I have a hard time even remembering to go to the Gallery. I'm an old timer here and still tend to post directly into the Forum rather than the Gallery. I'm making a conscious effort to post in the Gallery, but old habits are hard to break. I do occasionally comment on pieces posted in the Forum, right down to coping and pasting into my word processor to make in-line edit suggestions. When I have done that the writers concerned always seemed to appreciate the effort. I could certainly understand if someone would take offense at that, after all, who am I to tell someone else how to write. But so far no one ever has. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the kind of feedback I most appreciate myself, though I rarely get it. As others have said, this is probably not the best place to look for meaningful feedback. I think everyone around here sort of walks on eggshells least they offend someone. It really is a shame, because constructive criticism is very useful. However, not everyone knows how to take criticism and so to avoid hurting feelings we hold back. On the flip side, not everyone knows how to give constructive criticism, which can be devastating for some. For myself, don't hold back on my stuff folks. I've got the hide of a rhino when it comes to critiques on my writing. As to people following certain artists that's life. People here develop bonds among themselves and come to regard people they have never seen or met as friends or at least as familiar names. It's only natural for folks to encourage those they've come to know. jon

 
~jon
My Blog - Mad Utopia Writing in a new era.