daryl1968
Polite honesty.

And don't use words like dichotomy ;)

Sorry dayrl1968- I read a lot. And "don't use" is so absolute. Maybe "refrain from using". :) I like your tunes, by the way...and by that I really mean it!
 
jkoseattle: I think you are right. If the poster forgets to ask for feedback, he or she can always fix that themselves after a few "Great Song" responses. 

rbecker

daryl1968
Polite honesty.

And don't use words like dichotomy ;)

Sorry dayrl1968- I read a lot. And "don't use" is so absolute. Maybe "refrain from using". :) I like your tunes, by the way...and by that I really mean it

Thanks mate.

How about "never utter" that word again?

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome-psyapi2&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&q=dichitomy&oq=dichitomy&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3350j0j7
 
Problem solved.

The way I see it, if you place anything in the public domain you put yourself at the mercy of the critic.

daryl1968
The way I see it, if you place anything in the public domain you put yourself at the mercy of the critic.

Maybe...but I've been on some nasty forums where "flame" was the name of the game. It gets old very fast. I like a nice, civil forum, where everybody gets along and (now I learn) do not use words such as anachronistic or dichotomy. :)

daryl1968
The way I see it, if you place anything in the public domain you put yourself at the mercy of the critic.

True, but that isn't going to make for a very good chat room. The more people who feel ok about posting their fragile babies, the better for everyone.

true true - I think the keywords are polite and helpful. 

Curious, because the critique I'm generally looking for is "is this a good song?".  I'm not looking for validation of my overall music contribution as much as I'm looking to see if this song is something you'd listen to if you turned on the radio.  Are the lyrics any good?  Is the melody hooking you?  How is the playing?  I want to know if I wrote and performed a good song as perceived by someone other than me.  
 
Thing is...I never post that because I want that to happen organically.  If you like it, you'll tell me.  Regardless of mixing, arrangement, audio engineering and etc...you'll tell me.  If I tell you I'm looking for validation on this one song, I fear you'll put on your polite hat and lie to me.  Because you're a human being, and you're an artist and you know how it hurts for your contributions to be rejected so I'm suspicious your tendency will be to err on the side of positive reinforcement when it hasn't really been earned.  
 
I don't understand the impulse to *not* want to be critiqued on this or that.  I prefer to receive all information from you, whatever your impression is, and then filter what I don't need or want.  I don't relate to being offended to receiving "extra" feedback that I wasn't looking for.  I don't get that.  
 
I guess I could have shortened that to: I post here to get your impression of my contribution.  Whatever it is.  There is no wrong thing to say or criticize, especially when it's respectful and civil like everyone here seems to be.  
 
This is a great place.  I love it here.  

Voda, you're the exception, I think. People have varying degrees of confidence in the big collection of skills necessary to make music someone else wants to listen to. For me, I have oodles of composition and lyric confidence, so that if someone says "This is bad writing" I won't be offended at all, because I'll think "Well, I know what I wanted". But for many years that was not the case. I didn't know if my writing was good. I kind of thought it was, but I needed validation to solidify that opinion. 
 
On the other end, I have very little production confidence, so if someone says "Your mix sucks" I won't be offended either, and my reaction will be "Oh it does? Yikes, tell me what I did wrong, please!" 
 
In the middle would be my vocals. I know I'm not that good, and so I write for and within my abilities, do a gazillion takes, and chock the rest up to "idiosyncratic". But if someone disses my vocals, it's hard because my thought then is "****, I know, but that's the best I can do".
 
It is a great place. Forums like this are the best part about making music. Most of us aren't going to make much money at it. This is the best it gets, but that's pretty damn great!

I think anyone that has the gumption to try and write a song, and then learn how to record it, render to mp3, and post it for the world to see deserves accolades.  Figuratively, it is like going full monty for the whole world to see.
 
Song writers, especially folks like us, need to stick together.  I'm sure, in the back of everyone's mind, there is the hope that something we make will be enjoyed by billions.  But in reality, if that were the case, we would be at the Grammy's and refusing Paul McCartney entrance to our party.
 
I try to find something good in everything.  However, and this never really happens because I don't have the background, if someone wants mix opinions, I might give it.
 
Honestly though, we need to remember where we are, this is the internet, where the difference between B.S. and truth are barely discernible.
 
But, I think that people should be honest, because often times the things they say about somebody else reveal more about them than the art they are critiquing.  I want to know who I am dealing with, and on what level they want to interact.
 
Other than that, help each other out.
 
Jesse Q. Screed
 
Now I'm going on sabbatical.  I hope to see you soon.