A general question to the house

[ksmith]

When critique crosses the line into cruelty, who is served?

Besides the author au jus, that is.

UPDATE: posted in the Comments section.

Comments

[davidlevine]

I think that cruel critiques are done for the same reason anything else is done -- because it entertains the person who is being cruel. Perhaps they like to see the victim squirm. Perhaps they enjoy the feeling of superiority. Perhaps it's just the simple joy of creating and delivering a well-honed bad review (for surely bad reviews are the most fun to read) unalloyed by any feelings of sympathy for the recipient.

One time I delivered a particularly scathing critique, which might have been considered cruel, because I was angry and frustrated with the writer. This person had been making the same basic mistake (failing to put the characters in any significant trouble) for story after story, we'd all said the same thing again and again, and they didn't seem to be getting the message. So I wrote and delivered a nasty, vituperative, angry crit in hopes that hurting the person emotionally might get the message across.

As you might guess, it didn't work.