Board Thread:General Wiki Discussion/@comment-4833240-20140301051701

I cannot count the number of times I've encountered a pasta with grammatical, spelling, or plot errors only to find reviews like this posted at the bottom:

"Terrible pasta that suffers from _____ and makes frequent use of _____. Cliche and horribly written, 3/10."

"This is one of the sh*****t pastas I've ever read."

"Is this a joke?"

Feedback on pastas is one of the many things that keep pastas at an acceptable quality level. It is important to stress errors or flaws that the author made to his/her story/poem.

Negative reviews like the examples above, though, are the reasons some users never write again.

One attempt at "constructive" criticism by making insensitive, caustic remarks like these can make people afraid of this Wiki's fanbase. I've encountered and talked to five users who will not write on this site because of the nasty things said to them. Though you may be pointing out flukes that could potentially save the user's story from being deleted, you're doing it in a way in which the writer almost wishes it were deleted.

No, I'm not talking about myself. I know how to deal with criticism. I'm speaking for those who don't. Many admins and users (which will not be named) are guilty of this offense. For you all, I have come up with a few tips that may help encourage people to write for this site and potentially bring in more quality OC. Contrary to the way some administrators and users review and verbally decimate literature on this site, it is entirely possible to balance quality standards and human decency.  
 * Don't use words like "terrible," "laughable," "crappy," and "sh***y" when describing a story. Instead, try saying something like "____, _____, and ____ could use some major improvement. Also, ____ could be developed a little more." See? Namecalling does nothing but hurt and  humiliate people.
 * Try not to use the out of ten rating system unless you'd consider the story at a five or above. A ridiculously low rating could make someone's contributions seem insignificant and discourage them from ever trying to write again, which is something we don't want.
 * Refer them to the Wiki's array of help pages if they seem to be having difficulty with a certain reocurring issue. Also, take those into account for whom English is a second language.
 * Above all, OFFER YOUR HELP TO THEM IF POSSIBLE. For a new user/author, someone having their back can instill a sense of confidence in them. That confidence usually pushes them to improve their writing skills, which benefits everyone.