Going back to the original question. Where does it say anywhere in the rubric that spell-check is expected? What is obvious to a newcomer is that more preparation of text is expected in TDE so perhaps for Metrical itself there should be a few gentle guidelines as to the state/standard expected. I realise I've used the word "expected" three times.
One of the hardest things for the joiner of any group is to second-guess the expectations of the established members. Would it hurt to help them?
I am acting as Devil's advocate here. As an "established" poet, I would not dream of posting anything that wasn't as good as I could get it on my own before asking for the input - or reaction (thank you, Janet) - of others. The reason I haven't started a thread so far is that I have just had a book published and I didn't have anything left to submit for criticism that fulfilled my own criteria. Or the Sphere's - my choice was vanity posting or offering suspect crap - either would have breached the protocols as I perceived them and insulted the community of poets I have come to admire and respect.
But if really were a newcomer? A "wannabee" as someone said in a different forum (though I'd have spelt it with a single "e"). How would I have known what Eratosphere expected?
My first critical posts here were ingenuous and ill-judged. I was helped by moderators and several generous poets to remedy that. But I soon found myself peering into other forums to find out who was who and what they believed. And I often wish I hadn't.
I want to offer in my turn the generosity of spirit that was offered to me when I first entered Eratosphere. I am now struggling in my own head - not for the first time - with the difference between élitism and excellence. I want to go back to the poetry.
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