Unfriendly comments
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 by grayhaze | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Today I received the following e-mail from someone who shall remain nameless:
"Im using your dinksdx-blue skin for windwowsblinds and i think it is really awful.
i love the tab with the controlls for winamp. the buttons for next song etc are working, but it doesn't display the title of the song which is playing. did i overread something i have to do to activate them?"
I answered his question regardless of his bad manners, but I'm amazed that people like this are out there. What can the logic be in insulting someone's hard work and then asking for help in using it? >
For those people who are having this problem, make sure you have at least version 4.00c of WindowBlinds.
"Im using your dinksdx-blue skin for windwowsblinds and i think it is really awful.
i love the tab with the controlls for winamp. the buttons for next song etc are working, but it doesn't display the title of the song which is playing. did i overread something i have to do to activate them?"
I answered his question regardless of his bad manners, but I'm amazed that people like this are out there. What can the logic be in insulting someone's hard work and then asking for help in using it? >
For those people who are having this problem, make sure you have at least version 4.00c of WindowBlinds.
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goodmorphing
Reply #23 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:31 PM
Reply #23 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:31 PM
I think the whole page got quoted into a reply!
I didn't think you could do that!
I didn't think you could do that!
goodmorphing
Reply #24 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:36 PM
Reply #24 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:36 PM
Jafo, I see your admin button.... The delete one!
Jafo
Reply #25 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:39 PM
Reply #25 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:39 PM
OK....well that was fun....might look like an echo in here...but I didn't want to lose any of the comments...
Lady_Akasha
Reply #27 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:43 PM @ Jafo
Thanks a lot, GM-- I had that button too...now it's gone.
Reply #27 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:43 PM
@ JafoThanks a lot, GM-- I had that button too...now it's gone.
goodmorphing
Reply #28 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:53 PM
Reply #28 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:53 PM
um... Jafo?
It's still there, but i don't know if it works or not. up to post 23
It's still there, but i don't know if it works or not. up to post 23
Jafo
Reply #29 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:03 PM
Reply #29 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:03 PM
| #18 by IPlural - 6/17/2003 9:36:58 PM | ||||||||||||
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Jafo
Reply #30 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:06 PM
Reply #30 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:06 PM
OK...now things 'should' be back to normal....[did I mention html hates me?]...
IPlural
Reply #32 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:22 PM
Reply #32 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 11:22 PM
Jafo, using Word as my HTML editor in IE, News and Email. But I have a tunnel I am running through and that might be is, stripping bits?
Anyway, I will hold back a bit before quoting and responding for to night.
Lady Akasha, I will respond though, just wanted to let you know so you did not think I was flippant or ignoring you. The points and situation you make are just as or more so valid than my feeble attempts to construction a point to stem from understanding.
Anyway, I will hold back a bit before quoting and responding for to night.
Lady Akasha, I will respond though, just wanted to let you know so you did not think I was flippant or ignoring you. The points and situation you make are just as or more so valid than my feeble attempts to construction a point to stem from understanding.
feline
Reply #33 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:11 AM
instead of replying to this as a skin author, i am going to reply to this as a writer (ducks in case Jafo is around
). i use Word for this (build in spell checker) which helps 
there are a couple of other sites i spend a lot of time where people write and upload short stories. this is a different skill to making skins, but it is still a creative person making "beautiful" things for fun, and sharing them for free.
i have written and upload a few stories myself, so feel i am qualified to comment
as here, it is common for an upload to get virtually no feedback or comment. since this has also happened to me, i tend to be sensitive about this, and if i have something to say, i make a point of saying it, so at least the author gets 1 piece of feedback
Lady Akasha, your point is fair. some of the works are not as good as others.
however, since i appreciate how much work it can take to produce something you are happy to upload and share i have a great respect for anyone who has done this.
so, if i feel that a story isn't very good, or is poorly constructed, or is simply not very clear, i will say so. but, i will say so in a polite and respectful manor. before commenting i ask "could i have done any better?"
