Since people are asking for a guideline for giving comments, here's a first draft. Please let me know what can be improved on it.

Don't worry, I'm pretty thick skinned. :)

Suggestions for critiquing work

1. Find at least one positive thing to say and start the critique off with it. People can get defensive if it looks like their hard work is being received badly. If they see a compliment, they'll be less likely to feel like they're being put down and they'll be more open to what you have to say.

2. Couch things in suggestions, not commands. Sprinkle phrases like "I'd suggest" or "I might try" through out the critique instead of always saying "You need to" or "Do this." People respond to options and opinions better than demands.

3. Give specific examples. If a character doesn't seem fleshed out, then offer up a way that might give insight into the character, or at least indicate where more detail might fit in. If a scene doesn't seem realistic, explain where it seemed to break down.

4. Be honest, but be polite. Unless you've worked with the person for a while, they won't know your idiosyncrasies and may take an off-handed joke seriously. Even smilies and lol remarks don't always translate well.

5. Be prepared for the author to disagree with you. You're offering suggestions which they do not have to accept. It doesn't mean either side is right or wrong - one of the wonderful things about art and writing is that there's many different ways to accomplish things.

6. There's a difference between nitpicking and hitting someone over the head with trivial items. Nitpicking includes things like pointing out that a word is consistently misspelled. Point it out and move on. Referencing every line that has the misspelling is going overboard.

7. You don't have to be an expert to have an informed opinion. You don't need to know anything about warp engines to comment on how believable the characters are in a Sci-Fi story. You can think that Petrarchian is a type of deli sub and still be able to comment on the imagery in the poem.

Suggestions for receiving critiques

1. Remember that comments about your work do not reflect you as a person.

2. If someone took the time to sit down and dissect your work, it means that they see potential and want to help you develop it. Even if the comments are mostly about things that need to be fixed, it does not mean that your work should be abandoned. It just means that it is worth more of your time to develop.

3. There are people out there who enjoy putting others down and you will occasionally get one commenting on your work. Just think about how pathetic their lives must be if that's all they can contribute and dismiss them as the lowly trolls they are.

4. You don't have to agree with everything that is suggested for your work, but never dismiss suggestions, either, without some consideration. Very few good things come from large committees, but an extra set of eyes can be invaluable.

5. If someone is blunt, consider it a compliment - they think that you're a strong enough person to get an honest opinion. Try to remember that people are raised in different backgrounds so what is polite for one person can be seen as borderline insulting or weasely slick to another.

6. Just because someone doesn't have a submission of their own does not mean their comments should be dismissed out of hand. True, most trolls do not have any works of their own because their only "talent" is being stupidly cruel, but some people with great insight do not have any posted work, either. They may be shy or feel overwhelmed by the talent on the forum, they may not feel talented in that area, they may not be interested in writing, or they may be a published professional looking at up-and-coming talent. It's not safe to assume anything about the person posting the comments. Judge the comments on their own merit.

Looks good. Perhaps we could get an agreed system for flagging work that does or does not want critiques. eg putting "critique welcome" if you want them. Sometimes it's hard to know whether people have just posted to show a piece of work and do not want help/suggestions. Shanna :-)

to avoid comments, you just dont' check the box during your upload. Sounds fair. Warp cores are made of Verterium Cortenide, 'Canon' ships have them in multiples of two, but that's about as far as I go..;) I always get Petrarch confused with some medieval philospher anyway..;) this should work everywhere but the OT forum..;) Thoughtful and insightful..

pakled...that works for graphics but not for the writing on this forum. I think Shanna's idea wouldn't hurt. Sometimes people post in the forum just because they want to share something...not necessarily because they want criticism on it. Good job, Crescent. It's handy to have a point of reference.

ok..I guess that would be different. Literary criticism is a little beyond me..I was always amazed at the stuff my creative writing teachers would say about my work..they were just totally off-base most of the times..;) Whatever the medium..they should work just fine.

I thought they were pretty sound. I did have a thought, though, and that is that since coming up with insightful and polite comments IS work, most of the writing groups I know have a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" policy and I think maybe it would be helpful to address both the fact that critiquing IS work, and that a good way to get critiques is to give them -- enourage reciprical critiquing, in other words. Another thing. In encouraging critiques, I've often heard that critiquing checklists can be helpful. I wouldn't know how to create a critiquing checklist for graphic artists, but I can easily dig one up for writing. In short how did you find their... Grammar, Spelling, Point of View, Characterization, Conflict, Setting, Descriptions... What would the graphics equivelent be? Consistancy of style, mood, composition/balance, details, lighting, emotional impact? (BTW, I don't think I'm a troll, but I don't have a gallery, and although I had hoped to get some stuff up in the beginners section soon, it looks like I won't be able to. This machine can't run any of my graphics programs, it's too old and wimpless. I would still like to hang out here and learn what I can, though. Eventually I will either be able to get out of bed and have access to my other machine, or I will save up enough money to buy a better laptop.)

Something else I forgot to mention. When you said "give examples", even better is to give more than one different examples. The best critiquer I know aims for three totally different examples of ways to achieve what she's talking about. It allows the author to really see what she is about, without feeling dictated to.