jloeschner

Will,

The reputation system has turned into somewhat of a novelty with me. I very rarely even look at mine anymore, or anyone else's, for that matter. Once a person has been here for a while, the rep system is almost useless, since we all get to know how each other feels and thinks by reading the posts. For the newbies, well, I highly recommend that they READ the MANY back posts in order to get a feel for how each person thinks and responds to various topics. This little bit of research is infinitely more useful than any reputation system ever will be. Of course, if they are too lazy or impatient to do this bit of reading, then they will probably not be around long, anyway.

Jeffery,
You are so right about the quality of the tone in a critique. Some people are VERY sensitive to negative comments, and cannot handle harsh criticizm. For example, instead of telling a person, "That tree is crap and will never be a good bonsai," you might say, "That tree could be used as a good learning specimen, but next time try to pick a better quality starter tree. For information on what makes good stock, take a look at ......."

Anyway, we must all understand that each of us is different and will respond differently to almost every situation. Just because you would rather someone tell you that your tree is horrible in a very blunt fashion (and why it is) does not mean that someone else wants or can handle such bluntness. (I, personally, prefer the bluntness, but I am VERY thick-skinned.)

Regards,
John

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

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