Poem's administration is being unfair. [[please read]]

So I have a question.

What is purposely downvoting? Isn't it just being honest?

And David, don't be so harsh. Some people have more writing experience than others. It honestly takes time to develop good poetry writing skills. Until you're perfect, don't tell people their poems suck.

Thanks Bob. Just wanted some clarification :)

And David/Jordan, like I said, let me know when you're perfect. Constructive critism is different than being harsh. Downvoting like he described is arrogance.

Okay, as much as I respect bob, and sorry for butting in....I think David is completely right here.

If you see a poem that says:

"i luff my man
he's sexy and hot
i love yur luks
he's my numba one man baby i love ur body"

something like that....

would you give it anything else other than one?
I know I wouldn't. I'd also perhaps state why the poem sucked. and if it sucked too much i wouldnt even bother with that. While David here is saying he justified his opinion.

The rating system is there to voice your opinion. People going on a random 1voting spree....ARE downvoting. But what about people who genuinely think the poem sucks??? Should they not be allowed to vote it a one? I think they should, and not be PUNISHED for it. If voting one is considered DOWNVOTING...This site is extremely unjust and unfair.

I also think that no matter how intense your offence be, you deserve a reason to know WHY your account got suspended. You deserve a written reason. It's like getting convicted for ten years or life or whatever, without the judge justifying his sentence.

I find this very unfair, and agree with David.

P.S. I'm against the administration's decision from whatever I am aware of. I'm not against Bob. Never will be =]

i'm not gonna comment on how arrogant "David" is about thinking her/his poems are that great, or why she/he didn't get a reason, but i'm agreeing with bob k. don't like the first poem? rate it, tell them why and how to improve, and DON'T bother reading the rest. you didn't go into a bookstore, buy Harry Potter, realise you didn't like it just to buy the next one too. it's MEAN to go to every poem they have and downvote it, when you could skip it and move onto somebody elses.
it doesn't matter how much their poems "suck", you may think it's unjust and unfair, but they come here to submit a few poems, not to find out people have wasted their time after reading one they didn't like to go to a lot of other ones and downvote them too.
x

Like Bob said, just live with it. You got your explanation about why you were suspended. End of discussion. There isn't anything else you need to know.

You weren't downrating anyone for legimate reasons. I personally don't think anyone is worthy of "RATING" anyone's poems on here! What you may not like may mean the world to someone else, so who the hell are you to say someone else's poem is worth a score of "1". That's ignorant and unfair...grow up! I could possibly think your poems were whack but I would never come out and tell you that because that's your heart and soul. I know the words I express on paper mean the world to mean and I would not appreciate anyone degrading my soul so I would never do that to anyone else. When you comment and/or rate people's poetry please have respect and consideration for this is their hearts that they're pouring out for us to read. Don't be foolish and unkind for there is no place for that here. This is (or should be) a community of fairness, respect, kindness and sharing of our love for poetry. This is not a place for badgering and hateful words...people come here to get away from that of the real world. Open your eyes and see what you think is a "good deed" is EVIL. It's childish and unnecessary...be part of this wonderful site and ENJOY it, don't destroy it!

"i luff my man
he's sexy and hot
i love yur luks
he's my numba one man baby i love ur body"

I've been reading this thread a little more and just wanted to add some more...Though I agree it's sloppy work why should we be able to tell someone that their work just "sucks"? That's unfair in its self because what if the 12 year old girl who wrote that TRULY in her heart loved that poem. It's teenage writing and if she considers that her art who the hell are we to tell her that it's not. Who are we to tell her it sucks? We shouldn't do that. No one should want to tell them that their poetry...the words that poured from their hearts are bogus and shouldn't be considered poetry. To each his own...if the little girl who wrote something like that considered it HER art then we should let that be and respect her for having the courage to express it through what we "claim" to love. This site is for poetry...good, not so good...it's still poetry. It's still us expressing and sharing and everyone on here should be given the respect that the they want to receive.

Why downrate at all? I don't rate unless the poem IS a 5. Otherwise, I write a constructive comment. Downrating is meaningless. People need help, not disgrace.

I totally agree as well. Why would you need to rate someone a 1 or a 2? It's funny that David you want to explanation for why your account got suspended yet you are unwilling to give an explanation for thinking someone's poem isn't good at all.

ohh Ricky Ricky Ricky, you just don't get it do you.

i'm too lazy to read this...

Illuminati:

Please do not tell me what I believe. If I didn't believe it, I wouldn't have wrote it. The viewers are welcome to any opinion but why should you make someone feel as though their poetry is less than anyone else's? It's wrong, simple as that. If you don't believe that then I don't believe you love poetry. Give contructive comments, give helpful tips...don't disregard their feelings because you don't like what they wrote. When you first started writing you didn't write master pieces. Everyone has to start some where...help them grow...don't belittle them.

Natalie, I think Illuminati was just telling you his views on your views. If that makes any sense. And I think that if you put your poetry on this site, you're putting it up to be rated and viewed. Along with all the fives, you have to be able to deal with tough ratings too. Not ones on everything. But if bad ratings are consistent on someone's poem, that should be a message to them to seek techniques to improve.

I also think the voting system should be eliminated. Poetry is an art form and with different readers come different interpretations. Comments however are helpful because you can offer suggestions on form and flow. The 1 is available just like all the others for people to vote and I don't see anyone complaining that there poem really wasn't a 5 yet people are voting all 5s because they know the person who wrote the poem. If you read a couple of poems and deem them a 1 and vote accordingly, instead of continuing on and voting every one of the poems a 1, offer some critique and move on to read something that you actually enjoy reading. A 1 for most or all of someone's poems is not going to give that person any insight. As I have noticed there are a lot of depressed teenagers who post their work on here and rather than take a stab at their already low self-esteem maybe offer a kind word of advice or empathy instead. I believe the moderators try to make it fair for everyone.

