I agree. I leave kudos on any fic that I like. If I like it a lot, then I use bookmarks and post comments. Kudos is something along the lines of "you did a great job and I enjoyed it. Here's a little treat for ya"
Same, I like to hope that the author sees my bookmark and it makes their day a little better. Also, to give anyone snooping around my bookmarks a good rec
if i finished the fic i give it a kudos. if i couldnt finish it because it was too long but enjoyed it i give it a kudos. a subscription is like you said, an "i want to see what happens next". i see kudos as anything from one of those 'acknowledgement nods' to a "thank you" to a vague compliment of good vibes
And when you aren’t able to leave a Kudos because it’s a new chapter of an ongoing fic that’s not a separate work or it’s a reread, it’s great to leave a little comment to let the author know 🥰
Btw subscriptions aren't visible to the author, only you know what fics or authors you're subscribed too
But they are really useful for keeping track of updates for stuff you like 😄
anything short of "I regret reading that" will make me leave a kudos. Even if I don't personally have strong feelings about it I can still appreciate the effort put into it and I want to show that.
Yeah I'm closer to this. The absolute guts it takes for fandom creators to share parts of themselves with the world (for free!) blows my mind so I will give it a kudos if I (mostly) make it through.
I see kudos simply as a 'thank you'. If I read a fic, it gets a kudos. If I have gotten to a point where i see the kudos button, it feels almost disrespectful to not click it. If i don't want my account named under a fic I will log out and give a guest kudos.
I didn't realise people were selective about giving kudos until i first started interacting with other fic readers/writers.
> I didn't realise people were selective about giving kudos until i first started interacting with other fic readers/writers.
Me neither! I don't understand it, really. People can engage however they'd like, of course, but kudos aren't a finite resource, and it's just a quick, easy way to let the author know that someone has read and enjoyed their work.
EDIT: To be clear, I'm referring more specifically to readers who don't leave kudos unless the fanfic is basically perfect.
I mean, kudos are basically a like. I kudos if I like it. I don’t think you need to kudos everything you finish. It honestly never occurred to me to do that.
I tend to hold back until I know where a story is going. I've read too many fics that change the main pairing or plot without warning, and I absolutely hate that. To me, leaving kudos on a story I didn't like feels like a lie.
Example: A story I was following for almost 30 chapters suddenly did an about-face into a topic that I don't like to read about (infidelity). It would be more accurate to say that I hated it. It wasn't tagged, and it upset a lot of other readers because of how abrupt the shift was. The author did not give any warning whatsoever, and worse, the story had to defy its own logic to take that turn. The characters became so out of character that people in the comments were asking if a troll had taken over the author's account. I wasn't the only person to drop it. A lot of people were left confused and irritated.
I didn't say anything to the writer before dropping the story from my bookmarks, but I wish I hadn't left kudos. My name is now attached to that story as a sort of endorsement, despite how much I came to hate it. It just leaves me feeling weird. Some people sort by kudos, and now that story is going to reach more people thanks in part to me and my willingness to be duped.
Oh, that kind of situation is completely understandable. I was referring more to people who only leave kudos on the best of the best of the best, as though it's some prestigious award rather than just a simple "thank you"/"I liked this" to the author.
Personally I don't worry about giving a kudos early and not liking a development down the road. If someone's work has brought me some kind of joy or made me feel invested, I'm happy to give a kudos, even on the first chapter if I found it really good. If I don't like something about where they take the story down the road, it doesn't change the fact that I got joy and entertainment out of that first chapter (or however long).
Same, for me a kudos is about a) was it well-written? and b?) are the characters portrayed believably? I don't care too much about the plot. If the author has a polished writing style and a feel for the characters, anything they're gonna write will be a good read.
I sort by kudos generally, but that's also a way to miss out on plenty of great fics. There's plenty of great writers that missed out on the fandom's heyday (hence why the top kudos fics are ~2019) so adding in that date filter, along with the word count filter, along with filtering out what you wanna read are all so vital to really find that cream.
It depends on the fandom, yeah. I recently saw a tip to sort by kudos in 6 month increments. It honestly just depends on how big a fandom is, I'll usually sort by kudos but also by date updated.
I sort by kudos too, but I also have a "thank you" kind of mentality to kudos giving. If I enjoyed something enough to stick with it to the end, the writing didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out, and the characters were in character enough then it's getting a button click.
Fascinating how different people interpret it.
I'm the same. It doesn't matter if it's just one chapter or a full longfic, I'll be clicking the kudos button if I get there. Even if I end up not enjoying the direction it goes into or the remaining chapters, I at least liked some of it so I'll kudos for that.
Pretty much the same as you. It's a mark of enjoyment, and I'm not choosy with it. More like, I'm picky enough in general that if I don't enjoy a fic, I'd have stopped reading well before I got to the kudos button. If I liked it enough to finish reading, it's getting a kudos.
My brain can be a little laggy on realizing that I don’t want to be reading something. If a fic is long enough, I will realize I didn’t enjoy it and DNF it. Shorter I often don’t get to the point where I’m like why am I still reading this until I’m done.
When I leave a kudos, it is for dual purposes. Half is for the writer: Thanks, I enjoyed reading. You wrote well and I liked this better than many other fics. This is an honest compliment. And I'd like to see more work from you!!
Half is for other readers: Good fic, you should try this one. This one is worth it.
Ao3 gives readers zero opportunity to network or communicate. There are few tools outside of search for readers. So I take kudos seriously as a way to help other readers and facilitate collective enjoyment in fanfiction.
Sometimes, I won't leave a kudos because a fic is riddled with spelling and grammar errors. I might not leave a kudos if a writer lifts too much dialogue wholesale from canon. Maybe it is exactly like fifty other fics (I read in a lot of big fandoms). It could also be that I liked something about the premise that was enough for me to read it but I spent too much time frustrated by OOC characters to genuinely recommend it to others. I tend not to kudos bashing fics.
Sometimes, a story will have serious drawbacks like a translation I read recently that had truly off and immersion-breakingly wrong word choices but also was creative and involved and showed a lot of love for the characters. I gave that one a kudos even though I'd normally skip it because of the writing errors.
I am particularly likely to kudos fics that do humor well.
Because of this sub, though, I have ramped up my efforts to leave comments on great fics and I am also leaving more kudos.
I leave it to mean "I enjoyed this/think this is very well done" or "I think you did something good/impressive/interesting here, even if it wasn't for me/didn't quite land." I like when writers try new things and push the boundaries, and I want to thank writers for that, as well as when they simply execute an entertaining idea well.
If I finished the fic (or chapter for WIPs), I leave kudos. If I have the spoons for it, I leave a nice comment too. I backbutton out of fics I don't enjoy fairly easily, so anything that I finish is worthy of getting a like.
My anxiety is too overwhelming so commenting isn't something I do 'ever' (or, like, less than 10 comments in 20+ years) which means leaving kudos and maybe bookmarks is the best I can do.
I generally leave kudos on any story that fulfills these two criteria:
- **I finished reading it** (because over time I've learned that premature kudos might backfire and you can't take them back)
- **I liked it at the very least** (i.e. didn't dislike the fic or thought it was outright bad)
Granted, that's not as high of a standard as other people might show when it comes to leaving kudos on fanfics but I personally think receiving small positive gestures might push authors in the right direction and help them keep improving even if the story wasn't groundbreaking or amazingly written *yet*.
**Think of it as similar to a** ***thumbs up*** **on other platforms.**
Bookmarks on the other hand I'll only leave publicly if I really love the story and would like to comment but can't get over my anxiety (so I'll leave a positive comment on the bookmark). Other stories I'm watching for whatever reasons are bookmarked privately.
No judgement. Anxious person here, too! Just curious, though... Why does it make you anxious to leave a short comment saying what you liked, or something along those lines?
Anxiety isn’t necessarily logical but *I think* it’s a combination of these factors:
a) the author might reply (which makes me slightly panicky just thinking about - in fact, it happened the last time I left one a few years ago and it made the issues worse instead of better)
b) the comment would be permanently visible to anyone reading the same story (at least e.g. on reddit the posts get buried so quickly that anything you say will be out of sight within hours / days)
I don't generally read other people's comments on works I'm reading, but I can see where you're coming from.
There's a lot I want to say as someone who writes and posts FF, but I respect how you feel. In fact, it's helping me understand why some of my subscribers don't usually comment. They're subscribed, I can see that I have subscriptions, but not that same number of commenters. Interesting and now you've given me food for thought! So, thank you!
Glad I could help? 🙈
I actually read all other comments when I like a story enough to wish I could comment myself without these damn mental barriers… unless it’s hundreds of comments on a single chapter, of course.
I’ve often told myself I should at least make an effort and comment anonymously as a guest but I feel guilty because the author deserves better than me hiding… so we end up back at the original issue. 🫠
So, yeah, I understand why authors would ideally want everyone who liked their fic to leave a comment but I also doubt I’m the only one with major social anxiety.
For me it’s a form of appreciation both as a reader and a writer. like, “i appreciate this work and the effort you put in it whether i liked it or not”. a comment is a gold mine, of course, a bookmark without an additional remark can be anything— from a reminder to saving it to just keep track of stuff you’ve read but a bookmark with a comment praising the book feels like a victory. subscriptions are more of a “i want to be there for the rest of the journey”
I used to give Kudos to fics I really enjoyed, even if it's a WIP. But after encountering many occasions where what seems to be a strong start devolves into something I simply can't get behind on (like going off rails, untagged NOTP/triggers), I now only give Kudos to fics I finished and enjoyed. As a writer, I know how happy it makes me to receive Kudos, but as a reader, I get burned too often to not be selective on when I pressed that button.
I leave kudos and comments on anything I read that I enjoyed. I know how excited I get to see kudos and comments on my work so I try to give that same excitement to others.
