How appropriate is it to criticize someone's project to them.
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:27 pm
I have a bit of a social dilemma. A dude I know is working on a comic he's posted online that managed to get a TV Tropes article on it. The slight downside is that the YMMV page painted some parts of the comic in a.... less than stellar light.
I tried bringing it to his attention on a social media PM system and asked him if the criticisms laid on his comic will be addressed later. But I could barely get him to respond. In his defense though, I might have brought up to him how his comic was criticized a little too much and he threatened to block me for harassment. So I apologized and he forgave me.
(Please note that in the interest of avoiding the odds of sparking his ire and to avoid the chance someone reading this might intentionally harass him, I'm keeping his identity and that of his comic anonymous, I don't think it's really needed for the questions I'm about to ask anyway.)
Though afterwards he showed a seemingly dismissive attitude towards most of criticisms given to his comic, called many of the statements on the YMMV page "mean-spirited, misleading, and over-reaching".
While I know it's good to have confidence in your work, I wasn't (and still am not) convinced the criticisms given to his comic weren't entirely wrong. Plus, a reader viewing a character or plot point in a way that's different from what you intended isn't something you can blame the reader themself for.
And as webcomic writer myself, I like to think if my comic was given any such criticisms, I'd try to look into how and why the reader views something a certain way and try to re-modify my approach accordingly. My friend, in contrast, seems adamant over the direction he's going with his comic and doesn't seem to think he's actually made any errors in his writing.
Heck, I've seen alot of projects fall apart and lose popularity because the creators tend to refuse to listen to criticisms given to them, which is why I tried to call my friend's attention toward those criticisms; I like what he's trying to do and want to see the premise of his comic reach its full potential.
I wanted to be certain my friend wouldn't fall into the same downfall, which is why I tried to bring up those criticisms to him in the first place.
Which is why I want to ask; how appropriate is it, socially, to ask someone to address criticisms given to their project? Was my only mistake being that I pushed too hard? Should I have even brought up those criticisms at all? Or do you think there's an error in how my friend was reacting to the criticisms?
I'm legitimately kinda conflicted about it.
I tried bringing it to his attention on a social media PM system and asked him if the criticisms laid on his comic will be addressed later. But I could barely get him to respond. In his defense though, I might have brought up to him how his comic was criticized a little too much and he threatened to block me for harassment. So I apologized and he forgave me.
(Please note that in the interest of avoiding the odds of sparking his ire and to avoid the chance someone reading this might intentionally harass him, I'm keeping his identity and that of his comic anonymous, I don't think it's really needed for the questions I'm about to ask anyway.)
Though afterwards he showed a seemingly dismissive attitude towards most of criticisms given to his comic, called many of the statements on the YMMV page "mean-spirited, misleading, and over-reaching".
While I know it's good to have confidence in your work, I wasn't (and still am not) convinced the criticisms given to his comic weren't entirely wrong. Plus, a reader viewing a character or plot point in a way that's different from what you intended isn't something you can blame the reader themself for.
And as webcomic writer myself, I like to think if my comic was given any such criticisms, I'd try to look into how and why the reader views something a certain way and try to re-modify my approach accordingly. My friend, in contrast, seems adamant over the direction he's going with his comic and doesn't seem to think he's actually made any errors in his writing.
Heck, I've seen alot of projects fall apart and lose popularity because the creators tend to refuse to listen to criticisms given to them, which is why I tried to call my friend's attention toward those criticisms; I like what he's trying to do and want to see the premise of his comic reach its full potential.
I wanted to be certain my friend wouldn't fall into the same downfall, which is why I tried to bring up those criticisms to him in the first place.
Which is why I want to ask; how appropriate is it, socially, to ask someone to address criticisms given to their project? Was my only mistake being that I pushed too hard? Should I have even brought up those criticisms at all? Or do you think there's an error in how my friend was reacting to the criticisms?
I'm legitimately kinda conflicted about it.