hey just for the record, if you’re on r/ao3 and keep running into these kinds of comments on bookmark related posts — it’s not a good take. calling someone’s writing “slop” and saying it deserves criticism for being bad BECAUSE it’s posted publicly might seem like a nuanced take, but I promise it isn’t.
yes, sometimes us writers get a little too obsessed over a cryptic comment or bookmark; no, that doesn’t actually mean the solution is to say whatever you want in them because authors “deserve” your honesty. 
I know we’re in a touchy time for readers and writers, but comments like these are NOT kind, refreshing, or nuanced. they’re just kind of mean and discouraging.
also, this analogy falls completely apart, because a writer on AO3 is not a paid colleague of yours. there was no mandatory meeting that the cake was served at, or a free cake offered in the break room. even then, politeness would dictate that you’d maybe talk shit about the cake to a work buddy but we’d all understand it would be fucking rude to go up to becky herself and said “hey this cake was terrible” when she left something out for free for you to take or not take. it wouldn’t be rude to drop your plate in the trash, and if she sees a trash can full of cake she might feel bad, but that’s different from anyone SAYING something to her.
and also: salt instead of sugar in a cake is either malicious or a mistake. maybe a learning mistake. people usually don’t post stories they worked on maliciously. andif someone is still learning as a writer and makes a ton of mistakes, telling them it’s shit doesn’t help them much. maybe a person pulling becky aside to quietly say, “hey, i didn’t know if you knew this, but i think you accidentally used salt instead of sugar?” MIGHT be welcome but it would also be mortifying. much more so if becky had already realized it herself and is rather hoping nobody mentions it and everyone forgets it and she already knows to double check next time. she can bring it up herself with friends years later to laugh when it’s less stinging, the way some of us go, “God, fifteen years ago I wrote the most HORRIFIC Mary Sue fic, she had platinum hair and purple eyes, the works.”
and again, on ao3, you don’t even WORK with anyone. nobody is paid to be here. you suffer no loss of income if you can’t handle it on a particular day and pack up and go home. there is no moral high ground in reading a story and commenting or bookmarking JUST to tell someone their writing is shit. you find the one nice thing you can say if you ended up reading and not liking it, or you just don’t say anything at all. you hit backspace. go complain to your friends but don’t leave that negative shit in a public space. that’s BASIC human kindness.
if you pay for something, you can go to the person who sold you the thing and say, “hey this is terrible, and i’d like my money back,” or tell a larger audience, “don’t waste your money.” and to a degree, even THAT is subjective. but if you get something for free, you don’t go complain unless you’re part of a test market with someone specifically seeking constructive feedback– and that’s what fanfic writers go to friends and beta readers for.
but please, if you’re a person who leaves negative comments in a story or a bookmark, please rid yourself of the idea that being an asshole is fulfilling some kind of moral or craft role that helps make someone a better creator. if you think it’s just putting them in their place to discourage them from sharing and that’s a good thing you’re doing? then fuck you and see yourself out, thanks.
