stuff46:
This is exactly what happened the last time i tried correcting a writer.


Like D9ty7 said and i believe, the only problem with this section is the moderators.

Ishilove:

*facepalm*

Pray tell, young sir, what magic would you like the mods to perform?

D9ty7:

Maybe he wants the mods to comment on every thread, or the mods should start stories themselves. Lol
But seriously, I think you guys are not active on the board you moderate. If we check your last 36posts, before the creation of this thread, we'll get the exact thing he is saying.
If there is a way you can improve your participation on this board, please do. Of the three moderators on this thread, you are the only one I see everyday(other sections most times) the other two are just there.

senbonzakurakageyoshi:
Here's what I feel: we can't continue to let mediocrity reign in this section just because someone created a thread (because, let's face it, not everybody that posts on this board deserves to be called a writer) and feels butt-hurt at other board members' criticism and analyses of his/her work. We define the community, instead of letting the community define us. If you're not ready to listen to or accept criticism, then go to another board and post freely there. By posting a story on this board, you have opened yourself and your work up to other members who serve as critics, the purpose of which is to correct your mistakes and make you a better writer. If you feel the critiquing or analysis is unfair or wrong or that the critic doesn't get the point of your work, then you explain what you're trying to put across and move on.

It's like homeless people are occupying your house and you're telling them to leave. You won't leave them because they say no. If they don't want to move, you throw them out. It's that simple.

stuff46:
like Op said, we need to hear from the site owner if he would accept his suggestions or watch it die off.

I would have liked to his reply (s) before i would make any susgestion.

Ishilove:

Is the site owner a mod if this section? What does he have to do with this? The onus is on the writers to improve their skills. If they don't improve, there is very little the mods can do.

senbonzakurakageyoshi:
Here's a suggestion that everyone of us can effect, moderator or not; we cannot allow poor quality to continue to thrive on thius board. As a result, we need to renew the culture of reading through and passing our honest opinions about what we read on this board, REGARDLESS of what the poster or/and other board members feel about it. This is a public forum, and as far as you critique in a civilized manner using courteous language, there shouldn't be a problem. Only a child runs crying when cautioned about mistakes made. A student that doesn't want to fail again has two choices; improve or drop out. If a writer on this board is not willing to take correction and improve, then the person should leave, instead of trying to impose mediocrity on us all.
Also, we need to stop the whole "take a bow" attitude we take towards written works on this board, saying well done when the writer hasn't exactly done well. We are as much a part of ensuring the quality of written work on this thread stays high as the writers and moderators and if a writer's work is below par or ridden with errors, it is our job to point it out.
It is important too, that when one of us critiques someone else's work and the person is swinging back at the critic, the rest of us should back the critic up - especially when the critique is apt and the criticism is well deserved. The reason some on this board have stopped expressing their opinions about people's works is because when we critique, and the poster and other members lash out, there's nobody to back us up. So we feel it's better to just shut up and let things slide as against speaking the truth - which shouldn't be the case.
The fact is that nobody here is perfect - so nobody here is above correction.

senbonzakurakageyoshi:
Here's a suggestion that everyone of us can effect, moderator or not; we cannot allow poor quality to continue to thrive on thius board. As a result, we need to renew the culture of reading through and passing our honest opinions about what we read on this board, REGARDLESS of what the poster or/and other board members feel about it. This is a public forum, and as far as you critique in a civilized manner using courteous language, there shouldn't be a problem. Only a child runs crying when cautioned about mistakes made. A student that doesn't want to fail again has two choices; improve or drop out. If a writer on this board is not willing to take correction and improve, then the person should leave, instead of trying to impose mediocrity on us all.

Also, we need to stop the whole "take a bow" attitude we take towards written works on this board, saying well done when the writer hasn't exactly done well. We are as much a part of ensuring the quality of written work on this thread stays high as the writers and moderators and if a writer's work is below par or ridden with errors, it is our job to point it out.

It is important too, that when one of us critiques someone else's work and the person is swinging back at the critic, the rest of us should back the critic up - especially when the critique is apt and the criticism is well deserved. The reason some on this board have stopped expressing their opinions about people's works is because when we critique, and the poster and other members lash out, there's nobody to back us up. So we feel it's better to just shut up and let things slide as against speaking the truth - which shouldn't be the case.

The fact is that nobody here is perfect - so nobody here is above correction.

senbonzakurakageyoshi:


Ishi, the reason I wanted to call Seun's attention to our concerns on this thread is to find out if he is comfortable with the current state of things. I mean, who knows, the board may be attracting more hits with it's current setup than it did before and that might suit his intents and purposes so trying to change things might appear to be working against the administrator's plan for the board. I think I would like to know if Seun is also concerned with the current state of things on this board or if he is comfortable with it.

Ishilove:

Is the site owner a mod if this section? What does he have to do with this? The onus is on the writers to improve their skills. If they don't improve, there is very little the mods can do.

