well sorry but i did not thought my comment on his photo was so
rude. I did say the swan was nice...i only did not liked the
colors and thought the white balance was off.
Like i did not thought that calling a woman "lady" was bad???
since when this is rude? is the proper term "madame"?
I tend to believe you, this time, when you say that you didn't think your comment was rude. However, when people pointed out to you that it sounded rude, it would have been nice if you had immediately said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt anyone," and then gone on to explain why you made the comments you made. Of course, you, like everyone else, are entitled to your opinion.
Frequently I have been disturbed by your comments on this forum but I usually attributed it to the fact that English is not your native language. I believe now, however, that the problem is not that your English is not good, (it is very good) but rather that it is missing the native subtleties.
It's like looking at a movie that is translated into another language. If you know that other language and are able to read the subtitles, you see that the translation is a word for word one, and something is definitely lost in the translation. In every language there are many words and expressions that defy tranlation.
You tend to very abrupt in your comments and I may be wrong, and this is NOT meant as an insult, but my experience is that French people tend to be abrupt and they speak more abruptly than Americans. (Yes, I have been to France and I have studied French). Different cultures- different people.
You obviously have been in America long enough to have learned the language well but not quite long enough to pick up the nuances and the subtleties. Your comments to Franco, and the fact that you see nothing wrong with it, indicates that.
For example:
You said, "The swan itself is nice but the colors are very muddy or brownish, even for the water. Looks like the white balance was way off on those swan photos...
The third photo seam to be better for colors. "
You might have said:
"Nice pictures Franco. It seems to me (or "I think perhaps") that the colors are a little muddy or brownish. Maybe the white balance was off a little. .."
etc. etc."
Do you see the difference here Daniella?
If you got your hair done and asked me what I thought of it, I wouldn't say "I hate that color and the hair is much too short!" I might say, it looks pretty good but I think I would like it a little longer since you have such a nice shaped face and when it's longer it seems to frame it better."
Both statements are honest but the first is "brutally" honest and the latter is softened.
Have you ever heard the expression: "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.?"
I think too that you must be rather young- for in youth we often find arrogance. When you're young everything tends to be black and white and you can't quite understand why everyone doesn't see things as you do. Age tempers us.
Be aware that this forum is made up of a variety of people and many of us are considerably older than you are (dare I say "and wiser?"). We have a lifetime of experience, we have mellowed and we tend to take trivial things less seriously than younger people do.
And though I hate to admit this since I was a teacher for 20 years, the teacher is not always right.
Yes many are here to learn but this is not a formal institution of learning. We are here primarily because we enjoy photography and we like sharing this enjoyment with others. We come here for pleasure as much as for learning.
And, finally,
Saying that someone is a lady is not insulting but callling out to someone with a "Hey, Lady" or saying "Listen, lady..." is.
Again, we have the problem of the nuances of language.
I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here. Perhaps you might want to think about all this.
Enough said.
--Olympus 3O4O and Olympus 21OOUZ
http://www.pbase.com/ro2001 
