There are a billion factors which affect which thing gets comments and which doesn't.
Even when it comes to porn. I think in some cases, people are shy about their kinks, for example. There are probably stories which a LOT of people read but don't comment on because of this -- they don't want to air their kinks. I don't care if people know what I think is uber hot, but some others may. In some cases, readers may feel the comment would come months or years after the last comment, so maybe they think the author has moved on. (And a lot of readers don't write fic, so may not realize how much writers squee over a random "that was hot!" :) ) On the other hand, when there are TONS of comments on something, a reader figures commenting is the thing you do on this story. And some people have social anxiety about commenting at all on stories when they haven't interacted with the person in other ways.
It's like getting your hair styled and colored. You walk out of the salon and you feel FABULOUS. But you go to work and maybe nobody comments. Maybe they're preoccupied or didn't notice or they think it's inappropriate to compliment people's appearance because the last person they said something to took it weird. But that doesn't mean your hair looks awful. In short, comment numbers do not indicate a story's "value" or how well it may be written. The bestselling books on the NYT list are not necessarily the most awesome books, but you know that. :D
TEAL DEER HERE
There are a billion factors which affect which thing gets comments and which doesn't.
Even when it comes to porn. I think in some cases, people are shy about their kinks, for example. There are probably stories which a LOT of people read but don't comment on because of this -- they don't want to air their kinks. I don't care if people know what I think is uber hot, but some others may. In some cases, readers may feel the comment would come months or years after the last comment, so maybe they think the author has moved on. (And a lot of readers don't write fic, so may not realize how much writers squee over a random "that was hot!" :) ) On the other hand, when there are TONS of comments on something, a reader figures commenting is the thing you do on this story. And some people have social anxiety about commenting at all on stories when they haven't interacted with the person in other ways.
It's like getting your hair styled and colored. You walk out of the salon and you feel FABULOUS. But you go to work and maybe nobody comments. Maybe they're preoccupied or didn't notice or they think it's inappropriate to compliment people's appearance because the last person they said something to took it weird. But that doesn't mean your hair looks awful.
In short, comment numbers do not indicate a story's "value" or how well it may be written. The bestselling books on the NYT list are not necessarily the most awesome books, but you know that. :D