George, normative is the opposite of critical. Unfortunately, most everyone sees critical as necessarily negative. If I were "Bill's" boss, and I told Bill that he did a good or bad job, that would be a normative statement. If I told him that he mounted the tire backwards, or as I asked him to mount the tire, or as it is supposed to be mounted, those would be critical statements.
Saying young George Washington chopped down the cherry tree is a critical statement. Saying George is a bad boy is a normative statement.
And, to be sure, I agree, I had a mouse in my pocket when I wrote "we" or "us", or whatever it was. It's not something I normally do; my bad.
Also, you may have noticed that most people here offer quotes when they call someone else's attention to something that they or someone else has said. Beyond general courtesy, there is a good reason for that. Allow me to make a normative observation when I point out that you should do the same. A critical observation is that you are not obligated to do so.
George, normative is the opposite of critical. Unfortunately, most everyone sees critical as necessarily negative. If I were "Bill's" boss, and I told Bill that he did a good or bad job, that would be a normative statement. If I told him that he mounted the tire backwards, or as I asked him to mount the tire, or as it is supposed to be mounted, those would be critical statements. Saying young George Washington chopped down the cherry tree is a critical statement. Saying George is a bad boy is a normative statement. And, to be sure, I agree, I had a mouse in my pocket when I wrote "we" or "us", or whatever it was. It's not something I normally do; my bad. Also, you may have noticed that most people here offer quotes when they call someone else's attention to something that they or someone else has said. Beyond general courtesy, there is a good reason for that. Allow me to make a normative observation when I point out that you should do the same. A critical observation is that you are not obligated to do so.