It's not "critics" that are the problem, though. It's people who think they can do.

In this business there are basically four groups of people: Pros, students, amateurs and wannabes. (By "amateur", by the way, I mean literally, namely, one who does it "for the love of".) Ignoring students for the moment, the number one difference between these is attitude. Roughly speaking:

• Pros cop an attitude over the quality of the finished product. (Or, if it's their own work, over deadlines, pay and conditions, just like any other employee or freelancer.)
• Wannabes cop an attitude over how you did it.
• Amateurs cop an attitude over world politics, menu bars on web sites or pretty much anything but the product.

Think of it like you're watching a magic show. The adults in the audience are the ones sitting back enjoying the entertainment. (If they're also professional magicians, they may be thinking "wow, this guy is good" or "I can do it better than that".) The adolescents, on the other hand, are the ones loudly insisting on knowing how the trick is done.

Message edited on: 07/13/2004 22:03