Scribophile - anyone use it?

[Aosto]

I ran across an online critique website called Scribophile. Anyone here use it, and/or familiar with it? At first glance it seems okay. You have to earn Karma points before you can post work for critique, they give you 2, it costs 5 to post work.
I wouldn't mind offering up critique, but I'm not sure if anyone would return the favor on my work...I'm always leery with these types of sites.

 

[Weaver]

I recall checking it out a few years ago. Didn't stick around, though. To me, it looked like the kind of site that is, shall we say, less than friendly to writers of fantasy and science fiction. Maybe that has changed; I don't know.

There is always a problem with reciprocity when it comes to critiques on such sites. Requiring members to give critiques before they are eligible to receive them doesn't seem to fix the problem, because there is no 'quality control' to make sure the critiques are anything more than just random blather to earn those points. (If someone posts 'I luv ur poem, pls write more!!!!' as a critique of a novel chapter, it's not a valid critique. I would also expect more than seven words of critique on a piece that is itself over 3000 words long.)

On the other hand, if you don't mind wading through all the random blather to get a few real and helpful critiques from people who actually did read your writing, go for it. You could end up becoming friends with a handful of other people on the site, and from there you could all go off and be each other's beta readers without the hassle of 'karma points.'

 

[seanbennick]

Just started using Scribophile, it has been a very friendly community so far and I've gotten a few decent critiques out of the site. I recommend checking it out - I'm on a free membership currently but plan on upgrading soon.