How to reply when I have nothing interesting to say

[alias_sqbr]

Sometimes when I make a post I get a lot of nice but similar comments I really appreciate, but I have nothing interesting to say to in response beyond, like, "thanks". Thinking about a unique variation on "thanks" for each comment is a lot of mental work for little benefit, but a wall of identical replies, or no replies, might make people assume I didn't like their comment. Especially since sometimes I do happen to have something interesting to say to one or two comments in particular, but not all of them, which could make everyone else feel weird.

Or maybe people won't notice or care!

So! Help me find replying to comments less mentally tiring.

Poll #24977

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 44

What reply would you prefer?

the same short reply as almost everyone else on the post
27 (61.4%)

no reply
7 (15.9%)

I would strongly dislike both of those
0 (0.0%)

I genuinely don't care
16 (36.4%)

other
3 (6.8%)

Please don't feel obliged to say you don't mind when what you mean is "It would make me feel a little bad, but I'd prefer that to you getting stressed". I just want to know what people prefer out of these two options so I can make an informed decision.

If other, please explain in the comments!

Comments

[izzet_bedtime_yet]

I often end up not replying to comments because I have a similar dilemma, though "wanted to come up with the perfect words and got distracted" ranks up there too. From the other side though I don't mind if the reply is generic, and I do like the little bit of interaction.

[alias_sqbr]

nods

[pauraque]

I do like getting a reply after commenting on someone's post, even if it's brief/generic. It's not like I'd flip out if I didn't get one (I comment a lot on DW so I wouldn't necessarily even notice) but the acknowledgement feels nice.

I know what you mean about trying to think of something different to say for each person, though. Sometimes I just cycle through minor variations... Thanks/Thank you/Thanks so much/Appreciate it/etc.

[alias_sqbr]

nods

[waterscroll]

I said no reply, but I suppose the ideal thing thing that I most like is when the OP also edits the post to add something like 'ETA: Thank you all for your great comments!' Or alternatively make one comment like that at the bottom. That way I know the OP isn't planning on responding individually but also appreciates the comments.

I prefer that to similar replies to every comment, which as you say seems like putting the OP through unnecessary work.

[jesse_the_k]

Ooooo! I didn't realize that an edit triggers notices. (Yes I've been here for 4246 days, but I'm always learning.)

[waterscroll]

I don't *think* an edit to the original post would trigger notices...it's more that if I am invested in a discussion I will come back to the post to see what other people have written, or if there are any updates.

[leecetheartist]

It's nice to be acknowledged, but it doesn't have to be uniquely crafted.

[alias_sqbr]

nods

[torachan]

Since multiple options were allowed, I voted for same short reply, no reply, and I don't care.

[winterbird]

I opted for 'I genuinely don't care.' I like your long replies, your short replies, and no replies are pretty standard for DW a lot of the time (hell, I'm a chronic non-replier myself; spoons are hard, and replies require different spoons for me than writing entries!)

[got_quiet]

Usually unless I've asked a question I don't expect a reply. If the discussion continues naturally, that's great! Otherwise I don't sweat it.

[acequeenking]

Fwiw, I rarely go to look at other comments on a fic I'm reading. I think every reply feels unique because I tend to read them in email, so I would probably just go "oh, cool!" and move on unless there was something to reply to in the return.

[alias_sqbr]

That's what I do myself but...BRAINS.

[fred_mouse]

As someone who greatly appreciates comments on my posts but usually doesn't have the spoons to reply, I'm always happy to get a reply, but I would never expect one.

[jesse_the_k]

+1000

[jesse_the_k]

I'm such an obsessive completist that I go back to read most replies. Don't know if most folks read replies via email or?

Anyway, for some reason a stylized answer like ♥ or <3 or !!! feels closer to the +1 / 👍 / esthetic so loved in Web 2.0.

[alias_sqbr]

Yeah I use those sometimes!

[igenlode]

Reply from a random person who stumbled across this post while looking for (and so far failing to find) something quite different written by someone else:

(a) From the perspective of a person writing a comment, it's quite nice to get an acknowledgement that it has been seen by the author.
(b) From the perspective of someone reading the comments to see what other people said about a piece of fiction/blogpost/etc., I personally do dislike seeing threads which all turn out to go 'comment':'Thanks!' / 'comment':'Thanks!' ad infinitum -- I'm looking for content, and multiple copies of 'Thanks' (even in varying forms) don't provide any intellectual grist to the mill. A thread of discussion is much more interesting, and I suppose I feel in some way cheated by finding that there are only half as many meaningful replies as were promised by the raw number.
But (see (a) above) I do understand why people do it, and do get a certain amount of validation out of it myself when I was the one leaving the original comment. So I'm sitting on both sides of the fence...

[alias_sqbr]

nods

I enjoy reading other people's conversations too, so always feel bad when I get an interesting comment and all I can think of to say is "thanks"/"Yeah, I agree!" etc. But alas, such is life.