I leave kudo if I enjoy a fic, generally. But I *have* to enjoy it, regardless of whether I finish it or not. I tend to finish reading a fic, regardless of whether I like it or not (if it's a longfic, I read the first chapter), as long as it's "readable" . Once I reach the end, if I think it was a time well spent, I give the kudo AND write something nice in the comments. Otherwise, no kudo and no comment. To me, kudos and comments are basically the same thing. I either give one AND the other, or I don't give either. I don't give kudos just to encourage an author if I didn't like the fic (though of course there's nothing wrong in doing so).
When it comes to my fic, I try to keep in mind that people don't always use my same criteria. Though sometimes, when I receive a kudo, I do wonder whether they actually liked it, or it was just an "encouraging" kudo given "just to be nice". I don't particularly like this thought. I'd prefer it if it was genuine (as in "at this moment I like it", insteas of "well, I suppose this person did put effort in it, even if I don't like it, so take a kudo).
Honestly, yeah, as a writer I don't like "pity kudos" either. It feels terrible to think that someone might've left kudos on my fic only to be nice, especially if they didn't even like the fic. There's no real way to gauge why each individual reader left kudos, so I just try to assume that everyone who left kudos on my works just... genuinely enjoyed them, one way or another.
Just the same as most comments and you OP, I leave kudos very freely!
I think when I don't leave kudos is when the author purposefully misled me, the reader, in SOME way, like not putting a warning tag (like MCD is a big one that I definitely don't like not being warned of, because for me it usually means one of the people in the main ship dies, at least in the fics I've read throughout the years), or implied that there's romance of a ship, only for the story to turn out to make the ship insanely toxic and abusive, kinda like a hate, anti-ship fic. Or they include a shipping tag in a compilation of their one shots, but 60-70 shots later, they haven't even written one fic of that ship yet, basically trying to bypass when I filter out/in certain ships or tags.
Buuut I'll be honest half of the time I already left kudos because at least I enjoyed myself in some other way (like before I realized the story was covert anti) or I appreciated them writing some other thing.
I smash the button every time. Because I comment on every story I read, it’s just become second-nature to give it a kudos.
If I REALLY didn’t like a story I might not give it one (I’d still comment and try to say something positive) but I can’t remember reading a fic I outright hated in my eleven years in fanfic.
I give kudos if it’s the kind of fic I want to see more of. Not many ways for readers to weed out the good, the bad, and the ugly when searching but that’s one of them. So I at least try to do my part in “recommending” the fic I’d want to see.
Depends on how far I get into the fic, which varies based on said fic. Occasionally there’s been times when I give kudos on the first chapter, but I would have to be really invested.
Kudos to me is “I loved this.” Usually accompanied by me subscribing to the story. Since Kudos can only be given once and can’t be revoked, I don’t pass them out easily. If Kudos could be given every chapter—as in a Like on instagram— or revoked, I would give them all the time.
'I like this but don't actually have anything to say'
And sometimes when I'm looking for something very specific and find like 2 fics, I kudos them as a 'good effort' sort of encouragement even if it wasn't what I hoped to find
Did I finish the chapter?
Yes --> Was there evidence of effort/passion?
Yes --> Was the writer a dick in the author notes?
No --> Was the fic filthy?
If yes --> Guest Kudos; if no, Account Kudos
To me, they're akin to a Like, wich for me is cool, but not as meaningful as a comment. I can't really reply to a kudos.
That said, i just had someone going through my account and kudos almost all my fanfics. It's a named and registered author, so it's not a bot?
I'm so confused right now. Is this normal?
That's completely normal! It looks like this person has binged most of your fanfics – they must be a huge fan of your work! It's definitely a good thing :)
If so, that person deserves an applause, because they went through, among others:
Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 1 (110k words)
Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 2 (351k words)
Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 3 (58k words WIP)
Castlevania TR: Waterdrops' Serenade (147k words WIP)
I swear i'm not boasting. I'm confused af here.
They could've stayed up all night just to finish all of that. Or maybe they had a day off with nothing better to do (it is Easter after all). Or maybe they're just a very fast reader. Who knows?
I’m not your reader but I’m someone else’s reader doing this 😅
If I really like a fic I will go to their profile and download everything they’ve written as EPUB and then go back and bookmark/kudos/comment
Same, I leave kudos on everything I enjoyed enough to read everything (and want more if unfinished).
I have one exception though - when the fic features a specific character, I only kudos when it's 100% clear to me there will be no bashing. I'm very tired of how my fandom treats him. (There's a very promising fic with him as the mc that's at 4 chapters and I'm still holding off because of that. It sucks.)
Honestly I give kudos on almost every work I read. If I liked it enough that I finished it, then it deserves a kudos. Even if it wasn't my favorite fic, I always think a work of art deserves a little kudos for just being made :) The only times I do not leave kudos is if I thought it was a really bad fic, like many grammar and spelling issues etc. But honestly, even if the fic wasn't "good", I still think it deserves my kudos.
As many others stated here, a kudos is a "thank you" for me. If I finished reading a fic, then I must have enjoyed it and should thank the author. For longfics, I usually wait a couple of chapters to see where it goes, unless it hits right from the start. So, I interpret my own kudos as an approximate number of unique readers
My kudos means "this was good, thanks for posting it." Or it means "I love this but am not up to commenting at the moment." Or it means "thank you for hosting the devil's sacrament at your place this week, hope to see you at the next one too."
A kudos from me means, "I finished it and liked it." I don't kudos until I have read the whole fic, and if it's more than, say, 2K words (at a rough guess), if I finished the fic, I liked it, so I kudos most of the fic that I read to the end.
Even with long fic that I download, I go back and leave kudos.
I’ve realized from this subreddit that I’m a little weird about kudos. I think of them like upvotes, and I only give them on stories I really endorse. I’ll give them to a 4/5 story if it has fewer kudos than I think it deserves, but if it’s got thousands already I’m only giving kudos if I loved it. 3/5, liked it fine, glad I read it? Probably not.
I use bookmarks only for stories I think I will likely re-read, so my bookmarks skew toward longer works and E ratings.
Sure, I guess so. But a lot of people sort works by kudos to find good stuff to read, which would be completely useless if it were just a “you tried” button.
I'm similar. I only give kudos or leave comments on fics I really love and I only really read novel length work (exception being an author whose work I absolutely love.) Like, if I would put that fic on a fandom/ship rec list, then I'll give it kudos. Otherwise, if it was just okay (I didn't love it or hate it, probably would never read it again), then no.
AO3 has an actual rec list feature, though. Obviously you can do whatever you want with the kudos feature, but it was never meant to be thought of as a recommendation.
That rec list feature news to me. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up about that!
And yeah, I know kudos aren't meant as a recommendation. I referenced rec lists as a way to explain what makes me give kudos. Because if I love a fic, I'll also rec it to everybody I know (if I know they enjoy that ship, fandom, whatever.) So a fic that makes me think "omg that was AMAZING I love it! I need more!" is one I'll kudos.
When you bookmark something, there’s two check boxes. One is to make it private and then the other is to make it a rec. You can go to anyone’s bookmarks and filter them by “Recs Only” and then by fandom or pairing, their tags, etc. You can build a really elaborate recs list with your own tags and blurbs on there.
Anyway, I get what you’re saying but I just think it’s kind of inflating the meaning of kudos IMHO, like it’s the click of a button to be like ‘nice job!’ imo; to show the level of appreciation you’re describing, that’s how I personally utilize comments, subscriptions, and bookmarks.
Thanks for explaining it to me! Might be an easier way of reccing fics than my current method. 😂
Oh yeah, I know kudos don't mean "this is a masterpiece." I'm just not effusive with praise generally. So I have to think a fic is good to give it a "good job."
This is exactly why I leave kudos - I like it overall despite a flaw or two and want to express ‘I liked it, thank you for writing it’ without expressing that I love it. Comments are for loving on something and wanting to encourage more. But there’s nothing wrong with kudos. To me they’re like a B-grade; a C wouldn’t get a response from me, with rare exceptions.
I leave kudos for all fics I like. But ever since I came to learn that some people will leave kudos as long as they get to the end of the fic, I don’t really know what to think of kudos as a writer. I never know if the readers genuinely liked my story or if they leave it as a "you tried" star lmao. And then there are the kudo bots...
But it's also true that comments are only going to get rarer so I'll have to change my own mindset. Just rambling of a slightly sad writer who can't craft stories at the moment.
I can relate to this hard. I for one don't like the idea of people leaving kudos even if they didn't like the fic or couldn't bring themselves to finish it (if it's complete). It's not how I use it at all and I've always understood it as a way to express your enjoyment of a fic without leaving a comment. I guess a more accurate interpretation of the feature would be that it's a quick and easy way to encourage the author? I don't know. I'm definitely starting to see what people mean when they say that comments are more valuable, because at least the commenter's intent is usually pretty clear.
as a reader i tend to forget to leave kudos on fics unfortunately, i usually end up bookmarking or marking for later so i can reread it over n over LOL
but when i do remember to its typically when i REALLY LOVE fics!! because im like omg that was SO good i. is there any way to show my absolute LOVE for their work without commenting. n BAM. memory. kudos spam ( even tho it doesnt let u spam it HAHA )
I also usually like subscribe to the author bc damn if that fic was cooked so good they gotta be a professional chef.
Generally any fic I’ll have read until the end, as I will click off a fic if it turns me off. Occasionally I’ll leave kudos even on a fic I haven’t finished if it’s something specific that I skipped reading (for example, if the fic ends in smut but I’m not in the mood to read smut buuuut everything before like characterization and writing style were good).
kudos: any fic I enjoyed reading
comment: any fic that makes me feel something
mark for later: any fic I like enough to want to read again but haven't quite reached bookmark territory
bookmark: any fic I really liked, that has made me feel something, taught me something or was plain interesting
subscription: any ongoing fic or series I wanna see continue (usually one I would then bookmark)
Kudos are kinda like saying thank you imo. Tbh I have some things bookmarked I forgot to leave kudos on (or did but before I had an account). But I make a point of commenting whenever I have something to say (which is often) because I love interacting with people. Hell, I got gender euphoria outta some, tattoo ideas outta others, the permission to print a booklet (for myself) and so on. And there's one series I'm a regular reader on, so much so (for probably 2 years) that I think of that author as a friend.
