Is it inevitable to avoid people bashing your work?

[Chronitis]

I know that popular and mainstream stuff gets bashed because a lot of people enjoy it, but what about here? So far I haven't seen anyone on the forums be rude to one another, and even though my comic has a small (no) fanbase I haven't gotten a "you suck" comment at least not yet.

[KoreanTacos]

You clearly missed out on riveting topic yesterday, but let's get back to what you're asking. A "you suck" is going to happen to anyone, it's how you choose to take it that will effect you. I get them sometimes and yes while it hurts to realize it, I have to take it with a grain of salt that's stuck in my open eye wound and decide whether or not it is truly worth freaking out of. Now if it's critique, yeah you should generally try and understand that they are trying to help you improve and not "bashing your work." Unless you're asking for critique most of the people on the forums will generally try to keep your spirits high in the hopes of not having to see another young creator give up so easily before really trying.

[Emevsa]

I think in Tapas' case, having a profile attached to people so you can kinda trace back to see who they are helps discourage nasty comments. That and being nice and constructive are generally encouraged here. People tend to reflect the culture they are in.

As KoreanTacos said. The Tapas community generally wants to see people succeed.

[ISNEKO]

Bullshit I'm super rude.

Good luck with your comic.

[XzynderVexymous]

You can’t avoid it. Espiecally if you’re a good artist and story teller.

[VibrantFox]

I think that regardless of the quality of work a person has it is inevitable but it's like some of the others have said about how it's all in the way that you take it. Just like its important to note constructive criticism. I've been on here a while and the community has been mostly positive even when there were trolls that popped up for a little while. Just keep at it!

[ahkwardkat]

Aha no way. There is always going to be somebody unhappy for some reason. Ignore what others think and do you. Hell even classic Disney, Miyazaki, Speilberg and such get haters.

Keep calm and carry on. You do you and do it well.

[shazzbaa]

I think it depends on how many eyes you get on your work. If you want to grow, you're going to run into people who don't like what you do. And as your readership becomes bigger and less intimate, people start to interact with your work differently --

Imagine if your friend is telling you a story. You're probably not going to tell him "haha wow that story sucked!!" or talk on twitter or facebook about how bad your friend's story was, because you're not a rude person. But if you come out of a movie that sucked, it doesn't feel as weird to talk about how much that movie sucked on your social media, or to tweet at the official Marvel twitter account that they need to get their act together.

If you get really popular, people stop seeing you like a friend telling a story, and more like a company making a movie. Something shifts. And once that happens, yeah, I think its inevitable to get some people who are rude about your work.

But I think a lot of us haven't hit that level yet. I've encountered people who dislike my work, and I've seen people complaining about it in their own space -- seeing it get brought up on some other forum I'm not on, and folks talking about things they didn't like, or a disparaging comment on a review someone did of my work. I wouldn't call it bashing, but if that's what you mean, then yeah, I think it's inevitable that with a readership will come people who eventually talk about not liking your comic on the internet.

But if you mean people being rude to you, then I don't think they automatically come out of the woodwork as soon as you have readers -- though it really depends. I've only had one or two people actually speak to me unkindly -- most of the critique or problems folks have had with my work have been things they've broached very thoughtfully with me! I know some folks have had less luck and run into more rude folks, but it's a lot less of an inevitability when you're not a big name.

[OliviaMerteli]

Only trolls leave that kind of comment. People who don't like something just don't comment on it.
Think about it like a milestone. A "you suck" comment'll just mean that you've become popular enought to attract trolls. It's an achievment!

[Rhombik]

From what I've seen, there are two sure fire ways to get negative comments.

1) To do well and invite jealousy.
2) To put a comic that requires the viewer to hold their attention for a second too long on a meme-ish social media site.

Then there are just the random trolls, unsolicited advice people and perhaps a few irate fans who disagree with something you decided.

I haven't had a number 1 style comment yet but I think I'll do a mini celebration when I do. That's when I know I made it. And you just know when you've got one because the comment will start with something like "I don't know why x is so popular because all they do is y."

Tapas so far has been very good. I feel sitting like I'm sitting in a big protective bubble.

[punkarsenic]

the forums are heavily moderated so everyones (usually) really careful to be polite and constructive, and most people here genuinely are this way, which is great. if you stick around long enough youll prolly catch a flame war or two, but youre right that people arent out here putting eachother down all the time (they would not get away with it)

in my experience generally tapas has a really friendly userbase, though i have some friends who get terrible comments. i think youre less likely to get 'you suck's and more likely to get rude, demanding fans and strange presumptions about your life

[Twoony]

Yes, you will eventually get a bad comment that is essentially just trolling. There's a difference between criticism and being rude that sometimes people can cross very easily but don't always mean to. However, if someone honestly just leaves a, "you suck" comment than they are just trolling, ignore them. I've noticed that the more popular a book gets the more hate it receives because those who "just can't see why this is so popular" become agitated and rather tear down the author and their fan base than accept the fact that they just have different tastes and therefore don't enjoy the story as much. I feel that most people are pretty good about leaving honest comments that are still respectable so I don't think you should worry too much about it. Not to mention sites tend to moderate comments and you can delete them or even block people so it's not really as scary y'know?

[ratique]

the forums are heavily moderated so everyones (usually) really careful to be polite and constructive, and most people here genuinely are this way, which is great.

Actually I think that it is mainly the people that are just very nice here. There are weeks where we don't have to moderate anything - this community is just very supportive.

---

I agree with the overall consensus. The more successful you become, the more "bashing" you will receive. Your work becomes an easy target for trolls. Your name becomes a brand that is disconnected from the human being that you are.

I also believe that many of those who leave negative opinions about something successful on the internet, don't really expect the original creators to read them. If I don't like Justice League and write a long facebook post about it, I don't expect Gal Gadot to send me a text an hour later. If she would, I would probably choose my words more carefully.

There are minor things you can do to counter hate however. Support your community, remind them to be respectful. Treat them kindly. Be mindful what/how you post on the internet and be supportive of those around you. Suddenly, a troll faces a wall of people instead of one, lonely creator.

It doesn't make bad comments go away, but it makes it easier.

[LordVincent]

I also believe that many of those who leave negative opinions about something successful on the internet, don't really expect the original creators to read them. If I don't like Justice League and write a long facebook post about it, I don't expect Gal Gadot to send me a text an hour later. If she would, I would probably choose my words more carefully.

The difference here is that while people aren't very likely to talk shit about the original creator of a game specifically, they are far more likely to do so of a lone creator. In fact, the creator often gets more shit tossed at their own person than their project.

[R.n.P]

I get my friends to bash my comic for me whenever I don't get that much critics in episodes so I know what I'm doing wrong but I think the bad comments will come sooner or later, just gotta wait for it

[indagold]

You can never avoid it but honestly I think I prefer people calling my work shit or lazy or basically any dumb insult given nowadays fans love to skewer creators and make up libel about them and destroy their good name on dumb ass nitpicks people try to push off as "social commentary". I see it all over the forums, comment sections, etc. People pass it off as valid and friendly criticism and not outright defamation...because that's basically what it is. Now that I wish we could avoid and get rid of it forever because a back hand comment like "I hate you, you're awful:" no one takes seriously

[darkone4587]

It's inevitable you'll never be able to please everyone and you'll never avoid the random shit poster.