Bear caves and briar patches.

"These people aren't delusional."

This is off on a bit of a tangent, but you triggered something. (Background: I'm not talking on a pro level here, just about filk, and photography, and other hobby-level things.)

I have serious problems with unreserved praise. I'm teaching myself to smile and say, "Thank you," but I'm aware that things I create have flaws -- to me, often massive ones. What others may give as unconditional support, I take as a reward I haven't earned. I'm much more comfortable with, and accepting of, comments like, "That's pretty good and if you did [X] next time it might be even better." So, I pretty much have to believe that a certain type of "fan" *is* delusional ... though I don't mean that in any bad way. Because if they aren't, I must be. :-)

Maybe the bear cave factor is based on the same kind of delusion, a person being so infatuated by a piece of work that they honestly can't conceive of anyone having a differing opinion.

I have the same problem with praise. "I really liked that" is fine, that's a statement about what they like (see other comments about liking things in different ways), but "You are really good at that" when I know I fluffed half of it and fudged the rest really irks me. Or did, until I internalised my mother's advice about insults -- "consider the source". Both with undeserved insults and undeserved praise the principle is the same, that the person saying it doesn't know what they are talking about and therefore is worth what I paid for it. (Incidentally, it really confuses a person making insults if the insultee says "thank you" for each insult!)

Well, you know, here's the deal: I've probably been guilty of giving you "unreserved praise" once or twice in these LJ realms -- and it's not because I think you're the Apollo of Singer-songwriter-Guitarists, or that you've attained the summit or that you have no room to improve.

It's simply that I like your music and, when I write about it, or talk about it, I focus on what it is about your music that I like. Plus, from a technical and instrumental standpoint, I don't have enough of a background to give you informed criticism.

So when I say "I really like your 'Work X'" -- what I'm saying isn't "Work X is the Pinnacle of Human Achievement" or "Work X is the musical equivalent of multiple orgasm" or "People who dislike Work X should be cast into outer darkness, then eaten by zombies who then vomit them out into outer darkness again, repeat ad infinitum." All I'm sayin' is "I really like Work X." I tend to think that's what most people mean.

Just my 2/5th of a nickel.

Two small points ... because a moderate elaboration would probably do more harm than good and a long one would give Seanan an excellent reason to injure me:
1) I sincerely agree with keristor above about the "I like" phrasing not having the same kind of baggage.
2) I don't think you've ever commented in a way that made me uncomfortable.

Will it make you uncomfortable if I say I'm looking forward to getting your cd at Duckon?

Not at all. I even hope you enjoy most of it. :-)

(Obviously I'm going to have to write my own entry on this topic ... if I ever figure out a way of describing what I really meant.)

Oh, and:
3) When I wrote, "I have...problems" that wasn't polite phrasing that really meant "somebody else is doing something wrong". I do know where the psychological hang-up in this matter lives. :-)