Don't Like, Don't Read: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"I am sorry you seem so unhappy. If you are truly that unhappy with the direction the series has taken, then stop reading it. Stop reading what I write. There, simply, fixed. If you don't like it, don't buy it, don't read it."''|'''[[Anita Blake|Laurell K.]] [[Dear Negative Reader|Hamilton]]'''}}

This argument is not always valid. Some people argue that the phrase is logically fallacious -- howfallacious—how can you know you won't like a book or movie if you don't read or watch it, after all? It's not like you can "unread" something once you've read it (though God knows [[Brain Bleach|you'd want to, sometimes]]). Would they prefer [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|that you complain about a show you don't even watch?]] This argument is invalid if there was no warning beforehand. Or, if the person has already ceased to read and is just stating their opinions. If they did not leave a review and are stating their opinions in their own personal space this argument is invalid since they aren't reading and now you're just not respecting other peoples' free speech rights. If you asked the person for their opinion, or it's their job to give their opinion (they are a professional movie critic), then this argument is invalid.

Sometimes, however, this argument is valid. If someone leaves a review on a story, complaining about an aspect of that story which was [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|clearly labeled on the outside packaging]], it's perfectly okay to just shout this phrase in response. That won't help The Reader, but frankly he's got [[What an Idiot!|larger problems]] anyhow.

Furthermore, Authors, and producers of entertainment content in general, must also deal with that wonderful trait called [[Fan Dumb]]. Fans can become possessive of their favorite franchises, and can have very specific ideas of where they want the story to go... ideas that, even if they aren't just legitimately bad, are simply [[Cutting Off the Branches|not where the writer wants to go]]. When beleaugered with such requests for [[Character Derailment]], [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|waste of perfectly good plot]] or other betrayals of the story's or writer's artistic integrity, well-meaning though they may be, "[[Don't Like, Don't Read]]"--or—or perhaps "''Won't'' Like, Don't Read"--can—can be the simplest defense at hand. Especially since the alternative is [[Executive Meddling]] at its best, [[Pandering to Thethe Base]] at worst.

In the case of fanfiction, if the writer gives their readers warning in the summary of interesting things like the pairings, any slash, rape or mass murdering, they have a fair defense with "Don't Like, Don't Read". If however their summaries consist of such gems as "[[I Suck At Summaries|I suck at summaries]]", they generally don't have any right to complain and this argument is completely invalid.

See [[Let's See You Do Better|Let's See YOU Do Better]] and [[You're Just Jealous]] for the complete trifecta of stock generic excuses to [[Bad Writing Index|bad writing]].

'''Note:''' Like any other example list, try to avoid [[Take That|Take Thats]]s and [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Like]]. Also, please keep in mind this is about ''fiction'', not ''any'' rebuff of criticism.

{{quote| "Sometimes [[Take That, Audience!|some]] [[Man Child|children]] get the wrong idea, so I guess I'll explain. It's not the reader's right to change the story of a work. Their only right is to choose whether or not to read it. If they can't stomach it, they should stop reading.}}

== Fan FictionWorks ==

* [[Hans Von Hozel (Creator)|Hans Von Hozel]] used this in his ''[[Numb3rs]]'' fic when he rehosted it (it had been reported and deleted).

* After the advent of the seventh ''[[Harry Potter]]'' book, any author thatwho did not follow canon couples ( {{spoiler|notably Harry/Hermione shippers}}) were almost forced to put this at the head of every fanfic to ward off the "But it ended {{spoiler|Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny}}" comments.

* ''[[My Inner Life]]''- oh, dear God, ''[[My Inner Life]]''. The [[Authors Note]] was basically a long-winded [[Author Tract]] all about this point that went on for ''pages upon pages.''

* [[Cori Falls]] had these disclaimers in the form of long-winded rants on both her ''[[Pokémon (Animeanime)|Pokémon]]'' and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' pages.

