If people didn't disagree with me, the world would be boring. It was BlackUnicorn who threatened me, and I dicided not to send a message back, because he thought I was Ornlu in disguise. After looking at his "art" and reading his incoherent jibberish, I'm surprised he has the knowledge to even turn his computer on. I was not at all threatened by his little scare tactics. I find it sad that he cannot listen and learn from critism.

Lol, I agree, boring. I had informed BlackUnicorn, via I.M. that you are not Ornlu. I'm pretty sure this was after his I.M. to you. AgentSmith

Geez,..........I got a couple of images in the Hot 20 with only four votes in period (What is the "period" ?) Maybe this is the only life he/she/it has. The only social outlet. The individual is only fooling themselves. I sometimes get frustrated that I don't get many viewing on any images, especially of late, and I sometimes think why isn't anyone looking or commenting on my stuff ? Then I have to ask myself,........why does it bother me what someone else does or doesn't do. The individual's work is to me, pedestrian at best, clearly not much work or concern goes into their work. My point is,.........well, I guess I don't really have one,........nevermind.

Lol, he must be pretty paranoid, seeing Ornlu's everywhere. I hope I give him nightmares.

In my recent travelling of chat rooms.... I came acromm this man....very rude, crass...self destructive. Everyone thought he was an ass....and in truth he was being an ass. But to me, something didn't seem quite right. Sometimes I sense things in people over then net. And something wasn't right... My mothering instincts set in, and I started talking to him...getting to know more. I found out that he has what is known as Aspergers Syndrome. The closest condition they can compare it to is a very mild form of autism. It limits his abilities in social situations. (I then read on it some) And it causes him to act out when otherwise is not needed... He misunderstands others words, and others misunderstand his.. Chat room disaster if people dont' understand the why behind that what. Perhaps, instead of saying someone's work sucks, and they're an ass.....you might wanna try to find out why they behave the way they do... Not every ass is an ass because thet choose to be, but because they do not know how to be something else. This Unicorn guy, may just be one of those guys, who has some type of condition that limits his abilities. It is obvious that his english is somewhat lacking, but that could be from translation, or from something else. Perhaps a few years ago, he could not do more than a doodle, and this is amazing progress... My point is this.... Until someone actually talks to him, rationally, and without hatred....with an OPEN mind, without backing him into a corner... Do we really know the facts behind what is being said?? Just something to think about..... Jen

I can see where you're coming from sackrat but I'd rather have 3 genuine comments then 10 fake or fanclub comments. This is precisely the reason that I may only vote an image once every couple of weeks, to get my vote it has to be something truly outstanding. Means a lot more to me when someone I respect posts a comment that says well done you've improved, compared to a well done from someone I don't know (does that make sense I'm a little over tired here..) BTW well said Jen sometimes we have to be reminded that it's harder to assess someone over the ether then it is face to face

... wait a minute.. I should be insulted here too.. This is my only social outlet!!..just kidding, about the insulted part anyway. as for the acual topic.. i've no comments since its nothing important to me..

Jen it had occurred to me that this person had some mental problems that none of us were aware of. At the same time I don't think that means he should get votes for his work out of sympathy, that is not going to help him. He also clearly has enough knowledge to open multiple clone accounts so he can vote for himself. I don't think he is backward, which is probably not a PC thing to say, but even if he has these problems he cannot go around sending threats to people who comment adversely on his work. Where would this place be if we all did that whenever we didn't like a comment made on our work. Catlin

I'm not saying what he did is right, nor am I making excuses for the actions... Just saying perhaps there is an underlying cause for those said actions. I know myself, I won't speak for others, but i know I take certain things for granted...and often I dont' stop to think what I would be like without those things.... People with some conditions can be very bright in some areas, while severely disabled in others... And how each deals with those things makes then either succeed or fail.. For example... a blind person.... Usually, a person who cannot see, has a more accute sense of hearing and sometimes touch...as well as the other senses.... If that person chose to ignore all those other senses while in a depression over their condition, they would surely suffer... If however they chose to become more in tune with those other senses, they would do much better. This guy I know...with the AS.... He's really sweet once ya sit and talk to him...has the same feelings and the same emotions as we all do, although he has a harder time controlling them...He's considered disabled by the state in which he lives, but is very bright... He has a near photographic memory with things he reads...and sometimes conversations can be difficult...I am glad that I took the time to learn more about him... Now instead of being offended by something said, i look at why it's being said....usually is something that happened with another person that has him in a fluster, that inhibits his limited ability to control what is being said... Perhaps all it took was a comment for his self control to waiver... I'm not saying don't comment, I'm not teling anyone what to door not to do, nor am I expecting anyone to actually read my drivel... What "I" would do, rather then making a comment such as on the boat picture, that says, (making up a comment) "this image really dont' deserve to be in the hot 20, it's imported models on a basic beginner scene" I would say something very similar that i would give to an excellent piece of work by a "well known" more along the lines of, "this is a good start, i bet it would look fantastic with some plants here, or some birds there... maybe even a few more boats" but then again, I have been called nieve many a times... and have been proven to be quite the odd one many times as well... so take this for what you will....a rant, a rave, a story, a lesson, a pile of garbage... or just my thoughts...

JC, not disagreeing with you and you statement on comments is right on. Comments on a peice of art should be constructive. IMO BlackUnicorn should really try to control what he's posts before posting(perhaps he does but it's beyond him). He is aware of his condition whereas the majority of the people here aren't, so I hate to say this but the burden of understanding is in his court.

