Internet etiquette 101

[honeyswallow]

I'm sorry if I'm annoying anyone with this, but after I was mad yesterday and still kind of am, I really need to ask you guys what your idea of concrit entails, because the longer I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that it is actually utter crap given a name just so that others can spew their opinion everywhere whilst calling

Comments

[fishings]

I have words but I'm feeling inarticulate today. Hit me up on msn or something? D:

[honeyswallow]

had to go out afterwards so sorry if I nissed you, but I will try... after the weekend. lol. <3

[honeyswallow]

yeah, you probably had those too, right? now with every comment I get I stop shy of reading it at first, thinking it might be more of the same :/

[kochan_addict]

Crit is a difficult matter because it's hard to know where crit ends and assholery begins

[honeyswallow]

maybe it's just the free for all mentality that annoys me. why is it free for all, especially since I know there is another person sitting there reading what I am saying, and the only thing he or she can not do is punch me in the face. that doesn't make it right.
I mean, in my case there was something valid, and something that wasn't, since she just didn't like the execution, so I told her to go somewhere else, because telling me "I don't like how you handled the subject matter" for me sounds like "I would have done it differently" (which yeah, was what she said) which is great and all but I haven't, so...
I might even see where a person is coming from, but she said "for the sake of your readers, change it" I mean, what. I don't write for anyone's sake, since I don't get money for it, either. And even then, if you think it's shit, even if it by all standards is, unless someone wants to listen to you, is for example honestyl asking you for your opinion, he's not gonna listen anyway.

[totallybalanced]

i think you should just shrug it off and remind yourself that you wrote that fic because you WANTED to and that you didn't do it to please other people. someone had an opinion, other people agreed, yet other people didn't bring up these points at all.

unfortunately the internet removes certain barriers which can be good at times but disheartening otherwise. like some people think enjoy nothing more than them telling me that they like my icons but they would have been MUCH BETTER if i had did THIS instead of THAT. to which i reply 'but i didn't... so deal with it'. Then some even have the cheek to ask me to change an icon to what THEY want so they'll use it. I mean... seriously?

if that fic was an epic story you were planning to get published and sent out into the world maybe THEN you can take that kind of crit seriously. otherwise? fuck 'em.

*hugs*

[honeyswallow]

*hugs* You know exactly what I mean. I write and if someone else gets a few minutes of enjoyment out of it, great. But I don't need an audience to please, it's the internet, it's pretty damn impossible anyway.

[goblinbrodie]

Actually, I remember a time when it was standard practice to include in the header of a fic a section specifying your policy on criticism:
Eg,
Title:
Author:
Comments/criticism: "is always welcomed" or "criticism to this email address, please" or "not on this one, thanks, it's too personal"

Personally I've always considered that making one's work public in a place with commenting facility means you are necessarily opening your work to comment. However I also believe in giving praise out in the open where the author can enjoy it, and constructive criticism in private. Like, having a quiet word. I don't like how those commenters went about it.

[honeyswallow]

that is interesting! I didn't know that. It's not that I can't stand criticism (I hope), but that I think I have a specific idea of what is actually constructive...