* Producer J.J. Abrams flat out told ''Trek'' fans not to bother watching [[Star Trek (Filmfilm)|his re-working]] of ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' if they weren't going to like it.

* Often happens with films that are disliked by reviewers, but still have a loyal following, such as ''[[Transformers (Filmfilm)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]''. Comments on reviews will frankly tell the reviewer not to see the movie, then, despite the fact that ''reviewing movies is their job''.

* ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' fans tend to use this excuse when dealing with the series' [[Hatedom]]. It never works. Partially because [[Hatedom|antis]] want to know what they're talking about. It really doesn't help the fans case when they ''also'' use the polar opposite excuse: "You can't hate it unless you've read it."

* [[Anti-Shurtugal]] (an [[Hatedom|anti-fansite]] for ''[[The Inheritance Cycle]]'', now defunct) was founded reportedly because certain individuals received this (and the other two [[Stock Phrases]] in the Holy Trinity along with forum bans and [[Disproportionate Retribution|death threats]]) every time they'd post something critical on an ''Inheritance'' fansite.

** Its [[Spiritual Successor]], [http://www.impishidea.com Impishidea], has also received a number of ugly comments along the lines of this trope when it was critical of ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' or ''[[The Inheritance Cycle]]''. It also accidentally attracted the author of ''Bitterwood''.

* [[JKJ. K. Rowling]] explained in an interview that she has told at least one person, who did not react well to a certain character's death in ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Goblet of Fire (novel)|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'', not to read the rest of the books. Given the [[Anyone Can Die|direction]] the series took after that, it was probably for the best.

* Has been heard like a mantra on ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' fan sites since the new series began airing, to the point where there are certain areas where expressing ''any'' criticism of the new series will invoke this response.

* ''[[I CarlyiCarly]]'': Seddie is Seddie, Creddie is Creddie, and [[Ship -to -Ship Combat|never the twain shall meet]]. This also applies to the [[Fanfic]]. You could tell everyone straight up from word 1, shouting up and down your story will end as Creddie, the readers would happily read 50 chapters of Carly/OC, Freddie/Wendy or Carly/Griffin until they finally get together, but you put Freddie with Sam for a couple chapters, and you'll get complaints.

* In a press conference before the rebooted ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' series premiere, Edward Olmos was asked about the reaction by fans of ''[[Battlestar Galactica Classic (1978 TV series)|Battlestarthe Galacticaoriginal Classic]]''Battlestar fansGalactica'']] to the reimagining. He said, flatly, "if you're a fan of the original, don't watch the new one. You won't like it, turn it off." This made some minor entertainment headlines ("Eddie Olmos ''doesn't'' want you to watch his new show!") and was probably the result of Olmos seeing one too many [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|complaints]] from the original show's fans about the new show just existing. Ron Moore would later admit that it turned into better publicity than they could've paid for with people tuning in just to see why Olmos thought they would hate it.

* In a pre-series [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216221910/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/02/22/kamen-rider-returns-to-us-television/ interview], ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'''s producer Steve Wang commented on [[Fan Dumb|fans]] who [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|automatically hate any US adaptation without giving it a fair shot]], saying (in so many words) that ''Dragon Knight'' wasn't for them, and that he'd be the first to suggest they just not bother watching the show at all to save themselves the trouble of going to the fan forums and [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Like|bitching about it]].

** And Nintendo even put the Super guide in ''New Super Mario Brothers Wii'' and ''Super Mario Galaxy 2''. Even when it was announced, the forums were ''full'' of screaming that it's being dumbed down and that gamers wouldn't even have to look up at [[Game FAQsGameFAQs]]. But guess what? Five of us were pointing out that the use of this technology is completely ''optional'' - And even using it becomes an [[Easy Mode Mockery]] and blocks one hundred percent completion. Naturally, they are just complaining that it ''EXISTS'' - It's ''less'' tedious to ''not'' use it because you have to die ''eight times'' before it's offered. Most of the time; you'd run out of lives.