with that in mind, if i say i don't like it, i strive to explain why, and where possible offer constructive criticism. i feel there is always more to learn, no matter who you are, or how good you are.
also, i try to separate out "good, but not to my taste" from "not good", since these are very different things.
so, my final reaction / comment on this is that there is no reason why a skin creator (or author) should not expect and get responses that say "i don't like it", or "there is a problem with it". however, this can be done:
* with respect, and appreciation for the hard work that the author put into this for free
* in a rude and unhelpful manor
i would hope that we can all agree that the first is far preferable, and the second is not to be encouraged.
Reply #33 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:11 AM
| Lady Akasha - Why should an artist receive a not so favorable comment? Umm because there is no such thing as making something EVERYONE will like, or think is great. That is ridiculous! Why doesn't the person who thinks 'it sucks' have a right to say...'it sucks'? |
instead of replying to this as a skin author, i am going to reply to this as a writer (ducks in case Jafo is around
). i use Word for this (build in spell checker) which helps 
there are a couple of other sites i spend a lot of time where people write and upload short stories. this is a different skill to making skins, but it is still a creative person making "beautiful" things for fun, and sharing them for free.
i have written and upload a few stories myself, so feel i am qualified to comment
as here, it is common for an upload to get virtually no feedback or comment. since this has also happened to me, i tend to be sensitive about this, and if i have something to say, i make a point of saying it, so at least the author gets 1 piece of feedback
Lady Akasha, your point is fair. some of the works are not as good as others.
however, since i appreciate how much work it can take to produce something you are happy to upload and share i have a great respect for anyone who has done this.
so, if i feel that a story isn't very good, or is poorly constructed, or is simply not very clear, i will say so. but, i will say so in a polite and respectful manor. before commenting i ask "could i have done any better?"
with that in mind, if i say i don't like it, i strive to explain why, and where possible offer constructive criticism. i feel there is always more to learn, no matter who you are, or how good you are.
also, i try to separate out "good, but not to my taste" from "not good", since these are very different things.
so, my final reaction / comment on this is that there is no reason why a skin creator (or author) should not expect and get responses that say "i don't like it", or "there is a problem with it". however, this can be done:
* with respect, and appreciation for the hard work that the author put into this for free
* in a rude and unhelpful manor
i would hope that we can all agree that the first is far preferable, and the second is not to be encouraged.
grayhaze
Reply #34 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:40 AM
Reply #34 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:40 AM
I don't think very many of you actually understood the point I was making in my initial post. I wasn't upset about getting a bad comment, as I've had plenty of these in the past, but more about a small trend of e-mails that I've received recently where someone insults my work and then demands technical support. It's more a case of disliking bad manners than it is about whatever ego I may or may not have.
Anyway, as I've already mentioned, this particular e-mail was apparently due to a breakdown in language rather than outright bad manners.
As for comments on skins, I always welcome constructive criticism of my work, with careful reasoning behind any complaints. It's very rare to get such a comment though, as the majority of bad comments are along the lines of 'you suck' or nit-picking for the sake of attacking a person's work regardless of the individual work being discussed. Over on another skinning site where I uploaded this particular skin I had a nice long comment from someone who thought that the skin sucked because of a three-pixel-high 'TM' sign on the Windows flag and 'the complete lack of antialiasing', which were both irrelevant and completely untrue respectively.
Anyway, as I've already mentioned, this particular e-mail was apparently due to a breakdown in language rather than outright bad manners.
As for comments on skins, I always welcome constructive criticism of my work, with careful reasoning behind any complaints. It's very rare to get such a comment though, as the majority of bad comments are along the lines of 'you suck' or nit-picking for the sake of attacking a person's work regardless of the individual work being discussed. Over on another skinning site where I uploaded this particular skin I had a nice long comment from someone who thought that the skin sucked because of a three-pixel-high 'TM' sign on the Windows flag and 'the complete lack of antialiasing', which were both irrelevant and completely untrue respectively.
