Izzardfan: I like you lots, and I think you're generally a super positive awesome force
As said privately, thank you.
But actually, I did think it crossed the line when you said that while Mur Lafferty could make a phone book sound interesting, James Trimarco was the opposite. I'm pretty sure that was you.
As mentioned privately, I've edited my original post to reflect the current guidelines.
And whether or not you're correct that narrators should give up if they receive too many scathing comments (and I'm not willing to concede that; for instance, I think Diane Severson has a stunning voice)... it isn't just the narrators who get those comments who are affected. There's a chilling effect. Other narrators see how their peers are treated and become hesitant to work with us.
I didn't know who Diane was, specifically, so I did a forum search to see which pieces she had narrated. One of them was PC063: Daughter of Botu, which I have just finished. I adored her reading of the story (and the others she has done prior), and even commented to my daughter that her pronunciation of Chinese words made it all the more enjoyable and engrossing. I was drawn into the story more. I noticed that most of the negative comments on the blog regarding her reading were from people who spoke Chinese fluently. As I speak German (though not quite fluently), I suppose I might take exception to a reading of a German-set story where the accent and/or German words were mispronounced. But I agree, Diane has a great voice, and I would hate to see her quit reading based on the comments. So I withdraw my suggestion.
But then, how do you propose to address the issue? If, going back to James Trimarco's reading, I were to be specific about what bothered me,
without crossing the line, and everyone else who posted a negative comment did the same, do you think he'd still be willing to read again? Would you
want him to read again? And if so, would you ask him to change his style? (e.g. I said there was little to no emotion in his voice. Would you ask him to put more emotion into it?) If a second story produced similar comments, what then?
And it would suck if we got rid of all biting commentary, because biting commentary can be awesome.
I don't pretend to have the answers, and as I am not a narrator or an author, I don't know if I can put myself in their shoes. As I've said in a post months ago, I'm not that hard to please. But certain stories and certain readings leave me cold. It's a subjective experience (e.g. I never finished listening to The Fiddler of Bayou Teche because of the voice, but I don't fault the reader, because she did exactly what the story called for; it's just something that I couldn't handle, personally). I have to be honest, but I will try to be kind at the same time. I don't envy you your job, and wish all the editors and moderators good luck, sincerely.