*** There's even an apparent super guide in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|Ocarina of Time 3D]]'' offering solutions to puzzles for people who have not played the game or any of its hundreds of rereleases and remakes before (all sixteen of us). According to reviewers; in order to view these videos, you have to go back to Kokori village. It's actually ''less'' tedious to just figure the puzzle out yourself or, since it's for a portable system, go to [[Game FAQsGameFAQs]] or load up a video on [[YouTube]] showinghow it's done.

*** Or you can just hit the HOME button, which freezes the game at where you are at, open the built in web browser go to the guide on the internet and then look up how its done. The web browser even keeps your spot so if you want to look at the next thing you can just repeat these actions.!

** ''[[Fire Emblem: Awakening]]'' has a "Casual mode" in which character death isn't permanent. Cue the complaints of dumbing down the series or how it's ''the easiest fire emblem game'' [[What an Idiot!|Despite announcements that the game has a "Classic mode" which Character Death IS permanent, and the fact that the game is going to have difficulty settings.]]

* Many people seem to hate the [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] genre as a whole, and then complain on the [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] forums that it's not enough like single-player RPGs, FPSes, platformers, puzzles, multiplayer FPSes, MMOFPSes, etc...Meanwhile here come games like ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' and ''[[Guild Wars]]'' and guess what they get criticized about? That's right...for being like an [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]], whereas ironically, the fans of [[MMORPGMassively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPGsMMORPG]]s (yes, they exist) often sneer at games like those for ''not'' being [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] ''enough''.

* The people who've been saying the game was [[Ruined FOREVER]] since ''Day two'' of games like ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', ''[[City of Heroes]]'', ''[[Guild Wars]]'', and ''[[Ever QuestEverQuest]]'' fit this trope. For some odd reason, many of them will complain how it was ruined for ''awhile'', yet have obviously not quit yet - especially when they claim they have found better games.

** Justified with ''Game Pro'' given that they were an utter factory of misinformation due to their lack of caring towards RPGs, to the level where they would not even do the research and wind up printing stuff of the [[CowboyMedia BebopResearch At His ComputerFailure]] variety.

** Also targeted (And often justified) at user-reviews in places like [[Game FAQsGameFAQs]]. Granted, these are treated as incredibly amateur reviews; especially since one will probably see someone complaining at a game for simply being made by one company in at least one review; or reviews that are probably bordering on the lines of [[Flame Bait]] or [[Troll|Trolling]]ing.

* Happens on the ''[[Minecraft]]'' forums all the time. Generally, it follows a pretty recognizable pattern: First, someone will complain about a play style or technique they don't like and demand that Notch overhaul the game mechanics so that said play style no longer works.<ref>No [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement]] here; they almost always demand that Notch actually change things to their liking</ref>. Then, some people who either use that play style, or have realistic expectations about the amount of attention Notch is paying people who are complaining about how people arrange dirt, come along and invoke this trope, pointing out that in singleplayer games, it's not actually affecting other people, and in multiplayer servers, it's considered bad form to destroy other peoples' creations, so the best they can suggest is finding/creating a server where those playstyles are houseruled out. Sometimes it stops there, but if the original poster and their supporters are feeling ornery, ''they'll'' come back and invoke this trope right back, claiming that if you don't agree with the OP, you don't have any place contributing to the <s>circlejerk</s> discussion.

* The phrase is quite common within many art gallery type sites -- althoughsites—although it's used in either fair situations, or it's just a downright excuse from artists trying to shoo off any criticism.

*** And to give constructive criticism, simply being told "Don't draw anime or write fanfiction" ''really'' isn't very constructive in terms of criticism. It doesn't matter if you don't like Anime art or fanfiction stories-- westories—we want to know if we drew it or ''wrote'' it good. If you're mocking it in the comments (ie, finding a grammatical mistake and cracking jokes about how bad it is) or pulling the "This is not [[True Art]] because [[True Art]] is..." cards, we won't take you as anything but a [[Troll]] or a part of [[Hate Dumb]].

