Comments left beneath poetry, etc.

I am at a loss. I do not understand why on earth somebody would post on a site such as abctales if they do not want their work to be commented on!

If you do not wish comments to be added from people interested in reading your work and helping you to improve your writing, then don't invite comments by posting work in the first place, it defeats the object of the site in my opinion!

Anyone else agree?

Well yes I find it odd...but I am not tretchicovmanicova. Curious, I went back through his/her last ten or so submissions and found only one highly complimentary comment.

That must be it, I dared to criticise...

I should rephrase that....I only noticed one comment on the last 10 or so submissions and it was highly complimentary. Not a trace of negativity.

Yes, my comment was deleted. Can't have been complimentary enough. I always try to read as much as possible and I comment on everything I read. I am also unfailingly honest... my greatest flaw, apparently!

I personally love receiving comments - I like to know what people think and find them an excellent gauge - if people like it, they tend to comment, which helps me identify my stronger pieces of work, and also, if they find an issue, they offer advice which helps me grow as a writer - it's a brilliant system!

J x

Me too. I haven't noticed anybody being deliberately unpleasant and it's all useful. Even FTSE.

That said I often just keep my thoughts to myself.

I don't see why...art SHOULD provoke debate!

If people on here really are serious about their writing and their improvement as writers then they will welcome any comment, as long as it is constructive,

J x

I totally agree jennifer....but it so quickly gets personal with some people....even if the intention is good.

'I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.'
You're a bit of an Animal, Chuck.

Personal?
Well, it do and it don't, as Will Rogers might have said; most people are reasonably tactful: some people do feel that they have the write to re-right (sic) your whole piece, though, don't they?

I thought you could turn off the comments option on setting up your preferences? Or is that not so?

It's certainly possible to disable comments on each individual piece when you upload it.

I think posting your writing on a site like ABCtales and refusing to receive critical comments (provided they're not abusive or insulting) shows a lack of respect for the people you're asking to read your work.

I doubt that's the intention, though. Writers can be a funny bunch.

I think you guys might have the wrong end of the stick. Its EXTREMELY easy to miss comments that have been posted as there is no notification system nor a comment count on your profile page next to each submission. By asking people to use the contact icon, s/he's making sure that s/he gets alerted to every piece of feedback the s/he's given.

While the commenting system is a good way for others to read what feedback you've received and how well you respond to it, the comment-by-profile-page makes sure that the author actually receives the feedback you've taken the time to write.

I have watched this thread with interest. I see a author asking readers to please keep comments to themselves so the comments do not overwhelm the poetry. This is a small thing to ask. The Mona Lisa does not have a whiteboard beneath it so viewers can leave comments if they wish. A sculpture in a public park does not have a chalkboard nearby so people can give opinions. The works are there for people to simply enjoy. Think what you want, but don't ruin it for others by making comments, good or bad. They are unwanted.

"I see a author asking readers to please keep comments to themselves so the comments do not overwhelm the poetry."

Sorry but that didn't come across clearly in the original post. A couple of people have mentioned a 'comments' option. I can't find it. That would certainly fix the problem.

People who want to read the poetry without being 'overwhelmed' can choose not read the comments.

Lots have of people have said lots of stuff about the Mona Lisa and sculptures in public parks. I imagine the visitors to the Louvre do have an opportunity to express their views about the artwork.

"Think what you want, but don't ruin it for others by making comments, good or bad. They are unwanted."

Well, there's lots of people who come onto the site demanding comments and then get upset when they don't receive them. People can show whether or not they want them by selecting the appropriate option.

At the bottom of the submission form, there's an option called 'Comment Settings'. Click on that and select 'Disabled' if you want to disable comments.

At the bottom of the submission form, there's an option called 'Comment Settings'. Click on that and select 'Disabled' if you want to disable comments.

Sorry but I can't find it. Perhaps it's a matter of access privileges and 'plain' members don't have this option.

You could be right. I'm setting up an unprivileged account to check. I'll report my findings.

Bukharin, There is a comment settings button on the Edit section of my account page, but it doesn't appear to do anything other than allow members of ABC the choice to send & receive PMs via concealed email addie, Artisus is correct. I assumed the option was there to PM instead of commenting and have done so with a few people.
Personally, I'd prefer the option to switch off the public view hit counter and make that only visible to each account holder for their own work & management, :-).

