deep breath
I want people to see this: I am immune to gibes regarding my being pathetic. You do not know my state of affairs. It's somewhere between snacking on sturgeon caviar and stealing crack from hobos.
To Anonymous number 3: Is that you Father Zossima? I'm afraid that Alyosha is no longer the fair and pure child that you have given your precious guidance to. He has been corrupted due to social decay and is now happily enjoying his post as a flamer of bad stories.
No, really, I'd like to advise you not to feel ashamed of me because we are in no way connected by a positive tie. Fine, you can be the human and I can be the monkey who knows better. It doesn't make any difference to me. This is NOT about me. I, for one, think that what these girls are doing (flaming me back) is more suggestive of loser behavior than my flaming them in the first place. About the golden rule, if I make mistakes and I'm being incredibly stubborn about it, I'd want someone to give me a splash of ice-cold water. D'you know what I mean? It would actually make me feel worse if I've been repeating the same mistake and no one bothers to correct me. Kindly lay of my attitude because I have my reasons for acting this way.
See Nikolai Chernyshevsky's "The Anthropological Principle of Philosophy" or his book "What is to be Done?" about people being nice. He actually has a point. Fact is I could be nice if I so choose to but this is a self-appointed job that requires spunk and meanness, so don't take it personally. Did I flame you?
Did you even notice how much hatred I inspire from people by telling them the truth about what they're doing? I could do it in another way, you know, the nice way but I doubt that these "writers" would listen. They're after praises. Constructive criticism, they don't take mostly. Now, a constructive criticism in the guise of a flame will surely get their attention. If they ignore it and attack me instead of finding ways to correct themselves, they're the ones who lost something of value. They may not want it but in writing, corrections are not a matter of preference but of need. If you still want to wonder why I'm like this, you're wasting time. Underneath it all, I'm just a normal person who was inevitably pissed off by the amount of crap that people pile in cyberspace nowadays and decided to do something about it. I have mentioned that it's a self-appointed task but that doesn't mean I am all that's responsible for such a decision.
to Celestial_Maiden: sorry about the screw-up of your name. What you posted below makes sense. I've been called a bitch, a wank, a pervert among other things but it's hard to take curses seriously because you know you've backed someone into a corner when he/she starts spouting barren words that exhibit lack of education. I won't deny that I cuss a lot but if I direct it to someone, it's a joke more than anything else and I never mean it personally. You're right, that's low. I just tell them to die and make the world a better place. :)
6 Comments:
Hello again. I do believe that you referred to me as anonymous reviewer number three. I read your comments to me and for some, very odd, reason I see where you are coming from. I myself have not been flamed by you in any way, but as I said, I read your fic and it was rather good, but I also read your reviews and they left a lot to be desired. You are right, we do not have any connection, but I do find it fascinating that you don’t care that you don’t get many reviews on your stories because it’s mostly people that are getting revenge. If it were me, I’d surly cry. I’m not ashamed to admit that, but you have a way of telling people what they need to do without being nice, calm, and constructive and you don’t seem to really care what they have to say in return, how do you do it?
Language, now that is another thing. I must say that cussing doesn’t really do anything. Personally, when I get cussed at, it just ticks me off. I think that if you really want to get a point across avoid fowl language. It kind of shows a lack of intelligence maybe. Perhaps that is not the best way to put it, but I think you are intelligent enough to get what I am trying to say. I think it is better to flaunt bigger words that not a lot of people know, because it, how to say it…confuses them I guess. It has a much better affect then fowl language does.
But to be honest, I really do find your technique quite fascinating and I was just slightly curious as to how you can do this. Sorry if that may have bothered you, I did not mean to upset you by any means.
Thank you once again for your time. God bless.
4:53 PM
Ah I see...Believe it or not, I don't care much for reviews. Not because I don't like them but I'd rather not get reviews if they're all "Sugoi! You're so great...yadda yadda...plz continuuue. i luv u!!!11" It makes me feel as if the reviewer just posted it so that she can pimp her name in my review box. I find that offensive. More offensive than flames in fact.
Thanks for saying that about my story. My not caring about flames probably comes from knowing my capacity, capability etc. I glean what I can from what I read off the net and that somehow is enough guidance which gives me a fair amount of confidence. Knowing that I'm getting what I need from the right places makes me nigh untouchable by the writers that I flame. That's all there is to it.
I'm not the one doing the bitchy cussing! :) I'm the one being cussed at but it just amuses me. People will be people. I cuss when I'm trying to be creative but not in the way that they use it against me.
7:28 PM
Anonymous #3. Wow, I really see your point. I never thought of it as a way to get your name on someone’s review page. You’re welcome, I thought your story was good and I figured you would like to know what somebody thinks. I was wrong, but you are welcome nonetheless.