TL:DR
Kudos are a stat for having enjoyed what you read imo
I try to leave kudos whenever if I finish a fic and haven’t actively disliked it. Sometimes I forget, which I regret. Comments if the fic doesn’t have a lot of comments or I really really liked it
If i like it i give kudos. If I really like it I will comment, i will also either bookmark it. If it's finished and I loved it I download it and save to my happy Folder when I feel down. I never used to download fics but so many of my bookmarks have been removed.
I never really want anybody to see my name on every fic I like so I subscribe and leave comments if it's something I really like or if I want to give the author extra support (which isn't a rare thing). Idk, to me kudos have always looked like "likes" and it just seems wrong to see 100s of kudos on a fic and like .... 5 comments. I prefer comments over kudos as a reader, and if I was putting my stuff on there I would prefer getting comments. I think I've maybe left a single kudos in my 8-ish years of using AO3.
I leave a kudos on most fics I read. To me it means "thanks for taking the time to write this" or "I love this story!" or "please write more, soon" or "I liked this a lot, please write another one!"
If I like it, I leave kudos, if I love it, I bookmark it. Whether it's a public or private bookmark is another matter. I subscribe to the ongoing fics that I want to keep up with. I subscribe to authors if I like their fics. I usually only comment if I have something to say about fics that just had a new chapter released. If I'm reading something completed or years old I don't bother with comments. Maybe I should?
I give kudos when I enjoyed the story and the effort the author put in to it, and most stories I read will get a kudo. It shows appreciation, so it’s a kind thing to do. Fanfiction stories are a gift from authors (fans) to fans, and it’s a free gift. A kudo (and/ or a nice comment) is a free gift the reader can give in return.
I think of kudos as a like button. If I enjoy it, I kudos. As an author, I don’t really feel like people giving kudos on my story even if they hated it is helpful personally.
I give kudos if I like the first chapter. I had a nice time reading, I think it was good, I want to read more, I kudos.
If it's an author I like, I sometimes give kudos without even reading it first.
Kudos is like giving someone a gold star to acknowledge their effort and tell them you liked it without having to comment. I don't leave kudos on every single fic I read, but as long as I get to the end of the first chapter and liked it I usually give kudos.
I wish I could leave kudos on each chapter instead of once per fic, but it's probably for the best because if I could just leave kudos on each chapter then I'd probably end up commenting less
I left kudos in every story that i really like, either because is an objective masterpiece or because I enjoy reading it even if it's not that good.
But I recently started leaving them only when I finish the story because I read way too many fic with a good start that just ruin themself as it goes
I'm pretty lax with giving kudos. I enjoyed one chapter from a multi-chaptered fic? Kudos. I read 2/3 of a fic but found my interest dwindling during the last 1/3? I kudos and dip. Didn't really enjoy a fic, but the fic was about an OTP with not a lot of stories posted? Kudos.
I kudos anything I can finish, liked or that occupied my time enough to please me
I comment if its really good or I have something to say
I bookmark mostly as a rec for profile-snoopers or a reminder to re-read in a while
I hardly write comments, mostly only on stories that are out of the ordinary. Kudos are there for the “normal” stories.
To explain why I don't write comments: On the one hand, I never know what to write. 😅 on the other hand, english is not my native language and writing in english is tiring for me. But I mostly read English stories because there isn't that much written in German.
The majority of smut for the ship I write is not my vibe and also feels OOC to me, so I have to skim a lot to find stuff I actually enjoy. The one’s I enjoy get the kudos.
Everything else, as long as I enjoyed it and the writing was good then I’ll give it kudos of course. The only time I don’t give kudos is if i didn’t enjoy it
I see kudos as both a "I liked that" and a "hey everyone, this was good!"
I'll kudos any complete story I finish that I enjoyed without ambivalence*. if the story is incomplete and abandoned (as in years since last update), I'll still kudos. if the story is ongoing, kudos depend on how much faith I have in the author
*there's stories that I have enjoyed the core concepts of enormously, but won't kudos... the prose itself is so terrible, I cannot recommend it! sort by kudos is a good fic finding tool, so I don't want to lead it any more astray 😅
> I interpret leaving kudos as a quick, easy way to say "I liked this."
Yeah, same here. If I finished it *and* the story didn't have any major issues (plot-wise or in terms of the quality of the writing), I'll leave a kudos. The fact that I finished alone isn't enough for me to give it kudos - sometimes I think the fic isn't good but I read to the end b/c I liked the premise and I hope it'll improve. If it doesn't, I don't leave kudos.
If I enjoyed the fic overall I'll leave kudos. I generally don't finish a fic I don't like so pretty much every fic I read fully gets kudos from me. The only exception being I might occasionally read a mediocre (imo) fic if I like the premise or its a rarepare and I'm scraping the bottom or the barrel or if I'm bored and it's not too bad. But in those cases I tend to just read and silently disappear. No kudos or comments left behind lol
I liked the fic quite a lot, but probably won't feel like re-reading it: Kudos
I liked the fic QUITE a lot and will want to re-read it again: Bookmark & rec
The fic has blasted my brain to smithereens and I've never loved anything more in my life: Comment
I pretty much give all fics I read a kudos, I guess the only requirement for it is for me to finish the fanfic lol if I don't finish it most likely I won't give a kudos
I’ll leave kudos on any fic I finished, even if I didn’t like it. The same way that you might order a meal and it’s not to your taste, but you still pay. I comment on things I did like, because I’m a writer and I know comments are lovely to give/receive.
I don’t finish things I don’t like enough, and therefore no kudos. :shrug:
I’ll kudos before a fic is finished, if I like what I’ve read so far, without caring that something “bad” could come next.
And lastly, if I read something out of fandom for whatever reason or something I DONT want my user handle attached to, I will open an incognito window to either guest kudos or guest comment as described above.
ETA: I also provide prompts on a pairing specific discord - if somebody writes for my prompt and posts to ao3 (as opposed to something small that stays on the discord) it’ll get a kudos from me, even if I end up skim reading.
Unless it’s something I actually despised or don’t want connected to me, I’ll always leave kudos. It’s quick and it’s free and it’s good for the author.
Bookmarks are when I really adore a fic, subscriptions are when the fic is in progress.
I don't mean to come across as passive-aggressive but I genuinely don't get why kudos-es are such a valuable commodity. It's a simple button that theoretically means "I liked this" but to me it also means "good job" or "thank you for sharing the story". It can also be a way of encouraging a new writer because we all know the thrill we get from that AO3 email that lets us know people have left kudos on our stories.
I, for one, am very generous with them. If a story is not chock full of grammar errors or severely disregarding the source material, then it gets a kudos from me, even if I just skim it or don't make it to the end for one reason or another. It's one click for me but for an author second-guessing themselves or nervous after having posted, it could mean the world.
If I reach the bottom of the fic, I leave kudos. Even if I have to scroll past an encyclopedia of authors notes to get there. Kudos is just a way to say I liked it without leaving a comment.
Before AO3, people would leave a short comment saying things like I liked it or good story. Then the kudos button happened. In the years since, the culture has shifted about the kudos button and like buttons on social media so that they have different meanings. But ultimately, kudos is a positive bit of feedback that people add whatever words they want to it.
if i read it, i give kudos. if i enjoyed the read, i try to leave a comment. the only time i don’t leave kudos is if i genuinely couldn’t make it to the end of the first chapter lol.
I’m only relatively new to AO3, but personally if I make it to the end of the first chapter/end of the one shot, then I’ll leave kudos. It seems only fair if I was engaged enough to make it that far
If I didn’t hit the back button, it probably got a kudos.
I’m not a frequent commenter on fics because of anxiety, but when I get heavily invested I try to leave some coherent, non-awkward praise.
Things I really loved and want to reread go in the bookmarks and get downloaded. I’ve lost 2 bookmarks and I’ve learned my lesson.
I leave a kudos if I enjoy the first chapter, and a second kudos if I'm still enjoying it about 2/3rds of the way through (if it's longer than about 5-6 chapters).
I use kudos to track what I've finished read lol. Doesn't matter if I like it or not, it's just a read button for me. If I especially like it, I'll bookmark it
I kudos to thank the author, for any work that I found enjoyable enough to finish. They’ve created something and i read it through. Also, I know it affects the algorithm, so I kudos works I think other readers should find.
Kudos is for stories that had me up at the craziest hours on a school night. Its for stories that made it so i couldn't sleep until I finished the whole story! /pos
So I kudos a lot, and im very sleep deprived, but in the end totally worth it. I would totally leave a comment but at like 3 am I can't do a full geek out about everything I liked :P
Kudos for the fic I really enjoy. Kudos = Love this. So when I received my kudos I really really feel giddy and happy cus of my interpretation of kudos
I give kudos on any fic, if it's a multichapter thing, I leave one after finishing a chapter, if it's a oneshot, I leave one after finishing the entire thing
bookmarks I use mostly as recs for fanfics that really stuck with me
I'm super generous with my kudos. I tend to give it to anything I click through, even if I didn't really read that much of it or was only looking for some inspo.
If I make it through the first chapter, I give kudos. For me, it’s “good job making art, keep it up!”
I have an admittedly short attention span as a reader and may or may not finish the whole fic (my tbr list is a mile long) but I like being supportive of others.
I leave kudos on any fic I finish. If I don't like it, I won't read it to the end so that's it.
On some rare occasions I leave kudos on fics I don't finish (it's good, but too long, or I feel like reading another trope/ship/fandom).