It is a preference that should be left up to the writers who upload their work here.
Personally I don't mind the comments but recently after one of my poems made the poem of the month and was cherrypicked, I started to receive comments from this one person who I felt was deliberately being rude. She was asked by me to please not comment on anymore of my uploads yet she persisted in a very stalkerish way. The last thing anyone of us wants to acquire is a stalker! She finally ceased from leaving comments under my work but for awhile there I had to deal with this person who seemed to be completely mentally unbalanced. There should be a blocking feature for this type of person.

The person Theresa C Newbill refers to, in my opinion is certainly not mentally unbalanced, not a stalker and I miss her posts and poems. Hope she is okay. She is a rather sweet young lady.

---
"I am Benedict Crackersville, guardian of the Great Bunghole!"

Another one lost to ABC? How sad.

I have no idea. :(

Well, she certainly gave me that impression! When you ask someone to not comment on your work and they persist with a vengence and continue to stalk you throughout the day on these boards, it certainly gives one the impression that the person may not be playing with a full deck.

These are quality comments and you should feel proud of the attention your work received.

By blocking serious and harmless people we block seriousness and harmlessness.

It's the ridiculous and harmful we should avoid and it's the site's obligation to get rid of them or constrain according to its terms and conditions.

http://www.abctales.com/story/theresa-c-newbill/power-release#comment-30...

---
"I am Benedict Crackersville, guardian of the Great Bunghole!"

That was the first piece she commented on and her comment was anything but constructive. It was a rant. She is obviously not a well person as she was asked many times to stop yet continued to intrude not only on that piece but others that I had uploaded at the time. A stable person would have stopped any and all interaction when asked. But this person's persistance is obviously a sign of a deeper rooted problem in her psyche. People like this should be blocked and there should be a blocking feature on the site to protect writers from this kind of infestation.

I read the comment and it was a bit spiky and perhaps unnecessarily so initially, but your reaction was daft. To suggest that Jennifer is unstable and has deep rooted problems in her psyche as a result is, frankly, absurd. I think you should stop making remarks about someone's mental health based on them making a few comments on one of your poems.

All I have to go on is her manic kind of attitudes that found their way into the comments section of my uploads. If someone asks you to please stop commenting on their work because quite frankly they find you a little off or rude or believe your comments to be of no use then why would you persist? A normal person would not. This is all I'm saying as we discuss the topic. And yes, whether someone posts comments or not under your work should be up to you, the author/writer. And there should also be a blocking feature in place to avoid little outcomes such as this one.

And even as I type someone with the user name of Skunk, copied portions of my one poem and re-wrote it without my permission.

Since this poem is copyrighted and he/she/it has taken portions of it and done a re-write this could no doubt put the site as well as you in a very precarious predicament. I will inform the administration before I take any further action.

I think it was a joke. You should count your lucky stars, mine got mocked with some hideous implication that I had a bum that people made fun of and gave people diseases. I'm definitely one for taking things too seriously at times, but surely this isn't worth it.

A joke that is copyright infringement.

People like this should not have access to other people's work. Some of us are serious writers and we want to deal with others who have professionalism.

"Since this poem is copyrighted and he/she/it has taken portions of it and done a re-write this could no doubt put the site as well as you in a very precarious predicament. I will inform the administration before I take any further action."

Quoting portions of a text is not an infringement of copyright law. A professional would know this.

"That was the first piece she commented on and her comment was anything but constructive. It was a rant."

It wasn't a rant. It was a robust but perfectly legitimate piece of criticism. The question of whether the piece gains anything from being chopped up into short lines remains unanswered - other than with aggression and insults.

A serious writer would be able to provide an answer.

Look, you are obviously not a professional. The poem is copyrighted. The messages on a message board may or may not be depending on the site.

Her post was a rant. It was not constructive criticism. Her consequent exploits afterwards like continuing to post comments under my work when asked to stop, were unstable.

Bottom line, she was wrong in her rant and subsequent criticism. And I didn't correct her because I wanted everyone to see how this one person knows little to nothing about professional writing or being professional.

I run a publishing company and I currently have some editorial responsibility for seven magazines and three websites (ten if you count the websites connected to the magazines).

The fact that a poem is 'copyrighted' is irrelevant to whether or not you're allowed to quote from it.

In a general sense, it's perfectly legal to quote from material protected by copyright as long as the quotes are only a proportion of the text and it's clear that they are quotes.