Ishilove:

That's interesting. What areas do you feel the mods are defaulting?

Ishilove:
Welcome back senb.

Yeah, most of the more experienced writers don't post again because of a number of reasons which I'd rather not mention for now because of the sensitivity of my position.

On the area of constructive criticism, I have noticed that many writers here don't take it well. Few writers like Larrysun and Royver take it in good faith, but a lot of others like flow1759 react negatively. I remember the time I, Ihedinobi and EfemenaXY (damn, I miss that lady's stories!) critiqued one of your earliest works, sebonzakurakageyoshi, you laughed and took correction, and since then you have gotten better. Not many writers now will take it because as you well know, I don't mince words when I critique.

I am not perfect, neither do I know all, but with the little one I know, I am very confident.

I on my own part have stopped critiquing because I am tired of being called 'oversabi'.

esere826:


Critiquing literal pieces is nice. It helps the writer improve and helps readers see gaps
criticizing literal pieces is bad. It seeks to put down the writer and can smoulder him/her if not strong willed.

-now, I'm not saying that you usually do the second. I am only concentrating on the part of your post which I have bolded -

critiquing and criticizing sometimes look similar, but are quite different
It's like how water can give life to a plant when applied properly, but can kill same plant if used inappropriately.


Critiquing is a science as well as an art. it's nurturing, In fact it's a gift.
One should give it properly, and the other should receive it properly

Ishilove:

Thanks uncle

senbonzakurakageyoshi:
I think we should have a system of positive reinforcement on this board. In this context, it would be a way of rewarding those who continue to show marked improvement, whose works are up to scratch, who have not shown an aversion to criticism but have allowed it help them grow. Also to reward board members who keep the board interesting and varied with board games, literature and literary arts related topics and things like that.

For me, when I first started writing on this board, my story making the frontpage was the ultimate mark of approval. So each time I wanted to post a story here, I would be forced to look it over and ask myself if it was front page material. While the front page still remains so, we need to create our own in-house means of rewarding readers, writers and other contributing board members who have played their part in making this board the home of quality literary arts.

One way I could come up with was to have a "story of the week" thread. Or sticky the story at the top of the board. Maybe we can have a readers' choice story of the week and a moderators' picks story of the week. The readers' choice, of course, would be nominated and voted on by the general literature board public. The moderators' picks should be chosen by the moderators in conjunction with a few literature board members who have distinguished themselves on the board. The winning stories can by stickied at the top of the board for a few days - maybe over the weekend or something. that way, even stories or threads that haven't had much by way of comments but are quality can get get the exposure they deserve.

This is just a rough suggestion, and i'm sure we can modify this idea or come up with other ideas that could work equally well if not better than what i've been able to come with. But I feel we need to have a means of giving our own thumbs up to those who are making this board proud within the board.

Dygeasy:
It's even more appaling that these self-acclaimed literary giants writers have avoided this thread like a plague.

Dygeasy:
It's even more appaling that these self-acclaimed literary giants writers have avoided this thread like a plague.

senbonzakurakageyoshi:


Well, I think the fact that at least I've seen some of the familiar faces I met on this board and others who joined later and have kept the standard or even raised the bar weigh in on this discussion. They are the ones who know what this board was like and the standards it held. Forget all those paper tigers that post thirty topics in one week and call themselves established writers. They can avoid this thread all they want but if those of us here are determined to effect necessary changes here, they'll have no choice but to shape up or ship out.

LarrySun:
Now that we know where the deck is, let's endeavour to place our hands on it. How do we wipe the board clean of the numerous jejune updates and set its standard up against the walls?

esere826:


u are welcome my daughter
oya come and sit on my laps so I can pat ur back
and sing lullaby for u

standd:


Hi @bolded, are you saying you want to stop people from posting on a public forum?
How do you plan on achieving this cos I'm sure the owner of the site won't even stop people from posting, he can only hide topics that break the rules of the site.
Or you want to find ways to help them improve?

standd:
Ishilove, I'm here to report you to yourself anyway
Every point raised on this thread rings true.
Are you even the only mod in this section? You moderate other sections plus supermoding and all but why haven't you assigned duties to the other mods?. I remember the first time I dabbled into story-writing... I would just pick up my pen to write whatever comes to my head and when I call on people to come critique, no one shows up.
All I get is ' Kudos', 'You are good' and others... I needed constructive criticism (not someone telling me I'm gooder or even someone telling me I'm not as good as chimamanda, haba!) I needed help with grammar, syntax, plot, characterization and all that but help was not forthcoming, so I just continued to pen down whatever, without calling on anyone (eg Ishilove)

Now the thing is, what's the way forward? Thousands of extremely d*mb threads get moved to the FP per second but literature section topics rarely smell FP. Why? They say our gbagaun can kill
Ishilove, if your hands are full, call on the other mods, we need CHANGE!