ASSD: An Experience

A little more than two weeks ago when I posted my first review to 
ASSD I never thought I would attract so much reaction so fast.  I 
hoped to meet a few people, which I have, and publish my own opinions
on stories I have read.

I did not realize that honesty was not appreciated on ASSD.  That is 
a broad and general statement.  I will qualify it by saying that a 
large percentage of the reactions to my reviews at least acknowledged
my right to air my opinions, regardless of how blunt they might be.  
I did encounter a group of individuals, who have been exchanging 
ideas on the newsgroup for quite some time.  Among them quite a few 
were shocked by my candor and felt the need to let others know how 
they felt.  Some went so far as to suggest that I had no right to 
give my analysis of any story unless the author had expressly asked 
for comments.

This bothers me.  If someone posts something in a public place they 
are opening themselves up to public scrutiny.  This is an unmoderated
newsgroup.  I live in the United States.  My right to free speech, 
while not absolute, should at least allow me to frankly air my 
opinions on stories posted to newsgroups that are open to anyone who 
has access to usenet.

A discussion ensued as to whether reviews should be "allowed" if the 
author has requested that comments not be given or has remained 
silent on the issue.  The upshot of this discussion was that if you 
do not have something nice to say about a story then do not say 
anything at all.  This is a double standard.  Let me be clear that 
there was no consensus on this issue, but the ones who spoke the 
loudest were against bad reviews.  By bad reviews I mean ones that 
cast the story reviewed in a negative light.

I have written and posted twenty-two reviews to ASSD.  Some of you 
may be happy to hear that I will not be posting anymore, to ASSD.  I 
will begin posting my reviews, instead, to ASS and ASSM (with Eli's 
permission).  I have taken note of one of the suggestions as to how I
could change my format.  Instead of posting one review at a time I 
will send a larger post containing all the reviews I have done,  once
a week.  The first one should be this Sunday or Monday.

I want to thank all the people who have indicated their appreciation,
both on ASSD and by private e-mail, for my having offered my 
opinions.  Believe it or not I was not trying to make a name for 
myself by writing bad reviews.  The numbers should back me up on 
this.  Of the twenty-two reviews I posted to ASSD, only five were bad
ones, i.e. I gave a score less than 5 on a scale of 10.

I write these reviews for a few reasons:

(1) 	I find Celeste's reviews not all that helpful.  She gives a high 
percentage of the stories she reviews extremely high marks.  I hoped 
to offer an alternative.

(2) I wanted to offer other readers my opinions on stories I have 
read and maybe generate some discussion on what makes for a good 
story and what makes for a bad one.

(3) I hoped to give authors some feedback as to what I liked or 
disliked about their stories.

(4) I enjoy writing them.

I did not realize that ASSD was an elite organization formed of only 
the most discerning and capable authors and readers.  [That was 
sarcasm.]  I can accept people not caring for my taste in stories.  I
cannot understand people saying I have no taste in stories.  Do not 
bother leaving the clubhouse light on for me because I will not be 
back.  

For those of you who are still interested in my reviews I will 
continue to post them individually to my Home Page, as I write them.  
I have set up a separate section at the top of the page for all the 
new reviews.

5/21/98