On Criticism

People don't know how to criticize.

They think that all they have to do is say they don't like something, or call it crap or worse, and that is sufficient.  They didn't like it - end of story.

I see this in Amazon reviews a lot, especially among the feedback of indie authors' works.  I can't say how many times I've read someone post that the story they downloaded to their Kindle wasn't worth the 99¢ they paid for it.  Yet they won't say WHY it wasn't worth it.

The fact that THEY didn't like it is sufficient to their little kingdoms of their self-perceived worlds.

I see this at work from time to time as well.  I wrote some ad copy recently and received this email in response to the proof I sent out to one of the owners of the company.

The text portion is nor so good. Can someone re-write it.

I am willing to give it another run, however, the response gave me no clue as to what this owner didn't like. Of course, another recipient of the proof had to jump on the owner's coattails and say "Agreed!"

I responded to his email with

I wrote it. You’ll have to be more specific.
What’s wrong with it?

I've yet to hear back from him.

I've received similar reviews on Amazon and usually respond to the reviewer by essentially telling them that their comments aren't really a review.

You see, a review has to be reasoned. It should present its argument and back it up with good analysis.  It doesn't have to be long and complicated. But in order for it to be a real review, there has to be some meat to it beyond, "I didn't like it."

I read a poem once on a poetry workshop website. The content of the poem had a philosophical/political angle that I just don't agree with.  However, the poem itself was quite well written, and I wrote that to the fellow who wrote it.  I didn't agree with his position, but I admired his writing style and word command.

Other people on that site either cheered him for his content or reviled him for it.

Those weren't reviews. They were reactions.

When criticisms rely on denigration and simple statements of dislike, it makes for a coarser society. After all, they offer nothing more than a glimpse at someone's personal tastes.

Unfortunately, it seems to be the norm these days.