Orion
Reply #35 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:41 AM
Reply #35 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:41 AM
Lady Akasha wrote: "Umm because there is no such thing as making something EVERYONE will like, or think is great. That is ridiculous! Why doesn't the person who thinks 'it sucks' have a right to say...'it sucks'?
And I am sorry, as much as I do like this site--there is little room for the TRUTH. If someone actually said, "This is really awful" to a fellow artist it would be uproar!"
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The hyper-sensitivity to anything negative (whether it’s constructive or not) around these parts is quite unfortunate.
And I am sorry, as much as I do like this site--there is little room for the TRUTH. If someone actually said, "This is really awful" to a fellow artist it would be uproar!"
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The hyper-sensitivity to anything negative (whether it’s constructive or not) around these parts is quite unfortunate.
grayhaze
Reply #36 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:43 AM
Don't make me hurt you...
grayhaze readies a live trout for extra comedic effect
Reply #36 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:43 AM
| #11 by Admin KarmaGirl - 6/17/2003 6:46:19 PM grayhaze, why can't you just believe that you are not god's gift to skinning? Geez...what an ego! KarmaGirl runs quickly away so that she doesn't get smacked with a dead trout by grayhaze...yes, and I was joking in case anyone didn't understand.. |
Don't make me hurt you...
grayhaze readies a live trout for extra comedic effect
grayhaze
Reply #37 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:52 AM
Reply #37 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:52 AM
As for those people who think it's right for someone to comment that a skin 'sucks', you obviously hold little pride in the work you do. When producing a skin over several weeks solid hard work which is then made available to download for free, it shouldn't be out of the question to expect a little respect. I don't mind if people don't like the final result, but it would be nice if they could at least acknowledge the hard work that went into it.
As creatives, we naturally hold a hightened sense of pride in our work, as it's something both very personal and very important to us. It's true that criticism isn't the easiest thing to swallow, and that ability only comes with experience, but outright bad manners never get any easier to accept. You put your heart and soul into producing something that you hope will bring pleasure to people, only to have someone turn around and spit in your face. I don't think I'd ever want to accept that sort of behaviour.
As creatives, we naturally hold a hightened sense of pride in our work, as it's something both very personal and very important to us. It's true that criticism isn't the easiest thing to swallow, and that ability only comes with experience, but outright bad manners never get any easier to accept. You put your heart and soul into producing something that you hope will bring pleasure to people, only to have someone turn around and spit in your face. I don't think I'd ever want to accept that sort of behaviour.
Jafo
Reply #39 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 6:03 AM
Reply #39 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 6:03 AM
Orion...nothing 'wrong' about the 'truth'.
But what IS wrong is some inane comment such as 'this sux', or for that matter 'this rox'.
What 'would' be quite OK would be 'I really dislike this' [perhaps with reasons].
Ideals would see a commensurate effort in critique to the work's creation effort/s.
Some poor sod of a skinner toils for weeks over his first WB skin just for the benefit of some no-brain dweeb to post 'this sux'?
How 'unfortunate' is that?...
Chef Garry
Reply #40 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 8:13 AM
Reply #40 Wednesday, June 18, 2003 8:13 AM
The lady is right so far as it goes - nobody can make something that appeals to everyone.
However there are some truly awesome (awfully good ) stuff on this site that I don't use because it doesn't appeal to me personally or because it's enough like something else I have that I don't choose to use it. That's a whole bunch different than "sux", at least IMO.
That isn't "TRUTH" nor is a skinner being "hypersensitive" to be offended by that sort of comment.
However there are some truly awesome (awfully good
) stuff on this site that I don't use because it doesn't appeal to me personally or because it's enough like something else I have that I don't choose to use it. That's a whole bunch different than "sux", at least IMO.That isn't "TRUTH" nor is a skinner being "hypersensitive" to be offended by that sort of comment.
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Reply #21 Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:30 PM