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mimi_sardiniaOkay, so I have been reading stuff linked on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
metafandom again and can't help but wonder why people consistently misunderstand the meaning of some things, specifically about that ill-used defense - Don't Like; Don't Read.
What is it with people and that phrase? The poor thing gets thrown around everywhere and rarely actually gets used right!
The common scenario is the huffy fanfic writer. Happy little ficcer merrily poor their little heart into their fanfic opus only to get ripped a new one by concrit. What do they do? They pull the usual fanbrat defense of "OMG YUR MEEEEN!!!1!!!1!!! IF U DIDNT LIEK IT U SHOUDNT HAV RED IT!!!!
Oh dear. See what they did there? Poor DL;DR has been sent to do a job they weren't meant for. Or maybe they were, but the reader didn't heed the warning?
So the that sort of ficcer is probably the usual run-of-the-mill teeny fantwat with bad spelling, bad grammar and Mary Sues coming out of her ears. A lot of that type one can see coming for a mile because it shows in their summaries. The warnings are there, if you go in, it's your fault, you didn't pay attention to DL;DR.
The problem comes when the ficcer is literate, has a good story premise, a good summary and good text layout. Even moreso is when their writing seems reasonably good to start with but takes a turn for the worse a few chapters in. There was no warning in those fics, the title, the summary, the layout, the pairing, none of those looked bad so the innocent reader walked on in and settled down for a good read only to be hit with utter shit.
Then when the reader crits? The author goes and misuses DL;DR.
See, DL;DR is useless after the fact. The fic is already read, there's no use telling the depressed and annoyed reader "Don't like? Don't read!" because they can't unread the fic. DL;DR only works if the reader has had warning beforehand that there is something in the fic that they won't like.
Please note the keyword there: Beforehand.
If the fic has already been read, DL;DR is pointless. Stop throwing it around, you make it sad when you do.
metafandom again and can't help but wonder why people consistently misunderstand the meaning of some things, specifically about that ill-used defense - Don't Like; Don't Read. What is it with people and that phrase? The poor thing gets thrown around everywhere and rarely actually gets used right!
The common scenario is the huffy fanfic writer. Happy little ficcer merrily poor their little heart into their fanfic opus only to get ripped a new one by concrit. What do they do? They pull the usual fanbrat defense of "OMG YUR MEEEEN!!!1!!!1!!! IF U DIDNT LIEK IT U SHOUDNT HAV RED IT!!!!
Oh dear. See what they did there? Poor DL;DR has been sent to do a job they weren't meant for. Or maybe they were, but the reader didn't heed the warning?
So the that sort of ficcer is probably the usual run-of-the-mill teeny fantwat with bad spelling, bad grammar and Mary Sues coming out of her ears. A lot of that type one can see coming for a mile because it shows in their summaries. The warnings are there, if you go in, it's your fault, you didn't pay attention to DL;DR.
The problem comes when the ficcer is literate, has a good story premise, a good summary and good text layout. Even moreso is when their writing seems reasonably good to start with but takes a turn for the worse a few chapters in. There was no warning in those fics, the title, the summary, the layout, the pairing, none of those looked bad so the innocent reader walked on in and settled down for a good read only to be hit with utter shit.
Then when the reader crits? The author goes and misuses DL;DR.
See, DL;DR is useless after the fact. The fic is already read, there's no use telling the depressed and annoyed reader "Don't like? Don't read!" because they can't unread the fic. DL;DR only works if the reader has had warning beforehand that there is something in the fic that they won't like.
Please note the keyword there: Beforehand.
If the fic has already been read, DL;DR is pointless. Stop throwing it around, you make it sad when you do.
