I’ve just posted this image which will no doubt appear sometime in the future when it has been approved. It is also available on these sites 500px, Tumblr, Instagram, which link to my Facebook and Twitter accounts. All of which you can see without joining anything.

Some members did break away onto flickr, but these are a very small number compared to the overall loss. I have just posted an image here, having tried to get some engagement, but to be honest I don't see the point of Caedes anymore. I get no exposure here. My friends don't know when I post because Facebook is not linked in. (Not everyone has hundreds of friends they don't know on Facebook, that is a very old fashioned view of social media.) Most websites, science journals, museums, magazines etc have Twitter and Facebook accounts to widen their audiences. To not engage with social media is an anachronism nowadays. Where are the RSS feeds? Where are the push notifications on my phone. Where is the modern website that works with touch tablets? Have you tried using Caedes on a tablet? Who sits at a desk nowadays? Yes I know some people do, but my mother (92) uses a tablet to view the nice pictures on, but not Caedes.

From an artistic perspective, the main reason I do not post here is lack of exposure. I get more people seeing my work on Instagram in 10 minutes than in 1 year on this site. In 24 hours the image above has the following stats. Instagram - 700 likes, 40 comments: 500px - 400+ views, 40 likes, 19 faves: My friends see the pictures I post on 500px, or any other site, as soon as I post them via Facebook, and often leave comments of engage socially about them. Professional photographers sometimes even grace me with comments and likes on Tumblr, and 500px, some even offer some critical comments.

For real feedback, I post to 1X and get torn to shreds, which helps me learn a lot. Those guys are extremely professional, especially if you want to get into the curator’s choice. Yes, professional photographers choose what gets approved, and it is hard, but so worth it. FYI, I have yet to get ANY image into the curator’s choice, so I know I am not that good despite all the accolades on the other sites.

What then is Caedes for? Help from other photographers by leaving critical comments? I don't get any, and I daren't leave any for fear of offending people. So not that anymore. Exposure? Obviously not. Nice pictures? Hardly, when the Main gallery is 90% mediocre B&W images for many pages. To be honest much better images can be found on 500px, 1X, and other photographic sites.

Sorry, but like Blackberry phones, Caedes is nearing the bottom of a downward spiral that will only change when the people in charge decide create some relevance to it in the modern mobile world that now exists.

Can this be changed? Yes, if there is a will. The quality can be improved, but people have to be willing to have images rejected. It can be linked to social media and increase its wider circulation, but newcomers will appear and things will change. An emphasis on showing off its historical works could be used on Twitter and Facebook to bring back artists, rather than just photographers to get the old mix back. Will this change the cosy clique based site it has become? Yes. But to do nothing is to see this once great site continue to whither and die, which is something I do not want to be part of.

Chris, I suggest you post this in the "feature Bloat/Bug Squash" thread where *caedes is more apt to see it.

Thanks!

Chris, you mention many issues that I agree with. When I first joined, the comments did have more punch to them. I have noticed some of our current members who leave the same empty comment on all of his/her friends pictures. What is the point of that.

We need the management to show concern for this site and to at least attempt to bring back the magic it once had. I have mentioned this in past discussion boards. Artist of the Month, the voting booth, making the "Main" gallory meaningful again.

I think Lynn's Black and White contests are a source of fun for the membership but the winners should not have an automatic pass into the Main gallery. The winners of the site promoted contests do not have feature, why should the winners of the "B&W?"

We have a few mods show up and get involved but where are all the rest. Some of them have not been on the site for years. I thinki Geri could easily remove those who have appeared to have left and replace them from the pool of our membership who actually are on the site regularly and care about its future.

Chris, good luck with your post in this thread.

It's not that the winners of the B&W contest get promoted, but that there are not winners as such. Every entry seems to get chosen at some point and is therefore a winner. One winner a week might be acceptable, but it seems one a day (or more) are chosen.

Please note that the B&W CHALLENGE was begun as exactly that - a Challenge. The word contest was deliberately avoided because it is not a competition. I started it to generate interest in B&W work and to encourage more in-depth comments.
The word 'Winners' was also not used for the same reasons.
I had no involvement in the creation of the gallery for the 'chosen' images in the Main Galleries. I think it was created simply as somewhere to store the images. I have no control or input over which ones are promoted - except to provide the list of 'chosen' images, but at the same time I see no harm in them all (yes, one a day) being placed there - it is the only B&W Gallery we have.

