Occlusion Error

I received a comment on one of my promotional posts recently which really surprised me.

I am sorry you chose to feature my work in such bad light, in front of another alpha...any feather, any fur would respond in this way in front of another alpha such as the background you choose. As a serious designer in rl and sl, its a challenge, but a great challenge to create beauty within presets such as transparencies and alphas of digital networks. However, negative press does not offend me, inaccuracy does, your comment "alpha occlusion issues" is not journalism at its best, as a great journalist would complete the report on how this happens throughout the grid, with feathers, fur and any alpha texture needed to create an outstanding dress. Thank you for your efforts.

I have to admit I was nonplussed; it took me a while to realize that she interpreted my top image - one of my favorite from that particular set - as meaning to be a critique in some manner, rather than what I thought was an amazing effect similar to a photograph taken with a thin dress backlit in a smokey area - something attractive, in short, rather than unattractive.

Opinions often disagree on matters of taste, and people who take time and effort in creating things (in this case this picture took forever to get the angle, and then I had to wait for the smoke effects to obscure the wings as well so I looked insubstantial - like I was fading away) often feel hurt and defensive when critiqued, however mild; given I'm posting this, I am obviously no different. In the interests of being accurate, even though I'm not a journalist and don't aspire to be one on Second Life, I want to make it clear - I like this picture. I think it's pretty. I like how the semi-transparent part of the dress looks semi-transparent, and how it adds to the general mood of the picture.

I don't take pictures to provide "bad press" but neither do I want to be a "journalist". I do object to being called inaccurate given "any feather, any fur would respond in this way in front of another alpha such as the background you choose" is how the comment in response begins and yes, when I say "alpha occlusion errors" I am referring to something which occurs with any texture of this type (I've noted this effect elsewhere in reviews for different creators). There are ways to mitigate it, using slightly smaller prims that have no alpha in them are are tinted similarly (I've actually modded dresses in this manner when I wanted to), but in this case, in this dress, I think the effect is really attractive.

To be clear, I have no wish to be a "great journalist". I only want to post pictures I like with a few words, either based on my thoughts of the day or to respond to the creators I value so highly in Second Life, sometimes even with critique. Any creators who don't wish to be reviewed by me, given this, are free to let me know and I will abide by your wishes and not purchase or wear your clothing.

Edited to add 3/29/2012:

I received a notecard titled "We Love Bloggers" today from the esteemed Paris Metro Couture with the following description:

Deoridhe Quandry        "serious alpha occlusion issues" bad mouthed   

I have a case of the giggles, now, especially since she listed me twice, once without the fearful quote. I totally feel the love.