I can't believe all of the "wow what a great pic" and the "beautiful pic" comments i read on half of the picture comments. Granted....I'm not the best photographer in the world......Probably not the best in my family....But i think i have a decent eye for composition and color.....even though i cant make a blue sky to save my a**...People get real.... this stuff needs honest critiques....and if most of you are being honest then, well i dont know what to say....Other than one of my own, I have only seen one critique that was even a little bit negative.....When you see a pic of some flowers, look at more than the flowers, look at shadowing, lighting, blurry pics, pics with "noise", signs on posts! jeesh Thanks

I just had a look through 12 image discussions in the new images gallery. There was an average of 10 comments per image (so ~120 comments). Guess how many even slightly negative comments there were? One! One single comment had a critical remark! By the way it was by stuffnstuff. Way to keep the dream alive ther stuff!

I spend too much time on Caedes, as it is. Basically I only take time to comment on the stuff that catches me eye. The rest I skip over. Every now and again, I'll comment on how I think an image could be improved if it has potential. It's not that I don't want to take more time to comment - I just don't have that time available. Maybe others feel the same way.

ditto on the above, but you two are right, how can we all learn without so kind of critique, all I worry about is getting flamed for making any comment.

Most of my comments contain suggestions for improvement nowadays. Otherwise I only leave a comment if I see something that I feel deserves encouragement, eg something new or different, or some improvement in a regular members work. I can honestly say that I have never had any negative feedback that I can recall on any of my critical comments. I think it's just a matter of being tacful. I usually try to begin and end with something positive about the image and put any "negative" constructive criticism in the middle.

A great way to be tactful is to offer instructions for improvement to back up the critique you have given. For example, "Wow, this is a great image, but it is noisy", could be reworded to say "Wow, this is a great image, but it is noisy. There is a free program called Neat Image that will remove the grain and make your image much clearer."

I agree. Somethings it is helpful to gain some hints from constructive critisim. Something that isn't done here often enough. Maybe later i will take a look at your images, jwicker and give you a peice of my mind:P

The best way I've learned to put in a negative comment without hurting anyone's feelings is to back it up with what they did well. Both end up helping the author.

ditto the time factor here...

MiLo........I can save u some time.............they arent that good.....

I really like critics like Accipiter's comment on 'Miracle of nature bis'. He said: "Ahhhh, I really like the interplay of blues, silvers and light sparkles in the ice. Wonderful details, impressive clarity. However the space between the bottom of the icicle and the bottom edge of the photo is a bit too much for my eye."
That's a constructive critic, saying the good and bad things. Bravo!

hmm....I always make constructive criticism where necessary....I rarely have gripes with the images that I notice.

I looked through my gallery to find some good examples of constructive negative criticism. I was surprised to find only 3 negative comments in my entire gallery. Luckily they were all perfect examples anyways. Here goes:

mayne
Great job on the homework. This is pretty darn close to real for me. As I searched for issues that still detract, I have concluded that the clouds at top are still a bit unbelievable. It seems to be where there is high contrast where the darker cloud meets the lighter areas. Perhaps just a simple brush stroke with the blur tool would eliminate that. That also seems to only take place in the upper half of the image. The bottom half is perfect except those sunrays (cloudrays) should be highlighting the water just a tad more. Wonderful work Anthony

nmsmith
I thought it was a real photo at first. Good job. The only constructive criticism I would offer is a general rule of composition - even divisions are less interesting than uneven ones. Your picture would be even more interesting if the horizon line didn't bisect your picture directly in the center. Have a great day, my friend.

bjb
I like the composition of the left side very much. I'm not too sure whether you were attempting snow or stars on the right, but I think I would prefer this without them or with them a bit more uniform. The colors and use of light are great for desktop use.

