..........And with regard to the model I disagree , which model a photographer selects is totally within their control - so if you select one with lots of piercing and people feel that this detracts from the photo then "this would have worked better with a different model because x, y, z" is perfectly valid critique as I said the spirit of the "no comments on the model" rule was to keep things focussed on the photography and avoid the 'hot or not' style comments ... nice tits/ phwoar I'd hit that / what a munter / wouldn't touch it with yours.... type thing that pervades in some other photography forums
As far as I know, you didn't devise the rule, so aren't in a position to declare what it's purpose is. Regardless, common courtesy dictates that you don't criticise someone you don't know for the way they look, especially when the purpose of your comments is meant to be to help the person photographing them, not to advise the model.
Yes, "a different model would work better for that type of shot" is OK, but "a different type of shot for that model" is even better, because the photographer can choose the type of shot, but not necessarily the model. What is not acceptable, as must have been agreed by the mods because they removed the comments, is "your model has too many piercings".
If you criticise a photographer's choice of model, even accepting that it's within their control (but see below), except in regard to their suitability for the style of shot taken, you are basically saying that that model should not be working as a model. The criticism should be aimed at the photographer's treatment of the model, not at the model's looks/style/clothes sense etc.
And no, even professional photographers are limited in their choice of model by budget. Mere mortals are most likely limited by "who they know". Most of us do NOT have the selection totally within our control. For example, if I wanted to try some kind of grungy portrait well suited to lots of piercings, I'd have to shoot someone with none because I don't know anyone heavily pierced. Would you criticise my model for not having enough body jewellery, or would you criticise my photography to help me improve? Would you tell me my wife is too fat or old if I shot her in a glamor pose, or would you help me improve my technique so that one day I might be good enough to justify hiring a 19 year old stunner? If I produced a landscape of Snowdon, would you tell me I should have gone to Yosemite?
I agree with you that it might have been better to start this thread with no mention of previous problems, but the fact that Kris did may just be a measure of how much it upset him, rather than, as you appear to suggest, an attempt to cause further trouble. Whether or not Kris dealt with it in the ideal way though, HE didn't start it, and isn't the perpetrator; those who offered unhelpful and insensitive criticism are. In fact your attempts to defend the perpetrators and instead accuse Kris of "an attitude" (it's not an attitude, it's a reaction), could be seen as a deliberate attempt to antagonise. Why not tell Kris he was right to be upset, but that maybe now's the time to move on, instead of trying to paint
him as the bad guy?
Picking holes in the detail of whether this is actually his first post in a while, and the stated timescale, is irrelevant and petty. Whether it's really a year, or is in fact just a few months, the point is that Kris has been nervous about posting for crit because of previous comments, and so hasn't done as frequently as he'd have liked. Either he exaggerated to get his point across, or was simply mistaken, but either way what's important is that he's been upset, not precisely how long ago that happened.