Umpteen views and not a comment

[Matt K.]

.... I do not just like leaving a couple kind words, I like explain what draws my eye to that particular pic/set that someone has posted. .... This is a community, so please share your views on others shots, don't just come here looking for glorification please.

What sets this forum apart from other forums is the intent of the participants: it is one of wanting to learn, to better their style, their technique and their overall skill in taking their passion to the next level. Hillbillygirl has said it well, and I thank her for that. Yes, we do have the "critique" section in the forum, and yes, some will feel that others are stepping on their toes for saying something that may sound like a critique. I have seen shots on here from people that just blew me away, only to be followed up with a post where I say to myself "what was he/she thinking posting this crap???" I post on Flickr for two reasons: so I can link to this board, and top have an offsite backup of some of the images I really like. That does not mean I link every shot I have on Flickr to this board.

We have some exceptional photographers on this forum, and when I go back and look WHY new people join, it seems to me most of the time it is because of WHAT IS SAID here, and how people share their experience. You will not find this on other boards as much. This is a special community and I am proud to be a member here.

I don't comment on all images, not by a long shot; nobody has the time to do that, so much is for certain. But that was not the point of my initial post - it was to point out that some images were viewed a lot, but had no comments on them at all, though they do offer opportunity for comment. I suppose it was a little "nudge" to my fellow forum photographers to share their views, as Hillbillygirl put it.

[casil403]

I also believe as well that there are many people who are not members (or who are but choose not to sign in) who come here to look at the photos on the forum, which "up" viewing count.
Not being members, or not choosing to sign in, they are unable to leave comments on photos.
If you look at the current active viewers window at the bottom, currently as I type, there are 42 people on the site of which only 5 are signed in as members.

[Wicked Dark]

and most of those are 'bot scouring for email addresses and such.

[Mad Aussie]

how many times can you say 'great capture' (my most loathed expression) and mean it?

Every single time actually. I don't say anything I don't mean.

[thoughton]

I could actually do with a little clarification on this topic. A couple of weeks ago I was politely reprimanded for critiquing a photo that wasn't in the critique forum I generally try and avoid leaving a simple 'great capture' comment. I try to always add some bit of constructive crit, no matter how small it may be. This is partly for the photographer, but also for me. Critiquing others' photos improves your own technique, or at least that's what all the experts tell me. If no critique is permitted in the 'Show your photos' sections, won't all the comments be of the 'great capture' variety?

On the 'why this forum' topic, speaking as a relative newcomer here, I would also add that I looked around at a few forums before dipping my toes in here. This one seemed friendly, and had a fine art slant. I was specifically looking for a smaller forum, the big ones are far too impersonal for my taste.

[Mad Aussie]

In the simplest terms the Critiques forum is for comments of critique (comments that aid the author of the thread in improving their photography) which will hopefully be given in the vain of pointing out the good with the bad so to speak. This is the place to be critical and give an technical or simply visual advice you may have.

The Show your Photo forum is a place to show your photo without having someone critique it. Sometimes we simply don't want that. Many photos in the Show your photo forum are not displayed as works of art, and can be snapshots, sentimental, an illustration or educational set etc. If it's placed here, then the author isn't looking for critique.
Having said that, there's no reason you can't point the things you like about the photo. Those things don't have to be technically minded either. You might just mention that you know a place like that, or you love the smile the photographer captured. It's really not too difficult.
If a shot is a great shot, or great capture, and that's what you thought when you saw it then there's no reason why you can't tell the author that. I do. I really couldn't care less who doesn't like that. Sometimes, when I have more time on my hands I'll dig deeper and say more. Some photos are easy to comment on, some are not.
In the end, it's best to give positive feedback in the show your photo forum.

[Wicked Dark]

Every single time actually. I don't say anything I don't mean.

That might be true for you, MA, but honestly when that's all I ever see, over and over again, I question its sincerity. It smacks of tokenism, and well, I try not to go there. Not saying you do, but the internet being what it is, stuff like that is open to infinite interpretation.

[Marko]

I like the fact that we are having a 100% civil conversation about how to make this board better. If there is anything that people think that I can do to help, please just ask. PLENTY of times, I have made small changes at the request of just 1 person because I thought it made good sense and had no downside. IF there ever is anything that requires a change that's touchy for some people, I'm a big fan of democracy and I'll normally let the majority decide.

I try to comment on 5-10 threads most weekdays throughout the year. I too like to see more comments w/threads that have a bunch of views but many technically valid posts in this thread explain why that ratio will ALWAYS be much lower than actual comments. As forums get larger, so do the ratio of guests to members (lurkers who cannot comment but raise the views) and often it's 10:1 or as high as 40:1 add the bots into that ratio as well.

That said....I still see Matt's original point and I will try to comment more often.....but I do have an idea...


Although most images that get posted here by regular members (that have been around a bit or have been practicing their photography for a while) are strong images, this site is open to all and newbies with little experience are likely to join from time to time. Their images are far more likely to be weaker because they are less seasoned. We have a REALLY friendly forum and I'm glad to say that I've almost never had to discipline any member for rudeness. (Which I 100% would do if I saw a pattern of rudeness from any member). But because we are so naturally nice around here when weaker images do get posted, we don't necessarily want to hurt that person's feelings...and yet sometimes the image has very little going for it...so we don't comment.

I wonder if an additional profile field might be a good idea?
The profile field is in the top right of every post and says stuff like:
My Photos
Please do NOT edit my photo

It would not be too difficult to add another field that has 2 choices
- Feel free to critique any image in any forum
- Please only critique my images in the critique forum

If that were the case, then we "could" add diplomatic comments about what needs to be improved which would increase comments.

I'm super-happy that this forum has had VERY little friction in terms of bickering because that type of stuff wrecks a forum. We are friendly here and most regulars TRULY seem to enjoy learning as well as teaching when they have something to teach. This may be all in my own head as admin, but MY personal feeling about our forum is that it's a teaching forum with a core group of passionate photographers that enjoy sharing and learning.

I'll keep following this thread to see what members are thinking but PLEASE feel 100% free to PM me if anything ever concerns you.



Thx!
Marko

[Iguanasan]

I wonder if an additional profile field might be a good idea?
The profile field is in the top right of every post and says stuff like:
My Photos
Please do NOT edit my photo

It would not be too difficult to add another field that has 2 choices
- Feel free to critique any image in any forum
- Please only critique my images in the critique forum

If that were the case, then we "could" add diplomatic comments about what needs to be improved which would increase comments.

Thx!
Marko

I like that idea!

[Mad Aussie]

That might be true for you, MA, but honestly when that's all I ever see, over and over again, I question its sincerity. It smacks of tokenism, and well, I try not to go there. Not saying you do, but the internet being what it is, stuff like that is open to infinite interpretation.

Yeh I'm not saying I don't see your point, I do. Sometimes I think people just don't make an effort and fall back on a simple, well used phrase like 'great capture.'
Sometimes, like me, I'm here for about a minute or two maybe so making a short comment is better than none at all. Some people are also not as confident as others to comment on someones photo. People new to photography and the forum often fall into that category and just want to say they like the photo so 'great capture' says what they feel comfortable saying.