All of them started positive, ended positive, and had clear constructive criticism in between. Good job guys, I dont expect this with every image upload, and I only acted on 1 of those 3 comments because the second 2 werent errors, but very intentional, but more comments like those (since those are all I've got) would be excellent help. I dont make straight As in my photography and design classes so I dont expect straight As here :-p

Also, I think the older members are getting lazier (I certainly am) and the new members are overwhelmed by the number of high quality images (also maybe intimidated). This is because I remember when I first started submitting, I got fewer comments overall, but I got criticism on nearly every image. Inlcuding the 99s!!!

I think Noob's maybe right. Sheer volume of new images - either great or dross, usually in an equal split - can lead to a lot of apathy as far as commenting or offering critique goes. Because there are a lot of extremely high quality images uploaded by people it's often neither necessary or appropriate to offer any criticism without seaming pedantic which is why you often see posts only praising an image.

Maybe a copy paste of this below each image would help? Especially, the don't be affraid part...I like it;-)

Other sites have systems to denote things that people want criticism on. Generally, people agree that putting an asterisk in the title (*) means that they prefer to have helpful comments rather than ego-boosts.
Many of the people that have posted in this thread, I would not hesitate to give constuctive criticism to; you've all been around awhile and I'd be reasonably sure a comment would be seen for what it is, an attempt to be helpful. Some users, on the other hand, only give and receive simple comments. To each his own...

...this is why I think we should turn a blind eye regardless of who's image we are making a comment on. To keep "the dream" it should not matter what image we comment on. What better way than to comment on a new comers image with some helpful critique rather than "Nice first post, keep it up", even though it may not get another comment. Some sort of flag that was available to a user at the upload stage would be necessary for identifying an image as one that needs critique much the same as the asterisk. This was my original idea around the rework gallery. A seperate gallery from the new images where an artist could upload their image knowing it was available to any one without needing prior permission. Ideally suited for those that want to learn or see through another artists eyes;-)

I have often thought of writing something to the effect of please offer criticisms on this photo I can take it.I would like to have much more constructive comments on photos myself.When an image does not do well I go back to study it and try to evaluate why.This is a diffucult way to improve when we dont get any input.So I for one will start to offer more advice on photos for whatever it is worth and hope that others do the same for me.

consider it done :-)

The only feedback that I leave is positive. If I do not like an image I will leave nothing. If I feel that there is a problem with an image I will PM the author and discuss it that way. In that manner only the person that submitted the work knows the problem and he (or she) can accept it of reject the comments.I live by the old management theory, Paise in public, criticize in private. There are some people, in this discussion, that know what I mean.
fotobob

fotobob: if you don't comment my pics, that means you don't like it??? Aaargh! ;-)

I agree for 100% with fotobob.

We are really talking about constructive criticism here rather than "negative comments". There is nothing wrong with leaving constructive criticism comments; that way they help not only the member who posted the image, but anyone else who looks at it has the opportunity to learn from it also. It isn't about not liking the image either; I agree that leaving a comment that you don't like an image is pointless. "Positive" comments can be equally pointless too though. Personally I would rather receive a so-called "negative" comment that helps me learn, than a "positive" comment like "Nice image" or similar that says nothing about why they liked it.

I don't do negative comments. I try to comment on every image that I visit, and if there is something that I think doesn't look quite right, then I mention it.

One of my images Light Matrix got visited by a huge number of people, yet only had 4 comments and a handful of votes, although it now has improved to a gobsmacking 17..which is the highest number of votes on any of my works. I don't know if that means it is incredibly cool, or incredibly skanky.

So, that is what I think is the problem in that we are having no clear guide to our abilities. I really want to know if I am messing something up so I can fix it or find a way around it for the next time.

Oh well, there goes the planet.

Basically I agree with fotobob's comment, "praise in public, criticize in private," but I feel an important point should be made here. I use the criticism that I see on others' images to help me improve my own. I feel that we should be willing to put our own work out there to help others learn as well as ourselves. The criticism I get on my images is always constructive, and I mean always. With the exception of political images, I have rarely seen an unpleasant comment made here at caedes, and that is one of the beautiful things about our little family here. We're almost all mature enough to make and take contructive comments about the souls that we bare here. That really says a lot about the group of folks here and the way our administrator(s) go about their work.

