For some weeks now I have been struggling with the idea of giving up on Caedes! Don't get me wrong - I love it to pieces, but the format gives me headaches and anxiety complex!

What you find below is a summary of my thoughts on making the life easier on Caedes. I have started this last week, and since then I have seen a discussion under--Discussion Board -> Critique Team?--, touching on some of the points. I wish I did catch it at the time - I would have chipped in!
I have slept on the Idea that comments should be anonymous, but this will preclude frienship . However, if some elements were to be restructured... Without really knowing how the whole shebang works - I can't wrap it up into single coherent system, but I can make a suggetion or two?

My 4 main areas of contention are - Voting amount, Friends List. Favourites gallery and the lack of Brief Notice Board for Mortals!

1-Voting for 40 pictures at one time is exhausting - you get peeved if you get 3 or 4 very poor ones in the row - and you keep throwing low marks for good measure in the next 3 votes! Besides, by the time you've seen 30 - your eyes are crossed! At least mine are, as I usually take time to have a good look! 32 would be my top limit!

2- I would like to get rid of the "Friends list"- it obscures the whole issue - you don't have enough time left over to run around independently, commenting on the pictures that Strike you as worthy of critique, or just plain appreciation!
3-do away with "Favourites" - I am sure it takes a lot of megs to store a lot of Favourites Links for a lot of people! I know that my Fav. Gallery is overflowing!
My solution would be to combine Friends and Favotites into one PRIVATE Jotter for Links to the Galleries of people who's work I want to follow - sort of personal Watch List. I know - getting the message that somebody added you as a "Friend" is very flattering, but it is an obligation too! It can get too distracting and counterproductive.
The Private Message slot should be sufficient for forming friendships! Think on it - we would not be members of Caedes if we were not artistically inclined, and Artists usually find each other on the principle of "resonance" alone! Photography or Fractal, or just skillful use of any Graphics application - it should not make a difference in appreciation of final result.

4- There should be a Brief NOTICE board for all to see- not buried in Discussions. NOT many members have time or inclination to sift through various topics, unless they are looking for something in particular! But a quick announcement like -"going off to Amazon Basin for 6 months, might not come back!" or Draw Attention to particularly valid discussion on the Forum", or Deleting all my Friends off the list" .....this last sounds awfully rude, but I've felt like it few times lately! Not because I find their work uninteresting, but because it stops me from browsing and commenting more!
I do hope that all this thinking of mine will create a discussion on making Caedes a little more "User Friendly for all of us!
anawhisp

Anna - your first three points for the most part are voluntary features of the site controlled entirely by the individual member. It isn’t compulsory to vote on 40 image in the VB at a time and the friends and favourites features are entirely optional - there is no obligation to keep favourites or to add or respond to friends. The amount of both of these features is down to your personal choice already. Whilst the brief notice board sounds like a good idea in principle, id imagine it would soon become swamped with posts that will require sifting through like any other forum.

Agree with Phil here...we are free to pick and choose these features of Caedes. Maybe using the friends as a device to keep track of your favourite artists (those that inspire you) can change the value of that feature for you...use it an inspirational tool.

But, but some of us have OCD or ADD or in my case HDOCD (Hi-Def OCD)...this anal, compulsive feeling that I'VE created friends and HAVE to comment on THEIR images. I've wrestled with this too Anna. I miss the good 'ol days of simply logging on and going through ALL new images and commenting as I see fit. Touché as I almost feel it necessary to comment on my friends post before I upload a new post myself. I feel like I'm tearin' myself apart. Can we have a separate site for people of whom have OCD or ADD?

Again, don't get me wrong (as you), I love my friends. But, it takes away from the overall site. My friends comment on my images and I comment on their's. I "try" to post some random comments whilst in the voting booth, yet, I add no one. I've had several people want to add me and it's like..."who are you, I don't know you". Also I don't give "feedback" anymore due to time constraints. This is unimportant if you're a member or higher and have achieved the "massive" status...which holds no bearings what so ever...yet, I don't give newbie’s credit for their review or comment as I should.

As D and Uncle Phil stated, which true it be, it's more so upon us...ourselves. It's just hard to overcome that person sometimes.

