Critique Circle unprofessional, prejudice, manipulative, vindictive, childish Internet

To the original author of this report, don't let them bully you! First Take your time and save every single chapter in your book if you haven't done so already. Two delete every chapter that you have posted up so far in CC.Now screen shot any negative conversations that you have had with the mods and owners of CC.

The screen shot button is on the right side of your keyboard and it says: prt scr sysrq. Now you have the power to record any online message even if copy paste is disabled.  (Bawhahah) Be sure to take full screenshots of everyone harassing and threatening you. Along with your replies. Don't be tempted to edit anything k? After taking a screen shot of one message open up your windows paint program and then paste the screen shot into it it it a name 000proof.ping or what ever you like save to your desk to to find it easly.

Three Go into your profile and all other personal settings. Delete any address information, email (change it a new one, you can make a fast one at aol.com) Doesn't change your name just yet. After you have done all of this, you must become invisible and hide. These people are bad and you do not need them. They are going to hold you back and continue to bully you into thinking that you're not any good without them. This is a lie and a slap to the face, this is mental abuse. Don't fall for it you are an author nothing will take that away. And every author has the ability to grow, learn and yes, even some day become great.  Run away from this group, they are too negative and are dragging you down. Think about it, have they ever shown proof that they've gotten anything published in the past few months? No? -nods-

Four read this:

What Copyright Law Covers

Copyright law protects "works of authorship" which include literary works such as short fiction, short stories, novels, nonfiction articles, poetry, newspaper articles, newspapers, magazine articles, magazines, computer software, software manuals, text advertisements, manuals, catalogs, brochures, and compilations of information, such as databases. Other categories of protected works include dramatic works, motion pictures, other audiovisual works, and sound recordings. Copyright law does not protect ideas, facts, inventions, processes, systems of operations, words, names, symbols or proprietary information, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. Inventions and processes are protected under patent law. Words, names and symbols used to identify good and services are protected by trademark law. Proprietary information (information secret, to a business such as customer lists) is protected by trade secret law.

If you do not have a lawyer, I'm sorry to say that you need one now just to get them to back down unless they get stupid or something. Go talk to your lawyer show them the screen shots and explain that you just are hiring them to make sure that CC comply delete your story. That's what I'm worried about that will steal your story out of spite.

You do not need them you'll be far better off with out them then with if they are using these unsavory tactics to bully you. If you have critics that would never think of doing such a thing, and will treat you with respect email me at floatingleafs@aol.com

Oh, and another thing think about this, they there are so focused on catching those horrible mistakes (typos, and grammatical errors.) that even when members ask that they focus on the more important aspects like ... say ... oh, plot? You barely get any help at all. Why is this? They are petty and simply lack the skill to be able to help you with these problems. A member working on their wip for ten years is scary and a red flag.
-shutters- Something to think about.

oh i remember when this happened. was a pretty big blow up on the forum and i just stayed out of it. it's interesting to see how those admins acted behind the scenes. i was a member of that site for many years and not the first time something like this had happened there. i left after because it gave me an uneasy feeling. the report seems pretty accurate to what i saw take place on the forums but every time that girl posted the posts were immediately disappearing and you could tell they were trying to hide something or cover it up or something. after reading those messages now i know for sure. glad i left.

i found that site in the long run hindered my growth anyway. an editor even said i'd lost my voice and to find a small handful of beta readers and be careful of critique groups that they can be helpful but aren't always.

so if that's what you're looking for, try (((Redacted))). they have a section on their site. the interface isn't as nice, to be honest. you will have to do everything through email and use track changes in word, but it works out better that way in the end. critique circle is like a festering sore of drama and anyone who reveals that usually gets banned. the pattern has been repeating for years and i used to wonder about the admin but after reading these messages it looks like maybe the administrator has some mental health issues so i do feel kind of sad for him but still better to stay away, i think.

I respect your insights. I used to look at things the same way before this happened to me. I also understand, from your comments, that you dont really understand what happened. This is especially clear as you said I was one of the people from the Erotica queue. I was not. I never used the erotica queue. And those who were banned had created a website, and I wasnt invited. What they talked about on their private (and hacked) website, resulted in their being banned, even though there were no rules against what they talked about. Even though *I* was one of the authors gossiped about on that site, I still didnt think they deserved to be banned for that.

You are free to have your insights on those membersthough you clearly in the dark on what really happenedbut I was not one of them. All I have posted here is correspondences and exactly what happened. While you didnt get to see it first hand, many did. Several members have decided not to renew their membership since.

Yes I did speak up about the banned members. (But you claim, with your fantastic social life, to know more about what happened than I do. Perhaps that is the case), In any case, admin acted unprofessionally, both with the members banned before me, as well as with myself. Their correspondences with me are proof of that. YES they were upset I posted their private messages. Look above at what they were saying. Of course they didnt want people to see them speaking that way! But now it is here, for all to see. They can look at what was said and decide for themselves how professional the admin of this site really is.

I was not refunded the money spent previously. For the money I was willing to spend again, I was a victim of prejudice, and that is clear if you read the posts here carefully and can comprehend the correspondences between me and the admin.