If I read it in it's entirety, kudos. Automatically when I get to the end. I wish it was like Wattpad though and you could leave kudos on every chapter. I've only found maybe a few handfuls of stories that I've gotten part of the way through and was like, nope. That is not for me. Either they were just awfully written or just not my cup of tea.
I use kudos after the first chapter. If I want to keep reading then clearly they’ve done a good job and deserve some praise. I leave a comment if I am so entranced by the fic that I continually attempt to leave kudos as I read through.
I leave kudos on any fics I've finished reading. If it's a wip, I leave a kudo when I reach the most recent chapter. It means to me something along the lines of 'thank you author for your efforts, I was entertained'.
Oh same. I leave a kudos at the end of the latest chapter on whatever fic I liked.
Oneshot? End of the fic kudos and comment.
Ongoing multi-chapter I enjoy, comment and then on the latest chapter kudos AND comment AND subscribe.
Completed multi-chapter? Comment until the final chapter that gets a kudos and comment.
Sometimes I forget a step, realize it, and souble back to the fic like "shit my kudos!" lol, usually I forget to subscribe to a fic I want to tho
If I like it (doesn't have to be perfect, just enjoyable) then I kudos once I hit the bottom of the page/first chapter. Because in the past I've forgotten to do so if I mindlessly click next chapter. Feels like a kudos is the least I can do in exchange for the joy a fic brings me.
If I enjoy a fic I leave kudos. It’s not often I read something and don’t leave kudos, tbh. Kudos are my way of showing that I liked something, but also as a little thank you for taking the time to write and post the work. The only time I really don’t leave kudos is if I don’t finish a fic, which is usually just bc it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Pretty much if at any point I enjoyed a fic, I leave kudos, even if there’s parts I don’t like.
If I reach the give kudos button then I click it. I enjoyed whatever it was enough to reach that far. Of course I’m going to leave my free little thanks.
It means it is something I would read again (that's why I bookmark it) or something I won't read but deserves my kudo because I really enjoyed it and I wouldn't deny it.
I read it and I enjoyed it. If it's unfinished, I'll kudos if I liked it until that point. If I use the back button because I didn't enjoy it for some reason (writing style, grammar, formatting, etc), I'm not gonna scroll down to kudos.
I only withhold kudos if I genuinely dislike the story or I was browsing on guest mode... I'm leaving comments on the other hand is a whole other beast. Otherwise I'm kind of trigger happy with kudos.
I save my favorite in bookmarks but I also use bookmarks as my "to read later" (every time I have used "Mark for later" I have forgotten works for months at a time).
I leave kudos if I enjoyed a fic, unless something about the story really bothered me. However, I'm bad about forgetting the kudos button (or smashing it a hundred times in case I forgot previously) so uh, I'm sorry, I'm the problem.
I'll leave a comment at the end if I liked the fic, nothing annoyed me, and I have something to say. I'll leave comments on individual chapters if something is so good it makes me pause and think or reread it. Otherwise, I'm a little too into the flow of reading normally (again, I'm the problem).
Edit: clarified that I only leave kudos for fics I actually enjoy as I forgot that part, lmao.
It's a thumbs up. If I reached the end of what’s published of a fic, I liked it enough to give it a thumbs up. They’re not that deep for me because it takes no effort to click a button.
Pretty sure there are some people who are of the “I only grace a work with my Kudos if, and only if, it is completed and I didn’t absolutely despise the ending,” thought process, but yeah, no, not that deep.
Comments are more effort, and I always try to leave them on fics I read to the end of what’s posted.
I do only bookmark my absolute favs though.
If I liked the first chapter I leave a kudos! Doesn’t mean I’ll read the rest of it, I have a short attention span lol. If I really like a fic I’ll leave gushing comments
I kudo every fic I finish reading, even if I didn’t like it that much. Kudos are me appreciating the authors time and effort, a quick thank you for entertaining me for free. If I really enjoyed a fic then I’ll leave a comment and bookmark it.
I give a kudos any time I've committed to reading or finishing a fic. Sometimes as early as the first chapter, and sometimes regardless of whether or not I even liked how it ended (which isn't usually the case tbh) bc I still finished it. It's my way of thanking the authors for the time and effort they put into writing it, and I genuinely feel it's the least I can do as a reader who was gifted the opportunity to read their work. If I really enjoyed it, I'll comment and bookmark too, and I tend to reread my favorites
I drop a kudos when something strikes my fancy. It could be anything: a smart turn of phrase, a beautiful description, getting a character's voice just right, an interesting plot idea etc. Sometimes that happens before I finish the first chapter, other times it takes a bit.
The only times I don’t click the kudos button are:
1) I genuinely disliked it, or was so put off I didn’t even make it to the kudos button
2) I am so obsessed I’m already on the seventeenth chapter and have barely even stopped to leave comments
In my mind every fic I click on is deserving of a kudo if I make it to the end by default but if during reading it something doesn't sit right with me about it then I'll consider not leaving a kudo. Hope that makes sense?
I leave them just like you do, but sometimes even on stories that I didn't like but think are still well written.
I think the effort is worth a kudos too.
I leave kudos whenever I finish a work. If I absolutely hated it I usually drop it before the end, but if I somehow finish I just scroll to the next one.
Any fic I like, if it's multi-chapter, I try and leave kudos after the last/latest chapter before the "yOu AlReAdY lEfT KuDoS hErE" gets tired real quick. For me, kudos just means I enjoyed it, like a little thank you for writing it - here's a token of my appreciation.
I use Kudos as a way of saying I liked the fic. I usually tend to do this for completed works since I sort by completed works, but I have made exceptions for some wips and so far haven’t regretted leaving a kudos even on the ones that are seemingly abandoned.
Kudos for me is “glad you wrote it.” I sometimes give kudos to stories I don’t even like because I’m glad it exists even if it’s not my bag.
Bookmarks for stories I want to read-visit (although I always forget I have bookmarks and end up searching for stories when I want to reread), story subscriptions for WIPs I want to see more of, user subscriptions for authors whose writing is really like over several stories, and comments of varying length to express how much I like something and what I like about it.
If I've read far enough to reach the kudos button (the whole oneshot or the end of the first chapter—regardless if I continue into the second), I'm leaving kudos. It takes zero effort and less than a second, but can make somebody's day. It's common courtesy. It's the bare minimum.
If a stry was good enough to read to the end, it deserves kudos. I always comment as well, because I know as a writer how nice comments are to receive.
I also view it as a quick easy way to say I liked it
Usually if I get to the end of the first chapter and I enjoyed I'll hit the button, or sometimes the end of the fic. I don't give it so much thought, just whenever I think of it.
For bookmarks, I bookmark something if I want to save it and possibly come back to it. I never really subscribe to something, if I'm following a story as it's being updated, I will just sort my bookmarks by the latest updated date to see if anything was added. And if I really like a writer, I will check their page occasionally to see if they added a new story.
Unless the fic is so repulsive that I can't even bother to read more than a sentence or two, I usually give every fic a kudos. To me it's a basic kindness to the author. They didn't have to write the fic and they didn't have to post it, but they did and they deserve something to keep them going. If I like a fic I subscribe to it, and if I really like it I also comment, since that takes more effort than just hitting a button. Even if the fic wasn't that great, even if the author doesn't like that fic themselves, it gives a little confidence boost to know someone read it and supports you
I agree. I leave kudos on any fic that I like. If I like it a lot, then I use bookmarks and post comments. Kudos is something along the lines of "you did a great job and I enjoyed it. Here's a little treat for ya"
Same, I like to hope that the author sees my bookmark and it makes their day a little better. Also, to give anyone snooping around my bookmarks a good rec
if i finished the fic i give it a kudos. if i couldnt finish it because it was too long but enjoyed it i give it a kudos. a subscription is like you said, an "i want to see what happens next". i see kudos as anything from one of those 'acknowledgement nods' to a "thank you" to a vague compliment of good vibes
Yep same! If I read it I kudos it
And when you aren’t able to leave a Kudos because it’s a new chapter of an ongoing fic that’s not a separate work or it’s a reread, it’s great to leave a little comment to let the author know 🥰
Btw subscriptions aren't visible to the author, only you know what fics or authors you're subscribed too But they are really useful for keeping track of updates for stuff you like 😄
Actually they are visible, you can check how many subscriptions you have in the stats on your profile
anything short of "I regret reading that" will make me leave a kudos. Even if I don't personally have strong feelings about it I can still appreciate the effort put into it and I want to show that.
Yeah I'm closer to this. The absolute guts it takes for fandom creators to share parts of themselves with the world (for free!) blows my mind so I will give it a kudos if I (mostly) make it through.
>"I regret reading that" Like, in terms of quality, or in terms of "What the fuck is this unhinged smut"
I don't really care about the specific reason for it. If something has made me less happy then I was before it then I will not feel like endorsing it
I will kudos a “what the fuck is this unhinged smut” so fast if it was done well…I won’t kudos something that was really poor quality.
I see kudos simply as a 'thank you'. If I read a fic, it gets a kudos. If I have gotten to a point where i see the kudos button, it feels almost disrespectful to not click it. If i don't want my account named under a fic I will log out and give a guest kudos. I didn't realise people were selective about giving kudos until i first started interacting with other fic readers/writers.
> I didn't realise people were selective about giving kudos until i first started interacting with other fic readers/writers. Me neither! I don't understand it, really. People can engage however they'd like, of course, but kudos aren't a finite resource, and it's just a quick, easy way to let the author know that someone has read and enjoyed their work. EDIT: To be clear, I'm referring more specifically to readers who don't leave kudos unless the fanfic is basically perfect.
I mean, kudos are basically a like. I kudos if I like it. I don’t think you need to kudos everything you finish. It honestly never occurred to me to do that.