I dont agree with photobob. This site is laid out to be a public forum. It is expressed in the FAQs etc what goes on here. The user know what they are getting into when they post an image, and should not only not be suprised by constructive criticism, but even expect it.
Btw constructive comments can be both positive and negative. I only had those 3 constructive criticism comments in my gallery, but I had alot of comments that were positive but pointed why. It does sometimes bother me when I get an subscription on an old image and think "hey someone noticed that image, wonder what they said" and I get there to find "Billybob: Nice!"
I dont really need someone to post Nice on an image that has a 93 c-index ya know?

Ok folks.. let me weigh in here gently as I am new to the site and don't wish to disturb anyone.

I'm in the line with the FotoBob camp on this. I offer this from the standpoint of someone who is NOT a professional photographer and makes no bones about it. Who am I to offer critique to someone who I may not even know? Just the same, I am not without eyes or ideas and as such (given the fairly well stated mission of the site) might be inclined to embarass myself with a suggestion. I have offered suggestions on a couple occassions and have received gracious responses consistently.

Such suggestions, I believe, should be done by PM. Should the party receiving the suggestion wish to acknowledge same on their posting or by comment on the suggestors page .. they have every opportunity. Should the party receiving the suggestion choose to ignore it, such would be their right.

What this site thrives in is a high ratio of excellent images. What it lacks, in some cases, is tactful critiques.

I received a critique, from someone already in this discussion, indicating that my choice of backgrounds for the picture was "stupid". It's pretty hard to find something constructive in that. When a request to simply remove the comment was tabled by complaint, I was told, in essence, if you're not up for criticism .. don't post your image. I voted with my mouse and deleted the image. Not because I can't take the heat (as surely I can and have benefitted from coaching from many) but rather I felt that it didn't bode well for the person who left the comment NOR the site. There's something wrong in this model... not photographically but on a human level.

So .. in a nutshell, if you have constructive critique to offer me (or to others) frame it words that honours the fact that they're human, make mistakes, and are likely willing to learn. At one point in time, each of us held a camera for the first time.... and we grew from there.

In the mean time, I QUITE enjoy the site, and am pleased in some small way offering my work for the enjoyment of some.

Kindly,


Rob

I feel I should point out that saying something is "stupid" doesn't count as constructive criticism. I don't think I would be any less offended if someone sent me a PM saying something about my image was stupid as than they had left it in the comments section.

Either way, in PM or on the image itself as long as it is made is the point of this discussion. And it seems we all agree that more constuctive criticism is needed. The pro to leaving it in the image discussion is others being able to learn from it. Show and Tell class;-)

Exactly, Darryl. We all can learn a lot from constructive comments. If we are going to going to have just cozy woozy public comments, then count me out.

My personal, very strong opinion is that if you are too sensitive to hear a suggestion or a comment beyond "Nice work. Well done." then you need to start thinking about what you are doing here. Ego-mania should not be fostered I think... And there's a clear risk of that in the case of only "nice" comments in the open. A well thought out comment should not be considered a personal attack!

I'm against all forms of useless comments, positive or negative doesn't really matter. In the long run, if every comment on every nice image just is just saying nonsense positive things like "Good work!" then it says less than nothing. So I basically agree on what Sam said a bit earlier. Naturally its equally pointless to say: "That is stupid" or "I don't like this, sorry." (I got the last one some time ago... ^_^ Gave me the laugh of the day)

You need to be able to give and receive honest opinions without letting the ego stand in the way. That's the important thing here I think. Just a couple of thoughts. Most good (and bad) points have been raised above. ^_^

This has been debated various times on the site. I think that most people agree that you should leave constructive comments on an image rather than bland ones. However we don't all practice it and I am as guilty as anyone, although I have not been very active for a while now.

I think that part of the problem comes down to that thorny issue of there being too many images submitted to the site. When the site is swamped by dozens of images every day, it gets more difficult for even highly-active members to leave constructive comments on all but a few images. Whether you choose to favour established artists, old friends, newcomers or just one category, you inevitably miss people out.

