The Goth's Rants

Unwanted Criticism: Dos and Don'ts

I am glad to start this entry by saying that the feud between Lil Fox and me has ended. We talked things out and we're on good terms now. 

However, there is something that I want to bring up and hopefully, it can avoid another mess like that and it is the importance of knowing when to deliver criticism. 

As I've grown up, I've learned how to take criticism but only when I ask for it. Unwanted criticism can sometimes come across as mean, rude, judgmental, you name it--it makes people feel bad about what they're doing mostly because they did NOT ask for it. It happened to me a few weeks ago when someone made unwanted criticism of my art. Unless a person asks for it, do not give criticism. 

Here are some Dos and Don'ts on what to do:

Do: If you want to give someone feedback, always ask first. "Can I give you some feedback?" is the best way to ask for someone's approval of said action. If the person says yes, then go ahead but keep in mind that criticism does NOT give you the right to judge. If criticism = judging, there would be critics in a court. Criticism, mostly CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is meant to help others improve and not to tear them down because you feel like a smarty-pants know-it-all that feels like they know better than everyone else. If a person says no, then respect that they do not want your feedback because they simply do not want it or are not asking for it. When your request to deliver feedback is declined, YOU MUST RESPECT the person's decision.

Don't: JUDGE. As I said before, giving feedback or criticism does not give you the right to judge others. An example is what happened to me when someone said I have "same face syndrome" in my art followed by some half-assed YouTube tutorial on how to "beat" it. It's 2022 almost 2023 and people need to realize that the "same face syndrome" does not make someone a bad artist--maybe those "same faces" are part of their art style. Whatever the case, you are not in any position to judge. 

Do: Always, ALWAYS help others improve, that's the point of constructive criticism! Instead of saying "Well you should change x or y" you can always say "Try this technique and see if it works! Maybe it can help you improve on this!" An example of this is when someone on AO3 told me to just indent paragraphs instead of using dashes like in my old fanfictions, that is why everything from Black Archer to Hyrule's Hope looks different than on my LWA fanfics which do have the dashes! Taking off the dashes has made me a better writer and I feel like it makes my stories more organized and clean. 

Don't: Try to look like you know better than the other person or that you know what's good for them. An example of this is someone I used to know back in 2019 that would always, ALWAYS criticize everything that I would do just cuz she was trying to project her insecurities onto me. She would always try to tell me what to do without actually telling me how to improve (she only did it like once) and eventually I learned that she would do this because she was extremely jealous of me. But anyway, never try to make yourself look like you know what's best for others and that you know better than them. It's annoying, it's rude, and it helps no one.

Two more things:

1) If you ever see coincidences in someone else's work, please do not assume someone is copying you unless you have explicit proof. For example, back in 2017, someone on DeviantArt was copying my ideas and when I called them out for it, they made me look like the bad guy. In that scenario, I had proof that they were copying me. But let's say, for example, the person I was talking about in the paragraph above once accused me of copying her because our fanmade LWA schools both had the word "star" in the name (mind you, the name Starshine was inspired by The Dragon Prince). Another example is the situation with Lil Fox in which they assumed I was copying them. So, unless you have proof that someone else is copying you, DO NOT ASSUME someone is copying you. Coincidences happen all the time so unless you see something is too coincidental, then do look into it.

2) People will react to criticism differently: some of them will take it lightly and accept it, and some people might be upset. It all depends on how you deliver it and the tone you take, and some people--like myself--will take criticism differently because of instances in their lives like trauma or mental illnesses. I mentioned before that I have Autism and therefore take things differently than a neurotypical person. If you're going to deliver any type of negative feedback, always remember to be polite and to be constructive--help others improve instead of bringing them down unnecessarily.

In conclusion, no--people are not sensitive to your criticism, you just go around criticizing people without them asking for it, without their consent, or simply because you're some insecure jerk that hates seeing people thrive. You have to know how to deliver criticism and make sure you're there to help others improve and become better at what they're doing. Whether you're a fellow creator or just an audience member, your job is not to be a judge, your job is to support. I don't know why but I just had to get this off my chest because if there's anything that's viler in this world it's unwanted criticism that doesn't even help you improve, it's just there to be a rock in your shoe. I hope this entry is of help and can help avoid conflicts.  

Thank you for reading.