Nemo, as you know, technical discussions of FV are also possible. An FV poet has all the poetic tools at his or her disposal that the metrical poets have, except received forms.
The issue at hand is not empathy but whether the Non-Metrical moderators have allowed or perpetrated cruel criticism on one or more members. That is what Janet said
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I have sometimes wondered about the responsibility and limited usefulness of one's personal views when writing a crit.
I won't say which poem prompted my present rumination. It was a poem that engaged my imagination in an interesting way. It isn't a formal poem.
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If we know another poet fairly well we can let them have it with both barrels occasionally but then we must expect to have the missiles returned. (...).
And when a new poster posts something which causes us to shudder do we wait or let 'em have it. OK! Cruelty can be fun.
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"aura of otherness" was a meandering sub-thought to the topic at hand.
Again, the purpose of workshopping is to allow the poet access to the thoughts and suggestions of a diversity of compeers--some of whom are qualified, others less so, just like the general readership in the real world.
The developing poet (and the oldtimers) must be aware that both pros and cons, when politely worded and grounded in specific elements of the poem, are the purpose of workshipping.
The role of the moderator is to maintain, to the best of our ability, an atmosphere that takes consideration to this "aura of otherness" while promoting a learning environment. That is what I strive to do as moderator and what my excellent partner (who has taught me nearly everything I know about moderating) strives to do.
Our goal is to promote a good learning envrionment that has room for everyone's "aura" and all types of poetry.
If we are charged with having failed to support those goals, we welcome specific instances of how we have failed and we will do our best to remedy it.