I love this site and would be devastated to see it closed. It seems to me that the only logical option would be to disable the open comments. Leave voting open and let people send a PM to the author if they enjoyed a story or not. I do enjoy reading the comments that people leave, but I like reading the stories more.

I'm also one of those hardly ever leaves a comment on a story. Everyone has different tastes and ideas about how things should be, but as I'm not the author, I don't feel its my place to tell them they did it wrong, how do I know, its not my story to tell. I just enjoy reading the varied stories on this site and hope to be able to enjoy for a long time.

We all think differently and react differently, and with the relative anonymity of the internet it makes it easy for people say exactly what is on their mind because they don't have to look in to the eyes of the person they are talking to/about and see the pain their words inflict. Maybe thats the key. Imagine we are talking directly to that person when we are leaving comments. Let ourselves feel what they would feel as our words come out. Imagine looking in to their eyes and see if there is pain or fear or laughter and love. If what you feel when you do that is not a good feeling, an uplifting feeling, then just maybe you shouldn't leave that comment.

You know how lucky I've been in having people like my stories.
You also know that I believe that this site saves lives by
letting people know that they are not alone in their struggle.
Not in an intellectual way, like looking up gender on quickipedia,
but rather in an emotional way that allows people to emotionally
understand, and bond. I'm so poor the church-mice make fun of
me, but that's therapy that you can't buy at any price.

Several times I've gotten notes from people who have been touched
by my stories in a very real-life way. Several days ago, a user
wrote to me and asked if I had a copy of the unicorn story, so that
she could print it out, and read it to her wife.
(Of course, it's that's the file my cat wiped out.)

Turns out, the nice user's wife has a very unhappy past just like
my own dear Paula, and she has bad dreams. But, that story is the
wife's favorite, and when that user reads it to her, she sleeps.
No bad dreams.

I spent several hours putting a file together for her, and I was
happy to do it.

The occasional combative and infantile behavior that comes out
from time to time, a thing of which we are all eminently capable,
really bothers me as well. Very much so. However, that may be
because the really good things that happen here, the example
above being only a little one, are much quieter. They are
harder to find, and so easily pass unnoticed and unknown by all
but a few. But... For all that, they are so very important.

If I did not have this place, I wouldn't have anyplace else to
go. Perhaps it's because it's unique, and perhaps it's because
I lack a spirit of adventure. I don't know. I only know that
this place you've created, and which exists by the efforts of
so many, just feels like home. I wouldn't even look for anyplace
else.

This site has made you a part of thousands of lives.

Sarah Lynn

When I was actively running a discussion list, the occasional flame war would pop up. In most cases, it was a simple misunderstanding. After a while, I discovered that if you just let it run its course, the players would either figure it out for themselves, or a third party would step in to either mediate or support the offended party. The power of the group to seek moderation and civility on their own is not to be discounted.

Although we don't always act it, we are adults on this site. If you were to throw up your hands, eschew responsibility for baby-sitting, leaving us to act as adults and deal with our own emotions and disputes as best we can, you might be pleasantly surprised as to how often it works out okay. It will certainly cause you less personal stress to not have to play full-time playground monitor.

Obviously, if a persistent troll makes a convincing case that they need banishment from the site, that's where you and your admins would have to step in. But, short of that, I think the type of real-time personality management that you've committed yourself to doing is overly burdensome on you, as it would be on anyone. A little more tolerance for "vigorous discussion" could conceivably result in a lot less stress and overhead, as well as an occasional interesting conversation that we mightn't have had otherwise, and some personality growth opportunities for some.

Someone has told, that it is necessary to just cancel comments to stories. Instead, let us assume, it is possible to make the module for voting. Buttons pro's and con's. Just like as on radio stations form a hit parade for a week, month and so on.

The most popular stories will remain in top list some time, then will go downwards. And so on. Fair system. It is not necessary to re-invent the wheel. Nobody should be stand over of "bad boys\girls".

If someone personally wants to ask about something the author, to present him\her a bouquet of roses or to give vent righteous (or not entirely) to anger... Then let writes PM to the author.

These two can argue till they were fit to drop. But their dispute will not bring harm to other users and authors.

At such system Erin can sleep easy. She (at last!!!) can get rid of function of the wardress unusual for her.

P.S. The uniform and a bludgeon can be left for memory.
P.P.S. As they speak: "both the wolves have eaten much and the sheep have not been touched!"