What did I do wrong?

[ianmillian]

Oop, hello everyone!

Quick intro, I started a webcomic series six days ago, and I just recently posted the second episode of it. It's called The Cynical Rascal, a slice of life 4 panels gag-a-day comic about Ian awkwardly struggling with love and life (hope that was interesting enough intro for you to check it out!).

The thing is, while I humbly understand that I shouldn't be expecting much from a recently released series, I don't expect that it'd be taken not-so-warmly by people, especially Reddit and Imgur netizens. So far, I got a +3 (15ups and 12 downs) on my first episode, and a -2 (5ups and 7downs) on my second episode. I know that these tiny numbers are too small to be considered an issue, but it was pretty devastating for me to see it downvoted after my struggle in keeping the joke harmless and universal.

So, rants aside, I simply want to know the reason behind this. I know that I'm not the best writer in the world, and I realize that my punchlines may be a tiiny bit extreme, but hey, it's a comedy, it's not that offending anyway, compared to the other comedy webcomics out there.

Or is it?

[UzukiCheverie]

especially Reddit and Imgur netizens

There you go lol Reddit and Imgur are basically the same community (as Imgur was created for the sole purpose of image sharing on Reddit #themoreyouknow) though they are divided slightly by the part of Imgur that doesn't know that fact I just threw out there (they're like "omg stupid reddit..." and i'ts like BITCH WE MADE YOU.)

Reddit and Imgur are not webcomic sharing communities. They're not meant for getting constructive criticisms and valid "upvoting" stats (though there are places like /r/comic_crits, it's still got its fair share of Internet bastards lol). You want that sort of thing, you post to something like Tapastic, SmackJeeves, ComicFury, etc.

Plus, you said it yourself - those numbers do not accurately reflect an average consensus. A typically top voted webcomic has thousands of upvotes (I'm looking at you, Shenanigesen/Owl Turd Comix; you're on the front page of reddit like every day lol). And you know what? They also have downvotes. There are people that aren't going to like your comic. -2? It's better than -2578. There are always going to be people who don't find your comic amusing. If you want my personal opinion, I like your art style and your paneling, but the joke for this specific comic has been used a million times before, so chances are that's why you got downvoted (and even jokes that are 100% original still have a few haters out there). It's the Internet. Best not to get discouraged by a few downvotes.

Source: Am Redditor. We are all assholes. Crap ends up on the front page all the time; downvotes and upvotes do not reflect the true quality of the post. A post could be upvoted a million times and still be shit, and a post could be downvoted a million times but be awesome. Pay no attention to the meaningless karma and focus on sharing your comic with the world (and maybe stick to actual comic communities if you really don't like the upvote/downvote system).

[kkitty]

Basically what Uzuki said.

I haven't been on Imgur much but Reddit hates everything and everyone. It ruined a game for me and I left as a result of the disgusting fandom.

[Aetherwing]

Reddit is not a very friendly place. I had an old comic once upon a time and we posted to the Reddit webcomic forums trying to get feedback. What we get was rather rude and unhelpful =/

I've kind of been wanting to try again having developed a thicker skin and gotten better, but it's probably not worth it to be honest.

Your style is really cute, by the way.

[Aspie_Gamer]

As Uzuki said, Reddit has something of a hivemind mentality as does Imgur. Usually, upvotes are for awesome things, helpful news or posts, and constructive posts that contribute to the conversation. Downvotes are usually given to help weed out spam, mean spirited posts, and tired old memes nobody finds funny anymore. That said, the karma system tends to be fickle at times. You may think you have something worth saying in a conversation that doesn't break reddiquete, but instead find yourself flooded with downvotes all because a few random trolls or jerks simply think its cute to randomly downvote everybody's posts. The same goes the other way where posts you think would be breaking at least one or two reddit rules gets upvoted to high heaven. Anyway, I personally wouldn't worry about Reddit circle jerking. Tis the way of the internet. I don't see anything wrong with your comic if it makes you feel any better

[ianmillian]

Ah, that's comforting, thanks a bunch everyone!

