Yes, please.

As of late, I have been really taking notice of a rather disturbing trend. May be because of the season and weather that is upon us in the northern hemisphere, more 'stuff' to do now ... whichever and whatever ... views/downloads AND commenting.

The numbers ain't matching up people. :o|

It has to be disheartening to the artist, particularly when it is their friends committing the act of ... not opening the image full-size ... and then giving a passing/driveby commentary on their works.

Take a considered moment please.

For the efforts, time and money that is expended on the side of the fence of the artists ... are they not worth it?

I completely agree.

In the infamous words of Jean-Luc ... "Make it so". Thank you.

*views thread but does not comment*

Ok, you come and clean my monitor now. :o|

*makes mental note ... 'don't read Sam's posts just after taking a sip of tea' ...*

:oD

I am guilty of the lack of comments. Not the views /downloads though.
And I am not in the Northern Hemisphere.

My perhaps dil-brained theory is that we have been discouraged from uploading willy-nilly - many of us have decreased our numbers - and maybe with that the impetus lessens - the "must get to Caedes to do my uploads/viewing/downloads/comments" first thought of the day is less important. Some of us have ingrained in our brains 10 votes per upload - 14 uploads per week = 140 votes. 1 upload = 10 votes. I know that is not how it should be - the emphasis should be on commenting/voting, but human nature being what is is . . .

And yes, I do feel bad about my recent lack of comments. Sometimes other things do get in the way - and that is my 'excuse/reason' at present.

PLUS I am making preparations for an expected new arrival - due on Monday :) So excited. 500GB of space and 2GB of memory. Room for zillions of photos. More busyness installing programs is expected in the following days. It shall be tended with tenderness and reverence.

And the time I could just now have spent voting has been wasted by googling to see who the heck Jean-Luc was - expected a renowned philosopher at the very least - Star Treck!!
"The line must be drawn here. This far, no further! And, I will make them pay for what they've done."

Beam me up!


Things are only impossible until they're not.
Jean-Luc Picard

No worries on the inability to comment as frequently Lyn ... the reference here is about the 'quality' of comments.

In my mind ... quality comments go hand in hand with viewing an artist's work in full-size ... before committing those words to an image's page.

All I am asking is for those that 'rush to comment' to take a moment and consider the reception of a few words, hastily composed and placed ... by the receiving artist.

That can't make anyone feel good, nor enthused ... about their work. :o(


Jean-Luc? 'Tis a great philosophizing ... character. :oD

Who also happens to be a strong proponent ... of reading. Picture appears on posters in libraries alllll over the world.

"Time is a companion that goes with us on the journey, reminding us to treasure the moments for they may never come again."

- Jean-Luc Picard

Something else to think about........I visit this site usually 2 or 3 times per day, and I seem to always have comment requests. First stop here today I have 3 comment requests, and to be quite honest I get fed up with this constant barrage of comment requests, so I tend to just get them out of the way as quickly as possible.
After dealing with the unwanted requests, I am usually less apt to leave comments on things that I appreciate (I do, but not as much as I might otherwise). I really like it here, and I know this system is what helps Caedes be a great site, but 3 requests at a time? And how many more on subsequent visits today?
One thing it does accomplish, now that I am unhappy, my requested comments are likely to be brutally honest, so pardon me if I step on your toes!

So, to make things even more irratating, one of the comment requests is for a piece I commented on yesterday!
Grrrrrrrrr.........!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Larry,

Allow me to address your concern and irritation with the comment requests.

Comment requests are tied to the amount of time spent logged onto the site, simply put. More time = more comment requests.

Insofar as your being irritated by them, the duplicate request aside for a moment ... wellll, not sure what I can say or do to help you move past that.

There is nothing punitive assigned should you not respond to the requests. Simply pare that number down to something that is manageable for you.

I think it would be more preferrable for you and the artist concerned to have an open and objective comment being placed on an image's page, as opposed to one that is rooted in some irritation.

No need to retaliate in that way. I would think that that compounds things on your side of the fence in the end.

Comment requests typically are generated for those images that are languishing with little or no comments. And most often, they are the images that could benefit from someone with your creativity and knowledge. So ...

Pare them down. They do 'go away' after a time frame regardless. Don't get irritated, reframe the experience such that it is viewed as an opportunity to lend some assistance and expertise to someone that might be genuinely trying to improve their art.

Suggestion ... place some 'stock' commentaries composed by you and saved somewheres that address the most common of mistakes made ... perhaps, add a link to an online tutorial or something similarly instructive; composition for example.

Get a comment request that fits the bill? ... copy and paste away. At least in that scenario your time is not impinged and the artist receiving your words is provided some good tips and advice.

That would work for me, how about you?

LynEve nailed it for me.

I've become :::dainty cough::: irregular since I dropped the "Let's see, what shall I post today?" habit.

Will try adding more fiber to my participation.

But I do open up stuff before commenting and a lot, a lot of stuff I don't comment on. One of the things that attracts me to the visual arts is the superfluity of words. I do word work for a living, so to come here and just SEE and think without the brain chatter, without reducing what I see to words, is like turning on my oxygen! But, yeah, I can manage to say a little more without turning blue...

Thanks Les, I probably sounded more irritated than I actually was. Your explanation of how the system works cleared up a couple things about it that I was unsure of, so thanks for that.
I will continue to do what it takes to keep this site one of the best. I really like it that Caedes is mostly top quality, as opposed to some other sites that are 95% rubbish, so I'm happy to do my part to keep it that way.

Lyn, no disrespect intended my friend, but I find it difficult to pick one image per month to upload. Real quality images don't come along that often, and since I don't want people to think of me as a mediocre artist, I only upload images that I think are really, really good.

