So a friend and I were talking about how rude people can be, especially in commenting and critiquing. It just so happened at the same time I was reading something off of a site I am part of called
Deviant Art.
It is important to note that this in no way is written by me. Follow the source below for more commenting tips. Please keep in mind that pieces of artwork are called "deviants" on this site, so anything eluding to that can be replaced by a map. I could put this all in quotes, but that would be annoying.
Source:
http://coshdaddy.deviantart.com/journal/2819966/------
Comment StructureTo make something perfectly clear, this guide is not concrete. This part especially is translatable, as there is no set standard as to what is really a good structure for commenting. Some people don't like the use of paragraphs, and some don't like separating their words into specific thoughts as more into the specific parts of the deviation. What follows are various styles and structures that can be used as guidelines for commenting.
Inclusive¹This style is focussed on more of an all encompassing style of comment and critiquing. It's based on more abstract thoughts and collecting those thoughts into specific parts and paragraphs. This is perhaps the most formulaic style of commenting.
Paragraph 1 is devoted to
Interpretation . This is where you put a part of yourself into your comment. It is the more interpersonal aspect of commenting, showing your first impressions up to your current ideas of the meaning and general depth of the deviation. You try and convey to the artist exactly what their piece means to you.
Paragraph 2 is
Critique. This is where you begin to take all of the flaws and errors, or just personal preferences you developed from your pre-commenting time. You should also refer back and forth from the actual deviation to get a better understanding or to even bring new things to light as they come. It's best to sound objective when you do this section, because presenting things lightly means you will not be taken seriously. Don't second guess yourself, or say "in my opinion" a lot, because that is implied with yourself as the one expressing it. However, harsh critiquing is not looked upon any better. It's best to be factual and objective where you can, but soft blowing when your releasing your own opinions.
Paragraph 3 is for
Compliments. This tends to be where most deviants take their hearts to, as it seems to be the safest route. And it is. This is a section where you are able to let out as much of what you like of the piece as you can. If you really like a piece, and you've spent a long time critiquing it, you need to be just as articulate with your compliments to make sure that the artist is aware that you really did enjoy your piece. This is a less objective part of the commenting, but very important to letting the artist know that what they've done is just amazing.
Paragraph 4 is the final part:
Asking Questions. This is more important than some people realise. If there's something that you don't understand about the deviation, you need to make it known to the artist. With the wonders of the reply system, the artist is able to quickly and efficiently answer or address whatever concerns you may have, so it is best to get them up in the air. It could also prove vital to pointing out an unnoticed error in translation, as sometimes artists don't realise that their mistake is tangible, but takes away from the message of the piece.
There's always more that can be piece and woven into this bit to bit, but this is the very basic structure of a more Inclusive style of commenting.
ObjectiveThis style has become my own personal preference in the last while that I've been commenting. It is normally saved for Prose and Poetry, but I've found that it can be useful for visual arts as well.
Objective commenting involves taking the piece step by step. Whether this is critiquing, or just basic commenting, you're taking each section or aspect of the piece and turning it into its own section. There's no set formula for this particular style, but it can be easily adapted to by a process.
In Prose or Poetry, this is more easily applied:
Opening: This is the spot where you'd address specific aspects of the piece that jumped out at you first. The theme, and what you think of it. The motivation, and your initial thoughts. It's basically your pre-comment comment, trying to segwey into a thicker critique.
Stanza/Paragraph 1: You start by addressing the first section of the piece in a critique and comment. Picking at the parts you like, and that you don't. You'd continue this with each paragraph or stanza as it stands, until you're finished your objective analysis of each section.
Closing: This is where you tie up some loose ends, give your overall impressions of the piece, and leave some general closing comments. Sometimes best to address some general issues that you found with this as well.
The structure almost reads like you're just reading the prose/poetry as you begin, and read through it with the artist to the very end. It helps identify any issues in the piece and makes it easy for the artist to find any errors.
This can also apply to visual arts as well, but in a much more general sense. Instead of tackling from Paragraph to Paragraph, you could address things in the form of: Anatomy, Structure, Colouring/Shading, Meaning, etc. There's no set way to carry out an objective comment, only a method to take it section by section, part by part.
ReflectiveSometimes people like to comment with something that's a little more personal. When you spend most of the comment focussing on how you can relate to the image, or the meaning behind it, this is known as a Reflective comments. Reflective comments are neither meant to be Praises, nor Critiques, but a true reflection of how the artist managed to convey their message to the viewer. This cements any doubts to the artist of exactly what people are seeing, and what people are thinking. This is an important section to many of the comment structures, but in itself could be taken to much greater lengths.
There's no structure involved in reflective commenting, as it usually unravels like a story or a journal. Just something tangible for the artist to hold onto, something that they can see in their own work the next time they care to look at it. It's the real draw between art and people.
