A Little Rant. If you're easily offended, leave.

[just an e c h o - -]

Is it just me, or is there a serious decline in the number of good writers in this forum. There are so many people who call themselves writers and hang around here that shouldn't call themselves that. Honestly, no self-respecting writer with a true love for their craft would actually post something like this:

"hai guyz can u rate ths story 4 me? i kno its not good but plz give me comments"

First of all, no self-respecting writer would actually admit their writing was not that good. If you're going to share your writing, at least share something you feel like you did well! Why would anyone honestly want to show off the work that they gave little effort to?

Second, how could anyone calling themselves a writer actually post something like that, whether it was their story or not. If you're too damn lazy to hit the shift key once in a while, you don't deserve to be called a writer. I don't care if English is your first language or not, it's common sense for any Latin based language.

Another thing that generally bothers me is the amount of block texts I see. If you're going to write, follow a book paragraph format. It's really not that difficult a concept. I understood it in the third grade when I started writing.

I don't hang around this forum often, but I used to. I left because it was so hard to find anyone who actually seemed to care about their writing. I check back once in a while to see if I can find any good stories to give a real critique to and ask the author to critique something of mine in return, but I have such a hard time doing that.

Of course, that's only my opinion. What does anyone else think?

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

I think its more of an increase in illiterate people and them making the literate ones go into hiding until a good thread appears (which don't happen often and are swamped under a ton of illiterate threads when they do appear).

[Workplace Boredom]

The Phoenix Rises Again

I think its more of an increase in illiterate people and them making the literate ones go into hiding until a good thread appears (which don't happen often and are swamped under a ton of illiterate threads when they do appear).

This is what happened to the Art Discussion, as a matter of fact. God, I could have so much fun in there if shitty threads were people and I had a shotgun.

[Jaiden`]

This is Gaia, not a writer's conference. And notice the people who are [or seem to be] serious about their work don't post that work on the forum. They give serious advice, laced with sarcasm and mild disdain, but generally helpful. There are still a few good people here.

[just an e c h o - -]

Also a likely possibility, now that I think of it that way.

I stopped posting work here, to be honest. When I find people who I think will give me a real critique, I'll let them see my works. Often when I post work for the general public, some illiterate has completely copied my story line the next day. ><

[Jaiden`]

And if you give a critique, prepare to be cursed flat-out. rolleyes

[adopt524]

I think that chat-speak (or, as I like to call it, the spawn of cellphone) is a real problem. For those who dislike it it's almost a new language that is forced down our throats.
Not that it's time saving and such when you're TEXTING. But people have keyboards now, don't they. What an amusing invention. The whole keyboard, at your fingertips! What novelty!

And that creates distance between the writers and the want-to-be writers, and the overreacting people who don't understand that chatspeak is a writer's "I AM AN IMBECILE" sign.
And that distance forces writers to retreat, because they are swamped by the sheer inflow of people who don't get it.


And I do applaud the loyal people here. I suppose it takes maturity much more than mine to handle all that chatspeak.

[FreelancerAgent-Nebraska]

Just do what I do.
Blame Canada, the Internet, Bush, and Gary Busey.

Then go hide under your rock with a good storyline, come out into the daylight and be swarmed by the crappy, misplaced "reed mi stoori ull lyk eet!" threads; and remind yourself why the rock is so ******** awesome, and why you feel so safe under there.

Rinse and repeat until you are as socially and emotionally deprived as some of our veteran cynics here in the writer's forum.

[Mythical Tiger]

Jaiden`

And if you give a critique, prepare to be cursed flat-out. rolleyes

I was going to say that, damnit xd .







~Tiger

[Kadin-kun]

I've just started visiting the writer's forum... and it seems kind of hard to imagine it used to be a real good place once...
I wish I had come on gaia more when it was still fairly new... well for now then, I guess we'll all have to hope the illiterates find out what a great place the rock is so we can move out and take the forum back again. sweatdrop

[The Chainheart Machine]

I'd like to add that the newest rule regarding misplaced threads--which is, to me, a condonation of stupidity--does nothing to help the situation.

[Muffled Chimes]

I completely agree with OP. Now, I've only been loyally stalking the WF for about a week, but I've certainly made my visits here in the past, and I've seen its gradual decline. People complain about the WFers being so grumpy - but they don't see what we (I consider myself a regular now) have to deal with! I'll sit down and offer a real critique on something if I feel like the author deserves it. And if that person deserves it, most likely they're going to tell me to shut the hell up because I apparently don't know what I'm talking about. It's annoying, really. =/

[OneXMuerte]

Adara Wolfe

Is it just me, or is there a serious decline in the number of good writers in this forum. There are so many people who call themselves writers and hang around here that shouldn't call themselves that. Honestly, no self-respecting writer with a true love for their craft would actually post something like this:

"hai guyz can u rate ths story 4 me? i kno its not good but plz give me comments"

First of all, no self-respecting writer would actually admit their writing was not that good. If you're going to share your writing, at least share something you feel like you did well! Why would anyone honestly want to show off the work that they gave little effort to?

Second, how could anyone calling themselves a writer actually post something like that, whether it was their story or not. If you're too damn lazy to hit the shift key once in a while, you don't deserve to be called a writer. I don't care if English is your first language or not, it's common sense for any Latin based language.

Another thing that generally bothers me is the amount of block texts I see. If you're going to write, follow a book paragraph format. It's really not that difficult a concept. I understood it in the third grade when I started writing.

I don't hang around this forum often, but I used to. I left because it was so hard to find anyone who actually seemed to care about their writing. I check back once in a while to see if I can find any good stories to give a real critique to and ask the author to critique something of mine in return, but I have such a hard time doing that.

Of course, that's only my opinion. What does anyone else think?

Well, I am a serious writer. I agree with your rant. These illiterate fools don't understand but then again they are immature preteens and some teenagers who most likely learn the hard way later on in life.

[Liz Riley]

Niouriki

I've just started visiting the writer's forum... and it seems kind of hard to imagine it used to be a real good place once...
I wish I had come on gaia more when it was still fairly new... well for now then, I guess we'll all have to hope the illiterates find out what a great place the rock is so we can move out and take the forum back again. sweatdrop

My feelings exactly.

[xXDarkDeception600Xx]

You're right, people here probably couldn't write to save their life. And I know what you mean by that quote that you posted. Seriously, I blame text messaging, people are so lazy anymore.

As for people not having a high opinion of what they write, it's a bunch of b.s. Because what you said was true, people don't post anything that they are not proud of. But they also don't want to come off as rude so they say it sucks. Or, it could also be a silent plead for other people to give them priase and make them feel better. Either way, it's pethetic, and normally if a writer says that in an A.N I don't even read it, because normally they flame the people who don't tell them how absolutely great it is and actually give them a serious critique.

But I have to say one thing about the people here. Those of us who do spend our time and critique other works obviously have a lot of patients. But just from personal experience, sometimes they don't realize when they cross the line of being honest and helpful to being mean. I mean it's a fine line, I know, and I'm not saying that ripping a work to shreds is a bad thing, but I've actually gotten comments on my personality and things based off my writing...how can you judge something like that based on a work of fiction? What does that even have to do with writing, you know?