naiadestricolor:

[previous comments snipped for reblog]

This bothers me.  No, I’m not talking about the list of comments being brought up here.  What bothers me is that this can be taken as ‘how to portray yourself as an artist who is not open to communication’, or conversely ‘how to look like an ungrateful arse of an artist’, and these kinds of things I feel are more of pet-peeves to certain individuals and not all artists.

Don’t get me wrong, I know/follow artists who have gotten one or all of these kinds of comments at some point and I know that some of them really don’t like one or two of these kinds of comments in particular, especially if they get them on a frequent basis.  And that’s cool, I can respect that and understand if they get exasperated.  Just…DO NOT lump me or all artists together with things like this.  Because honestly?  Those little add-ons of ‘it’s rude’ or ‘we don’t care’ or ‘fuck off’ bothers me far more than comment type #1 or whatever.  It bothers me because I would never say those kinds of things nor would I reply to those comments with that kind of flippant attitude.

If you are going to come out and say that you don’t like certain comments or tell one of your commentators that you didn’t agree with what they said, be professional.  Speak to your audience the way you want to spoken to.  Common courtesy, on both sides, can go a long way.  If it continues despite your attempts to stave off certain comments, you have the right (if the options are there) to delete the comments or have a site administrator delete them for you or disable comments completely.  I don’t think anyone is going to get vehemently angry at you for wanting to keep your gallery clean of obtrusive comments and maintain some professionalism.

Here’s my personal rule of thumb when I speak to or leave comments for other artists: If I was speaking to the artist directly, in a gallery, at an art show, etc., would I actually say—out loud and perhaps in public—the comment I’m about to make to that artist?  Would I actually say it ‘to their face’?

If the answer is in any way ‘no, I would not’ you probably should rethink your comment or just simply not say it at all. 

And I apply this same rule to commentators.  If what I’m about to reply with is something I would not say to my parents, my friends, my instructors, or anyone I want to maintain a level of respect with, I’m not going say it to you.  I would find a way to be courteous and clear to you as possible even if what I say to you is ‘hey I disagree with you’ or ‘hey I don’t appreciate that kind of comment’ or ‘hey I would like you to not do x thing on my space because it is cluttering or distracting.’  Because otherwise I have failed at being a professional and a decent person.