SporadicThis, in itself, is not really a style of commenting. This encompasses any comment that follows no specific structure. It may use some of every bit described above, or none of it. It can be both Objective and Inclusive, or it can be simply a praise of the piece with no substance. It can be a very in depth look at the piece, but with no apparently structure. Many great commenters still use this structure with no chagrin, but it just makes the comment much more difficult to read.
There's no limit or boundaries that you need to set yourself into. Just because you don't fall into a category, doesn't mean you're not commenting correctly. These are meant to help people understand different ways of commenting to help or improve something they've already got working for them. When it comes to expressing your opinions, there's no set structure.
....
Commenting Etiquette and LanguageWhen addressing someone, whether it be in person or through the comment system, you have to make sure that your language is at it's best so that your message is not misunderstood in any way. As well, when you're dealing with English as a second language in the artist or your own experience, certain precautions should be taken.
First off, when dealing in other languages, you should be sure of a few important aspects. If you are more fluent in another language, and wish to convey your message in that language, it is fundamentally important to be aware of the artists understanding of that particular language and dialect. Otherwise, you'll just be talking to the wall, and may come off as unintelligent for doing so. If the artist isn't fluent in English, you must also be careful with your language. You don't want to be using words that are not necessary, or digging through a thesaurus to sound more intelligent. This may end up confusing the artist, or yourself, and leading to questions that are totally unnecessary.
Catering to an old cliché, it's not what you say, but how you say it. The way you present yourself, not only in structure, but just in the diction and general language use is going to be very important to exactly what context your words will be taken in. Sarcasm and other such things are not necessary to use, especially online, and the use of an emote such as :roll: is not going to make whatever remark made seem anything but scathing. Anything that requires body language or tone of voice will do you no good, so you must be careful how you word things. Comments are forever, there is no edit or delete function, so you don't want to be taken out of context.
Even in critiquing, it's best to remain civil. Being too harsh, or using lots of negative words will usually turn a deviant off of what you have to say. Sometimes it may result in the deviant feeling personally attacked, and warrant unneeded anger towards you. Sometimes, when you feel strongly about a deviation being totally unwarranted, you need to calm yourself down and be sure that you're not being too volatile and getting yourself in jeopardy of violating policy. As well, use of all caps or excessive punctuation do not help your argument, they usually just make you seem unintelligent.
Emoticons can be a really good thing to use sometimes. If there's something that you're not sure if how to present it in a light fashion, or a sentence that you'd like to be taking lightly, sometimes an emoticon can convey the exact way you're trying to present something. This is best used as a positive, and as infrequently as possible. As useful as they may be at times, they also skew the fonts on the site and clutter the page. They are a distraction from the overall message and importance of the words. It gives your work a much more powerful conviction when you avoid using them all together, as if you've been totally clear they are not really needed to express how you really feel about a piece.
After CommentingWhen you've finished your comment, before you submit, it's very important that you go over what you've said. Treat it like a micro-essay in that you need to make sure that you haven't made any errors that are going to lessen your argument when it's read by the artist. These are just tidying functions, best to do just to ensure you've got everything to your satisfaction.
First thing that should be done is a simple re-read of exactly what you've written. It's not necessary to have someone else proof read a comment, as it's an opinion piece and not to be taken all too seriously, but it is good just to go over it again and make sure that you haven't left any holes in your arguments or basic grammar mistakes. Sometimes you may even realise that you've forgotten a point you wanted to make, and now can fit it into your structure or tie it on to the end.
You may also do well to take your comment and put it through a text editor equipped with a grammar and punctuation corrector. MS Word or Word Perfect are such editors, and they would help grab misspellings that you may have missed, or some sentence fragments that you may have not picked up on when you were writing. This is another chance to take a look at your writing in a different perspective, as well, and maybe show where you might need to add something in.
Revision is not necessary, but tends to be something that comes naturally to any well thought-out comment. I've pointed out in each step after you've finished writing that you need to gather a new perspective to really get a good sense of revision. However, drawing to this last step, it's best just to glaze over what you've done so far and give it its final touches. Changes to structure, or style. Even addition or subtraction of certain words can make your comment a better thing to look at, and much easier to understand.
In Closing...As verbose as this guide is, you do not need to be threatened or intimidated every time you comment. If you decide to put some simple words about how you feel, be free. If you don't have the time to plot out something so ridiculously complex, then something simple will suit you fine. This is not an elitist attempt and trying to demonstrate that someone is better than you just because they decided to write a small essay about a deviation, whereas you may have only written a couple of sentences. This is merely a tool, and a message the community. Commenting is very important to this site, and leaving one word comments may be a good way to build up your stats and get you into the Active Deviants slot on the Today slot on dA, but they don't help the artist or really show that you even paid the slightest bit of mind to their work. Even silly things could use some introspective views, or even just a funny story. From doodles to full blown works of art, your opinion and voice is important and meant to be heard.
What you say could very well shape what you see. Get interactive. Get commenting!
¹ `leodadominico's How To Give A Better Comment entry.