However, as before, I'm not really sure what we as a community can do about this.

I wonder if it would be worth restricting the upload limit even further so that people have to really think about what image they want to upload and have (constructively) criticised? Maybe 'x' images per week?

If you are posting a reworked image, please leave techniques used so that others can learn from it:-)

Agree with Darryl. Also, submitting tutorials is a real plus.

I may have given one or two slightly negitive reviews but orther than that I'm a little afraid to say anything bad, I did that once on a corvette site when I said to some guy that I did not like the large spoiler on his car and he totaly fliped out on me and I become public enemy number one and this was a friendly place too just like caedes but after I figured out the guy was the third best lightweight kickboxer in his state I disided to stay away from negitive coments no matter how helpfull.

I'm a kind of critical person and I enjoy all of the works but like to leave my own imput as well. Say what you like and what you don't like about the image when commenting and do your best to be honest. Always a good self esteem boost when you see a nice comment. But it gives you a better sight when someone is honest.

Maybe we could add another tick box to the upload page: "Do you want honest feedback on this image? Yes/No"... and the response could be displayed somewhere next to the image. I might suggest that on the dev site.

Here's an example of how it can go when it works well:

I had posted a picture representing my best effort entitled Arrest me. The picture caught the critical eye of some and I had immediate feedback with suggestions from Nathan (nmsmith) and Bob (fotobob). Nathan chose to leave his comments within my posting, Bob indicated the need for work on the image on my posting and sent me an email with a valueable before/after illustration. I spent a day acting on the suggestions of both, and reposted my work now called Arrest me - rework. If you go to my gallery you'll see the pictures side by side.

In the repost I credited Nathan and Bob, thanking them for their input. I left my original work (for a while ....until I become too embarassed!) as a point of reference for viewers to see before/after. Responded to a question from Darryl (Mayne) to explain what changes were made. Anyone who views the thread of the posts can learn and see ... as I saw and learned.

• No feelings hurt.
• My skills improved.
• The 'lesson' was left so others could benefit.
• The site got a better picture (opinion).
• Credit was given.
• Those offering the critique did so in a forum of their comfort.

• What more can we ask for?

Oh ya .. and nobody even used the word stupid! .. <--- how nice!

Thank you, Nathan and Bob (and others who preceeded them) for having the courage to offer a positive critique, distinct from a negative comment.

Kindly,


Rob

Rob: That's the best example of what we must do on the site. Thanks for the 'demo' :-)
A negative comment can't be posted alone. It must be followed by a positive proposition or a positive note, I think

To encapsulate the my thought on the thread "Afraid To Give Negative Comments". I believe we SHOULD be afraid to leave negative comments.

We should, however, be encouraging and accepting of POSITIVE CRITIQUES. If the subtley is not understood then we will continue to see negative comments with negative results instead of a net gain and quality improvement on the site.

This isn't wordsmithing .. it is, infact, focussing on the outcome desired distinct from beating chests and casting judgments. Chest-beating fails to improve skills which therefore fails to produce improved products which in turn fails to provide improved quality of images on the site.

This is a collection of people from the wild and will collect top and bottom feeders. For those who's interests are the betterment of the site and the quality of the images we can lead by example. ( I have observed and found benefit in many examples personally ) For those who nourish themselves from the sea floor, we will have little else to say.

Kindly,


Rob

Sorry to completely change the subject totally, but I love the binary at the end of your sig - now that is class!

01101100011011110110110000100001

Staying on topic: I agree with Rob's assessment. However, there are indubitedly those members to whom even a constructively critical comment is seen as 'negative'. I think we should agree that by posting your work here you are implicitly asking for criticism because you are putting it in the public domain. I'm not sure there is a need for an opt-in tickbox.

I have yet to see beating chests because of negative comments on the site, or any negative reaction atall for that matter. Maybe I'm missing something but I dont know where you are getting this from?

I intended to make other points more clearly than the comment about beating chests. If this is the focus then I should explain further.

