Here are my thoughts. Your post is nothing out the ordinary when I think "critique". If you watch a critic attack a movie's bad points, he doesn't always offer a way to improve each and every detail. With that said, I don't have a problem with your reply overall.
BUT, it was taken the wrong way. The main reason why deltableh took it personally that I can see is this particular statement:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by bigfrit
You should first try your hand at basic stuff...
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Out of context, this would appear to be a generalization. He probably thought you were directly attacking his skills. If you had narrowed it down to specifically this model, I believe there would have been a different reaction, although not necessarily positive.
When all is said and done, you motivated him to do a better build. Had deltableh been of a younger age, you may have crushed his confidence with your post. But since deltableh has had a couple of decades to learn himself, he turned a negative (from his point of view) into motivation.
In the end, I don't think your post was the wrong thing to do. Looks like you went through more than the usual "pre-reply" routine before making a controversial reply, and I believe you're truly justified. Besides that small point I mentioned, I think you're okay.
And props to deltableh. You didn't make a really huge stink over it, and you turned what bigfrit said into motivation. It takes a sound mind to do that.
*Edit*
Just something to add regarding my own ideas... Let's say deltableh knows in his own mind that the build was below par for him. If he had nothing but good comments, what kind of idea would that give him? I make it a point to only post praise when it is earned. Even though I'm a below-average skilled builder, I know what a good model should look like. And I'm not putting that bar up at hiroboy's level or ales' level or MPWR's level (to name a few excellent builders). In fact, I don't base my judgment off of any builder in particular. My judgment for a good model is based, firstly, on how much attention is given to the fundamentals: quality of paint, completeness, etc. After that comes the "icing on the cake"; the extra details, etc. The "icing on the cake" cannot come before the fundamentals, and I won't give someone praise just for wiring up and engine while leaving the aftermarket wheels sticking out of the wheel wells when they aren't supposed to. I would feel more sore at myself for posting false praise than I would be posting harsh critique. I feel it's my duty, as a reader, to offer my
honest thoughts if I'm going to offer any at all. I'd almost feel like I'm letting the person down by praising something I don't think has earned that praise. I'm sure bigfrit feels the same way.