I was like, "Hmmm...This author makes me actually like this pairing..."then it turned to, "Oh wow...I LOVE this pairing". Now it's like, "Kagome and Inuyasha? No! Kagome belongs to Sesshoumaru!"

And Aura, as a reviewer of a story, (and I can only speak from my point of view, so take this for what it is...) If I see something in a fic that I question, I will ask about it. Not in a rude, "Durr hurr, wat r u putting Kagomez with Sesshomaruz 4?" Some people don't understand that point of view...YET. But work with them through your writing, and they'll soon see. Kagome is MEANT for Sesshoumaru.

First off, thank you to everyone for being fairly nice on this thread. It is one of those sensitive subjects that can get out of hand pretty easily.

Now for the subject itself, some people just don't know what tact is. Everyone knows a few people like this. People who just blurt out what they feel without any censor. These people like anyone else, are on the internet too. They read fanfiction or look at fanart, and they feel that their blunt opinion should be welcome anywhere.

I have a particular picture on dA that gets flamed about every three weeks or so by people like this. It's a Fruits Basket one, and I have their favorite character acting in a slightly lecherous way. They scream to me that he wouldn't do that, blah, blah, blah. But at least twice a week, I get a comment on how much someone loves it. They like me showcasing him in that way.

In the end, these "brutally honest" people aren't going away. They have their opinion on how the world should be, and you just seem to violate that. Just be happy that you don't know them in person.

I can definitely agree with all of you on the points you made. I was a initially a Inu/Kag shipper until I came across Single Spark in a google search one day. I read a fic, I think the author was Rymsie, and I fell in love with the pairing.

I always try to make it clear what the pairing is in my descriptions, yet like Aura said you do get the occasional person who doens't read carefully enough.

We will just need to convert all the naysayers to Sess/Kag!

Feminafures wrote:

We will just need to convert all the naysayers to Sess/Kag!

AGREED!

I get comments like that on my art sometimes. They bug me more because I don't really know how to respond to them, I feel like, why even bother taking the time to make the comment? Am I supposed to apologize? - "Sorry I'm not drawing a pairing you like"...?

I think it depends on how its phrased, because "This is pretty, but I don't like this pairing" irks me but something along the lines of "I don't even like this pairing but this pic makes me want to like it" is nice. Because I think we've all been there, in fact thats how i got into Sess/Kag. But the first one feels like I'm being accused of having questionable taste.

Haha, or maybe I'm overly sensitive.

It was easy for me to be converted to Sess/Kag, because there were so many things that disturbed me about InuYasha and Kagome's relationship. InuYasha has said the most demeaning, cruel things to Kagome, and acted with total disregard for her feelings over and over. InuYasha never did pick Kagome over Kikyo when Kikyo was "alive". And now that the final episodes have made it to anime, it troubles me even more. I'm talking about Kikyo's death scene. Yeah. After that, how could Kagome EVER feel like anything but a stand-in? But, no matter how carefully you explain your reasoning when you write a Sess/Kag fic, there are always going to be readers who insist that InuYasha and Kagome BELONG together. I don't get that...

Janey-jane wrote:
I get comments like that on my art sometimes. They bug me more because I don't really know how to respond to them, I feel like, why even bother taking the time to make the comment? Am I supposed to apologize? - "Sorry I'm not drawing a pairing you like"...?

I think it depends on how its phrased, because "This is pretty, but I don't like this pairing" irks me but something along the lines of "I don't even like this pairing but this pic makes me want to like it" is nice. Because I think we've all been there, in fact thats how i got into Sess/Kag. But the first one feels like I'm being accused of having questionable taste.

Haha, or maybe I'm overly sensitive.

You're not too sensitive. I get the same way. It would annoy me evem more with fanart though because the pairing is right in their face and not something they could have missed while reading a story...lol. It's like why did they even bother to click on it in the first place if the pairing wasn't to their liking?

BTW, I really love your art.

For those that have to deal with reviews like these, I'll tell you the same thing I tell the members of Dokuga Reviewers Guild...Watch your POV's. Though people don't always come off as they intend, trust me I tend to sound rude when I don't mean to, a good rule of thumb to watch for is whether they use 'I' or 'You'.

When speaking in first person, 'I', it automatically comes off as an opinion and it's exactly what any and all reviews are. So when someone says 'I like this picture, but I don't like the pairing', it tells you that even though they don't even like the pairing, they still took the time to look over/read your art/story and comment on how they liked it. That's a good thing . And yes, sometimes the way they say it comes off sounding almost like a flame, I've had quite a few of those, but remember that you can't hear their tone or see their attitude in text.