I admire your sensitivity Jen and I wouldn't want to go blast him for his art. I have discovered from being a member here that the best way to help with critisism is to point out the flaws and then give advice on what would make the image better. That kind of response tends to balance out making the critique neither bad nor good but helpful in opening the artists eyes to other posibilities. Please don't think I'm having a bash at you, I'm not, and I understand where your coming from. I just wish that this person could think more positively about what is being said to him and not to respond to people with threats, although perhaps he can't understand the difference between advice and a direct put down. Still friends 8) Catlin

lol course silly....hehehe Like I said, I babel on and on... lol but along with being odd and nieve, (LOL) I also have been knows to dig deep...I guess i'm th ekind of person that has to know WHY???? LOL When i was a kid, i used to take everything apart to see how it worked, and put it back together.... to this day, I still do, but now i wait till it's broke first...lol I guess i just dont' like to see anyone being bashed or trashed, without knwoing ALL the details... From what i've seen in his pm's, and posts here, he may not be able to understand the differences..and is immediately on the defensive about any responses he gets... hehehehhe (playing devils advocate) Now if it took more then 4 or 5 votes to get into the HOT20, we wouldn't have to worry about him gettin there? And I admit flat out, I rarely have time to go through all the gallery pages, heck I have a hard time keeping up with all these posts...lolol so I know i have no right to complain about how it works, if i dont' use it... (i think i've maybe looked at that list 5 times since i been coming here?) LOL Cat, maybe i shoulda been a philosper instead of an artist? hahahahah

Jen, you're a sweet and tender-hearted person, always so understanding. I am much the same way(or used to be) but if I see a rabid dog, I might feel sorry for it, but I sure as Hell am not gonna pet it, or make try to make friends with it.

I'm a new member and I am reading this discussion...I think that the same thing is going on in the beginners hot 20...I think we can learn a lot from comments .It's always nice to have good comments but it's nicer to improve your work by good honest comments....

I see a lot of people here on R'Osity giving "excellents" and good advice to people who say they are beginners. It's a matter of encouragement and acknowledgement for a good effort. If we stopped doing that, we would cease to have humanity. There may be a lot more "sympathy votes" than we realize going on here, too.

Personally, I'm all for encouraging people to develop with by rating them according to their skill level and providing glowing and helpful comments. As far as I know, though, the only way votes are seen is when something makes it into the hot 20. Voting for some one doesn't really encourage them to develop further. It simply raises a "developing artists" work to be on display as "exemplary work". If anything, it could discourage further development, in that "Hey! This got me into the Hot20, I've pretty much got it down pat now!" Just MHO though. I think still think that everyone that has an issue (and really everyone in the community) should just go through the gallery and vote for the images that they feel truely do belong in a gallery that represents both the abilities and merits of this tool as well as the skills and talent in the community. Have fun!

I personally don't mind sympathy votes as long as the votes and the comments encourage the artist to improve their work. But as has been said before, this particular artist has had these positive comments made to them and their work is the same now as it was at the start. Also this artist is in the habit of sending threatening IM's when they are annoyed by what someone has said in their comments. Threats of hacking your computer and of violence should not and will not be tolerated here, for one thing it is against the TOS to do such things. Violet, the same thing happens in many forums and basically there really is nothing that the admin can do about it without becoming intrusive. If this were the Poser forum for example this discussion would not be so civilized about these matters. When you've been here for a while janart you'll understand what the Hot 20 is and will understand the annoyance it creates when a person has numerous clone accounts which they use to vote for themselves. Catlin

I probably shouldn't say this, but, I have left comments on improving his work without further repercussions(watch, now I'll be a target)....;] After being in a personnel office and having to write assessment reviews on people I have learned a few key things, -before- pointing out what needs to be improved, -first- find something good to comment about, this keeps the person from going defensive on the outset, then gradually make known those areas/things that need improvement. You have to do this without saying the word 'you', like 'you should do this' or 'you need to do that' or 'your image/behavior should be'. Keep the comment specific to the area that needs improvement, 'the texture can be improved this way' or 'the model might benefit from a new texture to create interest' by doing this you don't make it personal, it's the image not the artist....and always kept your cool.... I guess it's not always 'what' you say but 'how' you say it. That said I'm waiting for BU to read my comments and then flame me...;P

Well said Zhann, you are so right about the personal issue of it. It is like walking a tightrope when critisizing someones work. Some folks have thick skin and others don't. One should always be careful when someone hasn't specificaly said "Let me have it!" I for one love to post my Wips here, I still feel like a newbie and want as much constructive crits as I can get. But when someone doesn't ask for it, it becomes difficult to judge how the critism will sound to them. I actually liked the person in question's boat image, not enough to vote it in the top 20 but it seemed like an improvement to me. I liked the sparkley look that unantialising provided. I also think Jen was quite right, we don't know this person's background. Although, it isn't fair for them to vote themselves in or have friends do it, in the end its not hurting that many people and we do have the power to vote in those few that may not be making it in. So I agree with those before that have said "go forth and vote". I'll try to do it also but I have time constraints and have trouble just keeping up with the forum threads. And I think that anyone who wants to complain about the top20 quality after today had better be out there voting! Go Vote!

Catlin, I can't imagine janart (Jan) getting annoyed at anyone.

Julsil, after Jan's been here for a while the insanity of this place may drive her to it. lol 8)

Catlin, I second that!! lol

Still in there at #14 with 13 (THIRTEEN!) votes. Lame.