Please keep in mind that some people do not have an ounce of tact. What they say is blunt and not coated in anything of a sugary nature. Perhaps it's a cultural deal or a social/mental one. They don't mean to offend, but they don't have the where with all to sufficiently protect the writer's ego. They don't realize that a word or a sentence they're using is hurtful to you.

And Rowdy, to say that no one should ever write anything mean is an impossible feat, because everyone has a different interpretation of mean. Straight up flames are a no brainer, but I've seen people get bent out of shape when they've received a constructive crit that didn't have enough praise buried in it.

To be on the internet where anyone can read what you write, you need to toughen up. It's really that simple. For those of you who wish to write on a professional level, you're going to have to deal with unpleasant reviews. It's gonna happen.

I'm sorry people have had bad experiences in reviews. I try and take less than flattering reviews and turn it into a possitive. If someone flames then at least you know what you wrote impacted them enough to comment. *shrugs* Just don't let it stop you from writing. If you do let it... then they win.

I don't feel authors deserve respect per say... but rather everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Unfortunately, there will always be transgressions on the parts of both reviewers and authors, since I have not yet been inaugurated as Empress of the World and declared it to be law... Someday perhaps...

On the other side of the fence, there have been authors who will ask for constructive criticism in one chapter because their reviews are low. In the next, they'll blast a reviewer that actually provides it. The good news is: the only place at Dokuga you're likely to find this sort of thing is in the Spark Archives, which operates under a different ruleset.

IMO, the only way to respond to nonconstructive flames is to report them to the admins of the respective site, then ignore them. Mean people are generally unhappy and like to make other people unhappy as well. Do the opposite and focus on the next review which may have something worthwhile to say. Skip them and move on to the warm fuzzies and/or self improvement suggestions. Direct responses only validate a person's thinking and bring attention to them. No one ever wins a flame war with their dignity intact unless they skip out on the battle.

As a general note to authors as well, try to keep an open mind when reading constructive criticism. Everyone has a different perception and just because a reader does not agree with yours, does not make either perception wrong. You don't have to agree with them. They don't have to agree with you. All either of you have to do is be true to yourselves. Also, not everyone is always articulate in their responses and they don't always choose the best wording. An author might perceive an unintentional insult in poorly worded criticism.

Of course, threads of this nature probably would benefit more people constructively if it were posted on the front page of FFN, but what can you do?

I have gotten some reviews that didn't sit well with me but I have come to think of them in a different light.

We write to show people are skills not look for respect because respect is earned, it shouldn't be that you write a story no matter the skill and get respect for it. That is solely on the reader is they wish to respect you or not.

Now as a fellow author I have the utmost respect for another fellow author and artist on this site and anywhere else. It takes alot of courage to put yourself out there to strangers not knowing what kind of response you will get back...so kudos to my all writers and artists on Dokuga and everywhere else.-huggles-

Like everyone has said if you get a review that doesn't settle well with you take it to the admins, or make a note in your author note that you do not wish for those types of reviews. Or you could ask for them to pm you directly if they have something other than a 'nice' review.

For the most part the bad reviews I've recieved are for stories where the reviewer doesn't grasp that it's a crackfic, and so are left totally confused and come to the conclusion that it's a horrible story.

As for the giving part, the only time I remember disrepecting an author was a brand new writer that still was learning the ropes and had bad spelling and grammer, yet was holding her first story hostage for reviews, upon which I promptly left a review saying to the effect "That only works when good stories written by experienced authors are worth being held hostage".

Just gonna interject my two cents...

As a new writer harsh reviews can feel like the end of the world. Your confidence is already paper thin at best and for some all it takes is one nasty one to make it all crumble.

I'm willing to bet that no matter how long you've been writing, whether it be a few hours or years, the GOOD reviews on your fics far far outnumber the bad. My advice is to focus on the good. When people write a review that is particularly kind or really uplifts you, save it somewhere on your computer or your blog. then on days when you get a particularly bad set of reviews or feel like your writing absolutely sucks (believe me, it happens to all of us) pull out those nice reviews and give them a read. You'd be surprised at how much of a positive impact they can have