I think the critiques are very helpful. From the judges, its important to understand what it is they are looking for as well as how to improve. Percimont, I always found your public critiques honest and insightful. Before participating in this, I never paid much attention to things like the rule of 3rds which was brought up often by a few public critiquers. Overall, I think the important part of a critique is to explain why you don't like it and suggest a way to improve it so that your not just saying "you suck".