Peace, respect and mucho luv to all...expect Uncle Phil...we'll duel at sunrise as planned Sir Phil aka The Shark. hehehe!! I teasin' baby, I teasin'...you know I's luv's ya!! YOU the master!!

Uncle Phil for Pres!!!

and a brief suggestion Ana... while I fall down on my voting booth duties frequently, when I do go vote, I tend to vote on 5 or 10... go do something else for a half hour or so, come back and do another 5 or 10, and so on. It cuts down on the drag and enables me to continue to attempt fairness across the board in my voting. 80)

I usually look at my jobs after I have done everything else. The fact that sometimes they can be time consuming doesn't mean they should be removed as that wouldn't be fair to people who enjoy using them or use them more officially. If I really don't have time to look at the friends list or requests for comment I just mark them all as read without viewing, or leave them for next time I log on.

Phil is correct- in theory. But does it work like that? When another person adds you to their list of "Friends" -you get notified and it is only polite to reciprocate... and vortex starts here! You are right about inspiration, but if I keep checking out all other people that are "inspired" by me - I have less time for being inspired myself! There is very little "voluntary" about it!
The point I was trying to make in my original post that there is a vast DISTINCTION between the concept of a "Friend " and "The Artist I Admire". In other words - I'd rather manage my list of people whose work inspires or delights me - in private. then I will have the choice of actually asking them personally for more contact, or just admire them from afar - without disturbing their privacy.
I shall take the point about voting and stagger it - thank you for suggestion, Cat!
I don't know what Randy means by all these capital letters - I am only a "small fry" - but I understand about conflict. That is why Randy was never added to my List - why should I disturb him? I can always go to his Gallery and admire to my heart's content - which I do with few other people that actually do inspire me! Yet none of them (bar John W) are on my list.
anawhisp

Like Hottrockin, I do my best to respond to all of the people on my friends' list when I get a notification. I may not always have time to respond to every picture, but I pick at least one out of two that they submitted to comment on. I would have to agree that I don't comment on newbies as much because of the friends' list.

I think I see what you are getting at now... you use the friends list to keep track of people who you PM regularly, or so that you can access their profiles quickly, rather than as a tool to keep track of who is uploading what... is that right? Whereas I use it as a list of "the artists I admire", as you put it... ie, a list of people whos images I don't want to miss. I think maybe the solution would be to have two lists, a "Friends" list which would be basically like an address book, giving you fast and easy access to members profile pages etc, and a seperate "Artists" list, which would have the same function as the "Friends" list currently has (you still need a list on your profile page to be able to add or remove artists from it). Another option might be to just have one list and add a radio button which you could check nect to the names of people you want to be notified of when they upload something. If I'm on the right track then the next step would be to suggest the changes in the "Feature bloat/Bug squash" forum.

I did ponder over Sam's suggestion for a while, but in my case -it is less "lists" and social obligations that I was after, not more! I shall have to manage as best as I can in existing format. This will mean less of this "Karma" thingy for me, but as long as I have time to actually work with graphics and post my work sometimes too - not a great loss!
anawhisp

I understand & sympathize with your predicament, Anna. I've felt the weight of social obligation too. But if someone you don't know adds you to their Friends list,maybe a simple " Thank you for adding me to your friend's list ! " type of comment on their profile page might work. That way, if you want to pursue an acquaintence type of friendship, or even become friends, you can do it at your own pace & in your own time.

As for Sam's suggesstion, I'm all for it. I think it's a great idea. That way I could keep up with people whose work I admire & comment if, or when I chose. Not because I feel I necessarily have to.

You can always add somone to your friends list and then remove them later if you don't want to be notified of their uploads... the system doesn't notifiy someone if they are removed from a friends list as far as I am aware so there's no risk of hurting any feelings.

PS I'll add that suggestion to the feature bloat then Lauren.

