![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
And, frankly, something other people would probably rather you didn't do in
their journal either:
If I post about how awesome X is, and then a bunch of people join in, also
excited about how awesome X is, and we're all dancing in a big circle,
waving our arms in the air and shouting "Woohoo for X!" then please don't
be the person who stomps in and says "X is rubbish."
Because you're taking something that people are happily enjoying, for their
own personal reasons, and mashing it down with a big grumpy hammer.
It doesn't make you cool. It doesn't make people respect your opinions
more. It doesn't change anyone's mind (if I actively enjoy X then I'm not
going to suddenly cry "What was I thinking? X actually made me feel like
someone stole my puppy!"). All it does is give you an outlet for your
venting, while reducing the happiness of the people who were, until that
point, squeeing at each other.
If you actively hate X then the place to vent about it is on _your_
journal.
This isn't to knock positive contributions. If you want to tell me that if
I like X then I might like Y even more, that's great! Deflect my
enthusiasm with your enthusiasm, and I'll feel enthusiastic about listening
to you!
And it's not to say that legitimate criticisms aren't ok - if X is made
from grinding up kittens into paste, and you think there's a chance we
don't know about that, then by all means ask if we know.
Discussion is fine. Legitimately asking why I like X, and what I think is
good/bad about it, also fine.
But please don't leap into a group of happy people and tell them that
they're wrong to like something, because frankly, it's just rude.
(Reviews are a different matter - posting a review which talks about
positive and negative aspects of something is asking for discussion of the
subject matter. I'm talking specifically about exciting, celebratory
posts.)
their journal either:
If I post about how awesome X is, and then a bunch of people join in, also
excited about how awesome X is, and we're all dancing in a big circle,
waving our arms in the air and shouting "Woohoo for X!" then please don't
be the person who stomps in and says "X is rubbish."
Because you're taking something that people are happily enjoying, for their
own personal reasons, and mashing it down with a big grumpy hammer.
It doesn't make you cool. It doesn't make people respect your opinions
more. It doesn't change anyone's mind (if I actively enjoy X then I'm not
going to suddenly cry "What was I thinking? X actually made me feel like
someone stole my puppy!"). All it does is give you an outlet for your
venting, while reducing the happiness of the people who were, until that
point, squeeing at each other.
If you actively hate X then the place to vent about it is on _your_
journal.
This isn't to knock positive contributions. If you want to tell me that if
I like X then I might like Y even more, that's great! Deflect my
enthusiasm with your enthusiasm, and I'll feel enthusiastic about listening
to you!
And it's not to say that legitimate criticisms aren't ok - if X is made
from grinding up kittens into paste, and you think there's a chance we
don't know about that, then by all means ask if we know.
Discussion is fine. Legitimately asking why I like X, and what I think is
good/bad about it, also fine.
But please don't leap into a group of happy people and tell them that
they're wrong to like something, because frankly, it's just rude.
(Reviews are a different matter - posting a review which talks about
positive and negative aspects of something is asking for discussion of the
subject matter. I'm talking specifically about exciting, celebratory
posts.)