Comments are much more important than voting. What good does voting do?

An overall LOW rating will simply cause your poems to go unread. Low ratings receive low recognition, and therefore, little help=little improvement. I agree, the rating system should be disregarded or cast out. Constructive criticism and/or praise is needed. Rating is a bit useless in helping others.

The voting system is abused anyway. Dislike of another poet results in low ratings. Inability to comprehend the depth of a poem results in low ratings. Having a bad day results in low ratings.

Downvoting is hard to prevent. If the voting system is to remain, I stick to my original thoughts. Give a poem that deserves a 5, a 5. Otherwise, give the poem a constructive comment.

Never give a low rating, without leaving a comment explaining why. It is unfair.

To Ricky

I had to laugh at your response. If someone is voting alone, how do you know if the person has enough knowledge to critique your work in the first place? Leaving a number 1-5 doesn't offer any tips for improvement. You'd be better off taking a creative writing class and get your A-F from a person who is qualified to deem your work as such. I believe that if the voting system was abolished it would not kill this site as there are many people who post their work, not for acclaim, but to share.

David, please, you needed to downvote but couldnt figure out a way to not get your account suspended. Anybody can vote on a poem, even if they aren't a member. You could have gone to a local library and voted on numerous peoms by the same person and ranked them all a one without signing in. But you didn't. Therefore, you have no right to complain.

As for all poems being equal. WRONG. Everybody, whether they admit it or not, knows that shakespeare is the best writer in the english language, period. And compared to him, there are people who are just that bad, and don't deserve to be read outside of telling them they need to get better, but like Bob said, if something is that consistently bad David, why give it the time of day. I wouldn't even finishing reading it before clicking the back button on my explorer window.

And David, if you really are that good, you wouldn't be spending your time on P&Q, you would be getting published and getting paid to run workshops for other writers and being a literary critic like Stephen King.

I would like to add that if someone sends you a comment that just says your poem sucks you may click the complain button. You suck is not offering any critique and is quite immature.

Let me remove myself from this conversation. It's going no where, fast.

Aria, it was not your place to teach this girl the "real meaning" of poetry. You had no right to downrate all of her poems, that is a sign of intense jealousy, not appreciation and good intention. You could have left comments such as, "This is a wonderful poem, but your words and the affect are overly prideful." Blah, blah, blah...either way, it was none of your business.

This is why the voting system is harmful. Ratings are in no way, positive.

^ Exactly why comments are beneficial, much more so than votes. I don't mind being "downrated" so long as I have an explaination. I joined this site in hopes of criticism that will improve my poetry, I do not have a closed mind, and I did not join to recieve votes (high or low). Neither help my ability to write, neither broaden my horizons, neither explain the good or bad in my writing. I cannot benefit from ratings. If I thought my poetry was perfect, I would be getting it published, not wasting my time on a site, hoping for feedback.

Mods: Votes are meaningless except in the weekly nominations. Even still, they are innacurate in judgement of skill. I believe votes should go hand in hand with comments. In other words, a vote or comment cannot be submitted singlely. Membership should be required, obviously, if the two are to co-exist, always one with the other. Is this not a good idea? If a member has time to read the poem and vote, why not time enough to write a short comment? Votes are about improvement/feedback, as many of you have repeated, not about jealousy, disrespect, or indifference. If a low rating is solely to deliver a message of negativety, to inform the poet of his imperfections, why not write the message out as well?

^ I added a bit more to my comment, not sure if it will change your perspectives.

A teacher is unjustified in granting low grades, without explaination. Have you ever gotten a paper back, graded C or lower, with absolutely NO remarks as to why? If so, you have been wronged.

^ I agree. Now we are on the same page.

Fa sho.

When I come across a new writer in here, I read three of their poems. If I like at least one of them, Ill read another. If I don't like any of them, I just don't read anymore. I don't rate poems unless I am trully touched by the write. I always try to comment though. A comment says so much more than a number.

" A comment says so much more than a number."

That's an excellent point. And I know that I love comments more than ratings.

I didn't realize this was a brag session.

I say...get over it all...it's obviously not going to change. Continue doing what you do...try to bring back what this site is REALLY SUPPOSED to be about...POETRY!

Well shiz.

As I have said at least 300 times, the voting system is a joke..if you like a person`s poetry..tell them why, if you don`t..tell them why..I wish everyone would pretend the vote button on here was broke. give me a comment any day.

We all have different tastes. I poem that i think might not be very good, may be a poem that another person thinks is gold.
So if i find a poem i don't like. I move on.
Down-rating people is a bit harsh =/
There's my two pence, lol
*Gem*

All you hear on this site about ratings seems to be negative,I think they should be done away with and just keep the comments. People seem to use ratings for their own personal vendettas,that invalidates them,I think.

^ Yes.

I agree with timothy r ^^^ up there

k so I write all kinds of poems and I post my "venting" "poems" on this site and to be honest I have a pretty high rating but I know im not that great of a writer. but there are some "poems" on here that are just not even worth someone reading and they do in fact deserve a 1 so I guess it really depends on who you are asking. I personally think the rating system is stupid because who really has the right to give someone a 5

Yes. I think we're done. Can we talk this into the ground any further? If so, please don't.

David,

I really resent the fact that you think that your poems are the best. Just because you have 6 years of experience does not mean you can write poems that deserve to go into the book. Yes, you can have your opinion about your writing, but why boast about it and then say I'm giving them constructive criticizm because they don't know how to write poems? Maybe they are good writers and you are just bad. It depends on their style of writing. If you don't like it don't try to tell them to be more like you.