over on the General discusssion forum, a few of the members have been debating how to criticise other peoples work without upseting anyone, some of us actually want constructive feedback on what we are doing. But it has also been recognised that some do not.
My idea is to have a forum within General Modelling for the purpose of showing models for the purpose of recieving constructive criticism from other forum members. The idea is, if you put your finished work on display in such a forum you know that others will offer feedback. It could be somewhere for the more “serious” builders to exchange views on each others work and a great way to exchange ideas on improving our models. You get the idea…
I’d be interested to see what you would think about doing this, I think it would be quite popular.
I like it, and believe it’s worth a try. Many of my friends have their own ‘EZ Boards’ with sections dedicated to ‘no holds barred’ conversation, and they are very effective. One knows what to expect (to a degree) going in, and I think something similar would work here too.
I too have seen something simular on other boards and it works pretty well. If you look at the strength of opinion on the General Discussion board, I think a critique forum would make a valuable contribution to the experience members get from this board.
Posting a shot of your work on the critique forum invites honest critique: Good, bad, ugly (within reason) and no one should then should have a reason to complain (ie. you asked for it).
(“Dude, there are supposed to be 37 rivets on the port side of the turrent for that year, not 36!”
“Err… one got blown off.”
“…oh.” )
Posting a shot of your work in the themed forums could then be the place just to share what you are doing, or what you just finished. I, for one, really like to see “in the works” posts, and have picked up some interesting techniques that way.
Hopefully they’re considering it, Darren. I say we keep lobbying for it until we hear something from them. It’s still one of the best ideas I’ve seen here for a new forum in quite some time.
Thanks for your support guys[tup] I guess if we had more posts here the idea might stand a chance. I don’t want to start cross-posting everywhere as its against the rules on this board.
Lets hope the FSM crew are considering it, I’m sure if they think its a good idea they’ll let us know in their own time.
Darren, maybe we could just start a thread on one of the Modeling Subjects forums (I’d pick the Aircraft Forum since it gets the most hits) and see how your idea flies (no pun intended of course). [;)] Might be the best way to draw attention to it.
I’m absolutely in favor of this idea! I’ve also been reading that thread with major interest and can see both sides of the coin, but I tend to favor the response that provides a spirit of encouragement and praise instead of heavy critique. I simply like the idea of sharing our builds with each other, without a lot of negative responses. Those that just want to share can do so in the general forums and those that want to be hit by the heavy artillery can post in the Critique Forum. Funny thing is I actually think that a post in a critique forum would garner way more responses!
I have posted a request for support over on the Aircraft Forum. Its the forum which gets the most hits so hopefully the idea will carry favour there. I guess only time will tell if this is something the people on these boards actually want.
I hope it is. I think it will do a lot of good.[tup]
This worked well at the computer graphics and art forum I once helped manage. (I was the chief cop there, so if I liked it, it must have worked! [oX)]) Many writers’ sites do the same thing.
I think it might be worth a try, but I also think there could be a way to post in the normal areas and just state what type of comments you are looking for. Say maybe critics welcome or no rivet counters.
Dear FSM WebMaster,
(Re-posted from the Aircraft Forum…)
I think that Tango1 has a great idea.
I believe a Critique Forum would be a great addition - if everyone plays nice and replies with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism about the pics of models posted there.
All too often you see nothing more than “Great Job! - Nice Job! - Lovely job!” when someone posts a pic of an ordinary model - there’s no point in that and it helps nobody - how can a modeler push the envelope and grow, learn, and increase their skills unless someone takes them aside and tells them how to do something better?
A Critique Forum would be fantastic - dedicated to people who have built a model, but want to do better next time and want some hints on how to do just that.
Again, I speak of constructive criticism…“this is how I solved this problem or overcame that difficulty…” helps a great deal.
For many years I gazed at the models in FineScale with awe and wonder…and understood that to gain those skills I had to “push the envelope”. I READ the mag - and experimented with the tools and materials discussed in the articles - it worked - and like Garyallum, have been a professional model-maker for more than a decade (imagine getting PAID to engage in a hobby!!!) and believe that the application of the skills and techniques in the feature articles and How-To articles have really made all the difference. Now, I get paid to make models. Gerald Wingrove I’m not, but I do alright.
Without the criticism of my work (generaly self criticism), I’d never have been able to be in the position of accepting contract builds.
I think that a Constructive Criticism Topic is a darned good idea - let’s all get behind it - not to dump on others, but to help lift them up to a higher skill level and make them feel better about themselves and their hobby.