[ross hamilton hill]

' the Sphere is a workshop, and it's purpose is to discuss works in progress.'

I agree with Michael that this thread is a bit 'so whatish?' just get on with it. but it did set me thinking about what a poetry forum actually does, workshopping, yes, but that to me covers a range of possibilities.
A poster may, and there are some who do, simply post a poem, wait till all the comments are made then thank everyone, that happens regularly, sometimes not even a thank you, just silence. Perfectly reasonable, no demand that a poet defend, explain, respond to comments, one assumes the poet/poster has read them, and that's all that's required.
Others basically assume the poem is finished, that all criticism, no matter how insightful is beside the point, it is their poem, they wrote it and no one else can rewrite it for them. Again a perfectly reasonable approach, a poem only has one author, ( there may be the rare exception, but really can you think of any major poem written by two people, or more.) So are these people simply showcasing their poems, evading the workshop process, I don't think so because the implied learning experience is ongoing, the criticiem of poem A will influence poem B which is yet to be written, in that way poetry forums can have a powerful influence.
The last category, I can think of, most closely fits Michael's idea of 'workshopping' a poem, that is the poet who revises the poem in line with suggestions, incorporates ideas or actual phrases suggested by commentators. This works for some, but also is often disastrous for others, poets lose control of their own poem, lose their voice and instead the poem becomes less not more. We have all seen this happen, and it emphasises the point that a poem is a solo creation, try to make it otherwise and it ceases to be a poem by a certain person and instead becomes a poem by an Erato workshop, with mixed results.
Perhaps the one other category is the suggested edit, I often think this is the best form of advice as it mimics the editors time honoured role in the production of literature. If a comment suggest you drop S1, and you do so, the work is still entirely your's, your 'voice' is intact.
There are probably aspects of this subject that others can think of, and also this is not part of the thread although is a response to a comment on the thread.
If you've heard it all before, well sorry but you didn't have to read it and if you're wondering why I bothered, well I am hopelessly jet lagged and there is not a lot else to do at 2 am.