Unanswered Posts - Writers Forum

Raging_Hopeful · 02-08-2007, 10:58 AM

Does anyone take time to use the "Unanswered Posts" link? I just took a look and it makes me sad to see how many pages upon pages of posts went unanswered. Let's all make a more concerted effort to post more responses in addition to posting our own! I, personally, need to respond more so that's something I'm going to try to commit to. In helping others, we help ourselves.

Cheers,
Linz

Rob · 02-08-2007, 11:48 AM

I do sometimes, Linz. I've just saved this from there.

Cheers,
Omni

Jolly McJollyson · 02-08-2007, 11:51 AM

I occasionally post on unanswered threads, but typically I just choose not to respond if I find something fairly bland.

Raging_Hopeful · 02-08-2007, 12:38 PM

But if you find it bland, maybe your feedback would be most beneficial? I at least try and say "I found this piece bland because it was long-winded and didn't have enough action" blah blah blah. Just a thought... I rarely do in-depth critiques of grammar and spelling because those mistakes can often be fixed with technology and editor-like friends and family. I'd rather give feedback on content, style and form. But that's just me.

imrhati · 02-08-2007, 02:10 PM

Its an unfortunate event when someone's work goes unread. If that happens to you it is best to review several toehr people's work before posting yours since they are likely to return the favor. I personally make a mental note of people I owe reviews and I will keep an eye out for their work especially.

c21lostboy · 02-08-2007, 02:16 PM

I never knew there was an "unanswered posts" link! However, I regularly critique others' work and if I see a post that has 0 replies I will take a look at it and give my ten-penneth worth.

Unfortunately I've noticed that if you post a piece Friday / Saturday it gets swamped amongst a rake of others and so a few can slip down through to dreaded page two quite quickly. May as well delete it there and then!

Another thing we can do is encourage those that register and post to also take a look at others' pieces. If I critique someone's piece and note they've only posted a couple of time I encourage them to get stuck in - politely of course.

Raging_Hopeful · 02-09-2007, 02:31 PM

True and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this, is "bumping" your thread an acceptable response to being swamped? I have been guilty of it myself but it seems to be an effective way to get at least some kind of response before passing into the Page 2 realm.

submissive · 02-09-2007, 02:43 PM

I would feel really desperate if I "bumped" anything. It's intimidating enough posting anything to begin, without asking to be kicked too. If it gets ignored, it's more than enough encouragement for me to want to try to write something that can't be ignored.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raging_Hopeful

True and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this, is "bumping" your thread an acceptable response to being swamped? I have been guilty of it myself but it seems to be an effective way to get at least some kind of response before passing into the Page 2 realm.

Raging_Hopeful · 02-09-2007, 02:51 PM

Hmmm... yes but I've also seen good works passed up simply because they were stuck in with a big crowd. Is it really so intimidating to post on the forums? Huh. I've been on the forums for a long time now and I guess that apprehension and nervousness has faded with time. I have friends here and trust the WF community to treat my work with respect while urging me to do better for myself. Or at least it has been my experience...

Aterin™ · 02-10-2007, 07:44 PM

I could make more of an attempt from now on to answer unanswered posts. Cause I know I wouldn't be to thrilled with my work if I got no posts to it.

Intel · 02-10-2007, 07:48 PM

Yeah, why don't you guys make a start and review my poem in the poetry section.

Jolly McJollyson · 02-10-2007, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raging_Hopeful

But if you find it bland, maybe your feedback would be most beneficial? I at least try and say "I found this piece bland because it was long-winded and didn't have enough action" blah blah blah. Just a thought... I rarely do in-depth critiques of grammar and spelling because those mistakes can often be fixed with technology and editor-like friends and family. I'd rather give feedback on content, style and form. But that's just me.

Yeah, see, style tutoring I like to do face to face if I see a lot of major problems in the writing, the pieces on here that seem the most reparable I crit.

Raging_Hopeful · 04-21-2008, 12:14 AM

I personally think a bump is perfectly acceptable if it has somehow gotten swamped amongst others. But yes, we should all try and do our little part to make sure everyone has the chance to grow and develop as a writer.

papertears · 04-22-2008, 05:14 AM

I'm a bit up in the air about whether its appropriate for me to comment as I am still very new to all this.

I've taken a shot a few times in the poetry section, as thats what I know the most about. Sometimes I PM the comments back though, as I'm not sure that I know what I'm talking about.

Any way to judge when your comments are actually useful?

Olly Buckle · 04-22-2008, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papertears

I'm a bit up in the air about whether its appropriate for me to comment as I am still very new to all this.

I've taken a shot a few times in the poetry section, as thats what I know the most about. Sometimes I PM the comments back though, as I'm not sure that I know what I'm talking about.

Any way to judge when your comments are actually useful?

Don't let it stop you, nobody else does, the worst that can happen is they take umbrage, so what? The other thing is that looking critically at other people's work helps you to look at your own in the same way. I usually keep pm's for occasions when I think that the comment might be embarrassing. On other occasions posting them lets people add to them or comment on them and also gives others the chance to learn from them as well as the op.