When they speak in second person, 'you', these tend to sound ruder and I try to keep the DRG members away from it. A simple change of words 'I like the picture, but I don't like the pairing you picked', makes it sound so much more like a personal attack. And the exact same sentence can sound much harsher simply by changing the POV.

My point, and yes I have a point somewhere, is that if the comment is hard to read exactly, if it is in first person, take it as they are simply stating their opinion and remember it will not always be the same as yours. If they speak in second person, you are probably better off ignoring a comment you see as being rude. Either that or simply send them a message to elaborate.

And Aura instead of feeling like you should or shouldn't have to say sorry that they don't like the pairing, try 'Well it's understandable that you might like a different pairing, but thank you for commenting on my art/story'. Even if they were purposely trying to be rude, and 9 times outta 10 they weren't, they will find it really hard to argue with a thank you .

We will just need to convert all the naysayers to Sess/Kag!

YES! We shall all unite under the banner of Sess/Kag and Kouga-kun! Oooh...Sess/Kag/Kouga-kun...

Haven't checked back here in a while and it's nice to see all the posts. I wasn't rude about it to the person, I actually pointed out to them there was a tool on fanfiction for them to pick out the pairings they liked so they could find them easier and discovered they'd actually been away from the site a long while and hadn't noticed. So I can see what folks are saying here. It still irks me when people do that, but some cases aren't so bad. I'll have to get to work on that converting more people to Sesshy/Kagome or in my personal case crossover Bleach Byakuya/Kagome

To be honest, I've never gotten a review where a reader has told me that they don't like the pairing. It could be because I've recently began posting on Dokuga exclusivly, and because all people on Dokuga are Sess/Kag fans, it isn't really an issue. But if I were in your situation and recieving reviews where the reader is unsatisfied with the pairing, I would simply explain that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. They have as much right as you do to favor a certain pairing. If they don't like your choice of pairing, nothing is forcing them to read it. I know that may sound harsh, but I prefer being blunt with these type of instances, beacuse really, what more is there to say? It's like a TV show, if you dont like it, don't watch it.

But yeah... don't be offended by their comments. You work hard to write what you do, and for one person to deter you from what you love because they are unagreeable is audacious. Do what you love and believe in what have you, just as the billions of people out there do so.

^_^

Gabrielle wrote:
To be honest, I've never gotten a review where a reader has told me that they don't like the pairing. It could be because I've recently began posting on Dokuga exclusivly, and because all people on Dokuga are Sess/Kag fans, it isn't really an issue. But if I were in your situation and recieving reviews where the reader is unsatisfied with the pairing, I would simply explain that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. They have as much right as you do to favor a certain pairing. If they don't like your choice of pairing, nothing is forcing them to read it. I know that may sound harsh, but I prefer being blunt with these type of instances, beacuse really, what more is there to say? It's like a TV show, if you dont like it, don't watch it.

But yeah... don't be offended by their comments. You work hard to write what you do, and for one person to deter you from what you love because they are unagreeable is audacious. Do what you love and believe in what have you, just as the billions of people out there do so.

^_^

Actually, I did get a review from someone who thought a Shippo/Kagome was just sick. While I do agree that everyone is entitled to their preferred pairings, every author/artist is entitled to create whatever they want. I'm open to almost every pairing in the IY universe, including crossovers. Though I'm not particularly a big fan of Inuyasha/Kikyo due to the many cliches that are out there, it's all right to pair whatever characters you want, be it Inu/Kag, Sess/Kag, Sess/Rin, Inu/Kik, yuri, yaoi, threesomes, crossover, etc. Of course, not everybody's going to like whatever pairing you choose to write/draw about. I say this; if you don't like the pairing in a fanfic, then don't read it. If you don't like a fanart that involves certain pairings, don't click on them. No one is putting a proverbial gun to anyone's head, though there are conversions-lol. Everyone should keep an open mind about this. I do.

I've never gotten it with fanfiction (Because I don't write, hurhur), but I have gotten it with art. It doesn't really bother me much, since I am great at ignoring things. I figure that it's not worth my time to concern myself over it and feel that if they dislike the pairing - that they shouldn't waste their time looking at my art.

>___>. Seriously, if you know you don't like something, don't bother posting a review if it's not constructive.

