Helloooooo

[eleutheromaniac]

I'm an active member on two other writing forums (writingforums.com and lit.org), but they're just a wee bit too friendly over there; so I decided to bring my bad self over here and see if you guys could live up to your reputation as harsh -but hopefully constructive- critics. And I see my first installment (I was Here) has already been shuffled off to the kiddie table; I guess I'm not the genius those other forums have led me to believe. :rolleyes:

While prose always has and always will be my main concern, I hope to improve my abilities in verse as well.

Anyway, I intend to at least fulfill my '3:1' obligations, and probably stick around for awhile after that; we'll see. (I don't suppose I could roll-over my critiques from other forums? Nah, didn't think so.)

Regards,
Jason

[Dani B]

hello and welcome!

well, lots of newbies get moved about with their first posts--don't worry about it. Comb through the Blurbs, and lurk on the site--there's loads to be learned here. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to play on a site that has wonderful poets sharing their goods, and professors poking their heads in to critique, all free of charge. 'Tis a glorious thing.

best,

dani b

[silver29]

'kiddie table' is insulting to those of us who post in general. It's a starting point not a nursery.

[eleutheromaniac]

Dani B: Thanks for the welcome. I've already checked out some of the blurbs and found a few of them to be quite helpful and informative.

Silver: It was just a joke. I'm not going to censor myself at every turn on the off chance someone may be offended. I think you're taking PC thuggery to a new and dangerous level if you're implying that I should apologise and/or edit out something as playful and innocent as 'kiddie table'. However, I am sorry that we've gotten off on the wrong foot.

[silver29]

'PC thuggery'? 'dangerous'?

Really?

Anyway no problem I just thought it might be helpful to you as well to think of general as a starting point and not a 'kiddie table'.

[eleutheromaniac]

Did I misinterpret you? Sorry about that. But you did say it was 'insulting', which I assume meant you were expecting an apology or an edit or something.

And I don't mind sitting at the kiddie table; makes me feel big. :D

[Dani B]

*chuckle* play nice, you two, or we'll all end up Outside with the riffraff.

in terms of "censoring yourself," though--here's an adage to live by: "Be honest, but not cruel." Oh, and always thank people for their crits...I know it says this a million times in the rules, but you never know when some snipe will get ya blacklisted. The rules here are enforced thoroughly.

again, welcome ;)

Dani B

[eleutheromaniac]

Dani, don't worry, I always make sure to thank people when they take the time to comment on my work for the simple fact that it encourages others to comment as well when they realise you can take criticism. The only time I don't thank people is when they are being unnecessarily negative and offer nothing constructive. Then I just ask them not to comment on my work in the future, or ignore them entirely.

If you know the meaning of my username, you know how I feel about too many rules; that said, I always act like someone else's forum is someone else's house, and try to play by their rules. (I know, I know, 'do or do not, there is no try.' )

And silver is actually my favourite colour. (Maybe I'll write a poem about it.) :)

Regards,
Jason

[HowardM2]

"The only time I don't thank people is when they are being unnecessarily negative and offer nothing constructive."

That won't sit well here. As "Posting Guideline #1 (http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/faq.html) makes unquestionably clear:

Thank them. Always.

"Then I just ask them not to comment on my work in the future"

And that will just get your thread moved "Outside," as well as encouraging everyone not to waste time commenting on your work at all. You should spend some time with Nasty Criticism (http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9932) to get a better understanding of the PFFA dynamic.

Howard

[eleutheromaniac]

Hey Howard,

That really seems like an odd rule to me. So, someone bashes my poem, without anything to back up their statements (eg "Your poem sucks. Bye."), and I thank them for it? Believe me, I can take the most brutal criticism as long as it has at least an ounce of validity. I guess I can refrain from asking them not to comment on my work in the future (which is something I've never done at any other forum, BTW), but asking me to thank them is bit much.

As I said, I'm an active member on two other writing forums, so believe me I understand the whole give-and-take process, but I've never been asked to thank someone for a malicious and empty comment before.

[HowardM2]

Take it or leave it. There are over 2,000 other poetry boards on the internet, a number of which might be better suited to your needs. If you are to post at PFFA, you will abide by the rules.

[Harry R]

fwiw:

If anyone posts an empty comment - positive *or* negative - in the critical forums, a moderator will tell them that it's unacceptable. We don't like fluff comments.

Harry

[eleutheromaniac]

Fair enough. Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.