This is spam, but it also goes to the heart of what critiquing is really all
about, and the ettiquete of posting to the ML.
-----Original Message-----
From: Guy Under The Bridge . <the_supergenius@hotmail.com>
To: fanfic@fanfic.com <fanfic@fanfic.com>
Date: Friday, August 07, 1998 1:44 PM
Subject: [FFML] Regarding self-insertion fics
If I had to respond to every self-insertion fic in this list I would
probably be banned for flooding the ML with flames (even though I never
flame, I just critique).
You keep saying this, but few of your critiques, that I have seen, have been
constructive or illuminating in any way. It's one thing if you find fault
with a story, but the purpose of critiquing a work is to help the author
improve their writing, by letting them know what's wrong or doesn't work,
and to clue other readers into why they should or shouldn't read a
particular piece of work. You can say, "this doesn't go anywhere", but that
is not a critique, it's your opinion, and while we now know what your
opinion is, we don't know why you think the story doesn't go anywhere, or
how the problem might be fixed (if, indeed, there is a problem). You need
to elaborate, or you're not accomplishing anything.
Of the critiques I've seen from you, only one really does any of that...
your most recent review, of Birthdays-Ryoga, where you talk about the
difficulty of spotlighting Ryoga, and you identify what, to you, was a
thematic problem in the story. It was short, but it was actually a useful
critique. If I were the author of that fic, I would actually have an idea
of what you didn't like about it.
Your other comments are mostly short, negative, and have more to say about
you and your personal preferences than they do about the story you are
supposedly critiquing. In particular, your comments on one story amount to
"it's been done", which is such a useless comment (most of this has been
done, repeatedly, we all know that) that it doesn't need to be posted. Your
comments on Heart of Fire, Breath of flame were equally useless. Maybe
neither of the above two examples qualify as a flame, but they don't qualify
as a critique either.
Your comments on Reversal of Fortune part 2 may not be a "flame", but you
certainly slam the story hard without providing any constructive
commentary -- your comments are stated in such a general manner that they
couldn't possibly help anyone identify any real problems in the story and
fix them...
All of this will work against you when you actually have something
interesting to say, because few will listen, or, at least, few will listen
with an open mind. If you really feel you have something to add to the ML,
then you should at least avoid slamming people and presenting your opinions
as if they were unalterable fact. You say "I call them like I see them,"
which clearly indicates that you're aware these are opinions and not fact...
but you present them like a judge laying out the law for us stupid laymen.
Even people who might agree with you are likely to object when treated this
way.
I will now critique every self-insertion fic
ever made and all self-insertion fics yet to be made.
It is impossible to offer any useful or constructive commentary if you're
going to generalize. This is a waste of time... if you don't like an entire
genre, then feel free to avoid it, but don't tell me why you don't like it.
I mean, do you want to hear why I can't stand (as an example) dark stories?
No. It would be useless for me to post a critique of "every dark story ever
made or yet to be made", all you would learn is that I A) hate them or B)
like them. Is that useful? Does anyone care? No.
I will never understand the mentality behind self-insertion fics. They
have no purpose. They have no dramatic value. They are not entertaining,
except, one assuages, for the writer.
Movies have no purpose.
Books have no dramatic value.
Anime is not entertaining, except for the creators of said anime.
If you don't like something, that's not the same thing as it's having no
value. Many self-instertion fics are bad, I'll agree. Very, very bad. But
a story is entertaining and dramatic because of the skills of the author,
not because of the genre. You do realize that a great deal of literature
throughout the ages can probably be described as "self-insertion" in that
the author writes about his or her self or models the hero/heroine on his or
her self? Does this make all of that literature garbage? No.
Now, I -do- understand that people like to talk about themselves--this
is also a childish impulse that people grow out of (the cappuccino
silver-spoon carried-through-life adults are the exception). All
self-insertion fics are the products of minds that are (still) immature.
Stating opinions as fact for the 900 or so members of the ffml is really no
different, in my opinion.
I apologize to all offended parties, but I call them as I see them.
Saying you're apologetic is not the same thing as being apologetic. I have
not seen any indication that you really care about not offending people.
Sorry if this comes off as harsh... I really do want to give you the benefit
of the doubt, which is more than I suspect some would like. I just think
you need to reconsider how you present what you have to say. People can
convince themselves that being rude is the same thing as being totally
honest, but even if that's true it's not a good rule to live your life by.
If you want people to listen to what you have to say, you'll find ways to
say it that aren't so obnoxious. If you don't want people to listen to what
you have to say, then why are you posting?
Miko!
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather a scornful tone, "it
means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many
different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's
all."
(Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking-Glass)
Nausicaa@sprynet.com Belldandy@angelic.com
Anime rpg at http://come.to/akane/
Fan Fiction at http://listen.to/bell/