I think that having poetry groups exempt from that count and maybe flash fistion too would be okay.

I am a long standing member of the Flash Fiction group and I think it would be entirely appropriate to keep the 100 word rule for that group.  At the moment many stories are getting one line comments which are bordering on the useless in terms of critique value.
 
I think the shortness of the stories is not the issue – I could easily write 200 words on the famous six word story ‘Baby shoes for sale – Never worn’, attributed to Hemmingway.  So I think it is the quality of the work, rather than the length, that attracts intelligent comment.
 
Some work in Flash Fiction possibly will not be of a quality to attract 100 word comments (my current work in that group would fall into that category!) but of the three or four posted every week, I’d hope to find one or two.
 
Nick
 

Manusha, it's ctrl z for restore then ctrl y for redo.

Thanks Sheila, that will save me hours of self-inflicted-through-inattention frustration! I must learn to read these fiddly letter thingies properly!
 
The karma idea suggested by Alan sounds good. In life we all have to earn the things we want, and perhaps it would encourage members who haven't grasped the simple idea of a reciprocal give and take to value the time that has voluntarily been given to critique their work.
 
David, Calliaphone makes a very good point about First Fast Draft. It is not a critique group and I agree that it should be exempted from any proposed critique rules. 

David, just at the moment, when I click on links to "forums" tab - at the top of the page, or in the the bit just above the thread where it shows the map of where you are (sorry, don't know the proper name!) or anywhere else, I'm getting Members's work, not any of the forums... Can only get onto threads via the particular threads listed in "recent activity"...

Me too.

sorry!!!

I thought paid up members had access to Group forum topics even if they hadn't joined the Group, but it's now not possible to see those topics without joining the group. This hides a load of useful information from members. We can't all join groups just to access this info because there are limits on the membership of each group.
I don't know if this change is a mistake or by design but if it's the latter than its a huge mistake.
Please bring back the old group layouts. 

I agree that full members should have access to the group forums. I don't want to join multiple groups but I used to enjoy being able to read, and sometimes contribute to, group forum threads. Please can all members have access again?

I agree too about the group forums. Please put them back to open access, so I don't have to join a group to contribute to some of the discussions.

I agree with that!

I sort of agree,., I loved browsing group forums, but I also like the idea of being able to have private groups... Although that brings its own complexity as the question is who gets to choose who is allowed in the private, inner sanctum. 

Simplest to just make group forums visible to full members and, maybe, only allow specific groups (such as Finding Your Feet?) visible to trial members?

message received! We can make it optional so if a group wants to be closed that's fine

In the past, the way it's worked is that discussions in the groups have always been open to all - it's the actual work (the stories) posted that can be made private (ie, visible to the group members only). It's absolutely essential that the ability to make stories visible to group members only remains in place.

Yes that's still there - you just select the privacy option you want when you upload as usual.

I'm not sure that it's a good idea to allow groups to choose to have their forum "private". If site members can't see the discussion threads, how can they judge whether or not they would like to join the group? The only way to have any insight into the group would be to actually join. Also, permitting groups to be totally private could possibly make them feel too exclusive and  unwelcoming to potential members. I'm also not convinced that trial members should be excluded from group forums, as they are from the Lounge and Private forums, because if they can't get a decent overview of site activity, what incentive would they have to pay for full membership?

Just a thought.