I guess I have to say this over again: A critic does not, And I repeat does not have to possess any bonsai skills whatsoever to let you know that your tree has faults.
If you remember my
thread about the Golden Mean, the Fibbonaci sequence and things like that. There are basic artistic rules that have to be present in bonsai to make the design a good one. It is not up to the critic to have a better answer for the tree. That is just a defensive posture to the fact that someone has questioned your work. Having a defensive attitude towards criticism will never allow the artist to grow. If you are already the best, than criticism would seem like an insult.
Having an open mind is just as much of a tool as any pruner in your bag. A person that knows nothing of how to keep bonsai or how to water bonsai, or how to care for bonsai, can look through a picture book and tell you which trees are the best. Granted this will be that person's opinion, and though you might not agree with that assessment, you still could respect their decision.
This is what a judge at a bonsai show does each time they are asked to pick the "Best of Show". How many times has the best of show tree been the worst tree at the show? I have never said the critic is the final word here. But a critic can bring up points that may have been missed by the artist. These are points that the artist can improve upon, or thumb his nose at. It's up to the artist. But... if enough critics are saying the same thing, the artist might want to take his own critical look.
Bonsaial