To be honest, I had noidea about webcomic development. This is the first series I ever started, and webcomic just happen to be the most reachable, so I went with that. Reddit and Imgur are often included in most "where to upload your comics" blog posts, and granted, they're the already famous people so votes shouldn't be that much of a problem to them, but it's a tip from a pro, so I thought why not.

I'll keep sharing my comics on Reddit and Imgur, but pay less heed to the votes there. Once again, thank you so much, people! It's truly comforting to hear your positive feedbacks. =)

[Sanz]

Reddit is honestly full of neck beard haters...not even joking...they will down vote something specifically because they just want to...might not even have anything to do with the actual comic....or downvote because they cant relate...or because they dont have anymore doritos and mountain dew...(i mean like if im out of doritos everyone feels my wrath XD) my point is dont read into reddit... really the votes dont mean anything in my opinion.

[winglesscomic]

ehht the first thing i noticed is that i've seen this joke a hundred times on imgur and generally on imgur/reddit when people see reposts, whether they're the same content or content of similar nature, they downvote the shit out of it unless it has boobs or feels.

if you're doing a comedy comic it can be difficult to come up with ideas that are unique, that being said 90% of all comedy comics on tapastic have the same exact jokes and same exact humour and people eat that shit up so that's one thing to not worry about here i guess? reddit and imgur hate that kind of thing though.

[gnekomikero]

i feel you too. 1st i'm searching how to spread advertisement more views for the webcomic and google recommended reddit, imgur, facebook, twitter, pandasomething, 9gag. and yeah at 1st i like imgur because they help me gain view for my comics even though they don't subscribe, i got many votes in 1st post but then when i try 4th i receive many downvotes well that';s kinda harsh and disappointing. and also i ask my self "why did they don;t like the joke?" reddit dunno if it is effective. 9gag less viewers. Facebook, lukcy i have many friends who likes webcomic. twitter a little good.

[gnekomikero]

reddit = frustration

[gnekomikero]

what if they do it purposely because they also do webcomic and they just love to crush our dream so we wont be popular . huhuhu sorry for the negative thinking

[shazzbaa]

Reddit and Imgur are often included in most "where to upload your comics" blog posts [...] it's a tip from a pro, so I thought why not.

There's a secondary tip that I'd recommend adding to ANY of those lists:
Always Lurk First.
This applies to anywhere, imo -- if you want to post your work somewhere, you're going to have the most luck if you hang out in that community for a little bit and see how things work & how people act there! Look for other people who make the kind of thing you make and see how they do it. Get an idea for what the community is like. Watch and listen and see what kind of approach is gonna be the best fit for you before you jump in! ;u;

it was pretty devastating for me to see it downvoted after my struggle in keeping the joke harmless and universal.

I'm not a redditor, so I can't speak to that community specifically, but this comment caught my attention because "harmless and universal" isn't going to be considered a GOOD quality by everyone! Usually when I hear about a comedian trying to be more broad and "universal," it's part of a commentary on how their comedy has become less funny, moving away from saying new and unexpected things, and towards saying safe and predictable things. So.... in some communities, a LESS universal strip might have actually done better!

[joannekwan]

Yeah, stay away from those places, they're crawling with trolls.

[Jabbage]

I agree with everyone above,
Although one thing you could do is try to find a subreddit that is related to your comic People in subreddits tend to be more welcoming because you already know they like some aspect/topic in your comic (althogh the lurking rule applies here too, you need to make sure that posting an advert to a comic is acceptable!)

I'm not sure I know any thing woud work well with your comic specifically but perhaps someting related to romance etc. I always recommend story comics for people with more narrative comics because its generally nice and supportive.

[colinwmd]

When I post on imgur I assume the feedback will all be negative. That way I'm pleasantly surprised by the occasional nice ones! (which do happen)

Reddit I have more luck with but it is a tough crowd. But I think you need to post a lot more to get an idea really. I think my best ones have had around 15 up votes but I've not had an especially successful one on there for months now. And it's difficult to predict. I think I've only had one that I was confident about that actually did well!

