Reviews.

They aren't hard.

They encourage people to keep going, because believe it or not, we get NOTHING else out of this. Quite often, all it takes is less than a minute to change a review of "Great, morekthnxbai!" into "Hey, I really like this. I liked the last line, it really made the story for me".

Sure, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing. If you have something helpful to say, say it! If you liked it, for god's sake, tell the writer/artist, because they need to hear it.

No, I'm not perfect. I slack off reviewing a lot. But I try to give decent reviews when I see something I like. I try to explain what I liked. I try to explain what didn't sit right with me.

The more you comment, the more others will be inspired to comment. Believe me, I know. The more you comment, the more the artist/writer will feel like someone is appreciating what they're doing and do it more.

Yeah, there are reasons not to. RL can be a pain in the butt and keep you from doing the things you should for your fandom. But communities need to get more pro-active.

Today I'm making a commitment. If I read something and like it, I will tell the author if I can. If I see a piece of art and like it, I will tell the artist. I will leave helpful and constructive comments where possible. Even if I am not arty, or not a good writer, or feel I don't know anything about the technicalities, I will not leave stock standard replies of "I love it" or "morethnx".

Make this commitment. Community needs communication.

Feel free to post this on your journal if you want it.