Update chapters without content should be against ToS
What it says on the title.
My record for hiatus between chapters is two years, and a while ago I had a friend suggest I post an ‘update’ chapter to let people know it’s coming... eventually lol
Personally, I think that should be against ToS. I can only imagine the disappointment of my readers when they’ve been waiting patiently, they get the notification for a chapter, and then it’s just me saying ‘sorry this is an update chapter it’s coming!’, an update chapter with zero content is a big middle finger to your readers.
I unsubbed a fic recently that had posted multiple ‘update’ chapters over the months, the most recent one genuinely seemed like they just notified all their subscribers to let them know they watched heated rivalry. I don’t care, your readers don’t care, this is spam.
Does anyone else see this as rude to your readers? I’ve been on both sides as an author against update chapters and a reader against update chapters. If placeholder fics are against ToS, update chapters should be as well. They are both spam that does not contain any fan content.