I have decided to throw my two cents in here even though I am typically on the consumption side of fandom rather than an active ficcer or vidder.
A good critical review is a wonderful thing. I have rarely received them and the first time it happened I was a bit put out (I was VERY young and stupid. I still feel guilty about it since the reviewer was totally on the money.) Every time after that I have been immensely grateful that someone went out of their way to help me improve and, in the end, I generally agreed with their assessments.
There is, however, an other side to it. I think in some ways the cult of nice prevents the people giving reviews they think are critical, but actually are just mean. Yes, flamers. Some of them do it on purpose, but others don't realize it. These people are usually young, though sometimes only in fandom terms, and end up giving a flame as feedback. They may not intend to, but a negative comments which are not constructive are only hurtful. Telling someone that their fic/vid sucks because it is XX pairing and it would have been so much better if it was XX or something similar (especially in a public post rather than a private message) has absolutely no value. Maybe 'it would have seemed more realistic to me if you had done xxxx' or 'Maybe you could consider XX pairing next time' is acceptable. I have a feeling that this does not happen as often on LJ as in some other forums since the demographics tend to be more experienced fans, but has happened to me (and to other writers that I enjoy) often enough that I firmly believe in the cult of nice. At least until one knows what is acceptable as feedback and what is not.
This would be generally true for me for vids. I am more into fic, so I could only say what I like and don't like. If I don't like something, there is no way I could give a review beyond 'I thought it kinda sucked' or 'I just didn't get it' or 'huh?'. And that just isn't fair to someone who has put so much time and effort into something.
There is an exception to this. If something has been posted specifically somewhere for critical reviews in order to improve it, I think it is pretty fair game.
So, there's my thoughts. A critical reviewer with experience that can tell how to improve is a great thing, but for those of us without it, we should probably stick with 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all'.
Regarding the lashing out at negative feedback, assuming that you are respectful with your comments. If the fan is inexperienced, they will probably do this the first few times until they develop a thicker skin and realize you are trying to help them. It will happen eventually. Just reviewing your old work requires it. Oh, does it ever. And, if they don't grow up, I'd stop bothering with feedback since they clearly don't want to improve.
I haven't been reading the meta-posts at all so I hope this is semi-coherent and I'll leave my rambling here rather than continue to torture you with it.
no subject
A good critical review is a wonderful thing. I have rarely received them and the first time it happened I was a bit put out (I was VERY young and stupid. I still feel guilty about it since the reviewer was totally on the money.) Every time after that I have been immensely grateful that someone went out of their way to help me improve and, in the end, I generally agreed with their assessments.
There is, however, an other side to it. I think in some ways the cult of nice prevents the people giving reviews they think are critical, but actually are just mean. Yes, flamers. Some of them do it on purpose, but others don't realize it. These people are usually young, though sometimes only in fandom terms, and end up giving a flame as feedback. They may not intend to, but a negative comments which are not constructive are only hurtful. Telling someone that their fic/vid sucks because it is XX pairing and it would have been so much better if it was XX or something similar (especially in a public post rather than a private message) has absolutely no value. Maybe 'it would have seemed more realistic to me if you had done xxxx' or 'Maybe you could consider XX pairing next time' is acceptable. I have a feeling that this does not happen as often on LJ as in some other forums since the demographics tend to be more experienced fans, but has happened to me (and to other writers that I enjoy) often enough that I firmly believe in the cult of nice. At least until one knows what is acceptable as feedback and what is not.
This would be generally true for me for vids. I am more into fic, so I could only say what I like and don't like. If I don't like something, there is no way I could give a review beyond 'I thought it kinda sucked' or 'I just didn't get it' or 'huh?'. And that just isn't fair to someone who has put so much time and effort into something.
There is an exception to this. If something has been posted specifically somewhere for critical reviews in order to improve it, I think it is pretty fair game.
So, there's my thoughts. A critical reviewer with experience that can tell how to improve is a great thing, but for those of us without it, we should probably stick with 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all'.
Regarding the lashing out at negative feedback, assuming that you are respectful with your comments. If the fan is inexperienced, they will probably do this the first few times until they develop a thicker skin and realize you are trying to help them. It will happen eventually. Just reviewing your old work requires it. Oh, does it ever. And, if they don't grow up, I'd stop bothering with feedback since they clearly don't want to improve.
I haven't been reading the meta-posts at all so I hope this is semi-coherent and I'll leave my rambling here rather than continue to torture you with it.