"the Main gallery is 90% mediocre B&W images for many pages". This is because no-one is regularly promoting other images. The B&W ones are in the Contests gallery - anyone not wanting to look at them because they are offended by the 'mediocrity' needs only to click on 'Photography' or whatever section they want. And maybe some constructive comments and critiques would be helpful to those participating (?) Fear of offending is no real reason not to - I don't believe offence is taken by anyone genuinely wishing to improve, provided the comments are made in a polite and helpful manner. I was once offended by a member posting that one of my images could have been done by a 5 year old - that, without any offer of help is offensive but surely a bit of diplomacy could be used.

I use a PC for viewing this site, although I occasionally use an ipad.I do most of my editing of photos on my PC and that is not likely to change, and viewing on the same machine seems sensible.
Yes, there is more exposure on Facebook and other sites but quite honestly I would prefer half a dozen comments from people here than 700 likes from people I have no other contact with elsewhere.I fail to see what use 700 likes would be to me or anyone. I do post some of my pics on Facebook, on my own page where only my friends can view them (and no I don't have 100's of friends, I have 52)

Personally I have no desire to have my images here linked to any social media site, but can see the benefits for those who desire wider circulation and accolades (and criticism) of their work, and who wish to profit from their work.

I think a Main gallery here for the monthly Contest winners is a good idea.

There is much said in the first post I agree with, but if horizons are to be widened to keep up with the times, that is beyond the control of mere members - so perhaps hopefully this thread will be acted upon.
In the meantime maybe some extra effort from within rather than complaining about a few B&W images that people have enjoyed creating and sharing with those who are interested.

BTW Chris the link to your image does not work.
I went to your page and looked at your last three images - the comments, although not many seem to be quite constructive to me.

Who sits at a desk nowadays? I do !

LynEve, I did not mean to demean you efforts on the B&W Challenge, only the unfortunate side effect of it now dominating the main galleries.

700 likes from people I don't know does not mean anything, other that it increases my exposure as a photographer. It means 700 people have seen my work, something that takes a very long time on Caedes. It also allows me to judge the relative value of some images, since some only get 500 likes, some get 1,000. That at least is some form of qualitative analysis.

The point I was making is that Caedes used to have a real differentiator, in the breadth of people on it interacting, and in the helpful critical comments. As I said, I never get these elsewhere, except for 1X.

Lastly, I do appreciate that some people sit at a desk to use a computer, but since there are more smart mobile systems than PC's this is a market that could be exploited to improve Caedes.

The link is now fixed.

Chris - could you not put a caedes.net link on your Facebook status when you post an image here ?

The point I am trying to make is that when I post to other sites the link is automatic. I could post the image separately onto Facebook, but it is usually already there from other sites. Integration is convenient. One person linking from Facebook will not improve the site, I only have 25 friends and most of them have visited Caedes and not come back on the basis that it was not very interesting, from a desktop hunting perspective. If everybody started linking to social media sites we might get visitor numbers up, but the galleries will have to improve to keep people here.

Just my opinion, and I am aware many will disagree - I think galleries could improve if there was some element of competition or reward (i.e. image promotions)- something to strive for.
I also think it would take a lot of persuasion to get everyone to link to social media sites.
I agree that integration would be the only way to do it and then those who wished to could open a Facebook (or other) account for that specific purpose - to display their art and attract people to this site. If that were the case the more 'friends' one had on the social media site the more may visit here.Having the sm site visible to the public would give an even wider audience. Some would shy away from that but after all - this site is available to all.

If I might add my 2¢ (I found a couple of pennies in the mud).

Members have left the site en masse. Several reasons could be cited. There's the lack of moderation of image quality, which is due to *caedes leaving the flood gates wide open. Barring obscenity or copyright violation, from what I can tell, it's pretty much "anything goes". And then there's the selective praise/neglect practice that members have engaged in. Who you are mattered more than what your image looked like. Add to those two, some of the inter-membership crossfire, and the result is a ghost town of a site.

If you guys want the site to be more than just a little dilapidated treehouse of a site, exposure to the site from other online sources wouldn't be a bad place to start. Neither would making the site more mobile-oriented. Maybe some fresh blood could wake this place back up.

Yes Chris there is practically no honest critique on Caedes, & yes people still huddle together in packs of friends, but it's always been that way. Seems that's what the artists wants, like it or not, it must be a comfort thing but it does hinders ones development granted.

Do you lack exposure here, oh what a shame, the vast majority of people here are very content with just 5-10 comments on their uploads from this site alone. There's also a few artists who fail to comment on other peoples work, & don't seem to mind when they go to the Lonely Images column. So why is mass exposure so important to you Chris? isn't the art of taking a photograph, editing, & uploading to a couple of websites enough for you, what a shame you can no longer enjoy the simple things in life.

