Are they still being updated?
Are we still expected to nominate images?

I'm pretty sure it has to be done manually by the mods now, although there was never anything officially announced (the ability to nominate vote just disappeared I think?.

I have a suggestion though; maybe you can start a thread for people to nominate images and we can promote them manually if there is a consensus? naturally this won't suit everyone (does it ever?) but surely it's better than no images being promoted at all. Things seem pretty stagnant atm...

I tried to nominate an image and got the internal server error.
I had forgotten about that bug, but it is still there so guess that is not an option.

I am not sure about a nomination thread. I suspect it could become bloated and maybe cries of favouritism (?)

Could it be done with the proviso that once nominated there is no need for anyone (members) to reinforce the nomination ? Also limit numbers we can nominate (perhaps a weekly allocation) Then you guys could just take a look and decide from there.

I would not like a thread to become a vehicle for complaints and argy-bargy because an image was not promoted after being posted by a nominator.
Maybe a notice like is seen on competitions "The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into" :) :

Could the nominators be sure they would be considered ?
Perhaps a condition that a nomination MUST be accompanied by a short explanation of the images value. That would discourage members from nominating willy-nilly with no sound basis.

Where would such a thread belong ?

I think this description of members nominating works sounds a lot like the old Art Council. Any thought about bringing it back?

Not really, since the only person who has the ability to do so doesn't seem to be around/interested.

I think to a certain degree if we want to get things done, we need to sort out a way to do it ourselves and not rely on anything that requires any programming to be done because it just isn't going to happen.

Lyn: I agree that a limit probably needs to be placed on how many nominations are allowed per member and also that it cannot be allowed to become a place to vent. I imagine the thread as a way to simply make the task of approving images much easier by having them highlighted for us rather than having to trawl through the galleries, which is what I think is causing the lack of promotions right now (I know it's the reason I don't do it myself).

I think the way to go would be to just let people do what they feel will work at the beginning, and then we can establish what works best once we get a feel for it. However it may be a good idea to have some rules set from the start so people don't get confused by constant changes?

The simpler the process is and the fewer 'rules' the more likely it is to work without complications and dissentions.
The Main Gallery certainly is becoming stagnant, and needs to be updated. Nothing has changed in over 2 months.

The old much maligned VB system had the advantage of sorting according to popularity as an aid for the image mods and also forced members to look beyond their own comfort zone. From memory if you wanted to upload 2 images you looked at and considered 40 others (which is approx the number of uploads per day right now) There were claims that people rushed through their voting but I think there were those who took it seriously as well.

I recall suggesting before that perhaps the IMs could nominate a band of 'mini mods' to be on the lookout for oustanding images and notify them. This could be extended to include all participating members. Only those interested would participate anyway.
There are two ways of looking at the situation - make the nominations public in an open discussion thread (worst possible downside - hurt egos, disagreement and cronyism leading to argy bargy) OR make a weekly day for nominations to be forwarded to IM's for consideration in private (worst possible downside - claims of secretivness, favouritism and, again, cronyism leading to argy bargy) .

Only images that the nominator has actually commented on should be eligible which would ensure some thought has been given, and prevent anyone immediately suggesting a fave friends image for whatever reason - be it a back scratching exercise or whatever.

We have been told in the past that only very outstanding images belong in the main galleries and I think everyone would agree with that, and in the end it is up the to IMs to decide which these are. There is no way on earth that everyone would agree with all of the choices because everyone has a different idea of what is outstanding in their eyes.
Looking at the first page of 36 New Images I can see at least one that I would consider eligible but would be the first to admit that opinion is coloured by my own personal preferences and that would apply to everyone else. That is why we need a dedicated band of IMs to ensure there is balance and fairness.

Another thought - when images are being approved could the 'approvers' take note of those they consider suitable and then choose between them at the end of a week or fortnight those to be promoted ? Then make an announcement that these are the ones that have been chosen which would encourage others to take a look at them and get 'out and about' more within the site. You could also make it clear that you are open to suggestions.

Or you could make a weekly Poll of suggested images and let members vote on them to determine the promotions, although that could possibly open up the favourtism can of worms again.

OR just open up a poll where members could nominate annonymously, anyone could vote, but make it clear that the final decision lies with the IMs, as it always has been. For instance if 5 similar images scored highly the IMs would make their choices. Make it clear that it is an advisory Poll only, and a top scoring image is not guaranteed inclusion.
I think that could work, and would prevent IMs being bombarded with suggestions and opinions.

IMs should always have the right to promote individually, regardless of public opinion because that is one of the reasons they are IMs.

My idea would be that there would be one day a week where each member could nominate one image. It would have to be on a "public" thread I feel, PM's would be too messy and complicated (eg what if the mod was away, they would also have to copy and paste each PM they received so the other mods could see it etc). The day after the image mods would just go through and move the ones they personally felt were "worthy".

Basically the method of selection (ie the mods discretion) would not change, this would just be a way of bringing it to their attention so that more images could potentially be promoted with less work.

A poll could also work the same way, as you suggest, I think? but it would have to be the members, not the IM's, who make the nominations, or it would defeat the purpose. Also the point would not really be to "vote" for images, but again just to bring the best images to the attention of the mods.

Yes, I just said 'vote' because ot sorta goes with 'Poll"
Affirm their approval was what I meant :)
The reason I like the Poll idea is because it can be done annonymously therefore preventing personalities being involved. Anyone who wanted to add to their nomination by means of posting a comment would be able to as well.