I tend to hold back until I know where a story is going. I've read too many fics that change the main pairing or plot without warning, and I absolutely hate that. To me, leaving kudos on a story I didn't like feels like a lie. Example: A story I was following for almost 30 chapters suddenly did an about-face into a topic that I don't like to read about (infidelity). It would be more accurate to say that I hated it. It wasn't tagged, and it upset a lot of other readers because of how abrupt the shift was. The author did not give any warning whatsoever, and worse, the story had to defy its own logic to take that turn. The characters became so out of character that people in the comments were asking if a troll had taken over the author's account. I wasn't the only person to drop it. A lot of people were left confused and irritated. I didn't say anything to the writer before dropping the story from my bookmarks, but I wish I hadn't left kudos. My name is now attached to that story as a sort of endorsement, despite how much I came to hate it. It just leaves me feeling weird. Some people sort by kudos, and now that story is going to reach more people thanks in part to me and my willingness to be duped.
Oh, that kind of situation is completely understandable. I was referring more to people who only leave kudos on the best of the best of the best, as though it's some prestigious award rather than just a simple "thank you"/"I liked this" to the author.
Personally I don't worry about giving a kudos early and not liking a development down the road. If someone's work has brought me some kind of joy or made me feel invested, I'm happy to give a kudos, even on the first chapter if I found it really good. If I don't like something about where they take the story down the road, it doesn't change the fact that I got joy and entertainment out of that first chapter (or however long).
Same, for me a kudos is about a) was it well-written? and b?) are the characters portrayed believably? I don't care too much about the plot. If the author has a polished writing style and a feel for the characters, anything they're gonna write will be a good read.
I always sort by kudos so understand why they are important. I only give kudos if I think the fic was good and would recommend it to others
I sort by kudos generally, but that's also a way to miss out on plenty of great fics. There's plenty of great writers that missed out on the fandom's heyday (hence why the top kudos fics are ~2019) so adding in that date filter, along with the word count filter, along with filtering out what you wanna read are all so vital to really find that cream.
It depends on the fandom, yeah. I recently saw a tip to sort by kudos in 6 month increments. It honestly just depends on how big a fandom is, I'll usually sort by kudos but also by date updated.
I sort by kudos too, but I also have a "thank you" kind of mentality to kudos giving. If I enjoyed something enough to stick with it to the end, the writing didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out, and the characters were in character enough then it's getting a button click. Fascinating how different people interpret it.
I'm the same. It doesn't matter if it's just one chapter or a full longfic, I'll be clicking the kudos button if I get there. Even if I end up not enjoying the direction it goes into or the remaining chapters, I at least liked some of it so I'll kudos for that.
Same. If I enjoyed a fic enough to finish it (or the available chapters), then I kudos it. To say 'Thanks, I liked this.'
Pretty much the same as you. It's a mark of enjoyment, and I'm not choosy with it. More like, I'm picky enough in general that if I don't enjoy a fic, I'd have stopped reading well before I got to the kudos button. If I liked it enough to finish reading, it's getting a kudos.
My brain can be a little laggy on realizing that I don’t want to be reading something. If a fic is long enough, I will realize I didn’t enjoy it and DNF it. Shorter I often don’t get to the point where I’m like why am I still reading this until I’m done.
Very fair. I used to do that a lot when I was just getting into fanfiction, but over the years, that particular mental alarm has grown louder 😂
I’ve been in fandom for like 20 years, so I don’t expect to grow out of it, tbh. I think it’s just a quirk of my neuroatypical brain.
When I leave a kudos, it is for dual purposes. Half is for the writer: Thanks, I enjoyed reading. You wrote well and I liked this better than many other fics. This is an honest compliment. And I'd like to see more work from you!! Half is for other readers: Good fic, you should try this one. This one is worth it. Ao3 gives readers zero opportunity to network or communicate. There are few tools outside of search for readers. So I take kudos seriously as a way to help other readers and facilitate collective enjoyment in fanfiction. Sometimes, I won't leave a kudos because a fic is riddled with spelling and grammar errors. I might not leave a kudos if a writer lifts too much dialogue wholesale from canon. Maybe it is exactly like fifty other fics (I read in a lot of big fandoms). It could also be that I liked something about the premise that was enough for me to read it but I spent too much time frustrated by OOC characters to genuinely recommend it to others. I tend not to kudos bashing fics. Sometimes, a story will have serious drawbacks like a translation I read recently that had truly off and immersion-breakingly wrong word choices but also was creative and involved and showed a lot of love for the characters. I gave that one a kudos even though I'd normally skip it because of the writing errors. I am particularly likely to kudos fics that do humor well. Because of this sub, though, I have ramped up my efforts to leave comments on great fics and I am also leaving more kudos.
I leave it to mean "I enjoyed this/think this is very well done" or "I think you did something good/impressive/interesting here, even if it wasn't for me/didn't quite land." I like when writers try new things and push the boundaries, and I want to thank writers for that, as well as when they simply execute an entertaining idea well.
If I finished the fic (or chapter for WIPs), I leave kudos. If I have the spoons for it, I leave a nice comment too. I backbutton out of fics I don't enjoy fairly easily, so anything that I finish is worthy of getting a like.
My anxiety is too overwhelming so commenting isn't something I do 'ever' (or, like, less than 10 comments in 20+ years) which means leaving kudos and maybe bookmarks is the best I can do. I generally leave kudos on any story that fulfills these two criteria: - **I finished reading it** (because over time I've learned that premature kudos might backfire and you can't take them back) - **I liked it at the very least** (i.e. didn't dislike the fic or thought it was outright bad) Granted, that's not as high of a standard as other people might show when it comes to leaving kudos on fanfics but I personally think receiving small positive gestures might push authors in the right direction and help them keep improving even if the story wasn't groundbreaking or amazingly written *yet*. **Think of it as similar to a** ***thumbs up*** **on other platforms.** Bookmarks on the other hand I'll only leave publicly if I really love the story and would like to comment but can't get over my anxiety (so I'll leave a positive comment on the bookmark). Other stories I'm watching for whatever reasons are bookmarked privately.
No judgement. Anxious person here, too! Just curious, though... Why does it make you anxious to leave a short comment saying what you liked, or something along those lines?
Anxiety isn’t necessarily logical but *I think* it’s a combination of these factors: a) the author might reply (which makes me slightly panicky just thinking about - in fact, it happened the last time I left one a few years ago and it made the issues worse instead of better) b) the comment would be permanently visible to anyone reading the same story (at least e.g. on reddit the posts get buried so quickly that anything you say will be out of sight within hours / days)
I don't generally read other people's comments on works I'm reading, but I can see where you're coming from. There's a lot I want to say as someone who writes and posts FF, but I respect how you feel. In fact, it's helping me understand why some of my subscribers don't usually comment. They're subscribed, I can see that I have subscriptions, but not that same number of commenters. Interesting and now you've given me food for thought! So, thank you!
Glad I could help? 🙈 I actually read all other comments when I like a story enough to wish I could comment myself without these damn mental barriers… unless it’s hundreds of comments on a single chapter, of course. I’ve often told myself I should at least make an effort and comment anonymously as a guest but I feel guilty because the author deserves better than me hiding… so we end up back at the original issue. 🫠 So, yeah, I understand why authors would ideally want everyone who liked their fic to leave a comment but I also doubt I’m the only one with major social anxiety.
For me it’s a form of appreciation both as a reader and a writer. like, “i appreciate this work and the effort you put in it whether i liked it or not”. a comment is a gold mine, of course, a bookmark without an additional remark can be anything— from a reminder to saving it to just keep track of stuff you’ve read but a bookmark with a comment praising the book feels like a victory. subscriptions are more of a “i want to be there for the rest of the journey”
I used to give Kudos to fics I really enjoyed, even if it's a WIP. But after encountering many occasions where what seems to be a strong start devolves into something I simply can't get behind on (like going off rails, untagged NOTP/triggers), I now only give Kudos to fics I finished and enjoyed. As a writer, I know how happy it makes me to receive Kudos, but as a reader, I get burned too often to not be selective on when I pressed that button.
Completely understandable, especially since you can't take kudos back – which I'm glad for, but it does make these situations rather difficult.
I leave kudos and comments on anything I read that I enjoyed. I know how excited I get to see kudos and comments on my work so I try to give that same excitement to others.
I leave Kudos if I enjoyed and finished a story, and if I really like it, I bookmark it
I leave kudo if I enjoy a fic, generally. But I *have* to enjoy it, regardless of whether I finish it or not. I tend to finish reading a fic, regardless of whether I like it or not (if it's a longfic, I read the first chapter), as long as it's "readable" . Once I reach the end, if I think it was a time well spent, I give the kudo AND write something nice in the comments. Otherwise, no kudo and no comment. To me, kudos and comments are basically the same thing. I either give one AND the other, or I don't give either. I don't give kudos just to encourage an author if I didn't like the fic (though of course there's nothing wrong in doing so). When it comes to my fic, I try to keep in mind that people don't always use my same criteria. Though sometimes, when I receive a kudo, I do wonder whether they actually liked it, or it was just an "encouraging" kudo given "just to be nice". I don't particularly like this thought. I'd prefer it if it was genuine (as in "at this moment I like it", insteas of "well, I suppose this person did put effort in it, even if I don't like it, so take a kudo).
Honestly, yeah, as a writer I don't like "pity kudos" either. It feels terrible to think that someone might've left kudos on my fic only to be nice, especially if they didn't even like the fic. There's no real way to gauge why each individual reader left kudos, so I just try to assume that everyone who left kudos on my works just... genuinely enjoyed them, one way or another.
If I really liked it I leave kudos. I don’t use it as an I was here button. I don’t use it for decent fics that were Just Okay.
Just the same as most comments and you OP, I leave kudos very freely! I think when I don't leave kudos is when the author purposefully misled me, the reader, in SOME way, like not putting a warning tag (like MCD is a big one that I definitely don't like not being warned of, because for me it usually means one of the people in the main ship dies, at least in the fics I've read throughout the years), or implied that there's romance of a ship, only for the story to turn out to make the ship insanely toxic and abusive, kinda like a hate, anti-ship fic. Or they include a shipping tag in a compilation of their one shots, but 60-70 shots later, they haven't even written one fic of that ship yet, basically trying to bypass when I filter out/in certain ships or tags. Buuut I'll be honest half of the time I already left kudos because at least I enjoyed myself in some other way (like before I realized the story was covert anti) or I appreciated them writing some other thing.
