A few thoughts on comments

[Analog6]

I find it endlessly fascinating what gets commented on and what doesn't.  I've put some shots on here that I thought were great and they get lots of views and not one comment.  Maybe my judgement is off.  What do others find - does this happen to your pics too?

[bigbob]

Ho yes i find it frustrating with the competitions sometimes 40/50 or more views and no votes. also photos i think are good get no responce, such is life.
I should not complain as i sometimes flick through the posts without comment through lack of time,and i realise other people are the same. but it is the competitions that get me if you look then comment and vote afterall everyone deserves 1 point just for making the effort

[Derek]

I think this happens to all of us. I tend flick through an ever growing number of images and comment on those that catch my eye or that I feel that I am adequately qualified to comment on. It's not that I necessarily think any less of one image over another but personally I don't have the time to comment on every image, although I would like to. Perhaps prompting for feedback on certain images would gain some attention but if everyone does this to every image then we will probably be back to square one.

[Derek]

Ho yes i find it frustrating with the competitions sometimes 40/50 or more views and no votes. also photos i think are good get no responce, such is life.
I should not complain as i sometimes flick through the posts without comment through lack of time,and i realise other people are the same. but it is the competitions that get me if you look then comment and vote afterall everyone deserves 1 point just for making the effort

Good point Bob. I must admit it took me a few goes when I started on LAF to work the whole voting thing. It doesn't seem to flow logically but then I may still be doing it wrong.

[Tim N]

I should not complain as i sometimes flick through the posts without comment through lack of time,and i realise other people are the same.

I find this to be my problem. I flick thru and just dont have the time to comment on every photo, and I dont want to just leave a "nice photo" on every page as I dont think this helps with anything other than getting my post count up. I would rather leave something constructive or a really positive comment if I can !
p.s. sorry to everyone I havent commented on your photos !

[Ross and Cher]

Yes Odille - it's a weird little world that we have created in LAF!!!!  . I think best intentions, we would all comment on every post! Unfortunately best intentions often fly out the door between that dreaded W four letter word and the home lives we lead!

I am thinking we all are busy, but...! Having watched this sight from near inception, some random thoughts...-

Enthusiasm ebbs and flows - I/we think that is probably natural - seems to happen in most groups, and seems that the new bloods need to keep geeing (if thats a word) up some of the stayers! Having said that - staying around isn't a bad thing.

We all have limited time - yes it is an excuse but in today's world, it is also reality!!!!

Personal preference also comes into play - hands up if you haven't posted what you thought was a cracker and seen it slip on by??? (and in case you are wonderng - no offence intended but I am, have always been and always will be a DOG person, so it will have to be a very (very very) good cat pic to get a comment - look on the bright side - at least I haven't posted the cat jokes yet!!!

I/we are self taught therefore tend to leave commenting on the technical aspects to those more qualified (particularly portraits where we don't have or want any real experience) - if I]we like it I/we generally say so and why, although not necessarily in technical terms!

I do have a problem with the "post and run" brigade, and there have been a lot over the 10 months or so - apologies to some of the newer members for not commenting, but I quite deliberately like to see who stays!!!!

The increase in volume of posts the last month or so has also been hard to keep up with - tend too have a quick look in the morn and think yes I will comment on that tonight, but by tonight it is buried and forgotten!!! The price of fame!

At the end of the day - I still think this little forum has a long way to go, but it is all good & we are here for the long haul!!!!!

[Cygnus]

As much as I would love to comment more, I think that it really is a matter of time. I try to visit a few times throughout the day, and reply to those images that really catch my eye. I usually visit while I am editing photos so it can be hit and miss somedays. Some photos get better reactions than others, and it doesn't always have anything to do with the quality of the image or subject.
I only participate on 3 forums, and all have plenty of photos that don't get as much reaction as one would think.
Don't take it personally.

[Truckman]

When i find no comment to my photos, I assume that I have dazzled all present with my amazing skills and realize that all viewers know that mere words cannot heap praise high enough...

And then the alarm clock goes off and I get up and turn the coffee pot on... ...Ben

[Derek]

When i find no comment to my photos, I assume that I have dazzled all present with my amazing skills and realize that all viewers know that mere words cannot heap praise high enough...

And then the alarm clock goes off and I get up and turn the coffee pot on... ...Ben

LOL Ben, I thought I was the only one 

[Ross and Cher]

Stop hogging you guys, and pass the coffee pot around!!!!

[admin]

I don't even have an answer of any of that. 
There is a lot going on outside!
...and not commenting doesn't mean that an images has not been appreciated. I was only thinking on the weekend (no sorry I think other times too), How if this site ever got busier, even by half, how hard it would be to even spend the time looking at all of the images, let alone providing meaningful comments and then , I click the "replies" button and there are a few dozen continuing threads.

Also, in fairness most sunsets are beautiful. There are only som many times you can say 'Wow, nice sunset'. mind you there have ben some good ones. Critique, is in a way, more important than comment, as we all hope an image is worthy, but constructive critiques raises issues we may not have noticed.

And as far as voting, the gallery is a seperate plug-in module. It is good in that it creates posts automatically, which most seem to like. BUT it doesn't carry voting over to the post and yes, probably less than perfect. Vbulletin, PhpBB and others all have their good points, but forums are along way from perfect packages, and I am no programmer.

[OZZI-BLOKE]

I agree with most comments above, time is not always on peoples side and also with the amount of images being posted it is sometimes a bit hard to keep up. I haven't been around a great deal for the last month or so which means I will have a bit of surfing to do to catch up on the new images and members that have joined up, and there seems to be a few. And now with easter holidays coming up.
Like a few members above I would rather put in a comment that can possibly help the photographer get a better shot next time and there the sort of comments I prefer myself. When it comes to voting I don't vote on all images in a comp, but that does not mean I don't like them, I just vote on the images I think should be the winning entries. 5 stars are hard to come by to, I didn't even give the "Generations" image from Tim a 5 star vote and that is a fantastic image.