Can we please talk about comments as a community? I know this will be a pretty controversial blog and I'm... just not going to cite examples for the sake of trying to minimize drama. It won't work at doing that, but I've seen countless examples of everything I'm talking about.
I'm going to quickly go over some common talking points and refute them real quick:
I deserve comments[]
Something I've seen a lot is people talking about how one page has more comments than their page that is either of the same franchise or is straight up something completely different but they feel the effort they've extended on that page is more than the page that has more comments.
Not only is this kind of an childish argument that basically boils down to "I deserve comments", but it also minimizes the effort of the author you're comparing yourself to. You can be better than that, and Fantendo really should be considered a hobby and not something you invest everything into. I can understand that not getting comments on things may suck, but it has nothing to do with the quality of your work. I will provide some solutions at the end of the blog.
This does not deserve comments[]
So many joke pages get this kind of treatment. The idea that a low quality effort article with several identifiable flaws that may be intentional by the author seems to blow people's minds when it begins to amass a bunch of comments either pointing out the article's flaws or just is groans from everyone else. Soon, arguments break out, eventually culminating in someone pointing out just how many comments this has. Eventually it devolves into a chaotic mess that is probably more entertaining than the page itself.
It's a self fulfilling prophecy, but for heaven's sake, can we stop pointing out how many comments a page has as if it's some kind of badge of honor we've accidentally given it? Comments are not a barometer of quality, and I'm sorry your game doesn't garner the kind of intelligent responses that an average argument on a joke page gets.
Other quick points[]
- Comments are not a barometer of quality. I've said this before in literally the last sentence, but it bears repeating.
- Most people are not going to be heaping praise because it's a lot easier to point out the flaws in something for this wiki than pointing out what's right. That really has nothing to do with the users on this wiki, but more so about the increasingly cynical society that has crafted a language around critique of something but not praise.
- Some users do get generally more comments than other users when starting a project, but this is for a number of factors that generally are applied to their standard of quality towards projects. People generally get more excited for something if they have some expectations.
Solutions[]
If you want to get comments... generally the best way to do this is actually providing clear and constructive feedback on other articles. Maybe people will feel more encouraged to comment on your pages back. I've seen this happen before. Another way is to ask for feedback but try and note something specific you'd like feedback on. This helps people hone onto what you want feedback on and maybe they'll chime in with some feedback on other sections. If all else fails, set up a poll that people can vote on. Maybe people won't commit to commenting, but maybe you see a barometer of what you want.
Be aware that these won't all work and I'm sorry if they don't. There's no specific magic formula for getting comments and you might have to work on them a little.
Overall, I hope people try not to put so much stock into how much comments something has anymore.