User blog comment:RuckusQuantum/Poll 1: Cruelty or Kindness?/@comment-28938497-20150207174724

I've had a very similar talk about this a few days ago. The 'cruel people' I called Critics and the 'kind' people I called Readers, but it was also more complex than just that. Critics are people who give the harsh truth as harsh as they can, don't bring up anything positive about the story, and tend to comment on the spelling, grammar, professionalism of the prose, any themes the story had, ect.

Wheras Readers are the stark opposite. Their comments are usually no more than two sentences of nothing but praise. If they ever do try and review properly, they will tend to judge a story solely on how much it entertained them at face value.

When reviewing a story, I try to channel both of these types of people, because in truth, a writer needs them both. Without Readers, they will lose confidence in their abilities, and won't know how entertaining their story is as a whole, individual elements aside, without Critics, you get fanfiction.net.