Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
<< Thread Modifed October 31 at 3:08AM >>
Does anyone remember when honesty used to be the best policy? I'm not sure it is anymore.
Hello again. I am not new to Fanstory, like many other users I have talked to, I have been a user of the site for many years, on and off depending on life circumstances and my time. Moving on...
Nobody likes criticism. I don't even like criticism (but I have learned to deal with and appreciate it.) Why? Because it conflicts with an angry monster named pride that comes to the defense. Let's be honest, if we were all the most astounding writers out there with no improvement, we would all be published. I think there are a number of writers here who certainly do deserve to be published and haven't been because of time, money, and luck. There are also plenty of people here who THINK they should be published, and I would disagree. I don't even think of my own work as good enough to publish. There is so much that I still learn from reading other people's work and even in the last year, I have improved, on and off this site. Now, I would honestly say there are a good number of people here who genuinely want to improve their poetry. There are also a fair amount who really just use this site for community which I think is equally wonderful. That is what this site was for. But, it is not meant to boost each others egos, it is to improve the quality of our craft and make some friends along the way if we can.
The stars are worth...Nothing. It is clout. A way to brag amongst 50-100 people (maybe). It used to be worth something, until they were turned into participation awards.
But now, because people have continued to only give 5/6 for reviews, it means absolutely nothing to me anymore. Your reviews mean something, your words and time mean something, but the stars do not.
Poetry and prose is subjective. Yes, there are areas of technicality, grammar, etc...but it is almost entirely subjective. Rating and reviews are subjective as well for the same reason.
What does everyone want? To get cheap brags or do you want honest meaningful advice that ACTUALLY improves your craft and not just your punctuation and grammar.
Then you need to start giving out fours and reviews appropriately and to be able to receive them with grace. Before you reply to a critical review, may I suggest that you don't reply for 24 hours if you are angry. It is never a good idea to send an angry email at work, it isn't a good idea here. Have a discussion, don't just argue.
Also, don't just put in your pleasantries to meet your 150 character limit and then bounce with your member dollars. That is robbery. Those member dollars are an incentive a payment for HONEST work.
When I read a poem, before I review it, I read it four or five times. I read for enjoyment first, sometimes one or two times, then I read it for the purpose of sharing feedback amongst craftsman. I think about all sorts of things. What would make this potentially better? Was there anything that didn't make sense, was there a different word or a way to rearrange the sentence...etc...And that doesn't mean it is a bad poem. The goal is that hopefully you end up with a poem you like more and grow!
Anyone who has received any review from me that has had any feedback can see that I actually think about it. I make sure that I am not just stealing those member dollars to boost my work at the expense of yours. Because I actually do care about a community of writers who wish to improve and share.
Author notes are a great place to share whether or not you want constructive feedback. If I read that someone is just sharing something personal, I read it as a memoir and offer no critique and just friendly conversation. But if your author notes are blank or leave me with no indication that this is a personal post, I will give you my time?. Honest, genuine time to help you improve. This doesn't mean I'm better than you. I've never once thought like that. I have had a number of you offer helpful suggestions. Believe it or not, I actually remember some of you from when I was 16 years old and I took your advice from those actually willing to give it. And I am returning that to you.
Sallyo
Level 3 Pro
Poet Rating
Rank: 39
Short Works Rating
Rank: 114
Novel Rating
Rank: 17
Script Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 54
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
It's a good place to motivate oneself to get a chapter a day (or a week) done. I've been here since 2004, with the occasional break. I'd spend more time if I had it!
nor84
Level 4 Pro
Poet Rating
Short Works Rating
Novel Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 315
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
I actually got a thumb vote the other night. I've been here since two thousand six and remember well when people did use the review guidelines. I still use them. They can mute me if they want to, I don't care. It just means I won't have to read their trash and can move on to someone I might actually help.
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
Message edited:
On the subject of muting, people whose work I have never even reviewed have me muted. Which is hilarious. I know these folks still end up accidentally reading lots of our stuff that is in blind contests, and knowing that you accidentally read it and have some sort of internal reaction to it leaves us immensely satisfied. Muting and revenge reviews are for sissies.
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
How can you tell you've been muted?
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
A yellow bar comes up that says "This account is not available."
Mark Jackson
Poet Rating
Rank: 31
Short Works Rating
Rank: 42
Script Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 11
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
I gave someone a 4-star review for his poem Ambiguous Angel, I told him I found what I thought to be several errors in his work: double negative: 'shan't never', so sncrocrniciously's withal bleau, and thores. They look like errors to me.
His response was to read my poem Mary's Handbag a 4 star review; his reasons were.
'I suppose it to be poetry for lack of punctuation' and 'the use of whilst instead of while is not congruent with the rest of the more modern tone of linguistic expression. '
He finished 'Overall, this is a solid work.'
I pointed out the lack of punctuation is called poetic license and that whilst is British English as is my story.
I suggested that his review was in simple revenge for my own. He doubled down calling me 'arrogant' and then wrote this: 'You have an attitude, but I'm not tye one to buffalo. Go away of you're too insecure for a dose of another opinion. You are so arrogant. I didn't defend my work, you brought an eroorto ny attention. Thanks, but my opinnion is as good as yours, so don't you dare put it on me for retaliation.'
Looking for opinions, is this the usual standard of behaviour on the website?
nor84
Level 4 Pro
Poet Rating
Short Works Rating
Novel Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 315
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
I suggest muting him so he cannot read your work. Giving him four stars was the correct choice in the first place. It sounds to me like there is something mentally wrong.
Sallyo
Level 3 Pro
Poet Rating
Rank: 39
Short Works Rating
Rank: 114
Novel Rating
Rank: 17
Script Rating
Review Stars
Rank: 54
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
It's not usual... but you get the odd few who go off like rockets. I suspect I got muted once by someone whose book I was following. I could see s/he had made posts, but the site wouldn't let me read them. I don't even recall giving a bad review.
The last review I felt like arguing over was when someone gave me 3 stars because the poem was too short. It was one of those syllable poems. Bit like complaining that a historical novel takes place in the past.
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
My favorite was a one star review I got because it didn't sound like a good poem. So I politely explained it wasn't, it was an entry for the dialogue contest...
RE: Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest
LOL!
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