Meaning of Kudos

[littlemousling]

Poll #10088 Meaning of Kudos

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 369

When I click the Kudos button, it most often means (one or more of) the following:

View Answers

Good job!
261 (70.7%)

I liked this!
339 (91.9%)

I finished this and didn't hate it!
60 (16.3%)

I ADORED this!
204 (55.3%)

I like clicking buttons and assign no meaning!
4 (1.1%)

None of these options apply
6 (1.6%)

This is a sort of follow-up to bethbethbeth's great Kudos/Comments poll here. There are a number of comments there discussing the various reasons people click the Kudos button, some of which may be more common reasons than others.

Feel free to expand on your answer!

Comments

[sprat]

I'm not arguing that writers do not want feedback, though. What I'm saying is a) so what? Our wanting feedback on our work doesn't mean anyone has a moral prerogative to provide it to us (good lord, if ONLY the world worked like that!); and also b) Kudos ARE, in fact, feedback. The word means "honour; glory; acclaim", actually, so they are (at least nominally) pretty high praise. They may also be a little rote and generic and non-specific, but so are a lot of supposedly handwritten comments. C'est la vie, you know? At least it's not silence, which is by far the most lackadaisical, most ambiguous, least helpful most common feedback writers tend to get on their work.

[esteefee]

Yes, sure. Me too. But that doesn't mean I'm going to GET what I want, you know?

But, to reiterate, in a gift economy, it is important for the sustainability of the economy that its members try to "circulate and redistribute valuables within the community".

And in that context, I think kudos are the least valuable gifts, like leaving, I dunno, a single rose petal outside my door.

Whereas comments are like leaving food.

And I do think there are some situations where kudos are very much like silence. e.g., when a single kudoser leaves a kudos on every single story in an 80K word series, but not a single comment. Then it definitely feels like deliberate silence from that particular user, as the kudos trickle in one after another. It's like they are spending the day with me without saying a single word.

[sprat]

It's like they are spending the day with me without saying a single word.

Except they HAVE said a word: "kudos". In fact, in your scenario they've said it several times.

And in that context, I think kudos are the least valuable gifts...

Wow. Hmm. I guess I believe that it is unacceptably rude to comment on the relative value of gifts I've been given? (???)

I guess what it comes down to is that I just find that I am a much happier person if I avoid assigning hidden negative motives to the actions of strangers when I have no concrete reasons to do so. So, like, maybe half the people who click the kudos button on my stories really ARE trying to damn me with faint praise. But since I'm choosing to read these malicious kudos they're sending as unambiguous compliments, they're completely missing their intended mark, and I totally win. I feel pretty good about this as an approach to life in general, actually.

But of course you are entitled to approach things differently if you prefer. I just wish you (and those who share your feelings) would make it clear that you expect a certain kind of feedback from all readers of your work in the header info, so people can make an informed choice about whether or not they want to go ahead and read it.

[esteefee]

Except they HAVE said a word: "kudos". In fact, in your scenario they've said it several times.

Saying the same word 14 times in a row is *meaningless*. Try it. Or at least, coming from one person, the meaning is, you aren't worth a single *other* word. They just read 80K of my words, but couldn't write me *one* of their own. Instead they rang my doorbell 14 times and ran away. It's just very, very weird, is all I'm saying. I find it the opposite of communicative in that context.

But since I'm choosing to read these malicious kudos they're sending as unambiguous compliments

You're really putting a straw man out for me. I don't know where you're getting that from what I said. In general, I consider kudos to be gifts, just the least valuable kind, that's all I'm saying. I would rather have one comment from one person than a whole passel of kudos on a story. They don't feel like interaction to me.

I just wish you (and those who share your feelings) would make it clear that you expect a certain kind of feedback from all readers of your work in the header info

Wow, again: straw man. I don't *expect* anything from my readers. Do not expect. Would like very much? Sure. Hope to get them and get jazzed if I do? Yeah. And I do the same as I hope: I comment a lot. Because I believe in the economy. But we're talking about kudos here, and I am just saying: I don't think they're good for the economy.