Welcome to my domain. Or domicile, if you prefer.

This, as we all know, is Fanfiction, and I am one of two things:

1) A critter (person who critiques) and someone who warns violating stories

2) Your worst nightmare

Or, a combination of the two if your worst fear is a decent review/warning. The first is pretty self explanatory, I crit, I review, I read, I write, I warn. But the second is a little less clear. I don't mean that I automatically turn into a fire spitting dragon with the slightest provocation, but, for some people, getting a review that isn't sugar rainbows and unicorns is like a slap to the face. And to that I say a few things:

1) This site is not all about you

2) Nobody is out to get you personally

3) The rules are non-negotiable

4) I don't make them, just enforce them

I say these things because sometimes, people don't seem to understand that. Yes, you can write, and this site allows someone to take those stories and post them somewhere to get feedback in a neutral setting. No, it does not mean that just because someone likes what you wrote or that you wrote it 'just for fun' you can do whatever you want. Yes, I do review stories. No, I don't hate you personally. Yes, some rules can have exceptions. No, they do not apply here. Yes, the rules are in fact needed. No, I did not make them. No, I cannot change them.

So, I crit. Over the years it has helped me become a better writer, and it most definitely helps as long as you remember the critter is critiquing your story, not you personally. It's one of the hardest things to understand about writing, but, if you're writing and posting anything anywhere, it's something you need to understand very quickly. One of the best ways to do this is to step back and take a look at what, exactly, is going on in that review, and understand why the reviewer said it.

Is the review directly degrading you or your writing with no merit?

Does the review seem to have no purpose but to anger the author?

Does the review have no helpful criticism?

If yes, then you can probably ignore it with a clear conscience, because they probably have no idea what they're talking about. There's no point in getting worked up over what is probably a troll.

And now on to the other end of the spectrum...

Does the review, when looked at objectively, actually have some valid points?

Is the review tone firm, yet fair?

Does the review offer helpful criticism? Or just help in general?

If so, get over it. It's one thing to lash out at a troll, or someone deliberately trying to get under your skin with hateful comments, but another thing entirely to pick a fight with a reviewer who has not done one of those things. Yeah, you're gonna get angry. Yes, you will have reviewers who hate whatever you write no matter what you do. And yes, you will have this insane desire to PM them with ALL CAPS and explain to them how utterly wrong they are because hey, you wrote this just for fun and you don't care if they don't like it, and that they're stupid for not understanding what you wrote because they obviously just aren't smart enough to know what makes it good.

If you ever get that immediate reaction, take a step back and remember a few things.

1) Your reviewers owe you nothing. You wrote it, you put it someone where another person has the option to read it, and the reviewer doesn't owe you a damn thing. Not a word of praise, not a good review, nothing. There are thousands of stories that person can go to and be entertained, and they don't have to spend it here.

2) This is not your site. That would require you to actually own it, which you don't. And therefore you cannot prance around as you please. Neither can I. I still have to abide my a certain set of rules as well, so don't think you're alone. Everyone has the same list of rules, and why should one person out of thousands get a pass? Kind of harsh, but you're not that special.

3) If you're as creative as you claim and people love your writing that much, you can work around these rules. I'm not talking about changing the bare minimum to get away with what can still be considered a rule breaking story, but using whatever theme you originally had (real person stories, chat/script format, etc) and turn it into something else while still retaining it's original element.

All in all, it's very easy to get sucked up into the internet and realize hey, this isn't real life, I don't have to play fair here, there's no consequences here. But, in fact, there are, and just because it's online doesn't mean common sense and politeness has to melt from your memory.