[Maryann Corbett]

Originally Posted by Elise Hempel

But the "inexperienced" aren't welcome here, right?

If that were true, I would have been in terrible trouble eight years ago, when I first started posting. There's a difference between "beginner" and "inexperienced." Eratosphere is short-tempered with absolute beginners, but it was very good indeed with a poet who had the basics down and was looking for reassurance, encouragement, and observations about the fine points.

The last poem I posted I wasn't sure of, and someone criticized me for posting a poem I wasn't sure of. So are we to post poems we're completely sure of (and for what reason?) or poems we're not sure of?

"Not sure of" is ambiguous, isn't it? If it means "this is a first draft," then it may be true that it's too soon to post.

But if it means "I could have made different decisions about a lot of these lines, and I need to see how these decisions will fly," then of course one should post if one wants to test them and has faith in the people who read here. And if it means "I don't know whether this will make sense to people," then it's reasonable to post. It's also reasonable to test the poem privately with somebody whose judgment you trust.

So while I haven't read the thread you're referring to, I think that particular criticism may have been a bit overbroad.