How's My Driving?

[avalonmods]

Welcome to isleofavalon's "How's my driving?" post! Now before we get started, let's go over some basic ground rules so that we may maintain a respectful environment on this participation-optional HMD:

1. We will not be allowing anonymous comments on this meme. If you have something you want to say to someone but are worried about fallout from saying it, please PM the mod account with the name, journal, and what you want to say with the subject line "Protected HMD Comment". If it is deemed inappropriate or unconstructive, the mods will let you know that it is not going to be sent and why. We will present constructive comments without identifiers to their recipients within the next couple of weeks.

2. You may comment with either compliments or criticisms, but keep in mind that all comments should be constructive in nature. If you love the way someone plays their character, tell them what they've done that's stood out to you specifically. If you want to offer someone constructive criticism, that means being not only telling them what is wrong but what they can do to improve upon it.

Here are some examples for your reference:

UNCONSTRUCTIVE COMPLIMENT: You're cool, I get good vibes off of you.
◉ WHY? It's a nice compliment, but it's not adding anything to the conversation. It doesn't really speak to any level of RP or really say anything meaningful about the person you're replying to.

CONSTRUCTIVE COMPLIMENT: I love how you manage to use vocabulary unique to this character without abusing it like it's an obnoxious catchphrase. Your restraint makes the character feel realistic and more relatable in the setting, which makes it easy to get CR with them.
◉ WHY? Specifies something you like that the player does specifically and why that stands out to you.

UNCONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: I don't like how you play your character. It doesn't feel right. Your icons aren't 100x100 and it don't know how to describe it besides ew.
◉ WHY? Provides absolutely nothing that the player can do differently, really only gives them a way to feel shitty. Icons also don't really have anything to do with anyone's ability to RP, so while you may personally feel that way, you're not being helpful. If it really bothers you, maybe just offer a link to some icons that you found for the character and offer it in private instead of making someone feel bad because they either couldn't find preexisting icons and don't have the time/patience/skills to make them or just didn't think it was that important.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Hi there. I wanted to say that I think the way that you play your character is interesting, but I feel like you're emphasizing their obsession with cleaning way too much. It was only in one scene in the series and an off-hand comment about a room being dusty, not their entire character. I would really love to see you bring out more focus on the character's drive to achieve their goal, and how that goal has changed in Avalon's environment.
◉ WHY? This comment points out a specific problem behavior that's causing the character to seem out-of-character. It offers a note to tone it down, as well as emphasizing an action they could take instead to make the character feel more interesting and closer to their usual, core behaviors.

If you aren't sure if your comment is constructive, run it by a mod or don't share it. This HMD is not intended to cause drama or hurt anyone, it's intended to allow an opportunity for growth and respectful communication.

3. If you receive a comment you do not like or agree with, do not start a fight or argument with the person who said it. Accept the comment gracefully and move on with your life. If the comment is not constructive, please report it to a moderator and we will assess the comment and either screen or freeze the thread if we agree that it was not appropriate. We reserve the right to do the same if we believe your responses to criticism are out of line as well.

Okay, now without further ado, here are the instructions:

• Comment with the character name, series, and your character's username for each character that you play in a single comment.
• Reply to other peoples' comments with constructive statements.
• If you have criticism for the game moderation (NOT how mods play characters within the game, as they reserve their right to optional personal threads as well), you can click here to provide it.
• Learn from the suggestions and profit!