Talk:User Assistance/@comment-25391992-20150331065528/@comment-25021327-20150331182453

I'm sorry that your early experiences with this Wiki have left a bad taste in your mouth. Personally, I would never want anyone willing to post their work here to feel that they were not welcome. I'd like for people to see that we have a bit of a nice community built up here.

That being said, part of being an artist (writer, musician, etc.) is putting one's work out to be interpretted, enjoyed, and sometimes criticized by others. That's one of the things that makes it difficult to do. Unfortunately, the internet is a place of anonymity where people can and will give their opinions, often times unfiltered and harsh.

I'm sorry that people like, er... "Mike" can sometimes give reviews that are discouraging to the point of preventing someone from doing something they enjoy. I think that sucks. Everyone, at any level can always improve, and taking criticism is part of that.

If ever you feel that a critique is unfair, I would suggest that you read it from a less objective point of view and see what you can get from it. A lot of times there are pieces of advice in the review, even if they are buried under harsh words. If you read a review that you feel has no advice, or redeeming value, nothing you can learn, or think about in it, I say ignore it.

Remember than the most important person for whome to create art is yourself. Do it primarily because you enjoy it and want to get better, and try not to think too much about people who don;t enjoy your work. It help keep things in perspective.

We do have quality standards here, and I'm sorry that you lost your story. If a piece is deemed to be below the level of quality we try to keep around here, it will be deleted. This means that some stories are bound to get deleted, even if there are attempts to improve them. I sometimes save stories that are marked for deletion, and may in fact have a copy of yours.

tl;dr -

1. Sorry you were made to feel uncomfortable here. 2. Take whatever you can from a harsh review, and leave the rest. 3. Write primarily for yourself. 4. Keep your chin up.