Best comment praises

Back during the site wide club contest the entire issue of tightening up on praised comments had not yet arisen. Of course I did the praise & approval.

Since the changes to make it more of a challenge to earn the nominator position took place I became more selective. I think I still have a wider approval standard than many other mods.

Larry...I always meant to ask...is your akubra on backwards???

Since you ask, I wear it sideways.

You look handsome really, and thoughtful, somehow you remind me of Alaska and The Godfather movie...

The Alaskan Godfather?

Klondike Don

Juneau Carlione

Careful, he may tie an Anchorage to your feet & drop you into the Bearing Strait

Make you an Aurora you can't diffuse

Hahahahah oh God, who are you...lol <3 <3

Another fun animal fact, Kiwi birds lay an egg 1/3 their size....so ladies it could be worse.

It's a one woman show, from Mel:

Did you know most lipsticks contain fish scales? =/

Larry has me thinking about monkeys now (from two separate praises)

Ever wonder why monkeys imitate humans at the zoo?

Is it possible that by imitating humans they hope to be taken into the humans' tribe?

I didn't want to nose in but since you are defying Jane, guess no problem with me. The comment of Jane that I praised was yes praisworthy.o It corrected a typo.

In my opinion, yiur last comment on Colms poem was just wow hazel eyes.....but....slander slander slander. It wasn't praiseworthy in my opinion. So shush, Hellon.

I thought this was finished...in my opinion it was but...when you come in right now as you did...I'm going to answer your post. I wasn't defying Jane or anyone else ...I was stating facts that there were three one liner comments that had been praised and approved by the mods that said nothing...absolutely nothing about the content of the poem....Jane corrected a typo...and? I correct many typos...I don't expect praise for that....when someone corrects me I don't praise them either I sent them a pm thanking them for picking it up....you made a typo....that's all...it is NOT praiseworthy you shouldn't expect anything in return you just do it...if you see a small error... just tell the author...right?

Just hazel eyes? No....it was much more than that...I questioned hazel grey eyes and left my interpretation relating to my thoughts..ie...hazel could mean warm and grey cold and....I got a very pleasant pm from Colm saying I had got it right....I also stated other opinions in my comment so...maybe you need to shush?

For a comment to seen as praise worthy for someone and not praise worthy for someone else, while perhaps normal for members, it also means that those accepting or rejecting it are following their guts and not certain rules and standards that have been agreed on.

If that's the case then perhaps the procedure could be modified into having more than one mod approve. Which means if Larry, for example, approves a comment as praise worthy then it goes, say, to Jane, without her knowing that Larry even seen the comment. If Jane approves it then it's praised if she disapproves it, then it goes to Mel/Sibs who either approve or disapprove it and decide the comment's fate. A bit tiresome, I know. Perhaps it'll be easier if it were outlined, again, what is it that a praise worthy comment should consist of. I hope it's not the length.

P.s. Nice thread.

I have praised other peoples comments, that were left on other peoples poems. I thought they deserved praise because the reviewer showed a great understanding of the poem, they had given their opinion on what they thought the authors message was. They had gotten right into the bones of the poem, saying what they thought worked well. These praises were approved.

Nor, that's an awesome idea. If Janis would poke his nose back in sometime, I bet he could figure out how to set the system up. We have a similar system for deleting old clubs. Two mods have to hit delete for the club to be deleted.

It's doable and I see no reason not to implement the idea.

Nice to see your face around these parts again :)

Hellon, I pity how furious you get over unworthy things. Janes comment IS praiseworthy whether you agree or not, it's not your business anyway, you're not the one who puts rules in here. Why do you rove about EVERYTHING and try your best to insult people directly or undirectly?

It's praiseworthy. End of the story.

And I don't know or...rather care if yours on colms was a comment or not. I was just showing you how people sometimes see things in a different way. You obviously couldn't comprehend it.

Nor, we've talked but again... Welcome back.

Cease the personal attacks

I didn't see anyone mention this... but Hellon some of the comments that were praised that you highlighted from previous years (and ex mods) were before we changed the system. Before it was pretty much anything got praised, until the site as a whole (well the active people in here anyway) decided we would change it to certain requirements. So those can't really count as valid as that's not how it's supposed to be done anymore. :)

I really like Nor's idea. (P.S. Welcome back, Nor! It's good to see you here.) Like Jane said, I bet it could be implemented, and I don't think it would feel like much more work at all. I think people are really staying on top of the comment approvals... I go in there and there are generally only 2 or 3, rather than the 17 - 20 that we used to have sometimes.

We have stricter guidelines with praises than we used to (even a few months ago), but there's always a little room for subjectivity. We can say "Does the comment give concrete examples of how to improve the poem?" It seems like a simple yes/no question, but to some people it might be a yes, and some people it might be a no. It depends on what we'd mean by "concrete," by "example," etc. And that's just one standard of the rubric. We also want to leave the possibility of working on a case-by-case basis, which allows for some shorter (but insightful) comments.

On another note, like Larry said, please keep this thread civil. Hellon raised a concern, and has a right to. Again, it comes down to the fact that we're humans, and unfailingly subjective.

Hgjkswkwovj... I didn't 'attack' her. So I will be penalised for defending what's been said about the comment I praised.

Funny how she remembers some really old stuff, that's all I said.

I would like to congratulate Xanthe here for successfully climbing to the top of the "best critique/comment" ladder (262 comments and rapidly climbing still) in < 6 mth of becoming a PnQ member. WOW! An accomplishment to be envious of for all comment writers, as this is after the new more stringent standards were enacted.