<3 for the SK authors

There is a reviewer on media miner who hates Sess/Kag pairings, and she reviews every chapter of every story in an amazingly aggressive and nasty way. Because I'm so very curious, I went to other Sess/Kag stories to see if she reviewed them the same way as mine, and indeed she does. In one of her reviews, she actually wrote something along the lines of 'we have to all get together and drive all these Sess/Kag stories off the internet'. You would think, based on her vehemence, that she would be quite an InuYasha scholar, but she is not, in her reviews, she stated that several of the things I wrote about would NEVER happen, and that I was a moron for writing such a thing. An example would be the scene where Sesshomaru brought Rin a kimono while she was staying in Kaede's village. She obviously never bothered to read the manga. I'm kind of wondering if a lot of the postings on this thread are about this same reviewer...

I've never received a comment like the ones mentioned BUT that doesn't mean I wouldn't ( I may have just jinxed myself now! lol). I've had people tell me that its a interesting pair and thats it. I take it all with a grain of salt. I actually deal with someone of these people y'all are talking about on a daily basis at my work. Online you can ignore it but in reality like at work you just want to smack'em lol. Some people you just have to ignore no matter how irritating they can be.

P.S Aura Byakuya/ Kagome is one of my favorite crossovers too!

I've rather stayed out of this thread because I wanted to see where it was going before dropping in my two pennies on it. Since it's staying fairly calm and no one is throwing tantrums, I'll add my thoughts on it and a suggestion that I'm sure the mods and admins here on the site will like.

I've, unfortunately, been on the receiving end of these reviews several times on several sites (I got so many on one site that the objection was the pairing that I left it when nothing could be done and that's about all i was getting on there-it made it not worth the effort to post things). Most times, especially if you've made sure it's in the right category or the pairing is showing, you roll your eyes, call the person a name out loud to the computer then move on. They are what I call the 'whatEVER' beings('cause that's what I end up saying usually when I see something like that) that you just ignore. However, sadly, there are more malicious ones than that out there that will take after specific pairing or kinds of fiction just because of the pairing or what it contains (yaoi comes to mind for that and it's been taken after quite a bit just because of what it is on many sites).

It is these beings that a little more of something needs done about. Since I'm well acquainted with this case, as I helped to work it up and was on the receiving end of part of it on AFF, I'm going to use it as an example though not mention any names. We had a case late last year or earlier this one, I'm not really sure and can't remember without going to look, of a young lady that out and out couldn't stand one particular pairing. Now, unlike most of us who would see what category it was in and the pairing and not find that to their liking then move on to something that they did like, she didn't do that. Instead, what she chose to do was go in and rip on the authors and the story just because of the pairing. Mind you, all she ripped on were in the right place and the pairing in the story was easily readable and correct. After a couple complaints and a walk through the database to look at her reviews, we found a pattern to this then, as nicely as the one lady we draft to handle people like this could manage, we emailed her saying it wasn't appropriate and if you don't like a pairing, don't read it. Simple, yes? Apparently not. She knocked it off for a while then proceeded to start ripping into people again, going so far as to tell them that they needed to remove their stories because she found them offensive. Ri-ight!

We were on the way to deleting her from the site for these kinds of things since it was apparent that she wasn't going to behave when she got angry about some story then went on a tirade about how she hated one particular character and one particular pairing and how the authors of that were just awful to the one character, always picking on him. Unlike most sites, on AFF you can remove reviews and her tirade was removed by the author on the receiving end of it (me) but not after it was screenshoted and documented. Angered by this, she proceeded to spam-bomb the review board to the tune of 39 (last count though it could have been higher)reviews, all the same one, in under a half an hour (she wasn't swift enough to have looked at my profile and seen where it was clearly stated at the top that I'm an AFF moderator so I wouldn't just ignore her idiocy but document and report it in the right way). It was one of those surreal things that you couldn't believe unless you saw it as it was happening. It took the head admin stepping in and disabling her account to stop it then, after that happen, she tried doing it anonymously which was a function that had to be shut down for a time as well until it was over. Because of what the being was doing and the pairing that she was going after, we actually had to contact another site to give them fair warning about her since they only supported this particular pairing that she was raving against. In the end, this was a being that was so bad and so rabid about parings that she actually made into AFF's Hall of Shame for it.

