"Blowing out another person's candle will not make yours shine brighter."
A Gather buddy recently published an article in which she addressed the issue of some Gather members who seem to be humor impaired, hypercritical or know-it-alls. This issue got my cranial hamster's wheel turning.
Gather folks post a huge, wonderful diversity of poems, stories, reports, reviews, jokes, photographs, videos, games, and more. I am often amazed by and impressed with the level of talent on this site. We share things we think others will enjoy. We also open ourselves up to criticism.
Criticizing the work of another is touchy business. If a writer is trying for publication, he or she may appreciate help with editing, grammar, spelling or punctuation. Other times, it's nice just to comment on the overall work.
Constructive criticism does not mean comments such as "Someone else posted this." Hopefully, we check previously published articles before publishing. Some subjects can handle multiple submissions. Mining for soup recipes, I hit the mother lode for cream of broccoli. Each recipe was different. Multiple reviews of movies and books provides a variety of opinions.
Publishing an article on a controversial topic, such as politics, is going to touch some hot buttons and produce some strong replies. Commenting should about the subject rather than the writing skills.
When commenting, let's try to keep my mom's words in mind:
"If someone else had less, would you have more?" and every mom's favorite: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything."
Let's not be candle snuffers. Our candles won't shine brighter and we won't look too bright, either.
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Comments: 22
While the idea of an open forum where we all get our feathers smoothed and patted on the head is nice, I don't see it as realistic. If you publish to a critique group, you should expect to get honest feedback -- and nothing less.
There is no reason to not say what needs to be said. Most of the time it wouldn't hurt to say things in the nicest way possible, but there are many people who perceive any message they don't want to be unkind no matter how it is presented. They still need to hear it.
i love a good story and am perfectly willing to overlook grammar and spelling in order to get to the meat of the thing. and besides, who made me an expert?
This seems to be my favorite part of Gather....I can and will give other critical comments if asked, but I think that if they are going for publishing their "stuff' for profit, the publishers have people to help with editing....
Not saying I haven't ever stirred up some further conversation on people's religious or political or opinionated materials...
Great article though Jan!!!
Thanks!!!
the written word is the only thing going on here at gather. it is our only form of communication. if somebody has poor grammar, they are still allowed to speak publically without any barbs thrown at them.
i work in nursing homes. some of the girls who work there are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. if you the reader were residing in a nursing home, which would you prefer? Olga, the weight lifting champion of russia, who can pop you on to the john in the blink of an eye, or patty polished, who before this position was a famous orator who frequented carnigie (sp?) hall? each of these girls has a voice here on gather.
I would think that if someone really crossed the line they should be turned into Gather. Hopefull Gather would warn or remove that offensive person from the forum.
Many, if not most, of my articles show up on the internet with a search on April Robins. So think of the thousands of articles written by other gather members that are visible to everyone off the internet street.
It does not make people want to join Gather and keep this forum going if they see others being attacked. Let me rephrase that. The ones who will want to join will only help to ruin the wonderful friendly atmosphere of the forum.
Thank you for bringing this subject up.
Who Cares? Most of us on here are not English majors and if I can read what someone is posting, thats all that matters to me. I rate allmost everything a 10 to try and give confidence to people. I dont like to put anyones work done. I am not a professional writer and even if I were, it is none of my business or anyone elses. These so called busy bodies werent hired to butt in to someones business, and I am sure the author didnt even ask for their advice.
So many people try to build themselves up by tearing someone else down. That's usually due to low self esteem and a need to try to look smarter than others. It makes more of a statement about the critic than the work being criticized.
Sandy, I don't consider "If someone else had less, would you have more?" a platitude. It's really very wise. It's been a useful coping skill for me throughout my life.
Blessings always...