When you rec stories, do you feel compelled to point out the flaws in your rec (making it more like a review, I suppose), or do you try to remain positive?
I never point out flaws in a story be it in a review, comments or recs - it's just the way I am and my 'outlook' on fanfic. And I do rec stories that have got typos, layout issue, grammar stuff - nothing major and of the kind whereby the reader who go 'huh, what's the writer trying to say here', but stuff that isn't technically perfect. But I like it, I feel it worthy of being recc'd, so I rec it. When it comes to other 'negative' things: an ending I didn't like, off-characterisation, etc. etc. well I wouldn't considering reccing the story in the first place, because if it had those kinds of 'problems' then to me, no matter how 'good' it was in other respects, it wouldn't be worthy of being recc'd - by me. Maybe that's a weird way of looking at it, of doing recs, but that's me :-)
I do rec on crack_van from time to time and I make a point of saying that I rec stories that I personally enjoy, and that's how I do it. If I like a story then I'll rec it; it doesn't matter if it has a smattering of typos or other technical errors in it, those to me personally aren't important. And I know that whilst they are for some people, others, like myself, aren't bothered. I do tend to say if the author is a non-native English speaker, but I do that so that I can also be positive about how good they are. I'll also make a point of saying if the writer is new to writing and/or the pairing I'm reccing.
Or is it even something you've thought about?
When I first started to rec, I did think about whether I should say 'this story has a handful of technical errors', not for the reader so much as for how I might be perceived as a reccer if I didn't mention them. However, I thought about how I'd feel if I saw one of my stories recc'd and it included 'there are a few typos' and added to the fact that I know typos don't bother everyone, plus I'm off the view that if someone says 'not beta'd' or 'this probably contains errors' then people's minds get into that way of thinking and they go looking for the typos. Not consciously (well some do, I know) but sub-consciously. Thus, if a reccer says the story has a few typos, people might well look for them, but if nothing is said, they could well be caught up in the story and thus not bother. Also saying 'there are a handful of typos' will put some people off reading what is otherwise a great story.
As a reader, do you prefer an honest, "warts and all" review, or would you rather go into a story with a more positive impression in mind? Or do you even read a rec beyond simply finding links to click on?
As a reader, I rarely read recs, because I know that one person's idea of a rec worthy story isn't someone else's. That's generalising of course. If the rec is by an author I love then of course I'll read it, ditto if it happens to be my main pairing in my main fandom, then I'll read that. But that aside I read recs, as in reading what people say, and I far prefer recs that are positive. I don't really want 'warts and all', I'd rather form my own impression, and it bothers me (on the author's behalf) if I see a rec that is critical - beyond maybe a 'there are a few minor technical errors, but they don't detract from the story' kind of comment.
As a writer, do you object to having recs of your stories that aren't all-positive? Would you prefer not to be recced at all rather than have your story memorialized for all time as "Great characterization, terrible grammar"?
I would definitely prefer not to be recc'd at all than to have 'great characterisation, terrible grammar'. I'd feel awful if that was said. It's not so much I'd 'object' to it, I'd just be upset by it and wonder why the person bothered to rec the story in the first place.
no subject
When you rec stories, do you feel compelled to point out the flaws in your rec (making it more like a review, I suppose), or do you try to remain positive?
I never point out flaws in a story be it in a review, comments or recs - it's just the way I am and my 'outlook' on fanfic. And I do rec stories that have got typos, layout issue, grammar stuff - nothing major and of the kind whereby the reader who go 'huh, what's the writer trying to say here', but stuff that isn't technically perfect. But I like it, I feel it worthy of being recc'd, so I rec it. When it comes to other 'negative' things: an ending I didn't like, off-characterisation, etc. etc. well I wouldn't considering reccing the story in the first place, because if it had those kinds of 'problems' then to me, no matter how 'good' it was in other respects, it wouldn't be worthy of being recc'd - by me. Maybe that's a weird way of looking at it, of doing recs, but that's me :-)
I do rec on
Or is it even something you've thought about?
When I first started to rec, I did think about whether I should say 'this story has a handful of technical errors', not for the reader so much as for how I might be perceived as a reccer if I didn't mention them. However, I thought about how I'd feel if I saw one of my stories recc'd and it included 'there are a few typos' and added to the fact that I know typos don't bother everyone, plus I'm off the view that if someone says 'not beta'd' or 'this probably contains errors' then people's minds get into that way of thinking and they go looking for the typos. Not consciously (well some do, I know) but sub-consciously. Thus, if a reccer says the story has a few typos, people might well look for them, but if nothing is said, they could well be caught up in the story and thus not bother. Also saying 'there are a handful of typos' will put some people off reading what is otherwise a great story.
As a reader, do you prefer an honest, "warts and all" review, or would you rather go into a story with a more positive impression in mind? Or do you even read a rec beyond simply finding links to click on?
As a reader, I rarely read recs, because I know that one person's idea of a rec worthy story isn't someone else's. That's generalising of course. If the rec is by an author I love then of course I'll read it, ditto if it happens to be my main pairing in my main fandom, then I'll read that. But that aside I read recs, as in reading what people say, and I far prefer recs that are positive. I don't really want 'warts and all', I'd rather form my own impression, and it bothers me (on the author's behalf) if I see a rec that is critical - beyond maybe a 'there are a few minor technical errors, but they don't detract from the story' kind of comment.
As a writer, do you object to having recs of your stories that aren't all-positive? Would you prefer not to be recced at all rather than have your story memorialized for all time as "Great characterization, terrible grammar"?
I would definitely prefer not to be recc'd at all than to have 'great characterisation, terrible grammar'. I'd feel awful if that was said. It's not so much I'd 'object' to it, I'd just be upset by it and wonder why the person bothered to rec the story in the first place.