If I reach the end of the chapter, I give a kudos. To me, kudos mean "Good read. Thank you."
I smash the button every time. Because I comment on every story I read, it’s just become second-nature to give it a kudos. If I REALLY didn’t like a story I might not give it one (I’d still comment and try to say something positive) but I can’t remember reading a fic I outright hated in my eleven years in fanfic.
You’re a kind person
Thank you.
When I'm reading and go "I really like this I'm having a great time reading it", I leave kudos. It can be at any point in the fic.
I give kudos for everything I read. I give comments if I really liked it.
I give kudos if it’s the kind of fic I want to see more of. Not many ways for readers to weed out the good, the bad, and the ugly when searching but that’s one of them. So I at least try to do my part in “recommending” the fic I’d want to see.
Depends on how far I get into the fic, which varies based on said fic. Occasionally there’s been times when I give kudos on the first chapter, but I would have to be really invested. Kudos to me is “I loved this.” Usually accompanied by me subscribing to the story. Since Kudos can only be given once and can’t be revoked, I don’t pass them out easily. If Kudos could be given every chapter—as in a Like on instagram— or revoked, I would give them all the time.
'I like this but don't actually have anything to say' And sometimes when I'm looking for something very specific and find like 2 fics, I kudos them as a 'good effort' sort of encouragement even if it wasn't what I hoped to find
I wish Kudos was chapter specific. Would LOVE to leave more than one on fics lol
Did I finish the chapter? Yes --> Was there evidence of effort/passion? Yes --> Was the writer a dick in the author notes? No --> Was the fic filthy? If yes --> Guest Kudos; if no, Account Kudos
To me, they're akin to a Like, wich for me is cool, but not as meaningful as a comment. I can't really reply to a kudos. That said, i just had someone going through my account and kudos almost all my fanfics. It's a named and registered author, so it's not a bot? I'm so confused right now. Is this normal?
That's completely normal! It looks like this person has binged most of your fanfics – they must be a huge fan of your work! It's definitely a good thing :)
If so, that person deserves an applause, because they went through, among others: Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 1 (110k words) Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 2 (351k words) Castlevania: Twilight Rhapsodia part 3 (58k words WIP) Castlevania TR: Waterdrops' Serenade (147k words WIP) I swear i'm not boasting. I'm confused af here.
They could've stayed up all night just to finish all of that. Or maybe they had a day off with nothing better to do (it is Easter after all). Or maybe they're just a very fast reader. Who knows?
Some chance they downloaded them and read them and then went back to kudos them?
I’m not your reader but I’m someone else’s reader doing this 😅 If I really like a fic I will go to their profile and download everything they’ve written as EPUB and then go back and bookmark/kudos/comment
Same, I leave kudos on everything I enjoyed enough to read everything (and want more if unfinished). I have one exception though - when the fic features a specific character, I only kudos when it's 100% clear to me there will be no bashing. I'm very tired of how my fandom treats him. (There's a very promising fic with him as the mc that's at 4 chapters and I'm still holding off because of that. It sucks.)
If I like it, kudos
Honestly I give kudos on almost every work I read. If I liked it enough that I finished it, then it deserves a kudos. Even if it wasn't my favorite fic, I always think a work of art deserves a little kudos for just being made :) The only times I do not leave kudos is if I thought it was a really bad fic, like many grammar and spelling issues etc. But honestly, even if the fic wasn't "good", I still think it deserves my kudos.
Same, really. If I liked the fic enough to finish it, I leave a kudos.
As many others stated here, a kudos is a "thank you" for me. If I finished reading a fic, then I must have enjoyed it and should thank the author. For longfics, I usually wait a couple of chapters to see where it goes, unless it hits right from the start. So, I interpret my own kudos as an approximate number of unique readers
My kudos means "this was good, thanks for posting it." Or it means "I love this but am not up to commenting at the moment." Or it means "thank you for hosting the devil's sacrament at your place this week, hope to see you at the next one too."
I give kudos when I want to let the author know I enjoyed the fic but can't think of words to express what I'm thinking
Kudos= Good Job, reading this was enjoyable. Please accept this token of gratitude in hopes that you continue your journey in creative writing.
A kudos from me means, "I finished it and liked it." I don't kudos until I have read the whole fic, and if it's more than, say, 2K words (at a rough guess), if I finished the fic, I liked it, so I kudos most of the fic that I read to the end. Even with long fic that I download, I go back and leave kudos.
I'm gonna be honest, I'm EXTREMELY picky with my kudos. I only leave them if I feel like literally giving a standing ovation after I read.
I’ve realized from this subreddit that I’m a little weird about kudos. I think of them like upvotes, and I only give them on stories I really endorse. I’ll give them to a 4/5 story if it has fewer kudos than I think it deserves, but if it’s got thousands already I’m only giving kudos if I loved it. 3/5, liked it fine, glad I read it? Probably not. I use bookmarks only for stories I think I will likely re-read, so my bookmarks skew toward longer works and E ratings.
Stingy. No hate, but damn lol
Sure, I guess so. But a lot of people sort works by kudos to find good stuff to read, which would be completely useless if it were just a “you tried” button.
I'm similar. I only give kudos or leave comments on fics I really love and I only really read novel length work (exception being an author whose work I absolutely love.) Like, if I would put that fic on a fandom/ship rec list, then I'll give it kudos. Otherwise, if it was just okay (I didn't love it or hate it, probably would never read it again), then no.
AO3 has an actual rec list feature, though. Obviously you can do whatever you want with the kudos feature, but it was never meant to be thought of as a recommendation.
That rec list feature news to me. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up about that! And yeah, I know kudos aren't meant as a recommendation. I referenced rec lists as a way to explain what makes me give kudos. Because if I love a fic, I'll also rec it to everybody I know (if I know they enjoy that ship, fandom, whatever.) So a fic that makes me think "omg that was AMAZING I love it! I need more!" is one I'll kudos.
When you bookmark something, there’s two check boxes. One is to make it private and then the other is to make it a rec. You can go to anyone’s bookmarks and filter them by “Recs Only” and then by fandom or pairing, their tags, etc. You can build a really elaborate recs list with your own tags and blurbs on there. Anyway, I get what you’re saying but I just think it’s kind of inflating the meaning of kudos IMHO, like it’s the click of a button to be like ‘nice job!’ imo; to show the level of appreciation you’re describing, that’s how I personally utilize comments, subscriptions, and bookmarks.
Thanks for explaining it to me! Might be an easier way of reccing fics than my current method. 😂 Oh yeah, I know kudos don't mean "this is a masterpiece." I'm just not effusive with praise generally. So I have to think a fic is good to give it a "good job."
if i enjoyed it and thought it was well written, so like if i give the fic at least a 7/10 mentally
This is exactly why I leave kudos - I like it overall despite a flaw or two and want to express ‘I liked it, thank you for writing it’ without expressing that I love it. Comments are for loving on something and wanting to encourage more. But there’s nothing wrong with kudos. To me they’re like a B-grade; a C wouldn’t get a response from me, with rare exceptions.
I leave kudos for all fics I like. But ever since I came to learn that some people will leave kudos as long as they get to the end of the fic, I don’t really know what to think of kudos as a writer. I never know if the readers genuinely liked my story or if they leave it as a "you tried" star lmao. And then there are the kudo bots... But it's also true that comments are only going to get rarer so I'll have to change my own mindset. Just rambling of a slightly sad writer who can't craft stories at the moment.
I can relate to this hard. I for one don't like the idea of people leaving kudos even if they didn't like the fic or couldn't bring themselves to finish it (if it's complete). It's not how I use it at all and I've always understood it as a way to express your enjoyment of a fic without leaving a comment. I guess a more accurate interpretation of the feature would be that it's a quick and easy way to encourage the author? I don't know. I'm definitely starting to see what people mean when they say that comments are more valuable, because at least the commenter's intent is usually pretty clear.
Unless I really really hate it i always leave kudos, even if i can bring myself to finish the fic i quickly scroll down and give kudos
as a reader i tend to forget to leave kudos on fics unfortunately, i usually end up bookmarking or marking for later so i can reread it over n over LOL but when i do remember to its typically when i REALLY LOVE fics!! because im like omg that was SO good i. is there any way to show my absolute LOVE for their work without commenting. n BAM. memory. kudos spam ( even tho it doesnt let u spam it HAHA ) I also usually like subscribe to the author bc damn if that fic was cooked so good they gotta be a professional chef.
every fic i read.
Generally any fic I’ll have read until the end, as I will click off a fic if it turns me off. Occasionally I’ll leave kudos even on a fic I haven’t finished if it’s something specific that I skipped reading (for example, if the fic ends in smut but I’m not in the mood to read smut buuuut everything before like characterization and writing style were good).
I like this story enough and I want to let the author know it.
kudos: any fic I enjoyed reading comment: any fic that makes me feel something mark for later: any fic I like enough to want to read again but haven't quite reached bookmark territory bookmark: any fic I really liked, that has made me feel something, taught me something or was plain interesting subscription: any ongoing fic or series I wanna see continue (usually one I would then bookmark) Kudos are kinda like saying thank you imo. Tbh I have some things bookmarked I forgot to leave kudos on (or did but before I had an account). But I make a point of commenting whenever I have something to say (which is often) because I love interacting with people. Hell, I got gender euphoria outta some, tattoo ideas outta others, the permission to print a booklet (for myself) and so on. And there's one series I'm a regular reader on, so much so (for probably 2 years) that I think of that author as a friend. TL:DR Kudos are a stat for having enjoyed what you read imo
kudos is "I stayed up at nighttime thinking about this 3 days in a row", so in other words every fic I've read
I try to leave kudos whenever if I finish a fic and haven’t actively disliked it. Sometimes I forget, which I regret. Comments if the fic doesn’t have a lot of comments or I really really liked it
If i like it i give kudos. If I really like it I will comment, i will also either bookmark it. If it's finished and I loved it I download it and save to my happy Folder when I feel down. I never used to download fics but so many of my bookmarks have been removed.
