Hi all,
I'll try and keep this as short and to the point as I can. If you're
not interested in learning a basic principle of criticism, then file
this under noise.
One of the most basic principles in any attempt to comment upon or
criticize a piece of literature, music, art, or even more basic
communication, is that of charity. This means taking the best possible
view of the artwork. Thus, one ought always start off assuming that
the author knows what he or she is doing. From that point, attempt to
understand the piece rationally. If that fails, then a criticism is in
order.
For example: Suppose my PI, David, decides to take the entire lab out
to the coast so we can sail on his boat. When we get there, I am
somewhat surprised to find that the boat is only 20 feet long, when
his descriptions had led me to think it was much larger. I say, "I
thought your boat was longer than it is." On face value, this sentence
is totally absurd--it is completely irrational of me to assume that
something can at once be length a and longer than length a when I am
considering only one frame of reference. However, the principle of
charity leads David to interpret this sentence as intended, "Your boat
is shorter than I believed it to be."
The same ought be done in cases like those that bother Kyhdin so much.
Assume always that everyone is in character, and attempt to
rationalize from that point. If you find yourself unable to continue
down this path, in that all explanations of the behavior in question
are either illogical or too tenuous to believe, then you're justified
in saying that someone's OOC. If neither of these is the case, it is
more reasonable to say that you're not entirely comfortable with the
portrayal.
To put it as bluntly as possible: No matter how brilliant and stunning
you believe your intellect to be, there exists a person who is smarter
than you. Do not make the mistake of assuming that the author of a fic
is not this person. Make your best effort to understand the fic under
all possible interpretations, and only criticize if you cannot
reconcile the fic with experience. Even then, accept that you do not
know everything, and temper your comments accordingly.
If we accept this principle as basic, we see that it becomes the
responsibility of the critic to understand the context of the fic. It
is certainly justified to ask the author about the fic's basis if
things are very unclear, but unnecessary to label every fic with
[Ranma Manga] or [Ranma Anime]. This would likely be more confusing
than helpful, especially since most tags are too long for my
mailreader to display anyway.
I would like to note, however, an alarming decline in the number of
authors who put the tags before the title of the fic. Please put tags
first (including the series!) and then the title--this greatly helps
my sorting.
I leave the question of whether the initial criticism was justified up
to the individuals involved; my interest in this debate is purely
philosophical.
Sparky
*********
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."--Isaac Asimov
For Evangelion fanfiction and links visit Heaven's Gate
http://members.tripod.com/Sage_Ohlmin/evafic.htm
A Dies Irae Production
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