On May 7, 2009, at 2:03 PM, Heather Rose Jones wrote:
It's probably bad manners to say this on the list rather than privately, but I'm a bit concerned for what the lurkers might think if this isn't responded to.
No, it's really not bad manners.
If that had been something I entered, I would be extremely hurt and horrified to see a judge talking about it in this fashion. A hat is "stupid" simply because you had a bad experience with '50s fashion? An entire historical fashion era makes you gag? I would find it very difficult to trust a judge to be impartial who expresses opinions like this. You say it "shouldn't" matter, but I'd look for a bit more evidence that the judges control their rendered judgement better than their expressed opinions.
There are no judges who don't have any stylistic biases. We need to admit that up front, rather than embrace a myth. A good masquerade director will consider the biases of potential judges and build a panel that provides balance.
That said, some of the comments about entries are borderline at best. Like Vegas, what happens in the judging space should stay in the judging space, privy to only the judges, the clerk and the director, unless the entrant (and only the entrant) asks for critique from the judges. The goal is to encourage people to enter by rewarding excellent research and execution, not to scare them away by offering unsolicited criticism.
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