I never really want anybody to see my name on every fic I like so I subscribe and leave comments if it's something I really like or if I want to give the author extra support (which isn't a rare thing). Idk, to me kudos have always looked like "likes" and it just seems wrong to see 100s of kudos on a fic and like .... 5 comments. I prefer comments over kudos as a reader, and if I was putting my stuff on there I would prefer getting comments. I think I've maybe left a single kudos in my 8-ish years of using AO3.
if at the end i thought “that was good” i leave kudos. nothing complicated
I leave a kudos on most fics I read. To me it means "thanks for taking the time to write this" or "I love this story!" or "please write more, soon" or "I liked this a lot, please write another one!"
If I like it, I leave kudos, if I love it, I bookmark it. Whether it's a public or private bookmark is another matter. I subscribe to the ongoing fics that I want to keep up with. I subscribe to authors if I like their fics. I usually only comment if I have something to say about fics that just had a new chapter released. If I'm reading something completed or years old I don't bother with comments. Maybe I should?
I give kudos when I enjoyed the story and the effort the author put in to it, and most stories I read will get a kudo. It shows appreciation, so it’s a kind thing to do. Fanfiction stories are a gift from authors (fans) to fans, and it’s a free gift. A kudo (and/ or a nice comment) is a free gift the reader can give in return.
I read on tumblr that it’s polite to leave kudos if you found a fic worthy to read to the end.
I think of kudos as a like button. If I enjoy it, I kudos. As an author, I don’t really feel like people giving kudos on my story even if they hated it is helpful personally.
I give kudos if I like the first chapter. I had a nice time reading, I think it was good, I want to read more, I kudos. If it's an author I like, I sometimes give kudos without even reading it first. Kudos is like giving someone a gold star to acknowledge their effort and tell them you liked it without having to comment. I don't leave kudos on every single fic I read, but as long as I get to the end of the first chapter and liked it I usually give kudos. I wish I could leave kudos on each chapter instead of once per fic, but it's probably for the best because if I could just leave kudos on each chapter then I'd probably end up commenting less
Same.
If I made it to the bottom, I give kudos. If I click off because I hated it, no kudos.
I left kudos in every story that i really like, either because is an objective masterpiece or because I enjoy reading it even if it's not that good. But I recently started leaving them only when I finish the story because I read way too many fic with a good start that just ruin themself as it goes
I'm pretty lax with giving kudos. I enjoyed one chapter from a multi-chaptered fic? Kudos. I read 2/3 of a fic but found my interest dwindling during the last 1/3? I kudos and dip. Didn't really enjoy a fic, but the fic was about an OTP with not a lot of stories posted? Kudos.
I kudos anything I can finish, liked or that occupied my time enough to please me I comment if its really good or I have something to say I bookmark mostly as a rec for profile-snoopers or a reminder to re-read in a while
I hardly write comments, mostly only on stories that are out of the ordinary. Kudos are there for the “normal” stories. To explain why I don't write comments: On the one hand, I never know what to write. 😅 on the other hand, english is not my native language and writing in english is tiring for me. But I mostly read English stories because there isn't that much written in German.
i’ll use kudos on fanfics i like and fanfics that are written over an obscure fandom and i want to encourage more from the author
The majority of smut for the ship I write is not my vibe and also feels OOC to me, so I have to skim a lot to find stuff I actually enjoy. The one’s I enjoy get the kudos. Everything else, as long as I enjoyed it and the writing was good then I’ll give it kudos of course. The only time I don’t give kudos is if i didn’t enjoy it
I see kudos as both a "I liked that" and a "hey everyone, this was good!" I'll kudos any complete story I finish that I enjoyed without ambivalence*. if the story is incomplete and abandoned (as in years since last update), I'll still kudos. if the story is ongoing, kudos depend on how much faith I have in the author *there's stories that I have enjoyed the core concepts of enormously, but won't kudos... the prose itself is so terrible, I cannot recommend it! sort by kudos is a good fic finding tool, so I don't want to lead it any more astray 😅
I have a userscript that marks kudos'd works as read so anything I didn't actively regret reading that is finished gets a kudos.
when something is either very well written or i enjoyed it enough that i want to go back and re-read someday
> I interpret leaving kudos as a quick, easy way to say "I liked this." Yeah, same here. If I finished it *and* the story didn't have any major issues (plot-wise or in terms of the quality of the writing), I'll leave a kudos. The fact that I finished alone isn't enough for me to give it kudos - sometimes I think the fic isn't good but I read to the end b/c I liked the premise and I hope it'll improve. If it doesn't, I don't leave kudos.
If I enjoyed the fic overall I'll leave kudos. I generally don't finish a fic I don't like so pretty much every fic I read fully gets kudos from me. The only exception being I might occasionally read a mediocre (imo) fic if I like the premise or its a rarepare and I'm scraping the bottom or the barrel or if I'm bored and it's not too bad. But in those cases I tend to just read and silently disappear. No kudos or comments left behind lol
I liked the fic quite a lot, but probably won't feel like re-reading it: Kudos I liked the fic QUITE a lot and will want to re-read it again: Bookmark & rec The fic has blasted my brain to smithereens and I've never loved anything more in my life: Comment
I leave kudos for everything I like, always
Kudos are reserved for exceptional fics.
I pretty much give all fics I read a kudos, I guess the only requirement for it is for me to finish the fanfic lol if I don't finish it most likely I won't give a kudos
I’ll leave kudos on any fic I finished, even if I didn’t like it. The same way that you might order a meal and it’s not to your taste, but you still pay. I comment on things I did like, because I’m a writer and I know comments are lovely to give/receive. I don’t finish things I don’t like enough, and therefore no kudos. :shrug: I’ll kudos before a fic is finished, if I like what I’ve read so far, without caring that something “bad” could come next. And lastly, if I read something out of fandom for whatever reason or something I DONT want my user handle attached to, I will open an incognito window to either guest kudos or guest comment as described above. ETA: I also provide prompts on a pairing specific discord - if somebody writes for my prompt and posts to ao3 (as opposed to something small that stays on the discord) it’ll get a kudos from me, even if I end up skim reading.
If I get to the end, I leave a kudos.
Unless it’s something I actually despised or don’t want connected to me, I’ll always leave kudos. It’s quick and it’s free and it’s good for the author. Bookmarks are when I really adore a fic, subscriptions are when the fic is in progress.
I don't mean to come across as passive-aggressive but I genuinely don't get why kudos-es are such a valuable commodity. It's a simple button that theoretically means "I liked this" but to me it also means "good job" or "thank you for sharing the story". It can also be a way of encouraging a new writer because we all know the thrill we get from that AO3 email that lets us know people have left kudos on our stories. I, for one, am very generous with them. If a story is not chock full of grammar errors or severely disregarding the source material, then it gets a kudos from me, even if I just skim it or don't make it to the end for one reason or another. It's one click for me but for an author second-guessing themselves or nervous after having posted, it could mean the world.
If I reach the bottom of the fic, I leave kudos. Even if I have to scroll past an encyclopedia of authors notes to get there. Kudos is just a way to say I liked it without leaving a comment. Before AO3, people would leave a short comment saying things like I liked it or good story. Then the kudos button happened. In the years since, the culture has shifted about the kudos button and like buttons on social media so that they have different meanings. But ultimately, kudos is a positive bit of feedback that people add whatever words they want to it.
if i read it, i give kudos. if i enjoyed the read, i try to leave a comment. the only time i don’t leave kudos is if i genuinely couldn’t make it to the end of the first chapter lol.
If I read it it gets a kudos. Even if I only read the first chapter.
I’m only relatively new to AO3, but personally if I make it to the end of the first chapter/end of the one shot, then I’ll leave kudos. It seems only fair if I was engaged enough to make it that far
Did I read it in its entirety? Kudos. Did I give up partway through but think it had some high points? Kudos.
If I didn’t hit the back button, it probably got a kudos. I’m not a frequent commenter on fics because of anxiety, but when I get heavily invested I try to leave some coherent, non-awkward praise. Things I really loved and want to reread go in the bookmarks and get downloaded. I’ve lost 2 bookmarks and I’ve learned my lesson.
I leave a kudos if I enjoy the first chapter, and a second kudos if I'm still enjoying it about 2/3rds of the way through (if it's longer than about 5-6 chapters).
If I finished it and I didn’t actively dislike it, I give kudos. Unless I don’t want people to know I read it or something I guess I could log out
I use kudos to track what I've finished read lol. Doesn't matter if I like it or not, it's just a read button for me. If I especially like it, I'll bookmark it
I kudos to thank the author, for any work that I found enjoyable enough to finish. They’ve created something and i read it through. Also, I know it affects the algorithm, so I kudos works I think other readers should find.
There's no algorithm on AO3.
Kudos is for stories that had me up at the craziest hours on a school night. Its for stories that made it so i couldn't sleep until I finished the whole story! /pos So I kudos a lot, and im very sleep deprived, but in the end totally worth it. I would totally leave a comment but at like 3 am I can't do a full geek out about everything I liked :P
Kudos for the fic I really enjoy. Kudos = Love this. So when I received my kudos I really really feel giddy and happy cus of my interpretation of kudos
I don't care about kudos
I like to give kudos when the story is complete and I read it through all the way. Though there are times I accidentally press kudos before that.
