Regarding OCs: Treat them kindly.
First of all, we all started somewhere and belittling or berating someone’s creativity is bullshit and just plain cruel. I get that there are some OCs you don’t jive with and that’s cool, I’m selective just like everyone else, but that doesn’t give you or anyone else the right to talk shit about them. Remember those “embarrassing” times where you were a one-liner only OC that was probably something “generic” or “cliche” or even a “Gary/Mary-sue”? Yeah, Pepperidge farm remembers that shit honey. No one starts off with some immaculate and elaborate character design, plain and simple.
Instead of being rude or cruel, its better to offer advice as a “veteran” of writing. Give them tips to help them improve rather than tearing them down and making them feel bad or making them feel like they shouldn’t even try. Remember that one person when you were younger that you looked up to because holy shit their writing and style was amazing and you felt so happy just getting to read it? Or that person that wrote with you for the first time? Or maybe your friend that you started off with in general? Having those moments are imperative to a writer’s growth and if you get to be that person they look up to or the person that gave them a little advice is friggin’ great okay? It is an amazing thing and you could literally be helping them become the next nation wide known creator.
But you’d never know if they never had the aspiration or hope to become that if you just shoved their face in the ground.
Canon characters are someone’s OCs. These characters are created by someone, became big hits, and are now written by others because we enjoy them so much. But never forget that they are the creator’s original character.
So be kind. You don’t have to like someone’s OC, you don’t have to even interact with them or anything at all, they might not be your cup of tea. But that doesn’t give you the right to be a dick. Period.