In the case of ABCtales, when you post your work on this site, you give ABCtales the right to publish your work online for as long as that piece of writing is on the site.

You'll have to explain to me why that wouldn't apply to members of the site posting on the forums.

"Bottom line, she was wrong in her rant and subsequent criticism."

It wasn't a rant, it was an opinion expressed by a reader of a piece of writing. You're perfectly entitled to disagree with that opinion but you haven't answered the opinion or challenged it, you've resorted to personal insults directed at the person who expressed it. People can draw their own conclusions from that.

We share the same responsibilities in the writing profession then only I also do freelance work and ghost write books as well.

Sir, you are misinformed. The said person didn't quote, he/she deliberatly took portions of my work and re-wrote it and passed it off as his own parody or original work. Now I'm not going to argue the legalities of that with you, I will simply take the appropiate action myself if the owner of this board does nothing.

It is not my intention to have an ongoing correspondence with you or with anyone on this site unless we are collaborating on a specific project.

You may not have viewed Jennifer's comments and subsequent actions as a rant and 'stalkerish' but I did and I responded accordingly. There were no personal insults on my part. I merely stated why I felt a blocking feature should be in place on this site based on someone's thread with the same concerns regarding comments being left under our work.

I didn't respond to her obvious misinformation because it is simply not my intention to come here and educate someone on the craft of writing. I merely asked her not to comment on my work which she ignored and continued to do out of manic spite. I have every right in lieu of that to feel she may be unstable and not want anything at all to do with her.

"Jennifer, are you a stalker?"

"Jennifer is a first class nut as is Skunk who is probably a 10 year old posting from his basement!"

Readers can judge for themselves whether or not these are personal insults.

At least one of them is defamatory in the UK.

Why are they insults? These two conducted themselves as such. And if they take issue with my opinions of them then maybe they should temper their behaviour.

And don't you worry, the legal issues that are in fact legal issues, will be dealt with.

Theresa you are a very strange person who would probably be better off on writers.com or similar

where's mississippi when you need him?

This is gold."Manic spite". Genius.

Peaceful is obviously an alias. Here's it's profile:

Peaceful

Right now, I have 0 stories in 0 collections on the site. My stories have been read times

I love it when I'm proven right.

you are in the US newbill, it's around 6am, don't you have a job to go to?

Alias? astute you are. or you think buk, chuck and luck are their real names?

Maybe jennifer is an alias too...

newbill you are wrong to come here and insult people. And go check out copyright differences between US and UK, you might learn something

I will let my agent handle the legalities. It should not be a concern of yours as of yet.

I did not insult anyone. I merely stated why a blocking feature should be placed and responded to the original poster's thread regarding.

I am very aware of aliases, but I give absolutely no credibility to 'writers' who do not sign on with their own names. If you're here to play, fine, but stay away from commenting under the work that serious writers upload.

I also don't think you need to involve yourself in my personal life. That is also kind of stalkerish. Birds of a feather....

newbill, you amuse me. bring on the agent.

As for involving myself in your personal life (or as you are pleased to call it 'live') - not in a million years dear

So, is this Skunk then using another alias? You know the more you people post the better my case. This site obviously needs restrictions to protect serious writers. The site will be the one held accountable, unfortunately.

It is already noted that you have in fact involved yourself in my personal life given your statement as to where I live and what kind of job I may or may not have. (stalkerish)

I think it's time I responded. I haven't left the site of course - I have been a loyal abctales member since 2001!

Ms Newbill claims that 'there were no personal insults on my part' and that she 'did not insult anyone'.

Her comments after my initial comment on her poem were rather rude:

'Jennifer, you need to take a happy pill. You sound angry.' and addressing me as 'Sweetie'.

See:

http://www.abctales.com/story/theresa-c-newbill/power-release

However, she has undermined her own argument in this very post - I am at a loss as to why Ms Newbill thinks I should not take the following as personal insults:

'she persisted in a very stalkerish way'

'this person who seemed to be completely mentally unbalanced'

'there should be a blocking feature for this type of person'

'the impression that the person may not be playing with a full deck'

'She is obviously not a well person'

'this person's persistance is obviously a sign of a deeper rooted problem in her psyche'

'this kind of infestation'

and also remarks about my professionalism:

'Her post was a rant' - check again, I thought I was unfailingly polite and would like to point out that I only rant IN POETRY - check out my work! Namely:

http://www.abctales.com/story/jennifer/poets-call-war

She also states that:

'this one person knows little to nothing about professional writing or being professional'

Let's totally ignore my English degree, teaching qualification and media studies courses, I am a self-professed AMATEUR poet! I have not yet tried to become professional or published because I do not yet consider myself good enough. I am a poet-in-progress and I am improving thanks to abctales!