The metaphor of chest beating was directed at those providing critical negative comments. Perhaps I could have chosen a more gentle expression to describe those who are simply critical and position themselves as judges distinct from fellows.

The post was speaking entirely towards commentors .. not those who are receiving the comments. See my first posting in this thread for an example.

Trusting this helps.


Rob

I agree with Bob. Helpful suggestions are better sent by PM. Is there really anything to gain by doing it in public?

checks out new paint shop...

Succinct as always, Bill. The tendency that some have to act rashly toward others in this anonymous (for some) forum, is a lot like the "road rage" syndrome we've all experienced. I truly believe that most of the badly-behaved people here aren't actually dingleberries (hee-hee), but rather are saying dingleberry things in a way they would not if the person to whom they were speaking were standing in front of them.

Being a caedes dingleberry for over 2 yrs now, I would have to say that being in the cadre is completely unrelated to talent and ability to criticize other images.
I would also have to say that being able to reproduce an image has nothing to do with being able to see the flaw in it. I have made constructive comments in mayne's gallery and even in photoimagery's and both of them are much much more experienced photographers than I am.
It is this kind of view that inhibits people. Perhaps you believe that someone criticizing your work means they are trying to say that they are better than you. Or someone disagreeing with you in the forums means they are trying to say they are more important than you even tho they dont pay $3 a month. But trust me, some people are just trying to help.
I dont believe people want to judge every pic, just saying that in general there needs to be alot more constructive criticism. I searched my gallery and those 3 comments posted before were the only negative comments I could find. If in my entire gallery those were the only 3 flaws in any images than I would be making alot more money than I do now, dont you think?

"Helpful suggestions are better sent by PM. Is there really anything to gain by doing it in public?"

~I'd like to think so; I know when I'm viewing an image I look at the comments made and I also know I've learned things off of comments on other peoples images. At least that's why I do it.

"I dont believe people want to judge every pic, just saying that in general there needs to be alot more constructive criticism."

~not that they don't want; it's that critiquing takes time if it's to be done well. If I had infinite time I would, but I just don't; I have other things to do. I will say however if for every comment that an artist got 'he' gave two other comments, things would get better.

Yes, indeed, public critiquing is a good thing. It helps not only that artist to take a step back from the image, but also other viewers to appreciate the points being made. It is unfortunate that so many images have little or nothing in the way of constructive comments. 'Criticism' is nowadays often seen as a pejorative term, but in fact it is a good thing when correctly done.

I would venture to say that anyone posting an image here is issuing an implied invitation to criticise their work (in the positive sense of that word).

Maybe it's a chicken and egg situation, but there are so many images submitted that it is difficult to critique them all. Is this lack of criticism because of the flood of images, or is the flood of images due to the lack of criticism? Perhaps if everyone posted less - say one image a week - then maybe we would all get far more feedback and be able to improve our submissions. People would no longer feel the need to submit the very first thing they made, but would instead submit their best work. Well, I'm running away with an idea there, but it came to me as I was typing.

By the way, Anthony, what's all this about "Being a caedes dingleberry for over 2 yrs now"? I don't remember seeing anything of you before the beginning of 2004, but your profile says you signed up 28/01/03 - where were you hiding for that 1st year? ;-)

Hear! Hear! Constructive comments are for the benefit of everyone.

And what would happen if no-one will state honest opinions anymore? I understand if someone might think it's not nice to point out what might need some more attention in a piece. I'd like to say though that it's not nice to NOT say anything when something obviously is not really good. That's just plain fraud. I don't think people are good friend when then are giving unconditional positive support when this is not called for... (I.e. the piece rather much sucks but everyone just says "Bravo!!! Fantastic! 10+ etc.)

That kind of ---t just ticks me off. THAT is negative for the community in large and in the context of giving constructive critique in particular.

Comment withdrawn so as not to offend the tender.

No comment.

Silence from Jwicker.