I have found some wonderful critique sites since, where there is no drama! Its a refreshing change from CC, and full of other published authors. I still think CC remains to be a great place for newbie writers to get advice from other newbie writers, and support from one anotherso long as you never voice your opinion if you see something do wrong. Great people there, terrible admin. Lucky for me, the people still keep in touch. I just checked back on this link because I got another email from someone who wishes I hadnt left CC, and I wanted to link them here so they could see what happened. (they saw what happened up to a certain point, but werent aware of where things went once I was deleted and exactly what happened to cause the deletion)

CC has banned at least 4 published authors (if you include myself). I think it gets to a certain point that some people outgrow the site anyway, and perhaps CC has done me a favor as all my writing contacts now (aside from one who isnt ready for the next step) are all published. Guess we found time to write and edit too, huh?

But good luck to you and I hope you manage a publication one day soon as well. PSmy first publication was a story I DIDNT submit to CC. Most of the CC authors who are published, worked with other published CC authorsmany of which have since been banned. Such a shame.

All I asked of CC is that they would not steal my money by banning me for NO REASON, but that I was in agreement if they banned me for breaking TOS. They said they were unable to make that promise. Take what  you will from that.

I re-read the original report and see I was initially under the wrong impression.

"Please confirm that you agree with this and we will accept your donation. Otherwise you are free to use our site as a regular member but we are unable to acept your donation at this time."

This part indicates that they did not exactly take her money and then refuse to give her the product (membership).

Instead, if I read this right, they basically informed her that she had already come close to being banned and they were not eager to have her sign on as a premium member. And then if they did accept her "donation", they basically would use the nonrefundable statusof the payment as a way to discourage any further activities breaking CC rules - if she accepted that.

And when she essentially refused to chill about their enforcement of the forum rules and whatever else, they refused to accept her "donation".  

That is a relief. Initially, I was under the impression she made her payment and they then told her it was nonrefundable as they banned her. Had they done that, I would definitely feel she had been ripped off.

Just a comment here...

I've been a member of CC for close to five years now. I have a premium membership, which means I've been donating money to keep the site running and of course I get to have my private queues and enjoy the additional features that help me with editing.

I do not want to say anything unkind about the poster above, but she is not telling the complete story. I haven't exactly been following the whole drama as I'm busy writing and I have a healthy social life away from my computer, but what I gather is the following:

The site briefly experimented with an "erotica" section for members to publically display their writing, receive critiques, and give critiques. This was due to specific requests by some members who felt that erotica is a growing market, and the support of the majority of the site members. That erotica section was around for a year (I think), and the site administrators decided to shut it down due to lack of activity.

Several members got political and vindictive over this shutdown, including the above poster, and they refused to let go of the issue - even though they had already moved on to other websites where they were able to post their erotica work. Not only did they made this a personal issue, but they were acting like their civil rights had been violated. I'm not sure if they lowered themselves to the level of "trolls" on the site, but they did frequently post disgruntled comments on forums.

For this reason the site kicked out some of those members. They waited a little longer than other sites would - I know, since I belong to a few other forums and know that it does not take very much for administrators to identify a person as a troll and ban them. Some sites are extremely happy to ban people they do not like. :)

The above poster was not removed from the site, but she continued to drag out the issue, even though everyone else on the site was trying to move on. And again, she posted a lot of disgruntled stuff about the banned members, the erotica section, private messages of the administrators, and so forth.

Any other site, I imagine she would have been banned outright.

I do think they should have refunded her if she paid for 6 months and received that message from CC. I hope that Sigrun or somebody else would comment concerning that. That certainly is ooky sounding to me.

Good luck to the original poster. I do think there aren't very many places like CC, providing you stay away from the forums and focus on your work. I've met many friends on CC, and more than a few of them are publishing thanks to support they received on the site. These members, by the way, do not spend much time on the forums, because they are too busy writing and editing.

In response to my earlier reply to them:

Now that I am longer a member of their site, their harassment continues.

The site owner messaged me to say:

Hi,

It has come to our attention that you posted a review on critique circle on this site:

www.ripoffreport.com/civil-rights-violators/critique-circle/critique-circle-unprofessiona-fcdd5.htm

Please remove this review within the next 12 hours or we will be forced to close your account permanently.

Thank you,

Admin

Since then, I closed up loose ends with friends from the site. The ripoff part of this report had to do with my payed membership to the sitewhich they decided to deny me to renew before I posted this report, but apparently speaking about my experience would have left them forced (you know, that link was holding a gun to their head and all) to close my regular membership as well. So, now that I have closed the membership on my own, I am reposting this so others can see what Critique Circle Admin desperately wanted you not to see.

Registrant:
Sigrun Geirsdottir
Mosabard 16
Hafnarfjordur 220
Iceland

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: CRITIQUECIRCLE.COM
Created on: 24-Sep-03
Expires on: 24-Sep-10
Last Updated on: 25-Sep-09

Administrative Contact:
Geirsdottir, Sigrun nonnib@rithringur.is
Njorvasund 4
Reykjavik 104
Israel
015623658965 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Geirsdottir, Sigrun nonnib@rithringur.is
Njorvasund 4
Reykjavik 104
Israel
015623658965 Fax --

Domain servers in listed order:
NS8.ZONEEDIT.COM
NS17.ZONEEDIT.COM

they threatened to delete my account if I didn't delete my report.