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914four — It's all about consistency

Published: 2014-02-08 13:36:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 1637; Favourites: 66; Downloads: 7
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Description This is something Newton and I created this morning to make a point about consistency. This is primarily targeted at those who make decisions about the efforts of others, admins, moderators, critique writers and such. I'm hoping, if nothing else, it will encourage some to pause and think about it.

I recently had a deviation refused by a literature group (nameless to avoid drama) because it "didn't fit" into the literature genre. The post was a picture of a scale model and the text was a description of how I've used scale models and maps to improve the quality of my writing (the actual post can be found here: 914four.deviantart.com/art/Hyl… ) by using them as spacial references. I was told: "Thank you for considering us, but we accept literature only." To be certain, I asked the admin (politely of course) if they were aware that it was a post about literature and writing techniques. The response I received was. "Oh, I do understand - it's just that if we begin to accept everything related to literature that's not written prose or poetry than we would be everywhere, more chaos and unorganization than a pure literature club, which we are proud to be." I was satisfied with that response, it was polite, concise, and entirely civil, so I put the incident out of my mind. I would have completely forgotten about it, except that the very next day the group hosted a deviation that was all about posting a selfie image of yourself on with a hand-drawn sign declaring that you are real. Perhaps I'm clueless and simply don't understand, but I fail to see how said post has anything to do with literature. I'm not upset or anything, and I won't reveal the group, post or admin to protect their privacy, all that I'm saying is that consistency is important; when we begin applying different rules to different people, we end up with strife. Hopefully this deviation will provoke some thought.


As to Newton, well, he enjoys having his picture taken, but by this point I think he was getting tired of the game (he doesn't like the flash, and we took about a dozen pictures, he kept hiding the card with his left paw); if he looks annoyed, it's my fault and not that of anyone on . I think the business card might have been a little sharp against his paws; when we were done, I let him keep it and he bit it repeatedly, eventually shredding it. For those who don't get the humour in the card, Newton is, in fact, a cat, but we often wonder if he realizes it. He tends to behave more like a human child than a feline.


Lastly, while most of my photographs are available under the Share-Alike CC licence, for what I think obvious reasons, this one is not intended nor licensed for modification or artistic re-interpretation.

You can send email to Newton at SirIsaacNewton@thekentauride.com.  How many cats do you know who have their own email address? (actually he never reads it, I have to deal with his backlog!)

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Comments: 69

914four In reply to ??? [2016-06-02 02:25:10 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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Next-To-Candlelight [2015-08-06 08:40:30 +0000 UTC]

That group sounds really annoying. My cat also thinks that he's a human!

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Next-To-Candlelight In reply to Next-To-Candlelight [2015-08-10 20:28:06 +0000 UTC]

So true.

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914four In reply to Next-To-Candlelight [2015-08-10 20:03:14 +0000 UTC]

"Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain Notebook, 1894

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mdbruffy [2015-08-03 00:18:21 +0000 UTC]

I know exactly what you're saying. There's  a site- that shall remain nameless- that hosts a large number of models related to commercial properties- TV and Movies and so on. I asked about getting an account to post Nova Trek to. They said they could not do that because it was related to a commercial property.
I have never gone back for an account.

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914four In reply to mdbruffy [2015-08-03 10:20:16 +0000 UTC]

There is always a danger of such things when the rules are vague, or not applied evenly. I would find it easier to accept being told "I'm the admin and I am making this decision arbitrarily" than being told "those are the rules" and seeing the rules applied differently to others.

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mdbruffy In reply to 914four [2015-08-03 19:17:04 +0000 UTC]

Agreed- totally.

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914four In reply to mdbruffy [2015-08-10 20:04:56 +0000 UTC]

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Deviljunter [2014-11-23 22:47:37 +0000 UTC]

Comment oses tu maltraiter ton chat en le mettant dans cette position!!

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914four In reply to Deviljunter [2014-11-24 21:07:47 +0000 UTC]

Il s'assoit comme ça par lui même

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Deviljunter In reply to 914four [2014-11-24 21:21:31 +0000 UTC]

Mouais...

