I'm starting to learn the ins and outs of this great site and that those that make it possible. I would like to see more reviews being posted. I really enjoy critiquing the work of others, but find that the restrictions on who and what can be reviewed seems a little strict. Could we have an open review board where we can choose what to review? I'm sure there logic was logic in setting the rules as such, but that should be most vibrant part of the forum. Instead it’s a ghost town. What do you think?
Anyone can and should review as many pieces as he or she can. The only restrictions are a minimum quantity of constructive reviews before you may post your own work for review. There is no maximum.
I see your points and I understand the site format a little better now. Thanks for explaining the need for the rules.
what I'd like is a little loosening on the rules for critiqueing though. As a mod of a medium sized forum myself I understand why rules are necessary but I'd love it if we either have a place to just share completed stuff, or if that and the critique section were merged. This came up when I posted two things that I wasn't exactly looking for critiques for, and got a slight reprimand. I understand we have blogs for that, but I'd love to put my stuff out in the open. Also when I was asking a question of people who were critiqueing something I wrote, that post got moved to general writing and turned into a thread, which I didn't think was necessary. That would be when I asked about ash synonyms. I'm not trying to come off as mad, I just would like to know the reason behind the actions, please. And just so you know, I really appreciate you guys putting this forum together. It's my favorite place to go for writing purposes. Nate
The place to share completed stuff is the member blog. The way the Review Room workshop operates is a significant departure from how other sites operate, but it's one of our greatest strengths. Quite honestly, we really don't want to open the site up to those who simply want a place to display their writing and then disappear. In our experience, they are the same members who, on average, exhibit rudeness and arrogance toward other members on their way through.
If anything, i thinnk the min reviews before submitting should be higher but i understand that couldn't happen, as it really would scare people off. I just hate seeing SOOOO many "reviews" that are not reviews. I almost wish something could be done about it.
Something can be done about it, but it requires manual work, good judgement, and clear rules. How many mods are there? I've only noticed you, cogito. Nate
There are some possibilities that have been proposed, but I don't wish to get into them here. It would be great if we could avoid the initial misunderstanding that many new joiners have, that the Review Room is a place to show off your writing, before they get upset from being shut down. The majority of them are more understanding after it has been explained to them, but it is certainly off-putting to find yourself violating the site rules in your first hour on the site.
