WARNING: potentially flammable material. DO NOT READ if a friend of craftster

so every night we have this ritual: he sits down in front of one computer and pulls up a game, and pulls up another game or show on the other computer, and i sit here on the couch behind him and look at other people's creations.

it's sad, really. i should be creating my own things - well, i do - but i sit here and look at all these projects, outpourings of creation; some good, some bad, some quality, some not, some made for others, for themselves, for kids... the list could go on and on... i'd say maybe one out of every 200 i'm actually truly interested in...

i have issues with craftster. i appreciate the place as a forum for people who like to craft, and there are certain aspects i agree with - the tutorial sections, for example, are particularly helpful. what i don't understand, and maybe this is because i'm not very versed in internet communities, is the interaction between posters and the people who comment. i realize this is a "free country" and people can say whatever they want, and maybe i'm a little starved for artistic recognition myself, but here' an example typical of craftster: i posted a really high quality necklace i made (seriously, i got paid like $30 for it), and i got nothing, not even a single comment, but a cross stitch that says F**K YEAH (you know, but without the asterisks) generates 3-4 pages of "awesome" comments. another typical craftster; post a sob story along with your project, it's a guaranteed two pages at least. make sure your pet gets in the picture and that will up your comments quota by at least five posters. and you'll never get a negative comment. EVER. even if you're looking to troubleshoot something, you'll get a bunch of "honey, it's beautiful the way it is," "it's art, it doesn't have to be perfect," "i don't see what's wrong with it; great job!"

one of craftster's t-shirt sayings is "Don't Date: Craftsterbate!" hmm, are they trying to tell us something?? oh! call on me! i get it! craftster is a place where people go to stroke their own creative libidos by shoving their "creations" out into the void. or more accurately, into the arms of so much shallow praise.*

here's one scenario that really irked me: someone posted a picture frame, broken in one corner and splatter-painted red, with a picture of her friend with a (fake) gun to his head in the frame. a friend and i got pretty upset by this, and we said, "we know you're entitled to artistic freedom, but could you please warn people in your topic heading that you have potentially sensitive material in your post? some/many have lost friends or know someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, and we don't take it lightly or joke about it." our posts were deleted by the moderator because they were deemed offensive.

i still browse, every day, like some sort of sordid addiction, and once in awhile there's a good project and a genuine artist pops up. the rest of 'em are a bunch of posers. a preponderance of wannabe lolita's and young and old punks, hippies, rockabillies, and general social rebels. "see what i did? i cut up a t-shirt, smeared some black paint on it and did it all up in safety pins. i'm an artist and you can't understand the angst in my soul."

go cry, emo kid. i refuse to offer social justification for this. at least it's better than a bunch of melrose place/gossip girl copycats, though some posts come dangerously close.

that's a rant for another day.

* as an educator, i realize there is nothing wrong with praise and encouragement. i take issue specifically with empty, gratuitous generalities, which are actually more harmful than honest, constructive criticism. it's like giving every kid on every t-ball team a trophy at the end of the season, because "there are no winners and losers." well, yes there are, in t-ball and in real life, and there's nothing wrong with kids (and adults) learning that lesson with grace and respect. just because you have a shiny piece of plastic doesn't mean you've accomplished anything; at least nowadays it doesn't. another rant, another day.