... zzzzzz ... ;-)

*listens to the silence resonate*

;)

*raises eyebrow*

*stops doing mexican hatdance and settles in for a siesta*

*twiddles with new works for some funky effects*

*tapping foot lightly on floor, strumming fingers along top of table, whistling nervously*

No need to clunk more on jwicker I'd say... It was funny the first time(s) maybe. ;-) As far as I understand the matter I'm on his side since it's just a sensible thing to make sensible comments. Why would he have to answer to you and make a short summary and a conclusion...

Like I said (I guess) it's just an attempt to be humorous but in the end (with these last couple of days comments) it sums up to me like people should be more careful of what to post here and that is not a good conclusion... Right?

Well, Jwicker hasn't logged on since 15/02/05 according to his profile. As you say, Klas, there is no need to expect him to comment (though it was, I think, a joke...) and, yes, the comments are getting a little boring now.

Let's consign it to the great thread junkyard in the sky.

Mathew I used the site since early 2003, I downloaded wallpapers here and several of my friends (in real life) posted here. I began posting in december 2003 when I got my first digital camera haha. I didnt start posting in the forums until many months and lots of boredom later :-p

btw: I just got my 4rth neg comment in my gallery on my most recent image (which deserves plenty of neg comments) It was very well placed and I will be following it as soon as my break from school is over.

A few months ago.. as a test to see if people actually say what they think.. and give criticism.. i posted an image that i really didnt think was up to standard... i didnt get one piece of criticism, suggestions or negative comment.... I got "Great work" "Very nice" etc.. when considering the image was slighty blurry... the contrast was not good etc... i have since deleted.. but it just goes to show that people would rather be "nice" than give suggestions on how to fix it... to me i would have preferred it if they had said "What were you thinking posting this .. its too blurry... maybe try doing... whatever".. Im not saying i havent had any criticisms... I have had quite a lot of suggestions since i started.. which have been a huge help... as i hadnt picked up a camera and had no idea what i was doing.. lol... (and yes i do follow up ALL suggestions)... to me criticism helps.. and i have also learned from suggestions which was posted other peoples images... so if you want to criticise any of mine... feel free... and you can post it on the comments section.. i dont mind.. thats how i learn and hopefully help others ... :D

hmm. Well depending on how long ago, I might or might not have been able to comment. Anyhow....I am making the most of it these days.

Yeah, just pulling your leg, Anthony. With regard to the critical comments, it seems that it is something not likely to happen. It is certainly difficult to find the time to comment on all images that you view. Again, it all seems to boil down to having too many images to look at.

I think a little credit should be given most of us here for knowing what we like and don't like too. Sometimes there isn't much to say beyond the complimentary. Images can be that good and people should not be afraid to compliment it for fear of being taken as superficial.
Distressing to me though is going through the lonely images, as I do periodically and did just last night, and finding images with at least ten positives but that image remains lonely. That means people are oohing and ahhing but not bothering to vote honestly in relation to their comments (if they are bothering to vote at all.) Also, could be that they are making these comments without even giving the image a full-view. Correct or no?

*nods and offers bjb a drink of choice*

Why thank you. Coffee please. No cream or sugar.

*raises eyebrow....hands cup of black coffee to bjb*

wow! i havnt logged on for a whole 5 days!....so im silent?.... had an accident here....jeesh.......and i will weigh in again.....a lot of stuff, mine included i guess, are given very generic and boring comments such as nice!....nice pic!....wow! where is this taken?....etc.....then u look and there is a no parking sign, telephone wires and the such or the colors are so washed or the pic is so noisy that a comment of "nice pic..i just love those kinds of pine cones" just doesnt cut it...........constructive comments are needed...people shouldnt be nasty but be constructive...one person in this post says that he only gives negative comments in private messages...hmm...as soon as he saw my post here i guess he kinda changed his mind with my pics..but thats ok...i realized he was right in one of the three...and wrong in the other two...but i respect his opinion ...and people...lighten up.....im 1/2 joking..but only 1/2

Yes, indeed. As we have discussed, constructive doesn't mean negative. But you are right that some posts are not very helpful at all, when they perhaps could be making comments to help the artist develop further.