* Some forums can be ''quite bad'' about it. Some people who never liked ''* Insert production here* '' in the first place will somehow post in ''every single thread'' related to them . Mention ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' in any way and you'll surely get a lot of people coming in and bashing you.

* On [[The Angry Video Game Nerd (Web Video)|The Angry Video Game Nerd]] website, people frequently come into unrelated videos (such as "Board James") and bash them because they aren't AVGN. This usually has at least one or two comments saying "Just don't watch the non AVGN-videos."

* Likewise, [[Jimquisition|Jim Sterling]] tells the [[Unpleasable Fanbase]] of ''[[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|Zelda]]'' to can it, due to complaints of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'' [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|being shit despite not even being out yet at the time of the video]], and more complaints about how [[That One Level]] from ''Ocarina of time'' was ''FIXED'' in the 3DS version. He says that if you really did like the Water Temple level from Ocarina of time so much, that you should just get a gamecube with Master Quest, download it off the virtual console, break out your n64, ''play THAT'' since the Water Temple fix was not being forced on the consumers at all. And he also says that if they thought Skyward Sword was shit before even knowing about it, ''just don't buy it''.

* There is a comic drawing contest called the [[Daily Grind]]. The rules are simple. Post a 2+ panel comic each day, Mon-Fri and never miss a day. Each person put in twenty bucks when the contest started and the artist who goes the longest without missing an update wins. The winner takes the entire pot. The basic concept behind this contest was to provide an incentive for people to post regularly, and thus draw more frequently and improve their skills. Despite "improving your skills!" being the primary purpose of the contest, many of the lower quality comic strips were blatantly attacked for being low quality by people attempting to shame them into dropping out and letting somebody who "deserves" to win continue. The entire Daily Grind community would invariably all join forces to yell this trope at them.

* [[Andrew Hussie]] of ''[[MS Paint Adventures]]'' has responded to people not liking ''[[Homestuck (Webcomic)|Homestuck]]'' [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|because it is not like]] ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'' [http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/781027547 with]{{Dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110908084146/http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?32178-Anyone-else-think-Hussie-should-cut-down-on-the-Pesterlogs-a-bit&p=4125631&viewfull=1#post4125631 several] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901071458/http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?29915-Pester-Chum-s-are-too-long!!&p=3857423&viewfull=1#post3857423 essays'] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110909062508/http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?29915-Pester-Chum-s-are-too-long!!&p=3859169&viewfull=1#post3859169 worth] [http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/750738682 of]{{Dead link}} [http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/780995992 rant]{{Dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901035533/http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?29915-Pester-Chum-s-are-too-long!!&p=3859225&viewfull=1#post3859225 that] [https://web.archive.org/web/20101209175525/http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/1158778979 all] [http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/1093953142 boil]{{Dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20101017000159/http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/1093935286 down] [http://www.formspring.me/andrewhussie/q/1001292582 to]{{Dead link}} "I'm doing it the way I want. [[Don't Like Don't Read|If you don't like Homestuck, don't read it]]." "Go read Problem Sleuth" has become a stock fan response to complaints, which apparently implies that [[Double Standard|the fans are all incredibly dogmatic]].

* Gets said almost daily to one ''[[Xkcd (Webcomic)|Xkcdxkcd]]'' troll/hater or another on the [[Insistent Terminology|fora]].

* In the first ''[[Megatokyo]]'' compilation book, one of Piro's commentaries mentions that after an early strip that broke away from the gag-a-day norm for the sake of the story, a reader said that he would stop reading if Piro did something like that again. The author's response was basically, "go ahead, I'm not forcing you to read it."

* One episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' ends with Peter Griffin giving a [[Take That]] to [[Moral Guardians]] which takes this form.

[[Category:Dont Like Dont Read{{PAGENAME}}]]