I don't want to start a war. I dunno, Im just kinda sad that people feel the need to get their freinds to register and vote them in. Im not trying to be mean. We all start somewhere. I just remember the hot 20 as something to aspire to. A way to feel like your skills had improved. I mean I hate it when people blow smoke up my rear and tell me stuff is good when I know it isnt. How are you going to learn anything if people just pat you on the back and say good job when it really could use more work. Like I said I don't want to start anything, Im just curious more then anything else if other people felt like that. And Yes, I used to have a gallery. I took it down. Mainly due to the fact that I felt my work was lacking. Just need a fresh start.

I couldn't agree with you more.. The Hot 20 is a joke nowdays.. I just hoped it would end with the hot 20.. apparently I was too optimistic.. it's spreading all over the site now.. whoever has the most friends - Wins sad

I do sometimes feel that some images get more comments/votes etc. than they deserve but I don't look at the top 20 anyway because of what your pointing to. That said I have had some very nice comments from the more established artists here and that gives me a buzz :-( We all like to think that our stuff is good and deserves more recognition but it's not really about that, not for me anyway. I enjoy making what I make and if I like the result I'll post it and if others like it great; if they don't, well who gives a shit really! If I make an image and I think it's crap it goes in the bin 'nuff said! Bottom line is; If you think your stuff is good then that's all that matters, tons of comments don't make a good image!

This topic has been debated on this forum and the community forum many times over. Nothings changed and I don't believe it ever will. The top 20 is a popularity contest...pure and simple. Yes, there are some great art and artists that make it on there but the majority of the images on there are cookie cutter T&A. I don't look at the top 20 anymore and it's not something I aspire to. All I can say is do not look for validation of your artistic skills from the top 20. You'll be chasing a dream.

There is an easy solution to images being voted into the top 20 that you don't feel belong there. But for some reason, it keeps getting ignored. COMMENTS and RANKINGS Use them. If an image you feel is not done to the quality it should be, and finds its way to the top 20, post your comments as to how it could be improved and what you find wrong with it. Somehow, over time, the comments section went from being for "Comments" to being for "Kudos." Work to change this and eventually only the best images will be in the top 20 because those producing lesser quality will not Want their works to appear so prominantly.

This has been bothering me for a while but the does seem to be a sizeable clique within the community. You see the same names in the hot 20 with the same people heaping praise. I check the Galleries every day an have seen some really impressive stuff that barely gets a mention. I think from now on, if I know of a better image in the galleries I will mention it on the unworthy Hot 20 image. That said, do the art because you like to, not for the comments or votes.

nods I took down my old gallery too, and the images I have reposted are only in my articles. I still post, and I do have a few pieces in my gallery, but for the most part, my work doesn't get posted. I no longer care about comments, rankings and votes. I think, at one point, I was one of those people that made it into the hot 20 (with almost every post), and didn't deserve it. I was getting 60+ comments per image, but not a single one would tell me anything but "wow" or "awesome". That's nice, but how was I ever supposed to improve, if I went on thinking I really was "all that"? I went stale :o( Creating art is a very personal thing for me now. I do it because I love it. It keeps me grounded, it helps me work through my frustration, and express myself in a way that words and actions never could. If I never posted another image here, I would still be just as happy to create.