And I have to say this to Hellon, if your little checks and balances were not around to point out the errors and issues, PnQ will not be same. Your critical questioning keeps the mods and the contest runner on their toes and from ever sleeping on the job. So, no one should underestimate the power of a critic, for without them the World would not be the same and writers, scientists, artists, would not constantly strive to improve upon their work. So, WOW to you too.

Well glad it wouldn't be that hectic for you, guys, then (although it's sad the number of praised comments, or comments in general, are not what it used to be). Lets just hope Janis's list isn't as long as it used to be now.

Until then I was thinking members as well can use their state-why-this-comment-is-worth-a-praise boxes (or whatever it's called) to really state the reason they think the comment is praise worthy when they praise it, just to make the job, and the life, of the person approving the praise a bit easier.

Edit:
-----

@A lonely soul, couldn't agree more.

Noura, no one is penalzed, just bring it down a notch.

Hellon, I agree with David.

Xanthe, I add my congratulations.

Not sure why there's the impression of fewer praised comments, I usually deal with about 20 a day, about one fifth of which I decline.

If the praiser is concerned that the value of the comment may not be evident, by all means explain. If the praised comment does not stand on its own, perhaps it should not be submitted. If in doubt, go ahead anyway - at worst it will simply be declined.

For myself I do go by an objective/subjective guideline: whether the comment contributes meaningfully to the understanding of the poem, or suggests significant improvement to the poem or challenges the author in some way to clarify or otherwise improve the poem.

I bracket out the repetition of the poem and mere laudatory phrases & make my decision on what is left. A very long comment may not pass merit, but a short one may.

I also have made exceptions.

I too really like Nor's idea. (Welcome home, I've missed you) I don't think it would take much for Janis to implement and if it creates a fairer system I'm all for giving it a go. I don't see it becoming a tiresome process, it would be the same amount of work as usual and if it's a little more than it'll be worth it.

We are definitely on top of praised comments, I read around 15 a day. We are still having a lot of praised comments coming through, even though we now have the 'reply' button, a lot of the time the praised box is used for responding with a thank you message to "great job 5/5 comments".

I do read what members have said when praising a comment, however it takes more than their reasoning for me to accept one. I can honestly say length has nothing to do with why we accept or decline praise.

Congratulations to Xanthe for climbing up the ladder so quickly. I'm sure your insight has been a great contribution to the site!

Nor's suggestion will be noted in the mod room, feel free to keep them coming. We are always interested in what everyone has to say and I honestly do enjoy Hellon's perceptiveness. She keeps my mind busy.

Well there's the mystery solved - I only ever have a handful of comments to approve, because Larry and Mel are getting to them first!

People are, of course, always free to still use the "explain why this is praiseworthy" box for its named use. Normally, I would prefer if the comment could stand on its own, but sometimes a comment is a part of a larger context that we cannot see, and the praiser can help us realize it.

From sibyllene:

The scientific name of the gorilla is:

Gorilla gorilla gorilla

I'm not kidding.

Ah yes, ^ proof that humanity reigns supreme.

From Baby Rainbow
Blue cheese should be pink, much more people would be attracted to it and trying it!

^^^^

It could be rainbow coloured but still smells of sweaty socks ugg!!!

should I sent this one in with my next praised comment?...

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit...wonder what she'd be called if she was expecting twins? Think of that all you guys who use twitter?

Tara Kay
You never realize what you have till its gone ..Toilet paper is a good example.

Some interesting true facts about said toilet paper...

The average tear is 5.90 sheets of TP.
44% wipe from front to back from behind their backs.
60% look at the paper after they wipe.
42% fold, 33% crumple, 8% do both fold and crumple, 6% wrap it around their hands.
50% say that they have wiped with leaves.
8% have wiped with their hands.
2% have wiped with money!

St. John of the Freeway (9)
by Larry Chamberlin the Godfather

praise by Larry Chamberlin the Godfather

All parts of the American Bison were used by the Sioux; nothing was wasted.

comment by Maple Tree ( F P C D ) at 2012-09-03

Paris (36)
by Melpomene

praise by Melpomene

Basorexia: An overwhelming desire to neck or kiss

comment by Maple Tree

A Lost Soul ( Nonet- Acrostic) (8)
by Everlasting

praise by Everlasting

,.,..,.,.,...,.,.,,....,.,,.,,.,,.,,.,
..,..,.,.,,,,.,,,.,.,,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,.
...,.,.,.,....,,.,,.,,. So cold ..
.,,,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,,.,,....,.,.,.,
,,o~,.,.,.,,.~o.0.,.,.o~0.....
.,|.,...,,,.,,.,.|.,|..,,,|./|\.,..
.,|_.,.,,..,,,,./\/\.,,,/\./\.,.,.
____________________
_____[__________]____

..................\.|./.......
...............~~O~~.....
................../.|.\.......
...............................
\O/..........................
..|..............
../\............
___________________
___good morning_____

comment by Blissful

Perhaps apropos?

Suitcase (13)
by Melpomene

praise by Melpomene

Callipygean: Having well-shaped buttocks

comment by Britt

A prerequisite for certain formed poetry:

Paris (36)
by Melpomene

praise by Melpomene

Abecedarian: A person who is learning the alphabet

comment by Britt

Mel must have been reading the debate thread when she wrote this:

Ships Sink (12)
by Melpomene

praise by Melpomene

Hadeharia: The practice of constantly using the word "Hell" in speaking

comment by Blissful