I would also like to point out that I commented under her poem BEFORE I knew she had been cherrypicked or was 'poem of the week' - I did what I usually do when I come on the site - post a poem or two and then read as much of other writers' work as I have time to. Every piece I read, I comment on - my reasons are -

1) to show I have read it,
2) to show appreciation,
3) to offer feedback since this site is, in my eyes, a writing forum/place to improve through feedback,
4) to offer my opinion and
5) to offer a critique where something strikes me as worth improving, which most writing is, let's face it!

I hope that has cleared a few things up. I confess that this post might well be a RANT!

Jennifer (not an alias, in case you were wondering!) x

Jennifer face the facts you are a nut. You were asked not to comment but you continued to do so in a manic stalker kind of way. Your orignal comments in respect to my award winning /published poem were a complete rant and completely off base. I'm not here to educate you perhaps Crackersville can as he wrote:

"Verse is everywhere in language where there is rhythm, everywhere, except on posters and page four of the newspapers. In the genre which we call prose there is verse of every conceivable rhythm, some of it admirable. But in reality there is no prose: there is the alphabet, and there there are verse forms, more or less rigid, more or less diffuse. In every attempt at style there is versification."

Stephane Mallarme, "Reponses a des enquetes"

"The miracle of poetic prose, musical though rhythmless and rhymeless, flexible yet rugged enough to identify with the lyrical impulses of the soul, the ebbs and flows of reverie, the pangs of conscience" Baudelaire.

Lyrical/metered,rhymed poetry ISN'T what Theresa tried to do here, therefore Jennifer is wrong when she says "this is not poetry". But what Jennifer says is harmless and she means well. She just doesn't know the definitions as well as Crackersville.

Your prose poem is very interesting and eloquently written. Don't worry, Jennifer and I are not stalkers. We are writers and we should all understand each other, get rid of suspicions and learn to move on.

CRACKERSVILLE.

And you have an English degree, Jennifer? That's laughable!

Given the fact there are nutters like you on this site and given the fact that malicious plagiarism is condoned where not only portions of a work were deliberately stolen word for word (not inspired but stolen) and the entire poem reworked and passed off as someone elses work blatently under my own original work, I am deleting my pieces one by one. Apparently Mr. Cook has not cancelled my account quick enough so I am taking matters into my own hands. This site needs regulations to protect the serious and professional writers here. I urge anyone who is an award winning writer and who has already been published in numerous print and online magazines not to post their work here. My work has been lifted from this site with the 'guise' of 'inspiration' and has been rewrtten and passed off as someone else's work.

WARNING to all professional writers: do not post your work here.

And I do thank you Mr. Cook for cherrypicing The Unmentionable One today but I am deleting that poem as well as it may be blatently copied,reworked and attributed to someone else.

Jennifer wrote:

I would also like to point out that I commented under her poem BEFORE I knew she had been cherrypicked or was 'poem of the week'

My response:

Bullshit!

"I urge anyone who is an award winning writer and who has already been published in numerous print and online magazines not to post their work here"

"Your orignal comments in respect to my award winning /published poem..."

If this is flaming, it's flaming at it's best.

If it isn't, it's comedy gold.

Either way, it's a winner.

And...

My account is being deleted because of buffoons like Enzo, Skunk and countless others who will never amount to anything except being comrads on abctales.com

It's not an insult it's the truth:)

Well I still think you're cute.

Brill!

Jean Simmons in Desiree was cuter.

My response is in the form of a RANT in poetry:

http://www.abctales.com/story/jennifer/oh-nuts

Go nuts!

J x

p.s. I object to being called a liar (re the 'BULLSHIT' comment)

p.p.s. My comment was an OPINION. I did not claim to be the know-all of genre!

Oh, do put a sock in it, Ms Newbill, for goodness sake!

Ich feel impelled to speak today in a language that in a sense is new-one which Ich, who have spent so much of my life in the writing trailer, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of literary anathemas. Ich have one yardstick by which Ich test every major problem-and that yardstick is: Is it good for the State of Literature?

