No, I'm leaving Absolute Write. Yes, I became defensive, and I'm still feeling that way. Because it was suggested I'm not fit to teach, and that I'm doing something unethical. I was upset. Teary. Wondering where I'd gone wrong. Feeling sorry for myself. So I wrote about my experience on my blog. I'll take that down, too.
C, take a deep breath and put this into perspective.
You put up a post suggesting something that was, perhaps, not too well thought-out and incompletely described. Half a dozen people said "Whoa there, tiger". One thread, a handful of people discussing it, on a board that as of this moment has:
Threads: 246,247
Posts: 8,569,516
Members: 59,804
Use it as a learning moment. Writers want specifics; not surprising, as they're used to publishing contracts. Writers want to see credentials; not surprising, as they've encountered way too many scams, well-meaning-but-clueless start-up presses, authors trying to pretend to be agents, self-publishers trying to pretend to be trade presses, publishers trying to pretend to be readers, etc.
They've probably saved you from a lot of angst. I could've put my hand up and said "I'll write a section on grammar!" And then you'd have read my bit and gone "Er, U, you don't know what the frack you're talking about. A gerund is not someone who lives in Germany." And I'd have been all "How dare you turn down free help! Plus I am a professional writer! I once got a story published and everything! My words are golden! Every author should read my How To Write essays! Imma tell Mac you're being meeeaaaaan to me!" and.....
Editing to add: I would not really have done this. I'd have just said "Tell all those newbies to buy "Self Editing For Fiction Writers"."