Sunday, July 13, 2014

Courtesy, Manners and Respecting the Murplemakers

Well, you can see how well I'm doing in maintaining this place!

I'm working on spreading my delightful self like a disease across multiple platforms,so, here I am again! Aren't you lucky!

I promise to all the heavens to murgatroids that my next post will be less... grumpy. BY MY PLIERS I SWEAR IT!

But by golly.. I am baffled.

It's on manners. And the lack thereof that people have. Call it netiquette ( please don't call it netiquette). But it genuinely perturbs me when this scenario occurs.

I create a nifty piece of whatever. We'll call it a Murple. This Murple is pretty. It's simple, elegant, and possibly appeals to a range of people.

I post the Murple on my business page.

Lots of people like my Murple! YAY!

Then I get a comment that goes along the lines of this

" I CAN TOTALLY MAKE THAT!!"

Now, I don't begrudge that person that they CAN make it. More power to them, and good for them! But what is the sense in posting that on another Murplemaker's commerce page?

Is it a lack of sense? A lack of class? Have we all gone mad and descended into the darkness of manners, and will soon be taken over by the scurrilous Ape Men?

This same scenario happens all the time at shows. And it's not just to me, the mighty Murplemaker. It happens to pretty much every working artist that I know.

 Say I go to a restaurant. I order a sandwich. Now, I KNOW how to make a sandwich. In fact, I can make a damned fine sandwich if I do say so myself ( it's all about the bacon). Even though I know I have these fine sandwich making capabilities, I don't sit down, look at the menu, see the sandwich selections and scream "I CAN TOTALLY MAKE THAT!" to the other patrons. That would be ridiculous right?

The same sense should be applied to when one is browsing an artist's shop. Online, or in person.

Take a jolly minute ( they're jolly, take TWO!). Think about what you're saying. What you're typing. It's a real person. A real person who puts in a lot of hours, creativity, and dang it, some gumption, to create that Murple. Or that sandwich. Or that painting, photo, paperclip sculpture..whatever. If you like what you see, say so! If you don't; remember what your mother should have taught you..." If you can't say anything nice, then shut the hell up".

Some mothers are really pretty badass.

Manners, people!