Personally, I'm more active on RR than here. I don't comment and only rarely review. Fellow writers made me this way. The last time I left a review, it was a 3.5 and I said both positive and negative things. It ended up being a 3,000+ word review. But, essentially because I wasn't "glowing with praise", they blocked me from commenting or interacting with any of their other works. It's hilarious too because I was part of their Patreon. Was paying 25$ a month. They didn't know it, and I don't advertise that I'm subscribed to someone's work.
I liked it enough to subscribe....but because I didn't metaphorically suck their dick, they removed my ability to do anything. They purposely asked me to review them too. It's not the first time this has happened.
The time before that, the review was a 1,900+ word review scored at 4....but I apparently had the balls to mention how much I despised 2 of their main characters, (they had 4 main characters and I liked the other 2 well enough). They declared me sexist and racist. The two MC's I disliked were female which is apparently criminal to do. Also one was blue-skinned. So I'm racist against aliens I suppose? The other one might've been black, I can't remember. I was spending 30$ on their Patreon.
Needless to say, I don't subscribe to Patreon as freely as I once did. Most don't deserve it.
I now do not interact with authors. In fact, I dislike most of you just on principle despite the fact that many of you probably aren't as bad as these two examples I've given. Writers are some of the pettiest, entitled, self-righteous, pretentious, arrogant, low self-esteemed pricks around. But that's not just writers. That's artists of any kind in general. It takes a certain kind of person to declare themselves artists and then commit to it. It's just how it is. I'm sure more than enough people dislike me and feel the same about me. It is what it is.
Well, the patreon thing definitely sounds dickish, not gonna lie.
Even without money involved, blocking someone goes too far.
But just as valid as your experiences, I can give some back. 10 years ago, reader interaction was different on literally all sites. Back then, you had positive and negative feedback and, of course, a whole lot of nonsense as well.
My writing style changed drastically back in the day, because of those exchanges. I even came back to a certain critical review that I answered hilariously immature by stating that some things depend on style and such, telling her sorry and thanking her, because despite saying it's fine she thought like that, since tastes differ or some shit, I actually took the criticism to heart an changed most of it within two months. It's funny when I think about it now.
But I digress. When you do something, no matter what it is, and gain experience on that, not just artists, you will be confident when talking about it. Yet Art as a subject matter is unique in that it still reliably makes you insecure and leaves you feeling insufficient, even when you know you have the basic know-how's. I'm not saying that to make you somehow understand the people you have dealt with, because there's clearly more at large there, I'm saying this to set a base line.
Anyway, I'm someone who always has the last word, I'm quite prideful, I'm aware of that. When I get a review and there's a shit-take in it, I will comment on it. I've never deleted a comment or blocked someone in my life. Maybe I just didn't have to, but that's how it is. So, I had it happen that when I answered a comment and corrected something or simply questioned a certain take or criticism, that I would get the "aggressive", "can't take criticism", "arrogant" card? And without effort in explaining how that is the case, they just gloss over the words I said. That is reader interaction I had.
Example: Someone doesn't understand [thing] after reading up to chapter 5. [Thing] is explained pretty obviously and in a very clear way in chapter 2. I answer, thank them, try to explain and then, well, do the most terrible thing in the world: I suggest they might not have read carefully enough, as they have missed the explanation given by the book. Yeah, well, all hell broke loose, with other readers joining in, not with arguments, but simply "because the author can't take criticism and 3 out of 5 stars aren't even bad, so what are they complaining about?"
Needless to say, I'm still commenting and just came to the conclusion that readers are entitled assholes, who will take for granted that there's people everywhere writing stories for them for free, because writing isn't that hard, right?
Just like me, you have to make the distinction. There have been many readers I have talked to in my life, and of course, the bad ones leave a deeper mark, but they haven't actually made up the biggest part.
In your case, money was involved, so it would hurt considerably more, because you probably liked them a lot. But I ask you: did you ever make a normal comment, hinting at your thoughts before that? I'm not saying to prepare the author or something, but firstly, because you could have given them a chance to better themselves. Or you would have known right away before putting in even more work. To still take my example in, if I were to get a review and there were things I wouldn't get, as you can see, I'm the wordy type, I explain in autistic detail why things are set the way they are. If you can deter that, by actually taking those things into account, my opinion might be changed if I see that your point is reasonable. Of course I wouldn't just change something because one person says it's bad, I would have to literally change my story from the start, in a bad case. But if they answer you, even if you think they might be arrogant, dickish, or as greyblob called me, "condescending" or "unpleasant" - you are there because you read their story, that story won't change because the author isn't a nice pal to be around in a setting where they and their work are put on a scale, but you can take their words for what they are and answer them. If they were someone to block you, they wouldn't answer but delete the comment they felt was unjustified.
That last bit was just a hint, but of course, you don't have to take it. I'm not here to change your life or deter your opinion, because quite frankly, I can't and I have no obligation or incentive to do it either. After all, I'm some author that you despise, lol. But it might be more relaxed to think about it this way - engage with those that you can, and know where you don't have to put in the effort. Or the money.
Anyway, it is what it is, indeed.