META: The Problem of Subjectivity

[Tom Russell]

On Mar 14, 11:42 am, Andrew Burton <tuglyrai... at aol.com> wrote:
> Martin Phipps wrote:

> > I get the feeling that somebody out there thinks I just write stuff in
> > a few minutes and I don't put any thought into it and that my stories
> > exist for no other purpose than for him to rip into with a "stylish
> > and witty" review.  That isn't the case.

You know, I wasn't precisely sure what this was about exactly, since
I'm not getting several of the posts (killfile), and now that I have a
slightly larger inkling of what it is about, I really should just stay
out of it.

That being said, I don't think that you "don't put any thought into
it" or that the stories "exist for no other purpose than for him
[i.e., me] to rip into".  Nor does any of my reviews support those
conclusions.

But it basically all comes down to this:

1. Martin doesn't like my reviews of his stories.  He considers them
to be highly negative, unfair, and mean-spirited; he feels that I'm
just "ripping" into him.  I disagree-- and I think a lot of other
people would also disagree-- but I've gotten tired of the
disagreement.

2. Therefore, I stopped reviewing his stories.  He says my reviews are
hurtful, and so I stopped hurting him.  He doesn't like that, either.

I don't really see any other option available to me, and I don't see
why he has to keep going on about it.

Luckily, I no longer can see him going on about it.  My sympathies to
Mr. Burton.

==Tom