Great Sam ! Thanks ;o)

I like the Friends list but perhaps it could be given a different name. Many on mine have become real 'friends' as such but all were originally added so that I would not miss out on images by artists I admire, and whose work interests and inspires me. There are several on my list that I have never communicated with in any other way but still I get to see their latest offerings which I may otherwise have missed. I do not feel any obligation to comment on each and every upload.
As for voting - some days I do the maximum, on others time prevents more than a few, but I use this as a way of discovering new and exciting work by artists I would never have discovered otherwise, and frequently comment on a picture that has impressed me.
I appreciate a little bit of light hearted banter between 'friends' and appreciate comments and suggestions but I would not want anyone to feel an obligation to comment for the sake of commenting just because I am on their list. Time is precious to all of us and if being here ever becomes a chore rather than a pleasure then I guess it is up to me to change the way I use the site.
I think Sam's suggestions are good, although I have no complaints about the present system.
:)

I also participate in an artist forum called "ArtWanted.com." There they have what is called an "Art Watch" list which includes notification (in this case, members are notified by e-mail) when the artists included on the list upload an image. It serves the purpose of alerting members when the work of artists they like is posted. Unlike the Caedes "friends" list, those who are included on your Art Watch list are not notified when you add them to your list, which reduces the "obligatory" pressure to include artists on your list (that you'd rather not) because they included you on their list. It's just a way of tracking the work of artists you like more easily than to wade through all new images....To me, that's what the Caedes "Friends" list is for and, while it's kinda nice to know when someone adds me to their list, I can see where it might be better to keep that information personal. Wen

You need a system...good work flow. Once you become used to it it saves a ton of time. Or just don't keep a friends list and don't save favorites...basically do what makes you happy.

This isn't as easy as it sounds, though. I do not keep a list of friends and nor do I keep favourites. Nonetheless, I wonder how this appears to people who add me as a friend since I never reciprocate - not even if I regularly comment positively on their work. I don't wish to use the list because I think it would make it difficult for me to look at images for myself independently of my expectations of what so-and-so does.

I realise some people like the feature, but it is not a win-win situation and the negative effects are not nullified by simply not using the feature. Because the feature is about social relationships and personal connexions, it is not that simple.

I would at least like to be able to post a short statement at the top of my profile page and, maybe, gallery, explaining this "policy" and my reasons for it. That would make me feel a little less awkward about the whole thing. This sort of option might be more generally useful, of course - people could make a general statement about the programmes they use or their attitude to their work or anything else.

- cfr

You could post such a statement as your signature. That way it would be guaranteed to be seen by the people whose work you do comment on and would be most likely to add you as a friend.

It seems as though the individual artists are putting a lot of pressure on themselves re: the 'friends' list and adding favorites. I am here for fun, learning & sharing with the people that I have formed a friendship with. My friends list is "my art watch list". I check it and feel no obligation whatsoever to write a comment on that image. If someone is offended, they always have the right to remove me and I will never be aware (as Sam stated).
The only thing that is required on this site is clicking on the link! You don't have to pay to upload, if you want to upload ( no one has to upload), vote on 10 images...not 40! This site is not a competition. It is a place to have fun. Remember, you are in control of the pressure that you put on yourself.
*caedes has stated that he likes statistics, so that is why he has them!
Anna, I hope that you are able to find a balance that will allow you to have fun and stay with us. You are appreciated ;)
Margali, I am not offended by the way you choose to use this site & manage your friend's or your favorites. Please don't feel awkward ;=)
Jerry stated it so well...do what makes you happy!!!

I recently adopted a simple method to scale down my workload being I keep a rather large friends list. The plan is this...there is a good chance that if you don't comment on my pics I don't comment on yours. I do make exceptions and do reciprocate to those who comment. I used to comment on my whole list and was typing more than anything else. So I figured if you don't want to or don't have the time to comment on mine I will likewise reciprocate. No hard feelings and fair is fair. You will learn who your friends are and readjust the friends list accordingly. This reciprocal policy is based primarily on the friends list and not for random comments.

I only comment if I feel like I actually have something worth saying :-)

Now that you mention it I have never seen you comment on any of my pics :-)

Well that must mean I can't find anything wrong with them...

*announcer*
And the point goes to Sam.

:oP

I concede to Sam. He could have said a lot worse.

Where's an announcer when you need one?

Looks like the Blue Ninja aka Thread Angel of Death may have claimed another one.

*tosses a handful of dirt onto thread*

R.I.P.

Signed,

The BN.

Thanks Canadian breath but I can slay these quite well myself.

meanwhile - back in the offtopic forum.....

Hmmm....ok....I have time....some die harder than others....I can deal with that.