Those who made the fic boards made it clear that any type of constructive comments were not welcome, because it might hurt someone's feelings. It kinda made the comments thread a safe space before that was a thing. I have no issue with encouraging authors, but I also want to read good fic and don't see any problem with offering some constructive feedback if it's in good faith. I lost that argument, so...I don't comment on stories anymore.
When did this happen? I don't remember that being a thing....(Although I was MIA from 2011-2015 due to some family issues) I always thought constructive criticism was always welcome.
IRC became outdated. I haven't tried to logon to the channel in probably 9 years, mostly because I would need to find a program that would get me there. I feel disconnected from the community now.
What is IRC? Is it a chat room?