What’s the difference between criticizing a poster and personally attacking them in the Rants section?

[ScriptGenius12]

Asking about how to avoid violating Rule 1: https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/rules.1/

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

Rants is pretty loose. Stuff past our line includes wishing harm/death, calling each other pedophiles, or things like involving RL family members (I don't mean a 'your momma' type joke). Otherwise, keeping on-topic is more relevant to an insult laden post than how creatively coarse you're being.

 

[goblinquest]

Ranting just an emotionally driven complaint, it is complaining for the sake of complaining, rather than because you want a solution. Criticizing, is finding flaws and fallacies in someone's argument and pointing them out, or offering a better alternative. There can be some overlap, like a rant can include valid criticism, but a lot of rants devolve in subjective statements, like this character was insufferable, the plot was boring, or I hated the protagonist. Criticism should try to remain as objective as it can be, use actual evidence, and examples to back up your argument. Also super important you should be criticizing what they posted, or the argument they're trying to make, never directly criticize the person making the argument.

 

[Skierus]

Also super important you should be criticizing what they posted, or the argument they're trying to make, never directly criticize the person making the argument.

Click to shrink...

This. If you follow this rule you likely will never get hit R1

 

[ScriptGenius12]

Would it violate rules if I criticized not just the writing, but the author's conduct and the ideology implied or outright said in the thread?

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

In a Rants thread (like 'Story Rants', or 'Sanctimonious Assholery on QQ')? There's no Rule 1 issues with criticising someone's conduct or ideology. Rule 8 might be relevant to the ideology bit, depending on the details.