No, actually their silence was the criticism. No one rushed to say, "There, there." Well, yes, but my main point is that we on this site are not teachers dealing with students - if we were, I might agree with you - but really more like a peer group. Ever hear kids - any age - correct each other? They don't sugar-coat it. And, no, I am not suggesting that our interactions on this forum should emulate children on a playground, but I am suggesting that a little plain speaking, even if there's a bit of an edge to it, is not likely to be completely outside their sphere of experience. And, as such, whether they are teens or adults, I don't think they are likely to be as sensitive as you fear.
This is my view as well. I don't look at each and every profile to see who's young, or old, or has a disability, or what gender they are or anything else - I'd spend all my time doing that and trying to remember who's who. And in the end, it doesn't matter. We're here to talk writing, and again, I'm going to assume that people are serious about their writing (whether or not they're going for publication) or they wouldn't join up. I also expect new people to browse the forum a bit before jumping in with questions that may have been asked and answered a dozen times already. If people did that, they probably wouldn't be asking "Can I do this?" at all because they would've seen how others were answered.
I guarantee he got chewed out by the manager. Maybe not during the game because that's not the time for that. That's why they have Kangaroo Court for these things.
Maybe, but my point was the reaction of the players. The Mets had a similar incident with Jordany Valdespin earlier in the season. Sometimes, silence is the most eloquent response.
One need not check the age of a new member, just consider starting with a different set of default assumptions about members here, especially new members which is glaringly obvious from the number of posts they have. Instead of assuming a stereotype about any person by the questions they ask, consider a kinder approach until you actually do get to know them. Give them the benefit of the doubt or if you hate that kind of question, don't bother replying in the thread. Being a teacher is not the relevant difference I'm looking at. It's the age of the person one is communicating with. I'm new here, you're not so I defer to your experience. If the consensus of the forum is, it is intended for 'peers' and not new writers, the forum is intended for seasoned adults, not newbie writer kids, then I have the wrong idea about the forum and I'll concede with a simple comment, 'can't we all be a little nicer'. I can't find an "about" on the forum and the Facebook page isn't much help for describing the forum's purpose. Maybe it's something Daniel should consider writing.
I think it has more to do with the expectations with which we all come to the forum. Forums, by their very nature, are collaborative efforts, a sharing among relative equals. I would not say it's intended specifically for adults, but I know that when I joined, I expected mature discussions, and while there have been some disappointing moments, I'd say my expectations have been met more often than not. That said, a little less rancor certainly would not come amiss.
Yeah, so perhaps maybe when we see a thread regarding "Is this story idea ok?" we should just be silent? If so, I have a big smile on my face as I browse 7 pages of a thread here.
I'm quite new to this forum, and I'm a (self-confessed) forum shopper. If I don't like what I see, then I'll move on. I have noticed quite a bit of frustration with new members here. I think its important to remember that without members, forums die. So my involvement in forums has always been to support, to the extent possible, new members to get involved, post, comment, be active. Take over the mantle when the big hitters leave. What this generally means is that sometimes you need to behave differently to the new and uninitiated. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think telling an old hat "come on, you should know better" is fine, but to a newbie (who may or may not be young, fragile, whatever), sometimes they need things explained, once, twice in a respectful manner. Maybe something like: "Thanks for taking the time to share your idea! This is an oft-posted query, particularly by new users. What we've found though is that it doesn't really matter what your plot is, its about the writing. So, to answer as best as we can: yes, your idea does work, if your writing works! And of course, that's what this forum is here to help with, your writing. So, ask away on how we can improve that, and then the plot will come together for you, whatever you choose to write about..." Seem tiresome? Courtesies are, but in my view, that doesn't mean we should abandon them. Explain and support, and people will respect you and the forums here. If the individual is fragrantly repeat offending, then fine, but the benefit of the doubt should always rest with the new member, in my view. For me the golden rule of posting is to remember that any post I make always says more about me than it does about the thread's topic. Especially true in heated threads like this.
No! Those that are annoyed should be silent. Those that want to reply but only have a one trick pony answer should be selective, only answering when their one trick pony is appropriate, and everyone should consider not stereotyping any poster based on one or two posts. ... In my opinion.
One thing I've noticed is that many members do not include their age, gender, or location in their profile. Therefore, when they ask a question, we have no way of knowing who we're talking to. Before I post a response to a thread started by someone I don't know, I always check their profile, and I find myself at a loss if they haven't included some basic data about themselves. I know I would respond differently to a fifty-year-old than to a fifteen-year-old. I'd probably respond differently to someone whose first language is not English. Etc. I would encourage every member to fill out at least the basic information in their profiles. I think a lot of pain, offense, and misunderstanding could be avoided if we knew who we were responding to.
