Critique - This needed to be said

[Stuart]

just in case my previous post seemed overly agressive or directed at anyone - it really isn't - you're all great guys and I have full respect for all of you - you're AWESOME

[Manny1943]

Hi Gents,

Can I add something to the debate…?

And I say this with maximum respect to you all, because you are one of the nicest group of modellers on the internet and I love this forum – but in some ways you’re talking bollocks.

I agree that it would be much more useful to get a proper, considered and well written critique to your work than a simple ‘well done’

BUT

Are you seriously telling me than if you’ve gone to the trouble one evening of posting up pictures of your latest and greatest build, the one that makes you go ‘Yeah!’ and then go to bed – only to discover in the morning that you’ve had 37 views and no comments – that you’re going to accept it and say ‘that’s ok, I don’t need the praise, obviously these 37 people have seen my build, liked it, but had no constructive critique to add’’…

…Bullcrap

What will really happen is you’ll get the major arse, and probably chuck in some kind of ‘BUMP’ post and or moan and complain about the point of posting up pictures if nobody bothers to comment – and I can think of serval times I’ve seen this happen on this forum (possibly due to the low member count) – and I can think of at least two threads were we’ve discussed this subject at length.

At the end of the day we are humans, and humans like praise – a ‘well done’ is always better than nothing. At least that tells us that someone has liked what we’ve posted and actually gone to the trouble of saying so.

As I said, yes I agree that getting constructive criticism is useful – If I had some issues with my paintwork, and somebody posted up a suggestion of how to make it better, then great – I’ve learned something and hopefully my next build would improve.

But as somebody has already stated, a critique is not always an option for a few reasons…

- A lot of the time when I look at pictures of models (and I suspect it’s the case for a lot of people on the internet) - I’m just enjoying the model, I’m not necessary thinking of critiquing it or picking out the faults – I’m not marking your homework or doing a peer review (I get enough of that at work).

- Not everyone has the skills/time to write a full critique on every build they see.

- Some people don’t actually need the critique – I know a few modellers who consistently build models to the same standard that have no desire to improve or change their skills – they enjoy what they do, and just like building models and sharing them on the internet. At the end of the day this is a hobby and most of us are just into it for a bit of fun and relaxation.

- It depends on the levels of skill of the modeller and the person looking at the post. For instance, if I pick on Manny (sorry Manny), this is a guy who knows how to build models (how many awards did he walk away with at the nats?) and I have to say I was blown away by that F/A-18. How on earth is a guy like me who’s builds are mediocre at best, supposed to offer a constructive critique? I’m more likely to ask how he actually built the thing!

- And to further the comment above – the level of builds on this site is so good that sometimes all you can say is ‘awesome’. Even if you pick up one or two features you like about the build, though better than ‘well done’ – it’s still going to become formulaic after a while.

At the end of the day, what I’m trying to say is – if you especially want a critique, then maybe it’s better to ask for one – but if all you get is ‘well done’ or ’Awesome’ - be gracious enough to just accept the fact that people have looked at your build, liked it and have been bothered to say so…

…Because a pat on the back is always better than silence…

(…and in the long term, constant bitching about your work not getting the praise it deserves tends to make you sound like an egotistical arse – which is not needed – as EVERYBODY on this forum produces seriously good work (myself excluded) and has the deepest respect from their peers.

Cheers

Stuart

TRUE DAT!!!

[Tojo72]

Jim,I don't understand why you would find good or great job,fantastic work,and the like comments"appalling".Guys like me are genuinely impressed with high level work that I know I can never achieve,so I show my appreciation.Quite frankly,I look at some of the builds,and I certainly don't have any criticism to offer,what I see looks great,so I say it.Now when I see some work on par with mine,from a new modeler,or an obvious error,I will gently point it out or ask a question about it.The same goes for my work,if I post,I expect some critique,if it is in my abilities,I will try to apply the suggestions on my next build,or mistake the correction if I could.But in my opinion,I don't mind a bunch of "nice work" comments,at least it makes you feel like your part of the group and someone notices,but I also understand if I post,then don't get offended by critique.

[KSaarni]

Hi Gents,

Can I add something to the debate…?

And I say this with maximum respect to you all, because you are one of the nicest group of modellers on the internet and I love this forum – but in some ways you’re talking bollocks.

