About the discussion re: the tone and tenor of public comments. I have a simple, hopefully useful protocol. In public comments, visible to the entire community, I praise what I like about an image (I often go through an artist's entire gallery to find what I think is his/her best work.) I reserve critical comments for private e-mail or IM. This, hopefully, reinforces what's good (and what the artist does well) and points out areas of improvement without causing embarrassment. It is not true that the only useful, teachable moment is a negative one. That's a thin veil over someone's sadismus. This isn't boot camp, or an addict's intervention. No one here has been given a riding crop and a license to "discipline" bad artists. Nevertheless, a well-phrased suggestion for improvement in private can work wonders without provoking a defensive response. The "Ooooh, excellent!" comment isn't as useful, perhaps, but it is affirming. It's good to have some roses among the brickbats. And to those who go about bashing, armed with their self-righteous aesthetic certainty about "art," remember, as ye give, ye shall receive! :-)