My opinion of the Hot20 has always been, if I'm not in it, okay. If I'm in it, yeaho! But I try not to dwell on these kinda of things because again, even if I dont like a picture, I might be in the minority. It's just fun to be in it! I think you may have gotten the wrong impression Twisted Symmetry, (or just inturpretted things differently than I did). I don't think that anybody uses anyone's skill or lack of images as an excuse to put down the person, I think it's more of a coping/defense mechanism. Like, if somebody gives a comment like, "This image sucks! I can do better!" and you look at their image and they have the infamous chrome ball over ocean, it's kinda nice to have an excuse (albeit ,IMO, a good one) as to why you shouldn't really take their comment to harshly. Of course, phrasing is important too. I have never seen anyone get mad at anyone else here because they had an opinion. It's the way they present it. don't say, "This image is crap". Say specifics, like, "I enjoy the lighting, it really gives it a happy feeling, but you may want to turn off "recieve shadows" on the cube you used as the sky" See, I also gave a compliment! That way it doesnt look like I'm out to get them, just offer advice. The "I enjoy.......but....." is a good technique. Of course, I know some people go, "I'm not going to sugar up my comments. I'm gonna say what I feel! I'm not going to try to make the person feel good about their work if it's crap!" Well, I enjoy the fact that you're opinionated, that is a good trait, but you may still want to reconsider you're phrasing. hehe