I don't think the problem is owning our words - it's trying to keep ownership when others twist them around. On another forum I'm on, it's often stated that we should remember the limitations of the written word and assume good intentions. So while trying to be 'gentler' is good advice, assuming good intentions is equally good.
Communication is always a two way street, and the different effect of communicating in a forum is a given, no audio or visual cues except little smilies. I can know a person meant well but didn't come across that way on the page/screen. I would prefer getting feedback if my posts came across in a way I didn't intend. You can carry that 'assume good intentions' issue one step further. If someone says, "Hey that post didn't read well [for whatever reason]," perhaps we should also assume good intentions, not some 'the person is out to get me' intent.
I just think it would be best all around if, again, problems are taken to the mods instead of being thrashed out on the forum itself. Public bickering not only makes the participants look bad - it makes the whole forum look bad. I'd rather have discussions about what was said than how it was said (or how it was perceived).
I understand your concern but you didn't address what I already replied to this, I don't think your concern applies to this thread either, where an issue like this can be rationally discussed. So unless you are talking about something else I'm not sure I see how this discussion makes the forum look bad.
That's rather disingenuous, isn't it, considering the fact that this thread was closed for a while. At any rate, this seems to be going in circles again, so I'm off...
Tell me if this is a good idea for a story: There are two siblings and they each follow the law of Mod. However, after a little confusion, and a little backstabbing, things got out of hand and the siblings separated; one got the house and the other moved east. These two siblings did not speak much and neither did their families. Even though these two families followed the same laws of Mod, they were left to interpret things differently and they grew far apart. When they were forced together in the same area, a fight would usually break out. Mod would watch the opposing families fight and would occasionally intervene and smite the guilty. Can I write this? Is it a good idea? Can you help me come up with a name for the Mod?
People want affirmation, especially new writers. Me, I am with you: I write whatever I want to write. The only time someone knows what my story is about is when they alpha/beta read it. The only thing I have ever said on any forum when asked what I am writing is: "YA Urban Fantasy set in the near future with some light Science Fiction elements." I don't even tell people my one-sentence pitch--because I don't care what people think, I am going to write it regardless. Also, I'm secretive--I don't like the whole world knowing what I am doing.
I think you misunderstood. You said something twice that I had answered the first time. I don't care that you didn't answer me, until you repeated yourself. I repeated my same argument and pointed out you were repeating the same argument without addressing the reply. That, my fellow writer, is how you get a circle.
Yeah. Unfortunately, people take advantage of that defense, and there are mods who see through it. If someone feels insulted, they can always ask whether they understood correctly. But like someone else pointed out earlier, we're writers, so if there's insult or impoliteness in our messages, it's very likely intentional. Also, at times trying to keep the ownership may just come off as shifting the blame on somebody else. I do believe we own our words and that we have to be able to stand behind them, take responsibility of the things we say. That's why I don't want to be the owner of rude comments directed towards an aspiring writer who asks if their story idea is worth pursuing. Not that my track record is squeaky clean and absolutely stellar, but one has to try...
I used to do this when I first joined this forum and I like to think that I've aged well and ever since then, I have applied advice to different threads. So, to the poster who'd asked for advice, here it goes. A idea is only a idea, nothing more, and it depends how you write it and the only way you going to know if it's a good idea by writing it. You have to judge it yourself and when it's ready then you can post it on the forum to be reviewed.
As a 15 year old who has never written anything fully("Young new writer"), I think I should post something into this thread. People are looking at this too narrowly. There are many reasons as to why someone would post a thread asking if their plot or idea is good not just one. They may not be confident, be interested in what other people think, need some encouragement, etc. Simply being nice but honest is the best you can do. Some people write just for sake of writing because they enjoy it, some write because they want to be published and be famous but you are all forgetting people who just want to share their stories and ideas. I'm not interested in writing for writing, but for sharing, for other people to see my characters and my world and be immersed in it. If I could make a movie or game, with no doubt I would but right now only writing is possible for me. And I think that some people who ask if their plot is good or not may be wanting to share but is not confident or encouraged enough to set out and write a whole book about it. And personally I don't think a "Your idea is not important, its how you are going to write it is what is important" is any encouragement to get to actually writing. Its a good tip and not a harsh comment, but that tip is completely worthless if they are not going to go ahead and try writing. I think its everyone who is part of a writing community to try and encourage people to write. You could even add a simple "I hope you get to work on that idea and start writing!"after saying they need to write it. It could make a big difference. The first step to actually get writing is hard and just giving them knowledge that they need to actually write the book won't help especially since they already know that.
Welcome to the forum. I hope you have a positive experience here. Please read the rules of the forum, especially those on posting work for critique. Also, it is possible to search the forum for topics, so if you have a basic question, it can often be of value to search to see if there is already a thread on it, rather than to wait for a new one to emerge.