The way you talk about the latest technological gadgets / software, & say big is beautiful people would expect you to be some sort of wealthy American but I see you name the UK as your residence which is strange.

Your mother is a very sharp women if she's mastered the full use of a tablet at 92, the vast majority of people aged 75+ often have difficulty learning new things. I'm 51, & am not going to throw away my hi spec desktop for the latest gadget simply because someone like you suggests it's outdated, why should I, I'm very happy with it? Besides who's gonna pay, I can't afford it.

Another thing you suggested that myself, & others don't want here is semi / automatic exposure of their copyrighted images on social media sites. I'm not suggesting that the images here are of exceptional quality but artists value them, & don't want them exposed to image pirates, have you seen some of the posts on Facebook, & Twitter lately? There are some Caedes artists who do already post their work on such sites, but show me Chris where's a thread relating to this subject elsewhere?

What I want to see return to Caedes is a younger membership, & more professional images that encourages everyone to improve their work. Naturally a rise in the population would create diversity, & help wake up this sleepy site, but for myself there's a limit to the comments I want to make.

There isn't one website out there that caters for everyones needs Chris nor will there ever be. Caedes is sleepy website that needs a nudge, you trying to throw a bucket of water is wasted, gently does it.

Phil. You make some good points but I think you have the wrong impression from what I said.

The images on social media are so low res, on Instagram they are <600px in a square format and cannot be saved, other than with a screed dump and so cannot be used for anything else. Tumblr is a maximum at 1280px, but are often less. Ix and 500 only show very small thumbnails. These sites tend to use flash as another means of protecting images. Caedes is by far the easiest site to steal large images from, so your concern about theft is largely unfounded.

I don't suggest that anyone needs to go and buy a tablet. They are extremely easy to use, my 5yr old grand-niece copes well, as does my mother. I also have a high spec desktop, a mac pro, and I use it for numerous things, but I also use a tablet and phone so I am not stuck sat at a desk all the time, well I do for most sites, except Caedes. Well designed websites can be used on all modern devices, and most have their own apps to make it more secure and even easier. Ceades neither makes it easy to use on a tablet, nor provide an app., so is only usable by people sat at a desk using a mon-mobile device. This is a shame.

If you want a younger membership in Caedes, then Caedes must start to approach the internet in the way that young people utilise it, that is mostly on mobile devices, tablets and phones.

"isn't the art of taking a photograph, editing, & uploading to a couple of websites enough for you, what a shame you can no longer enjoy the simple things in life." Actually, I really only upload to one site, since all the sites are linked, except Caedes, I upload once and 4-5 sites get an image to display, so in reality my life is as simple as anyone who just uploads to Caedes, except I also get feedback from good professional photographers on other sites. I object to having to upload separately to Caedes and then get nothing for it. Which is why I don't.

And I still think this is a shame.

Chris - I am puzzled. IF the site you upload to which redistributes images to 4 or 5 others DID have this site linked to it wouldn't the images then be of too low a res to use as desktop wallpaper?
I can view and admire your photos on the sites you gave links to above but I can't do anything with them. Purchase of a download as personal wallpaper I see is an option on 500px and perhaps therein lies the difference between such sites and caedes where anyone can use any images freely. Yes, and risk theft but that is a choice we have to make. Share or sell in a nutshell. Many of us do not have the talent or the purpose to sell but still want to improve through suggestions comments and inspiration.

My situation is exactly the opposite, since I already post on quite a few other art-related sites, as well as have a Facebook account with a sizeable friends' list (For me, Facebook is a good place to network myself and what I do, rather than looking at it as strictly a popularity thing), I still come to Caedes because of the anonymity it offers me, as well as a place to mingle with more individuals within my own age group...Some of the pieces I post here, such as the political humor, for example...do not get posted anywhere else...

Even though some of the younger crowds and the Goth community (although our kind tends to be more on the realistically crude and darker sides of life) like some of the things I do, and I can relate with some of what they're into as well - as it is with the case of Facebook and a few of the art sites I'm on, I kind of still go my own way, and like to live a somewhat peaceful life now...I've already been through my youth, and I wouldn't want to go through it again...

"Well designed websites can be used on all modern devices, and most have their own apps to make it more secure and even easier. Ceades neither makes it easy to use on a tablet, nor provide an app., so is only usable by people sat at a desk using a mon-mobile device. This is a shame."

Referring to Chris's comment above, Caedes does not have an app but can be viewed far more comfortably on an iphone or ipad using the Opera Mini browser. Safari does not display the site well.