[demthorshie]

I've never posted anything on Imgur, but as far as on Reddit, i'm not at all surprised that your were down voted! It's kind of why I almost never look at the feedback I receive for my posts. Reddit is known to have trolls lurking in almost every corner last i've checked...

[efdvorsky]

I was actually considering posting on Reddit to promote my comic, but my hunch was right it seems...ack...

Thanks for the heads up and I am so sorry you had to deal with that frustrating moment, @ianmillian

[DTSaranya]

Hi there. Someone who regularly posts my work on imgur and reddit here.

You may need thick skin to do it, but absolutely do keep posting there. Reddit in particular is great for generating traffic and interest, even when the post doesn't do too well in terms of upvotes.

One thing I've learned during the recent months of posting pages on the comic and webcomic subreddits is that the internet is fickle. The same exact image may do really well one day and get no interest the next. It might go viral on imgur but get downvoted on reddit, and then get posted again later with the opposite result. No matter what you post, in the long term you will get both good and bad feedback, and you'll want to stick it out through the downvotes and mean comments, as there are very few ways to get the kind of view count that imgur and reddit will get you.

Most of my posts get a few upvotes, maybe a couple nice comments, and then fade, but the effect on the site's traffic and the comic's notoriety is still invaluable. Even when the post doesn't do well, I can still see a massive spike in the session count of my site's analytics, and beyond that, I can see the numerous people who clicked, read through the entire series, and then came back later.

I've also been lucky enough to have hit most viral on imgur a couple times, and to have a couple posts do very well on reddit as well. The amount of support and new followers gained from those incidents were wonderful, and it would have never come to pass if I'd let a few downvotes or mean comments discourage me.

My stuff, imho, isn't even very good - I'm not nearly as good at drawing as other artists I've seen, and my humor is dumb and inappropriate, but it still made imgur's front page. I bring this up not to brag about a successful post, but to tell you that you CAN make the front page. It DOES happen. It never will if you let a couple failed posts discourage you from posting, though.

As others have said, you should absolutely lurk in the community to figure out how they work, what they find funny, and how to word your posts, but in the meantime do not be afraid of posting. If your work doesn't do well, it's not because you've done anything "wrong," and even if someone doesn't like it, someone else will. Of course the quality is a factor, but luck is a large factor as well.

Whoops... didn't mean for this reply to be so long. Good luck with your series! Love your art style thus far!

[KSlinger]

Damn, I might be the only one who had a great response from Reddit when I put my silly comics on there. They were really, really nice about the two (or three?) I posted. I had no idea they could be so ruthless.

But yeah, to answer your question I'm of the same mind as everyone else-- consider the platform you're presenting your work to and don't feel bad if they don't like them. Standards vary across the internet-- a pleasant and accepting forum like this, for example, is rare-- and if an audience is accustomed to receiving mainstream works of a certain quality and humour they're going to react strongly to something that doesn't fit the bill. It's not a reflection on you or your work, just a symptom of the hivemind.

[DTSaranya]

I've had good results as well. Not sure why others seem so disheartened. Worst case scenario, the post doesn't get upvoted too much or gets a mean comment or two.

You'll want to be prepared for downvotes on any site that has a downvote button. People love to press that thing for a multitude of reasons. Don't dismiss the entire community as a "hivemind," though. Quality is still a factor. Look at which posts do well and what they did right. But, if yours doesn't do well, don't take it as a personal blow. It happens sometimes.

As far as mean comments go, pick out which ones are constructive and which ones are actually mean. Any that seems designed to make you feel bad rather than to help you improve can be disregarded.

And remember, even if you end up at -3 with 3 upvotes and 6 downs, that's two people (if you count yourself in scoring) who DID like your work, and the people who like it are infinitely more important than the ones who don't. So, if you get any upvotes at all, that's still a win for you, and for every person who votes, there are ~30-50 people who clicked your link silently.

Basically, be tough. It's hard to work on something, be excited to post it, and then be disappointed by the lack of response, but keep posting.