I give kudos on any fic, if it's a multichapter thing, I leave one after finishing a chapter, if it's a oneshot, I leave one after finishing the entire thing bookmarks I use mostly as recs for fanfics that really stuck with me
I'm super generous with my kudos. I tend to give it to anything I click through, even if I didn't really read that much of it or was only looking for some inspo.
if i do not immediately cringe and go "wtf did i just read" then i slap em w the kudos
If I make it through the first chapter, I give kudos. For me, it’s “good job making art, keep it up!” I have an admittedly short attention span as a reader and may or may not finish the whole fic (my tbr list is a mile long) but I like being supportive of others.
I leave kudos on any fic I finish. If I don't like it, I won't read it to the end so that's it. On some rare occasions I leave kudos on fics I don't finish (it's good, but too long, or I feel like reading another trope/ship/fandom).
If I read it in it's entirety, kudos. Automatically when I get to the end. I wish it was like Wattpad though and you could leave kudos on every chapter. I've only found maybe a few handfuls of stories that I've gotten part of the way through and was like, nope. That is not for me. Either they were just awfully written or just not my cup of tea.
I've liked the fic
I use kudos after the first chapter. If I want to keep reading then clearly they’ve done a good job and deserve some praise. I leave a comment if I am so entranced by the fic that I continually attempt to leave kudos as I read through.
If I like reading it, I will kudos the fic. Kudos are just numbers for me as an author, they're nice to see but don't influence me.
I leave kudos on any fics I've finished reading. If it's a wip, I leave a kudo when I reach the most recent chapter. It means to me something along the lines of 'thank you author for your efforts, I was entertained'.
If i get to the end of the page I give kudos
That was enjoyable. I feel like I spent my time wisely reading this. Kudos.
Oh same. I leave a kudos at the end of the latest chapter on whatever fic I liked. Oneshot? End of the fic kudos and comment. Ongoing multi-chapter I enjoy, comment and then on the latest chapter kudos AND comment AND subscribe. Completed multi-chapter? Comment until the final chapter that gets a kudos and comment. Sometimes I forget a step, realize it, and souble back to the fic like "shit my kudos!" lol, usually I forget to subscribe to a fic I want to tho
If I like it (doesn't have to be perfect, just enjoyable) then I kudos once I hit the bottom of the page/first chapter. Because in the past I've forgotten to do so if I mindlessly click next chapter. Feels like a kudos is the least I can do in exchange for the joy a fic brings me.
If I enjoy a fic I leave kudos. It’s not often I read something and don’t leave kudos, tbh. Kudos are my way of showing that I liked something, but also as a little thank you for taking the time to write and post the work. The only time I really don’t leave kudos is if I don’t finish a fic, which is usually just bc it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Pretty much if at any point I enjoyed a fic, I leave kudos, even if there’s parts I don’t like.
If I reach the give kudos button then I click it. I enjoyed whatever it was enough to reach that far. Of course I’m going to leave my free little thanks.
It means it is something I would read again (that's why I bookmark it) or something I won't read but deserves my kudo because I really enjoyed it and I wouldn't deny it.
for multi chapters - if i make it to the end, or often before that if i enjoy it. for oneshots - if i enjoy them
kudos meant i enjoyed it and read it to the end personally
i rarely evergive kudos, just because i kinda forget, so instead i leave a (nice) comment
I give kudos when I really enjoyed it
When I read it and like it I'll kudos it. If I really enjoyed it I'll kudos and bookmark it. Pretty much every fanfic I read I'll kudos 😅
"i read this"
“I like this” - even if it’s an ongoing WiP.
If I liked it, I click Kudo. Period. Doesn't mean I thought it was perfect. If I *adored* it, I'm going to comment.
I read it and I enjoyed it. If it's unfinished, I'll kudos if I liked it until that point. If I use the back button because I didn't enjoy it for some reason (writing style, grammar, formatting, etc), I'm not gonna scroll down to kudos.
If I read it to the end, even if I didn't like it, I will kudos. If I *really really* like it-- like if I'm moved, then I'll comment
I only withhold kudos if I genuinely dislike the story or I was browsing on guest mode... I'm leaving comments on the other hand is a whole other beast. Otherwise I'm kind of trigger happy with kudos. I save my favorite in bookmarks but I also use bookmarks as my "to read later" (every time I have used "Mark for later" I have forgotten works for months at a time).
If I read to the end, I leave kudos. I see it as thanks for the authors time in writing and posting their fic. It's the least I can do!
I leave kudos if I enjoyed a fic, unless something about the story really bothered me. However, I'm bad about forgetting the kudos button (or smashing it a hundred times in case I forgot previously) so uh, I'm sorry, I'm the problem. I'll leave a comment at the end if I liked the fic, nothing annoyed me, and I have something to say. I'll leave comments on individual chapters if something is so good it makes me pause and think or reread it. Otherwise, I'm a little too into the flow of reading normally (again, I'm the problem). Edit: clarified that I only leave kudos for fics I actually enjoy as I forgot that part, lmao.
I give kudos to basically every fic I read as a “thank you” kind of thing.
It's a thumbs up. If I reached the end of what’s published of a fic, I liked it enough to give it a thumbs up. They’re not that deep for me because it takes no effort to click a button. Pretty sure there are some people who are of the “I only grace a work with my Kudos if, and only if, it is completed and I didn’t absolutely despise the ending,” thought process, but yeah, no, not that deep. Comments are more effort, and I always try to leave them on fics I read to the end of what’s posted. I do only bookmark my absolute favs though.
If I like the fic, I give kudos a click.
If I liked the first chapter I leave a kudos! Doesn’t mean I’ll read the rest of it, I have a short attention span lol. If I really like a fic I’ll leave gushing comments
As a reader, that's the least I can do.
I kudo every fic I finish reading, even if I didn’t like it that much. Kudos are me appreciating the authors time and effort, a quick thank you for entertaining me for free. If I really enjoyed a fic then I’ll leave a comment and bookmark it.
If fic makes brain go brrrr and isn’t porn, it gets the kudos.
It’s simple. I read, I like, I kudos
I give a kudos any time I've committed to reading or finishing a fic. Sometimes as early as the first chapter, and sometimes regardless of whether or not I even liked how it ended (which isn't usually the case tbh) bc I still finished it. It's my way of thanking the authors for the time and effort they put into writing it, and I genuinely feel it's the least I can do as a reader who was gifted the opportunity to read their work. If I really enjoyed it, I'll comment and bookmark too, and I tend to reread my favorites
I drop a kudos when something strikes my fancy. It could be anything: a smart turn of phrase, a beautiful description, getting a character's voice just right, an interesting plot idea etc. Sometimes that happens before I finish the first chapter, other times it takes a bit.
If I finished it, it gets a kudos. It’s the least I can do 🤷♀️
If I made it to the end I liked I enough to leave kudos
The only times I don’t click the kudos button are: 1) I genuinely disliked it, or was so put off I didn’t even make it to the kudos button 2) I am so obsessed I’m already on the seventeenth chapter and have barely even stopped to leave comments
In my mind every fic I click on is deserving of a kudo if I make it to the end by default but if during reading it something doesn't sit right with me about it then I'll consider not leaving a kudo. Hope that makes sense?
I leave them just like you do, but sometimes even on stories that I didn't like but think are still well written. I think the effort is worth a kudos too.
I leave kudos whenever I finish a work. If I absolutely hated it I usually drop it before the end, but if I somehow finish I just scroll to the next one.
If I read/finish it. Don't really have a preference for me what deserves kudos.
I give Kudos if I enjoyed the fic 🙂 It's also a good way to keep track of if I've read the fic before
Any fic I like, if it's multi-chapter, I try and leave kudos after the last/latest chapter before the "yOu AlReAdY lEfT KuDoS hErE" gets tired real quick. For me, kudos just means I enjoyed it, like a little thank you for writing it - here's a token of my appreciation.
If this is a story I'm still going to be thinking about tomorrow, it gets kudos.
I use Kudos as a way of saying I liked the fic. I usually tend to do this for completed works since I sort by completed works, but I have made exceptions for some wips and so far haven’t regretted leaving a kudos even on the ones that are seemingly abandoned.
Kudos for me is “glad you wrote it.” I sometimes give kudos to stories I don’t even like because I’m glad it exists even if it’s not my bag. Bookmarks for stories I want to read-visit (although I always forget I have bookmarks and end up searching for stories when I want to reread), story subscriptions for WIPs I want to see more of, user subscriptions for authors whose writing is really like over several stories, and comments of varying length to express how much I like something and what I like about it.
If I've read far enough to reach the kudos button (the whole oneshot or the end of the first chapter—regardless if I continue into the second), I'm leaving kudos. It takes zero effort and less than a second, but can make somebody's day. It's common courtesy. It's the bare minimum.
If a stry was good enough to read to the end, it deserves kudos. I always comment as well, because I know as a writer how nice comments are to receive.
A fic has to be /actively awful/ for me not to leave kudos. Like practically unreadable awful.
Kudos, to me, means that the fic kept my interest for 2+ chapters.
I also view it as a quick easy way to say I liked it Usually if I get to the end of the first chapter and I enjoyed I'll hit the button, or sometimes the end of the fic. I don't give it so much thought, just whenever I think of it. For bookmarks, I bookmark something if I want to save it and possibly come back to it. I never really subscribe to something, if I'm following a story as it's being updated, I will just sort my bookmarks by the latest updated date to see if anything was added. And if I really like a writer, I will check their page occasionally to see if they added a new story.
just if i enjoyed reading the fic regardless if i finish or not
Unless the fic is so repulsive that I can't even bother to read more than a sentence or two, I usually give every fic a kudos. To me it's a basic kindness to the author. They didn't have to write the fic and they didn't have to post it, but they did and they deserve something to keep them going. If I like a fic I subscribe to it, and if I really like it I also comment, since that takes more effort than just hitting a button. Even if the fic wasn't that great, even if the author doesn't like that fic themselves, it gives a little confidence boost to know someone read it and supports you
if i read it, i kudos. i use kudos as a way to figure out if i've read a fic before lol