JimB said:
Please dont take this as criticism for the sake of it, consider it as a reminder for the future.
Teenagers can't take criticism. They want constant adulation for doing things half-assed, even in light of the fact that plenty of other people (even some their own age) have done the same things much better.
There's nothing offensive or rude about JimB's comments. I've written this before and I'll write it again: accusing someone of being "rude," no matter who you are, doesn't prove anything to anyone other than that the accuser is self-righteous and egotistical. Saying "rude" is something mothers say to children, as a kind of low-level admonishment - it's no reasoned argument. For mothers, it's an appropriate form of correcting undesirable behaviour in young children, but for someone of limited experience to call someone else of greater experience "rude" is, well, let's just say, "a poorly informed decision." This isn't a "respect for one's elders" thing - call 'em on their faults, heaven knows I do. It's more a respect for one's self thing, and I'll explain how.
JimB took time out of what, I'm sure, is an important and fulfilling life in itself to take a look at Krumlink's efforts. That meant reading Krumlink's posts and those written in response, and logging in to see the photos. According to JimB, he was feeling philosophical (which literally means "in the mood to seek out the truth," which isn't such a bad state of mind), and in the spirit of philanthropy, he thought of and posted some constructive comments. If he wanted to be rude, he could have said, "Krumlink, your photos suck and your binary clock is inferior in terms of accommodating the basic, common ideology of the workings of such a thing." I don't know if rude people actually talk that way, I'm just speculating, so bear with me. My point is, that's not what he wrote. To the contrary, he took a chance and gambled his own reputation in the interest of helping a younger member make himself a better person.
Krumlink, you obviously have a lot of ambition, commitment and focus for electronics. You have to start realizing, though, that despite the fact that everyone might not share the same passion of whatever tickles your fancy from week to week, that those people are still good people, too. You can spend your whole life surrounding yourself by "yes" men, but that's not necessarily going to make you a better person. That's not to say the people who have posted remarks in admiration of your efforts are wrong, either. Yeah, there are punks all over that will try to take a piece of you, but just because someone's critical doesn't necessarily mean they're trying to cut you down. A big part of success is how you deal with criticism - as you get older, moreso what you can take from it, rather than ignoring it altogether.