Now, the reason I'm imparting this story, and I'm sure that a couple of you are getting a good chuckle out of it, is this... most times you get a 'whatEVER' one that you ignore however, if it keeps up and you keep seeing this kind of thing from the same being, REPORT THEM! Sites, other than the black hole that is ff.net, do take these things seriously and don't want beings around that cause them these kinds of problems. Sites don't want or need this kind of thing and it causes them problems and promotes things like flame wars in reviews and among authors and readers. They have ways of looking into who is doing it and what they've done on the site. Most times, all that happens is they say something to the being and it stops. Very easy. But for serious troublemakers it can take more and those are the kind of beings that site owners, mods and admins don't want around. They will cause all kinds of problems in all kinds of ways if they are left to go around doing what they are. No one is going to call you a tattle tale or harp on you for doing it. they want to know what is going on and who might be causing problems since they can't keep track of every story and every review board on their site. That nips things in the bud before it can get out of hand. Most of us are on sites like this to read, post and have fun, not rip someone apart because they don't like a pairing, story, author, whatever. Twits that do these kinds of things give mods, admins and owners migraines on a regular basis, not to mention the bad feelings they promote in the places they inhabit. That's not the way things should be. Reporting them and something being done helps to keep the good mojo going and makes places nice, calm and friendly to visit, cutting down on problems. That's what most want when they visit somewhere like Dokuga on the web.

Like I said, that's just my two cents on the matter and a little advice, take it for that and nothing more.

I actually have gotten "Nice fic, but I prefer I/K over S/K" reviews on this site. This site.

I remember when I got three reviews from the same person on a collection of one-shot crossovers that I wrote on ff.net. I usually write crossovers, but have the rare story where I will write Sess/Kag. But that is the only non-crossover pairing I write. However, for this collection of crossover one-shots(which stated it was a crossover collection) This person reviewed three of them, in each one they started cussing me out for pairing Kagome with someone other than Inuyasha. She called me an idiot, was saying she hated me, and that Kagome was just suppose to be with Inuyasha and only him. I ignored her first one because I thought 'Okay, well everyone has their preferences' but when she continued and when she started getting nastier with her reviews, I replied. I kept it nice, I told her that I respected the fact that she was a fan of Inuyasha and Kagome. However, I did not like that pairing personally because I do not like controlling or mentally abusive relationships, which is how I view that relationship. Nor, did I appreciate her calling me names just because she did not like what I wrote. I told her that this was a crossover collection which was mentioned many times(not only in the title and summary of the story, but also in the beginning of each chapter) and to simply not read it if she did not like it. She never replied or reviewed after that so I let it go, but I still remembered it because I was kind of amazed at how some people could be.

For most hateful reviews or even flames, I have learned it's best not to fuel the fire or to give them to reaction they want. I usually just thank them for their opinion and move on from there

LMAO I got one similar but it was Sesshomaru/Rin and it was on this site as well I just kinda went then moved on.

Sakuramaru wrote:
Moxy, I'm so glad you have that outlook. I have to admit, when I first started reading InuYasha fanfics, I was really...SURPRISED when I came across a Sess/Kag pairing. At first I was like, "NO! This is wrong on so many levels! Kagome belongs with InuYasha!"
But then I came across some more Sess/Kag pairing fics, and I was like, "Hmmm...This author makes me actually like this pairing..."then it turned to, "Oh wow...I LOVE this pairing". Now it's like, "Kagome and Inuyasha? No! Kagome belongs to Sesshoumaru!"

And Aura, as a reviewer of a story, (and I can only speak from my point of view, so take this for what it is...) If I see something in a fic that I question, I will ask about it. Not in a rude, "Durr hurr, wat r u putting Kagomez with Sesshomaruz 4?" Some people don't understand that point of view...YET. But work with them through your writing, and they'll soon see. Kagome is MEANT for Sesshoumaru.

- Sakuramaru; It was the exact same way for me!!!! I was always a die hard Inuyasha and Kagome fan, I even got a tattoo of them kissing on my upper back when I was seventeen . I thought Sesshomaru and Kagome would be a very odd couple but I started reading stories with them as a pairing and I am totally hooked!!! LOL after reading so many Sesshomaru and Kagome stories, I don't enjoy reading Inuyasha and Kagome pairings anymore :O

Oh my good god, yes!!

I've had that happen to me a few times and it made me want to slap the person. Honestly, open your eyes and look at the category, silly people! If you don't like a couple or genre, maybe don't read anything under that category. I honestly didn't think it was that hard of a concept to understand, but apparently some people are a little slow.

I also can't stand how these people are unusually nasty most of the time. I had one person actually tell me they hated me and wanted me to die because I'd written a story about a certain pairing. They then proceed to try and tell me why this pairing is so wrong. If you dislike a couple so much that it makes you mad, don't read a story based on the pairing.

At the same time, though, it always gives me a great laugh. The people who are dumb enough to do this always have the worst grammar and spelling, and it makes you wonder at the fact that they can even read. Someone wasn't paying too much attention in grade school, it seems! I wonder how much money the parents had to pay to bribe the teachers into passing these stupid kids. Or maybe the teachers were so bloody exasperated that they passed them just so that they weren't there again the next year.