I have a gazillion cute photos of squirrels doing adorable things. I have a butt-load (129 gallons) of sunset photos. But without any compositional elements, are these really art? I don't think so. Though I still take advantage of late afternoon light in my images, and if a squirrel crosses my lens I won't clone it out, I do not make them the main event in my images. Once you eliminate the more prosaic images what you are left with is the truly original - art. Be your own editor. Discriminate before you disseminate.

Warning: JOKes ahead ...

Uh, Lyn ... /\ he's new around this neck of the woods. Resheath the claws ... remove tacks from mouth. :oD

Reg? Lyn has spoken on the same subject you are addressing in your post above ... oh, just a bit, and on a few and very infrequent occasions. Fortunately for you, she is at work getting her new rig up and running.

You'll find out what this allll means in time, rest assured. (<--- Just kidding Lyn ... and Reg. :o) )

"Lyn, no disrespect intended my friend, but I find it difficult to pick one image per month to upload. Real quality images don't come along that often, and since I don't want people to think of me as a mediocre artist, I only upload images that I think are really, really good. "

Reg - the thing is, what we personally think is really really good is often deemed otherwise by our peers. I see your gallery has images raging from 92 down to 29.

I also do not want to be thought of as a 'mediocre artist' and everything I have ever uploaded I have thought, at the time, was worthwhile.I hesitate to say 'really really' good. 123 times they were chosen for the permanent galleries so some of them must have been ok. Subscribing to the the theory that plentiful uploads equates to poor quality then I guess I am just that - mediocre. So be it.

In view of this I am having a big rethink and wondering if I have already made my final upload. Shame that it was not a good one, average score in the voting, perhaps an indication of the overall quality of my work.

Indeed, my fine new computer specifically bought for my photo work may well be used for other things after all. I am thinking of all that extra time I would have, not spent editing, voting, commenting, viewing, and it gets more attractive by the minute. An occassional pop-in to view the 'real art' and my 'masterpieces' and 'prosaic' images kept to myself.

We can not all be experts, and the site would be very boring if there were no lesser works to compare the top quality ones with. It also has to be considered that some of the top quality contributors started off with lesser abilities and it has been through offering their work for evaluation that they have improved.

I will climb down from my soap box now, enough said.


Les - yes I know I talk too much, it seems I do everything to excess, giving my opinion as well as uploading images.
My claws are resheathed and I have no tacks to spit out. I am too old and too tired for all of this. I am now going out in the rain with my camera for some peace and quiet and time to think :) The calming sound of camera clicks seems a good option.

:) :)

Hmm, methinks some of these are in order ... Lyn's fav, if I recall correctly ...

*leaves behind a plate of chocolate-covered shortbread cookies*

Add in a good cuppa ... and tomorrow is another day, and hopefully ... one that is full of calming clicks. :o)

I'm having a whole different thread here.

To give my 'two cents worth'...quality comments are really important, when we give a comment, it should just never be "oh that's nice, great colour, nice picture ,nice flowers,etc etc" Even if we just do one sentence, it ought to be QUALITY. And really mean something to the person who posted the image or art work. Another thing, it is Springtime, we are sorta like the animals, we humans are even coming "out of hibernation"..we went thru the dreaded winter(except those in the warmer parts of the world) and now we can get outside more, which is just awesome, I'm sure you will all agree. We plant flowers and make gardens, or just go on trips and enjoy life a bit more.. But when we DO come to caedes, we really should allow a certain amount of time to comment with quality. I don't think anyone can necessarily be here every day or post every day, but a quick look-thru might be nice. The quality is important here, and we are all friends, so that's a bonus.
One final thought...I think each and every one of us at one time or another, have thought about quitting caedes, due to any number of things...a list too long to number, but in the final end of it all, it all depends on what we care about, and how we can unselfishly give to others. This is a great group of people, I've made some precious friends here, and I think it's special to think we can all be a bit more patient and maybe even forgiving..and yes, Scarlet, tomorrow is but another day...V

'Tis happening ... once again. :o|

Looking at the numbers, no ... not that number ... views/downloads and comments placed on an image/photo ... are not matching up very well.

Take a considered moment ... please ... for the sake of those that have spent time behind the lens or in the chair, in the creation and posting of their works.

As Verena says above me;

"But when we DO come to caedes, we really should allow a certain amount of time to comment with quality."

I wholeheartedly agree.

Hey Lyn. Sometimes I get it wrong. :-) Sometimes the rest of the world gets it wrong too if you know what I mean. What my comment was addressing is the fact that for many people here, quantity seems to take the place of quality, and some folks just rely on the rest of us to decide what's good and what's bad, so they don't have to.

Perhaps I shouldn't have started my previous post with your name, because then it seemed that the rest of the post was directed at you. It was not. It was directed at the people who upload without discrimination. Your absence here would be strongly felt.

Now I have to get ready to evacuate this town. Hurricane Gustave's coming, and if we don't go soon the four roads out of New Orleans will be parking lots. Wish us luck my friends.

Reg - I am still here several months later :)

Please stay safe - having to evacuate your town sounds very serious. :( I am sure everyone else here wishes you and others affected by Gustave good luck and safety.

/\ Is still here for the chocolate-covered shortbread. :oD

Indeed Les, what else?

Plate at the ready.

*shares some of his private 'stock', gladly*

Tea? I am pouring?

Yes :)
dash of milk, no sugar thanks.

(you know I am sweet enough)

For your considered amusement ... next time, reply thusly to the query of 'sugar for your tea?'

"Fourteen teaspoons, please. But, don't stir it ... as I don't like my tea too too sweet."

Oh you kids ...