I agree that it would be much more useful to get a proper, considered and well written critique to your work than a simple ‘well done’

BUT

Are you seriously telling me than if you’ve gone to the trouble one evening of posting up pictures of your latest and greatest build, the one that makes you go ‘Yeah!’ and then go to bed – only to discover in the morning that you’ve had 37 views and no comments – that you’re going to accept it and say ‘that’s ok, I don’t need the praise, obviously these 37 people have seen my build, liked it, but had no constructive critique to add’’…

…Bullcrap

What will really happen is you’ll get the major arse, and probably chuck in some kind of ‘BUMP’ post and or moan and complain about the point of posting up pictures if nobody bothers to comment – and I can think of serval times I’ve seen this happen on this forum (possibly due to the low member count) – and I can think of at least two threads were we’ve discussed this subject at length.

At the end of the day we are humans, and humans like praise – a ‘well done’ is always better than nothing. At least that tells us that someone has liked what we’ve posted and actually gone to the trouble of saying so.

As I said, yes I agree that getting constructive criticism is useful – If I had some issues with my paintwork, and somebody posted up a suggestion of how to make it better, then great – I’ve learned something and hopefully my next build would improve.

But as somebody has already stated, a critique is not always an option for a few reasons…

- A lot of the time when I look at pictures of models (and I suspect it’s the case for a lot of people on the internet) - I’m just enjoying the model, I’m not necessary thinking of critiquing it or picking out the faults – I’m not marking your homework or doing a peer review (I get enough of that at work).

- Not everyone has the skills/time to write a full critique on every build they see.

- Some people don’t actually need the critique – I know a few modellers who consistently build models to the same standard that have no desire to improve or change their skills – they enjoy what they do, and just like building models and sharing them on the internet. At the end of the day this is a hobby and most of us are just into it for a bit of fun and relaxation.

- It depends on the levels of skill of the modeller and the person looking at the post. For instance, if I pick on Manny (sorry Manny), this is a guy who knows how to build models (how many awards did he walk away with at the nats?) and I have to say I was blown away by that F/A-18. How on earth is a guy like me who’s builds are mediocre at best, supposed to offer a constructive critique? I’m more likely to ask how he actually built the thing!

- And to further the comment above – the level of builds on this site is so good that sometimes all you can say is ‘awesome’. Even if you pick up one or two features you like about the build, though better than ‘well done’ – it’s still going to become formulaic after a while.

At the end of the day, what I’m trying to say is – if you especially want a critique, then maybe it’s better to ask for one – but if all you get is ‘well done’ or ’Awesome’ - be gracious enough to just accept the fact that people have looked at your build, liked it and have been bothered to say so…

…Because a pat on the back is always better than silence…

(…and in the long term, constant bitching about your work not getting the praise it deserves tends to make you sound like an egotistical arse – which is not needed – as EVERYBODY on this forum produces seriously good work (myself excluded) and has the deepest respect from their peers.

Cheers

Stuart

Well said!

I could not have put the words better Stuart!



- Kari

[mostrich]

Well spoken, Stuart. I totally agree with you (And I'm not offended at all. I like some open words at any time).

And now back to some modelling...

[Stuart]

Thanks Gents – as I said – I’m not attacking anyone in particular (you as in us/me) as I think we’re all guilty of this from time to time – me included.

That being said, one other thing I really like about this forum (slightly off topic – sorry) is that you guys that are seriously good still take the time to comment on the builds of lesser mortals like myself – and that means a lot it really does.

and now back to some modelling...

well put

[Medicman71]

That was perfectly said Stuart!!

[Stikpusher]

Well said Stuart. There are many times on here where I am more likely to ask "how did you do that?" as opposed to offering an honest to goodness critique. I'll offer some up during the build, if I feel it can contribute. And that depends upon knowing that builder and if they are likely to use the advice given. Why waste either one of our collective time if the builder has a track record of not applying critiques given? Sometimes a simple attaboy acknowledgment is the proper & polite response.

[Manny1943]

just in case my previous post seemed overly agressive or directed at anyone - it really isn't - you're all great guys and I have full respect for all of you - you're AWESOME

It detected some micro-aggression ...

[Stuart]

just in case my previous post seemed overly agressive or directed at anyone - it really isn't - you're all great guys and I have full respect for all of you - you're AWESOME

It detected some micro-aggression ...

lol - ah, it really didn't mean to - I blame the Migraine I've got...