I've just read through 10 pages of comments on a thread on Timelines on the subject of advertising on the site (thanks for the link Carl) and I found the whole discussion rather surreal. It started out quite polite and civil but quickly degenerated into something else. Some of the comments became quite personal and disrespectful, but what really surprised me was who the people making those comments were.
I made a number of observations about the discussion, and about the people participating in that discussion.
Firstly, Timelines seems to be dominated by US modelers who share a common language and culture and have plenty of opportunities to meet each other at the numerous shows held in the US each year. The vibe I get on Timelines is of a site where many of the members know each other personally, or know someone who knows someone. In this respect, it seems to represent a fairly narrow slice of the global figure modelling community. I note that many Timelines members are also pF members.
By contrast, Planet Figure seems to draw its membership from a much broader base of nationalities and cultures, and is perhaps more representative of the global figure modeling community because it has such a diverse membership from Europe, Asia, Australasia and the Americas.
My point is that Planet Figure seems to cater for a much more diverse international audience than Timelines, with a wider range of tastes in figures, subjects and levels of experience.
Many people on pF do not belong to a model club, have no other modelers living near them and have never attended a major model show. Some members may not know any other figure modelers personally. For many people on pF, this website represents their only contact with other figure modelers - it is a virtual figure modeling club.
For this reason alone, I think we need to be extra considerate when posting comments on pF, so that we don't offend or scare off someone by making unnecessarily blunt or "brutally" honest comments about another modeler's work. It may be their first and last visit to the site and may turn them off figure modeling all together.
Those of us who have been around for a while often forget that there are many people out there in cyberspace who feel intimidated by negative or unconstructive criticism, who lack the confidence to express themselves in English and who feel unworthy to post their work on the site because they are new to the hobby and over-awed by some of the "Masters" who inhabit the site. These people are the future of our hobby and we should reach out and make them feel welcome.
This brings me to my second observation; Planet Figure seems to attract a higher proportion of newbie (beginner) figure modelers than Timelines. I'm only guessing, but I assume from the comments I've read on Timelines over several years, that the majority of the members of the Timelines forum are generally more experienced figure modelers than most of the members on pF.
Perhaps this accounts for the perception expressed by some people on Timelines(and other sites) that Planet Figure is too concerned with handing out undeserved or over-generous praise, both in its Kit Reviews and in general comments to threads.
Perhaps this is because pF has been more successful at attracting new modelers from around the world to figure modeling, in large part because Guy's reviews offer everyone, regardless of their skill with the English language, the opportunity to look at his excellent pictures and make their own decisions on what kits to buy.
I can only speak for myself, but I see one of my responsibilities as an experienced figure modeler to encourage other figure modelers, especially newbies, to have a go, persevere and keep trying.
I do this through a combination of encouraging comments and constructive criticism. I do the same thing in my figure modelling club, and in my role as the Chief Judge at the annual WASMEx model show here in Perth and I chose to do so here on pF too.
I try to offer a combination of praise and encouragement (a metaphorical pat on the back), but also provide honest constructive criticism and some suggestions as to how to improve their technique.
The fact that so many other people on pF regularly choose to do the same, and take the time to pass on their knowledge and freely offer tips and encouraging comments to help beginners, is why pF is so popular with newbie figure modelers from all around the world.
I'm not sure if this diatribe makes any sense, but I felt compelled to express my thoughts and share them with you all.
I encourage you to read the comments posted on the Timelines thread and draw your own conclusions. It's very interesting to see how other people see this forum, and the comments they make about the people who contribute to it.
Some of those comments say more about the people that made them than they realise.
