I agree. I think the whole 1-10 system is flawed by design, and unless I forget, I turn it off on my images. I've never seen anyone get a 3. It's either 1, 9, or 10. (and the 1s are few an far between.) I've also noticed that the negative folk tend to be the transients. They're not the regulars they don't show a lot of work. Maybe they're evaluating the site. I think it's the anonymity of it too. If it were a brick and mortar gallery, half of them wouldn't even have come in the first place. I don't know if it's jealousy, it may be shock. For example, when I graduated high school as one of best artists in the school, I went on to art school. Wow, that was culture shock. I went from the top of the ladder right down to the middle of the pack. Everyone there was the best or among the best in their high schools, and now they were all in the same place. It's much stiffer competition, and some people will thrive on it and work to be better, others will leave and go back to their happy place where they are the best again. I do however find that in the interest of not offending someone, I don't offer help. It's a judgement call I make. I evaluate the artist, and determine whether or not they are likely to receive criticism well. It's too bad, because I often wont help the people that need it most. But then, the people that listen to others' commentary are those who need the least help! It's a vicious cycle. Well, that's my ramble. In short, I agree with you. But criticism is difficult both to give and to receive, and in an online community that's open to all, it's inevitable that there will be people that can do neither very well.