As Karen stated earlier, with the new choice for artists to choose whether or not they want constructive criticism or just "Ooohs" and "Aaahs", we are less likely to spend 30% of our time answering IM's and emails from site members who are just so upset that they can't stand it that someone said that there was a better way to tweak the lighting.  While we never really changed or deleted obvious good CC, if it was borderline or obviously attacking, we did.

You're missing the point and so has Acadia, as it happens.   The assumption seems to be that "criticism" is, by definition, derogatory.   It isn't.   Criticism can be favourable or unfavourable, positive or negative.   (The root of the word is the Greek adjective "kritikos", meaning "capable of discernment". )  Someone who welcomes criticism is laying himself or herself open to either good or bad comment, or both.   This is pretty obvious:  if  "theatre critics" or "film critics" only ever delivered negative verdicts, they 'd never make it into the auditorium.   The moderators are removing comments from the galleries, justifying their action by the wording of the comments' when the criteria governing comments in the galleries are ineptly phrased, to put it mildly.  I can sympathize with your not wanting to spend so much of your time responding to complaints, but more intelligent expression would probably assist with that.

"Criterion", like "criticism" is a neutral word from the Greek "krinein" meaning "to judge, decide".

For the record, "thesauros / thesaurus" meant "treasury", before it acquired its modern meaning of a book scribbled in a hurry by a short-of-cash academic who is too thick  to compile a proper dictionary.