Give me strength (or a shotgun; whichever's handy)

[saviourseph]

Quick opinion-get: when giving critique, should it be cushioned with complimentary platitudes even when there aren't redeeming qualities?

Remind me not to intercede to avoid forum wars breaking out ever again, lest I get more PMs from butthurt Norwegians. -_-;;

ETA: ilu, mintylim & lthlf <3

Comments

[wrongly-amused.livejournal.com]

If it's a critique? Then my personal feeling is "yes." Because critiquing is about refinement of a standard base, something that's got potential and has the capacity to be much better. It's balancing what an author's doing right and then pointing out what's wrong or could be improved. You can be blunt, but you should be fair on giving balanced cues.

Criticism, on the other hand, is just whatever you want it to be: blunt, forward, impolite, etc. You're there to point out flaws and expect the artist to do their job and figure the details out. I will say that my feeling on blunt criticism, however, is that while anyone has the right to do it, it's completely hypocritical to whine if the artist in question gets defensive or even hurt. People have to accept that publishing can be the equivalent of placing one's bare neck on the guillotine, but reviewers have to be responsible for how they come across as well.

[paulnolan.livejournal.com]

I told him what he could do to improve, so fairly certain it would class as critique. I don't see how adding "great pics, but..." or whatever would make it any more useful though (just the opposite in fact because yeah... they really weren't; it was camwhoring with a side of tacky filters and dodge/burn).

Like I said, I wouldn't have even bothered commenting had there not been a shitstorm on the horizon; I was trying to explain why they weren't universally adored, and he took it fine (until today anyway).