Having said that, I know from my personal experience that it can be difficult to find the time to leave comments, given the number of images submitted. Sometimes I look at an image and I can't think of anything to say, although I voted. If it is a new member I might leave an encouraging comment, but it's a tough one - to comment or not to comment?

I've said this a few times on various threads, but maybe we need to restrict uploads further in order that contributors can leave fewer images on the site but get better feedback. If you only had one or two uploads a week you could post your best shot and then when you get some feedback you would develop a number of images. Just imagine, looking through the images you had done that week and then putiing forward your best one or two pieces, instead of just doing the artistic equivalent of an SQL database dump everytime and splurging everything out. OK, I'm being simplistic to make a point, but I wonder if it would benefit us as a community if we had less images to look at and more time to give to the other members to encourage them to develop their creative talents?

Wasn't even looking for a thread on this topic, was looking for another that was buried somewhere ... as I didn't wish to create a new thread over on the Offtopics and had recalled some fun stuff that was already in place on the preexisting one.

Here is that thread:

"Site of the Day and other ... stuff."


This one here is an interesting read/discussion, though. Don't you think?

*caedes - 8/02/05 21:13

"I just had a look through 12 image discussions in the new images gallery. There was an average of 10 comments per image (so ~120 comments). Guess how many even slightly negative comments there were? One! One single comment had a critical remark! By the way it was by stuffnstuff. Way to keep the dream alive ther stuff!"

I prefer making suggestions to contributors in PMs. Many of you may feel differently about this. How and where we comment is up to us.

When a critique is made via PM or privately via email, others on the site including myself, lose out on that valuable information on how I can improve my images...I have and still learn through others. :o)

As I said, it's the choice of the person making the comment. Perhaps I've just seen too many "suggestions" that are unkind and really don't address how to fix the photograph. On the other hand I've seen absurdly complimentary comments on photographs that I think are awful. However, I'd not tell the photographer that.

Reading through this thread it would seem that not much has changed since 2005. I dislike the term 'negative comment' - constructive comment can be done politely and with suggestions for correction. There will always be people who object to any sort of criticism be it polite or not but they I believe are in the minority.
Unfortunately those prepared and/or able to offer constructive help are few and far between.
I do not believe it is a case of being 'afraid' to offer advice - it is more apathy in some cases and lack of confidence in others. . . . but viewing an image with obvious flaws and seeing a dozen or more comments saying how wonderful/stunning/ amazing it is makes one doubt ones own judgement and sometimes wonder if it is a case of 'the emperor's new clothes' and perhaps you are the only one seeing a badly sloping horizon, massive noise etc and it seems petty to mention them when everyone else seems in awe of the image.
I believe some give their 'negative' opinions via the VB, and of course they are not obliged to give their reasons, and in my experience rarely do. How many of those negative opinions are justified is also an unknown because of the annonymity they hide behind. Are they afraid? (to give negative comments) I don't think so. Those who care enough will, and those who use the VB in a less honest way never will.
Those who do take the time to offer help and advice should be applauded and encouraged.

I rather have constructed critic than the usual "wow that looks amazing" it's the only way an artist can move forward.. and art is a never ending lesson there is always something no matter how small that can make a great image AWESOME..

I know personally that just looking at other artists work and reading their comments has helped.. I've said to myself (yes I do that sometimes.. lol) wow I didn't know you could do that and have tried it on my own images to improve it..

So PLEASE leave critic it not only helps that particular artist but other members

I do agree.... I believe some do not care for constructive comments, others welcome it. Some that comment, also waver for the reasons mentioned, apathy and uncertainty. What if we could add something like a red, green, or yellow dot in the description to be check upon uploading to signal a desired type of comment, lol. Red meaning no, to technical critique green for a yes, or something like that? lol

I always leave critical commentary if I think I have something genuinly helpful to contribute. If someone get's upset well that's their problem really but I don't recall ever getting a snarky reply in the 8 years I have been here...