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I respectfully disagree. If it’s not dumb, like people not reading tags and then going eww this trope or eww this ship, and it’s written respectfully without insulting the writer then I think criticism should always be allowed. I think it’s important to hone a skill to be told where or how you could do better, corrections and suggestions help people to improve. I do not want the people around me to be all little yes men that say only nice things. That’s my humble opinion.

Cool. Then say on your fics that you welcome criticism. But if a person doesn’t say that, then you don’t leave con crit.

Do you know what I do for a living? I’m a college professor and an academic editor. I actually am professionally qualified to help people hone their skills and to improve. For example, there are at least 4 things I would edit in the ask you sent me. Not the least of which is having the guts to own your opinion by not being on anon.

But you know what I do with all the professional skills I have when I read fanfic which is a hobby and a joy for everyone who engages in it? I keep my fucking mouth shut.

Because as I tell my students to be creative and share it with the world is an act of bravery. And when we are being brave, we don’t need to be ‘corrected’ by strangers, we need to be applauded for risking ourselves.

I have never felt better about someone correcting me on a fic on ao3, I’ve never improved from it, I’ve only felt like crap, and any other writer I talk to feels the same. I got better as a writer because I wrote again and again every day. And when I engage a beta, I listen to their advice because I can trust where it is coming from. A rando whose decided they know what they are on about? I don’t trust for shit. 

If you leave UNSOLICITED criticism on fanfic you suck and are a crappy person.

In my humble opinion.