Hello Mind, Welcome to the Writing Forums. Both questions answerd below and in the linked posts. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize reviewing as a critical writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
That is because the Review Room is not a place to post your work for passively receiving a thumbs up or thumbs down. It is a collaborative workshop for members to help each other improve their writing and reviewing skills through constructive criticism. If you want to post your writing for display and praise, you have your member blog. All this is explained in one of the links I posted earlier in this thread. Also, there is an entire forum (Writing Issues -> Reviewing) devoted to discussing how to review.
As Cogito said, the review room is all about helping others as well as receiving help. Welcome to WF, and enjoy your time here.