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914four In reply to Deviljunter [2014-11-25 21:00:32 +0000 UTC]

Il se croit humain, et il maintient la prétention d’être apprenti-plombier!

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Deviljunter In reply to 914four [2014-11-25 21:43:15 +0000 UTC]

Il aime les bains?

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914four In reply to Deviljunter [2014-11-26 18:06:32 +0000 UTC]

Les toilettes et les éviers surtout; il aime bien observer quand la chaine est tiré, et les éviers font un lit formidable l'été quand il fait chaud!

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Deviljunter In reply to 914four [2014-11-26 18:48:39 +0000 UTC]

ça, tous les chats aiment dormir dans les éviers!!!
En fait les chats sont originaires du désert... Pour eux l'eau stagnante est impropore à la consommation, c'est pour ça qu'ils aiment l'eau en mouvement comme au toilettes

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914four In reply to Deviljunter [2014-11-27 03:25:00 +0000 UTC]

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tanaka8120 [2014-10-28 01:38:38 +0000 UTC]

Those paws are very "rabbit-ish"

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914four In reply to tanaka8120 [2014-10-28 02:18:50 +0000 UTC]

His hind legs are actually longer than they should be for a normal cat, when he walks he steps out on each side. He can leap up onto a shelf five feet off the ground though

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mk-kayem [2014-04-27 04:50:40 +0000 UTC]

Hey Newton,

Just a note to say that I think you have choosen your human well. He seems intelligent, fair/open-minded and talented. But *wink* as long as he knows how to use a can opener, right?  

Give him a little extra purring to make up for how his own kind treated him. 

Warmly, A Fan.

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914four In reply to mk-kayem [2014-04-28 11:27:02 +0000 UTC]

Newton and staff thank you for your kind words

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Nin-kaii [2014-04-09 06:27:52 +0000 UTC]

It's quite annoying when that happens, I really agree with you. 
Cute cat by the way

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914four In reply to Nin-kaii [2014-04-09 21:38:50 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! And I'll tell him you said so, he loves getting fan mail

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Nin-kaii In reply to 914four [2014-04-09 22:36:56 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome! Well I'm glad to hear that

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KARUKITSUNE [2014-04-07 17:14:00 +0000 UTC]

dat dick or vagina tho...
nice picture though!

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CKentavr [2014-03-24 05:45:07 +0000 UTC]

Cute cat ^-^  Or toddler.  I have one of those, too.  Cat that behaves like a toddler, that is.

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914four In reply to CKentavr [2014-03-24 15:58:44 +0000 UTC]

I also have a toddler who thinks he's a cat Although he's five now, not sure he still fits the toddler description...
"You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals." - George Mikes

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schmetterlingmx [2014-03-04 17:57:29 +0000 UTC]

Regarding cats, for me they aren't cats, but kids with extra furry yay!  and also sweet angels, huge blessings and my life saviors (because of my personal story and issues).

Regarding that particular group, well, many (not all of them) in the whole internet (DA, google groups, yahoo, etc), tend to be like that at some point, no matter the subject, because their arrogance and silliness (to say the less) to manage them it's the same, but in their eyes, admins/mods are always right, there's no space for different point of views, much less to accept when they're wrong (I'm guessing they're humans who happen to make mistakes, aren't they?). At the end you appreciate they showed themselves as they are, so you could move to a better group, or better said, to a real group. Those who play to be absolute wise men about a thing or everything, are a lot of times the true ignoramuses about it, believing of course they know all and the rest don't, just a side-effect of being humans, hehe!. I wish you better luck in other groups.

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914four In reply to schmetterlingmx [2014-03-05 15:24:58 +0000 UTC]

I've often said that Newton has the intellect of an 18 month old human child.
I hear you, I just thought I had a responsibility to let others know; ofttimes we do things without realizing it until someone points it out to us.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. " - Edmund Burke

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punx-chan89 [2014-02-13 19:53:21 +0000 UTC]

lol sometimes I wonder if animals are aware if they are what they are.. especially cats

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914four In reply to punx-chan89 [2014-02-13 20:56:55 +0000 UTC]

Very true

"Nobody owns a cat; ya just kinda room with 'em." - John Wayne

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punx-chan89 In reply to 914four [2014-02-13 21:06:05 +0000 UTC]

lol that quote goes very well

it makes me miss having a cat though...

