Yeah. I really, really wish that ao3 comments sections were the same kind of social space as LJ comments used to be— and am reading one fic right now where they really ARE, which is an amazing experience, that's probably mostly because the author has no social media at all and spends a lot of time checking in on readers, asking about their lives, and writing long and thoughtful replies to every comment. So... it can be done, and I'm trying to do more of that in the comments sections on my fics too, but it's an uphill battle when the social web 2.0 exists and people expect that kind of communication.