As I said before, I am very sorry if I am bothering you, but you are just so full of thoughts that I never, in my wildest dreams, thought of. Your way of thinking is incredible. I have never once heard anything like this. It is truly an eye opener if you will.
I guess in a way I do see where you are coming from. I still do not agree with the harshness, to an extent, but I do see why you do it. You are right, some people need that harshness or they will not listen.
Thank you again for you time. I hope you are not losing your patience with me, but I find it rather nice to talk with you. If you are tired of me feel free to say something, I do not wish to upset you. God bless.
11:35 AM
As for mistaking my name, that's ok. What I really wanted to say is this: I am so glad that I am not the only one who thinks like you do. You know where you said that you've read too many crap in cyberspace especially fanfiction. You either read too many gays sleeping with each other or too many Mary Sues.
Whenever I review fics under my pen name (yes I am a fanfiction writer but not the Mary Sue type, I hate them) it never occured to me that I am advertising myself to others. Unless they ask me to review their work in return for reviewing mine. Like the saying: "If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Or kiss my ass and I'll kiss yours. Does that make sense?
Being nice in criticizing or reviewing a fic is possible but in reality that is not happening. Few people can take a hint that their work is being criticized in a nice way. You are right that most people needed to be knocked into their senses by flaming their works.
But of course expect some opposition from them and their friends or fans if you want to call them that. Then in your case who cares right? I admire your guts from flaming writers who deserve to be flamed. I would've ended up engaging in a war with them or maybe hide.
Writers guard and defend their work like their babies as one friend told me even if it's lousy they still defend their work. What I just don't like aside from cursing and calling foul names is that either they attack your character or they take it personally. It doesn't explain why they hate you or why your writing sucks, which doesn't make sense. Oh well, immaturity strikes again.
And one more thing...of course you are a normal human being, they just don't know that or are too outraged to care. The difference is you have a much wider view of the things around you.
Sorry this is so long, but to cut to the chase I pretty much understand you and your thinking because I feel the same way.
6:00 PM
I should've clarified that bit about reviewing. I'm sure you're familiar with inane reviews that make you doubt if the reviewer actually read the story. The "Sugoi!" type that is.
Not all reviews are meant to advertise, just most of what I have observed from lousy writers and their fans. See for yourself if you haven't seen them yet. That's why they never improve or mature as writers. As you've described succinctly, they kiss their neighbors' asses so they'll kiss hers.
There are also others that say "Review or I will not continue," and that just makes me effing sick. Didn't their parents spend enough time with them? Their personal and malicious insults are very amusing, to say the least.
Yaoi is way better than Mary Sues though. It appears more as a product of an exercise in writing and a girl's voyeurism but too much of it could drown everyone.
As for the insults, it just shows how low the flamee's self-esteem is by thinking of curses that would hurt her and then hurl it in the flamer's general direction. How could it hurt someone when she doesn't even know the most basic facts about the flamer? It's plain stupid on their part.
And I bet you'll love this point, when a flamee calls a flamer pathetic saddo/sicko who needs to get a life, it means they've ran out of things to say. If the flamer is pathetic by writing flames, then how much more pathetic is the person who wrote something so AWFUL that another person could NOT HELP but flame?
Honestly, it's just intolerable for me to sit back and see mankind devolve. Shay mentioned that it's pleasant to find people who share the view. She's right. At least, I'm assured that there is still some integrity left in this world :)
If I'm awake by this time tomorrow, I'll e-mail you about something that's possibly worse than lousy authors. For now, I have to attend to something.
Ciao!
10:40 AM
I am familiar with the review pattern: "Sugoi!" or "Please continue" or "Please update more often." Which is nice but annoying.
Right not all reviews are being used for advertising. Some reveiwers actually took the time to review the entire fic. But most just said good work, when will you update.
Review and I will not continue? I've seen that before and that is annoying. You write not to please your audience (though that is part of it) but to express yourself and to let your creaticvity out. That's my opinion anyway.
I don't mind yaoi but you rarely find yaoi fics that are really good. Something that focuses on the actual love between two men not the sex part. I've read a lot of yaoi fics that centered on sex and I got sick and avoided reading one for almost a week.
As I've said before if one tells me that my fic sucks I want a reason why, not because you want to get back at me since I flamed you. I think that's what be that as it may, but not anymore or whatever her/his name is said in one of your comments in your latest blog.
Good point. I flamed a yaoi fic once because it is so awful and I've been told to shut my trap (I think I've told you this before, sorry for the redundancy) and one of the authors said that there was already a warning in the fic that it's a yaoi and I shouldn't have read it if I hated it. Does that make sense to you?
Ever noticed how talentless people get famous?
4:05 PM
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