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914four In reply to punx-chan89 [2014-02-13 21:45:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

As I told another person recently, perhaps one will adopt you soon

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punx-chan89 In reply to 914four [2014-02-13 21:52:50 +0000 UTC]

no problem and yay

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AshWolf-Forever [2014-02-12 21:39:45 +0000 UTC]

Aww! I wonder this about my cats sometimes too.

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914four In reply to AshWolf-Forever [2014-02-13 03:57:17 +0000 UTC]

"Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of." - Sir Walter Scott

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AshWolf-Forever In reply to 914four [2014-02-13 04:08:14 +0000 UTC]

No doubt. Good quote.

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914four In reply to AshWolf-Forever [2014-02-13 04:13:53 +0000 UTC]

Here's an even better one: "Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain

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AshWolf-Forever In reply to 914four [2014-02-13 04:14:20 +0000 UTC]

...That is too true.

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sylesis [2014-02-09 08:00:00 +0000 UTC]

Ah Newton... my second favourite cat in the world ( my first being my sister's, because he's closer ). He's so nice to help  you ^^ .

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914four In reply to sylesis [2014-02-09 11:03:54 +0000 UTC]

Yes, Newton has a big heart; he will leap to any occasion to help, as long as it doesn't involve acting like a cat

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MensjeDeZeemeermin [2014-02-08 22:47:47 +0000 UTC]

So much stuff flowing through the pipelines these days that they're frantic for reasons to reject it.  Don't let it get to you.

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914four In reply to MensjeDeZeemeermin [2014-02-09 11:24:08 +0000 UTC]

Getting rejected doesn't get to me, ever really, as long as I understand why my work was rejected. What bothers me is when it's impossible to know why; how are we to improve if no one points out our weaknesses?

There is a Star Trek episode, "I, Mudd," where they are on a planet populated by androids. At one point, I believe it's Kirk who says (and I'm paraphrasing here) to one of the Alice 'bots "I love you," then says "but I hate you" to another, identical unit, "because you are a copy of her." They can't understand or rationalize this, since both are identical twins, and shut down. If two people submit the exact same deviation on , it makes sense for the one created later to be rejected, but if they are sufficiently different and of the same quality, it doesn't. I realize that rating is subjective, and two people may not interpret the guidelines in the same way, but what bothers me is when the same guidelines are applied by the same person to two different submissions.    


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Doll-Ladi [2014-02-08 22:20:46 +0000 UTC]

Don' beat yourself up about it friend.Lots of groups are very selective in how they vote.I think this is wonderful and the image itself is worth more then 1000 words!I love it

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914four In reply to Doll-Ladi [2014-02-09 11:40:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for your kind words  

I never beat myself up for a rejection, and if the reason for it is sufficiently clear, I actually welcome rejection, for there-in lies an opportunity to improve. My writing has risen to another level as a result of my two-plus years on , mostly because of feedback from better writers than I. I believe the quote below sums it up far better than I ever could (emphasis is mine)

"Those who enter to buy, support me. Those who come to flatter, please me. Those who complain, teach me how I may please others so that more will come. Only those who hurt me are displeased but do not complain. They refuse me permission to correct my errors and thus improve my service." - Marshall Field.

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Doll-Ladi In reply to 914four [2014-02-10 03:49:52 +0000 UTC]

Your very welcome.Well I am glad to hear that.I think you have a lot of promise my friend.

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914four In reply to Doll-Ladi [2014-02-10 19:27:52 +0000 UTC]

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Doll-Ladi In reply to 914four [2014-02-10 19:50:31 +0000 UTC]

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af-s772 [2014-02-08 16:42:59 +0000 UTC]

That's why I founded my group.

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914four In reply to af-s772 [2014-02-08 17:27:21 +0000 UTC]

You are a wise man

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af-s772 In reply to 914four [2014-02-08 17:51:36 +0000 UTC]

I try, I try. ^-^

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