SC2Mapster

@ArcaneDurandel: Go

As an addendum, I think EivindL actually IS talented enough to do all this stuff. He's really fantastic.

EivindL, if we're done with Thoughts in Chaos by then, I would definitely be interested in contributing.

You are deluding yourself to believe that you are being objective. Your analysis is deeply rooted in your personal prejudices, and your commentary and delivery carry those prejudices. If you want to provide feedback that is valuable to others, than you will need to moderate this approach.

I accept that you would like to receive feedback in the manner that you offer it. I also accept that you genuinely wish people to grow. However, as someone who manages projects and developers for a living, I assure you that it is "objectively" wrong to do so. You fall into the trap that many people do of an idealized, purely rational vision of others. By ignoring the nuance and the realities of the nuances required for interactions with others, you instead alienate them.

If you want to elevate the craft of mapping, there's also an alternative to your criticism series. Why not build something and then do a series explaining your choices? If you can do that without denigrating others, then I guarantee we'd all find it much more interesting than this. It doesn't have to be big—just make something. I don't say this to in a "well, let's see you do better" manner—I honestly think it's a better approach for you.

But, hey, you do you and I'll do me. I'm probably done arguing about it.

I've been sitting here composing a very nasty response, but Jay covered my feelings points in a much more polite manner. I appreciate that you would like to help, but as Jay said, you are not doing so currently.

A toxic community is a massive bar to creativity. Helping someone does not require tearing them down—in fact, if you are derogatory, it's very likely that whatever you see will be ignored.

Team Antioch has some guidelines for offering feedback. They're not set in stone, but they go something like this:

1. Be humble. You are one person. No matter how smart you are, you should approach others as if they too are experts. You never have the right to speak down to someone.
2. Lead with praise. ALWAYS start with the things you like.
3. Be selective. There are things that aren't possible and things that just aren't worth the time to do. Figure out what should really be acted upon, and don't swamp someone with nitpicks.
4. Eliminate value and qualitative judgments from your vocabulary—scratch "bad," "crap," "ugly," "boring," etc.
5. Speak in terms of only your experience—"I would like to see more rocks here," "I beat the attack waves very easily," etc.
6. Ask questions. "How did you pick these attacks?" "What would you think about XXX?"