Are you a communist, Crackersville?

I might change my own name to 'Nutshell'

Luigi - you are awesome, and so succint!

J x

*gathers up sweets and coat from under seat*

Is that it, do you think? Are the lights coming up? My favourite part by far was the comedy in the middle, you know, that surreal – Post/don’t reply... post/don't you reply... post/don't you reply... section. Must say, though, what a fantastic flounce at the end! All it needed was a Bette Davis/Jezebel style dress and some rousing music. Bravo.

p.s. it did occur to me earlier, to step in to try and calm things down a little (as if), because the whole sorry matter appeared to stem from that age-old forum problem – we can’t see what expression you’re wearing when you type a post – but then I read the whole shebang and realised it would be absolutely pointless. So I hereby join the buffoons-who-will-never-amount-to-anything – their egos are far less defeaning – must be something to do with the lack of awards.

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Ich think this is a personal question! More personal than do Ich like the fact there is enough oxygen in Meine honourable trailer and enough letters in Meine nearly six miles long workolio.

I don't normally say stuff like this, but I'm glad that Theresa is gone. She seemed admamant on stirring up as much controversy as possible and jumped on anyone DARING to contradict, disagree or criticise her, her work or her opinions.

We have a word for those sort of people in this country. Politicians.

Unusually for a writer with a desperate desire to control what people can and can't say about their writing, I actually thought her poetry was quite good.

It's a shame she doesn't have the confidence to either let it speak for itself or defend it.

Has the erudite and eloquent newbill gone?

Ah me, she will be sorely missed.

I'm quite sorry she's left like that - particularly since it was the thing she was trying to impose on Jennifer and Skunk. I think lots of her writing is very good as well, a pity she couldn't just back down. I'm terrible at taking criticism sometimes too and occasionally I'm just in a really bad mood. With PMT I'm practically a loaded gun! I think most of the people on here have reacted badly to criticism at one time or another, but it helps if you're able to admit you've gone too far which she clearly wasn't going to, she was relentlessly 'right'. Still, as I said, I'm sorry she felt she couldn't just retract a bit and removed all her work.

But where, oh where, is the newbill lawsuit? are we to be deprived of our fun?

let us see, if you will
copyright a la newbill

I never intended her to remove any of her work, nor did I want her to leave.

Some of her work is very good - it is just a shame that she cannot handle the opinion of my amateur self, or being mocked in any way. I think that all art is open to opinion and rational discussion - why she finds it so hard to debate her own work without resorting to personal insults is beyond me!

Now I won't be able to stalk her...who is next, I wonder?! Dare I comment on anyone's work ever again...what do you think, abctalers?!

J x

I don't think anyone intended it. I think the whole thing was beyond everyone.

Is it safe to come out now? I've been hiding under the bed!

Ich think it's always safer to stay where you are.

Out -----> OUT

Under ------> UNDER

Over -------> AND OUT.

and you thought the newbill was bad.... try this (which was mild)

http://www.abctales.com/forum/2001/05/09/the-bitch-is-back

good old days

I would like to request that EVERYONE read all my work from the beginning and comment. Please tell me that I am the greatest writer on this site and that you would all gladly buy my work. Tell me also how lucky you are to have been alive at the time that I was writing. Please keep your negative comments to 'almost brilliant' (then I'll know that you think it's crap). I would like ONLY qualified stalkers:
Qualification requirements;
(1) Female
(2) Young(ish)
(3) Good looking(ish)
(4) Brunette (dyed acceptable)
(5) Some examinations passed (11+ acceptable)
(6) Blondes or Red-heads - office hours only!
Thank you!

Well, I qualify for all of that - I have been both a blonde and a redhead in the past but have temporarily settled for brunette! I am female, youngish, good lookingish (or so I am told), I have a few exams...hell, I might well start stalking you...cannot promise the faint damning with lots of praise as the minimum crit though...

J x

Yippee [slipping on hair shirt with holly leaves sewn in] I always wanted my own stalker! Onward Ms. and don't spare the lashes! ;>0.

I think you might be confusing the terms 'stalker' and 'Mistress'....

hmmmm...ok, forget Mistress - the kids give me enough punishment as it is! ;)

So happy to be here in the vehemently effused capital city of poetry ;).

Looking forward to being 'stalked' by the lovely Jennifer - could do with the free tuition.

Pickup .... Jennifer .... pickup?

x