I am sure at one stage or another in life, we have all either witnessed this kind of behaviour, been involved in it, or a victim of it. But either way, it isn't ok!!! As a community we are here to encourage each other, offer advice, help and be supportive of one another as well. We are not here to tell someone that they should NOT BE WRITING, because they aren't William Shakespeare, or Edgar Allan Poe, or Stephen King, or any other well know author. It doesn't matter how good or bad a writer on this forum is, none of us have the right to tell them to give up because they suck. etc. So next time you read something and think that the author of the piece should not be writing, stop and think about it. Because it isn't your right to tell them to give up. They may not have been writing for long, maybe they are just starting out. Heck we all start somewhere and improve with time, help and perseverance. If you tell people to give up, how the heck are they going to get better. Show some respect and courteousy to fellow members on and off the boards. It goes a very long way. Sorry for the rant. But I felt that it needed to be said, as there are members telling other members on this forum, that they should not be writing. But like I said, even if they aren't the best writer in the world, and their work really is bad. It doesn't matter. We all start somewhere and if you think their work is that bad, give them advice, not insults!!! Torana Supporter/Reviewer
Ditto. Constructive criticism helps people grow. Personal attacks do not. If you don't understand (or care about) the difference, then don't post reveiws.
I'd like to add, if you see anything like this, please report it. The little triangular button, that looks like a warning sign, is the report button, and reporting a post will send an email to all moderators of the forum. This way we can deal with such occurances quickly and efficiently. Thank you.
To many of us, our stories are like our children or at least a part of ourselves. If we get a bad review done properly it is a way to build our experiences. If we get a bully or nasty review it is a way to knock us out of the running. I got what I considered a nasty review and it took Domoviye quite a few phone calls from China to convince me to try again. So yes think about what you write when reviewing. You could either start a writer on the road to success or you could have the writer give up any chance of improving.
As a community we all have a right to a review but to abuse that privilege will incur my wrath. and those who know me know I mean what I say. Torana makes a very good argument and shows how committed she is as a reviewer. I know she's spent a very long time on this forum almost as long as myself. And in that time some have abused the privilege of having their work reviewed and replied with a rude and insultive manner. This forum nor its members should not have to tolerate that kind of arrogance. Banzai said it best. Hit the little triangle button called report post. The team will do the rest. ~Raven. Senior Super Moderator.
Bravo, Torana! And I'm fully with Raven on this one. This site demands respect toward all members, and anyone who violates that will face consequences. It depends on whwther Raven gets there first, or me, or for that matter the others on the mod team. We're in full agreement in this regard.
Right on, Torana! This is a thread after my own heart. Seriously, I haven't seen much of what you're talking about going on around here, but I have visited other forums (I'm no mentioning any names) where members are allowed to talk to one another like you wouldn't believe and the mods have no control over the situation. I think that's just sad. So many nice newbies drop by there looking for support and encouragement, and what they get is basically, a lot of older members, who've deemed themselves "experts", flaming and cussing at them about how bad their writing sucks. I'm not complaining for myself, because I've never posted work there, but it irks me to see how newer, less confident members are treated. It's sad when arrogant cliques are permitted to chase away new members. These people, of course, excuse their terrible behavior by saying any newbies who are offended "just can't handle the truth". I'm strongly tempted to post a thread there on what goes into a proper critique, but I suppose it would just get chewed to bits. Can you tell I've just come from some debates with them? Whew. Sorry to blow off steam.
I still recall when I posted one of my first novels to the Web around 2000 or so. Somebody cheerfully offered to critique it, and I accepted. Their "critique" consisted of lambasting both the story and me and lamenting about how I was insulting the state of literature merely by writing. When I told them to please tone it down, they resorted to scathing sarcasm and then even began posting their comments under insulting pseudonyms, for example, posting as Britney Spears and claiming to love the story because it was perfect for her reading level, and at another time saying, "This girl's writing is the literary equivalent of diaper wipings!" Whenever they DID offer concrete examples of what needed work, they did it in a really sarcastic way so it was hard to tell when they were being serious or just flippant. ("These people are wearing black robes and the characters don't realize they're Satanists? Well what would they be, Rosicrucians??") I finally had to ban them from posting. A few times I lifted the ban so others could comment and they would return weeks later so I left it so my story couldn't get comments for quite a while and they finally must have lost interest. As a result, I lost all interest in that story and that series for years. I felt it was utterly horrible and not worth any effort. I abandoned it. Only recently have I gone back to take a look at it and see that the story is written poorly, BUT, I feel I would have realized this a whole lot sooner had this "critic" not resorted to such horrid sarcasm to try to make their point. They did have some good points. But they cloaked them in such insulting language (and personal insults as well--"I think you're writing this more to exorcise your own demons than to create literature!"--I never claimed I was TRYING to write literature) that I completely missed the good points they did make and ended up just hating the story and myself. I think sometimes critics don't realize that the way they phrase things can completely obscure their point. If I have to criticize something in a story, I'll just say what needs to be said, and I'll be courteous about it, because sarcasm just clouds things up. If I honestly feel I can't think of anything polite to say, then I just won't comment. It's as simple as that. Unfortunately I think some people just enjoy doing this sort of thing, and no amount of reasoning will make them stop. My particular critic did keep coming back for more. I wonder if he/she really thought they'd convinced me to stop writing whatsoever. Would that have made their life more fulfilling if I had? You'd think I was singlehandedly destroying world literature by writing that novel!
That's deplorable, tehuti. That type of bullying is just a very small person trying to make himself or herself feel more important by knocking others down. I'm sorry you were subjected to that.
The Troll There was a troll Came through my thread The foulest stank Poured from his head He tried to flame And then to tease Upon my thread Foul words did sneeze I asked the troll To go away My words did not Keep him at bay So in the end I turned my back He stamped his foot At my attack! It came to me To pay no mind Satisfaction here He would not find My thread is clean The troll is gone Joy and mirth Shall carry on!
