Moving on slightly from this subject... I say above that "I pretty much totally disagree with the whole ranking system", but in theory I don't. I think it has the potential to be a great learning aid if it used wisely with constructive criticism. This subject has been brought up many times before in this forum, but it seems people are unwilling to critique an image unless someone specifically asks for it. I very rarely do this myself because it seems to be a sensitive subject for many people. A well intentioned critique can become something entirely different if it isn't worded appropriately. It just seems a shame to me that something that has the potential to improve this gallery for everyone is being ignored. In other galleries on this web-site people regularly offer their honest opinions on images and how they think they can be improved, but for some reason the Fractal gallery is reluctant to do this. Most people also seem to think that the Fractal gallery is more of a community than a lot of the other galleries, why? I'm sorry but if you can't give an honest opinion on someone's work (good or bad) then you cannot calls this a community. Ok...This is the part where I upset a LOT of people... Cliques! I hate them with a vengence! Groups of people that band together like herds of lemmings and jump blindly and willingly into the abyss. They dutifully laud EVERY image that their cohorts post, because God forbid that they shouldn't get THEIR quota of inane drivel on the next image they post! Harsh?!? Deal with it... Everyone succumbs to the clique mentality at some stage, but if they are truly lucky they realize how much it is holding them back and break free from it. In the last few months I have actually gone out of my way to NOT comment on peoples images. I have restricted myself to posting a maximum of 3 comments per day. Sometimes I may only post 2 or 1 or none, and sometimes I may go a week without posting any. The point is that by consciously limiting myself I am happy that I am only commenting on the images that I think truly deserve it. This doesn't mean that there aren't any other images that I would comment on, just that in my opinion these are the best. I'm not saying people shouldn't make friends...There are some people on this site that I consider good friends that have supported me through some bad times. Even though I consider them friends that doesn't mean I will comment on EVERY image they ever post. That is a ludicrous concept and would just belittle the work they do. It is impossible for someone to post, day after day, a constant stream of images that I love! Ok...This is getting a bit long winded now so I will sum it all up... Think about what you are commenting on and WHY you are commenting on it. Think about not giving and image an "Excellent!" if you don't believe it deserves it. Think about leaving "helpful comments for improvement" if you think they are valid...But most of all don't feel the need to comment on other peoples work just because you are afraid of not getting any comments the next time you upload an image. AMEN!!! This sermon was brought to you by Rev. Matt.