I agree with Panny's comments, and I'd like to add to them a bit. I don't have a problem with beginners (or anyone for that matter) posting images that don't display a great deal of expertise (we were all beginners once, and you'd have a good laugh if I posted what I'm capable of doing with Xenodream!). In fact, I often comment glowingly and genuinely on images that demonstrate very little technical ability. What matters to me is that I get the impression that someone has tried their best to make the image as perfect as they can before they post it. Now I admit that it's not always easy to tell, but a sure sign is that over the course of several (dozen) posts, someone's work improves. There have been people here that posted literally hundreds of images that showed no signs of improvement at all, but that have got very annoyed when anyone has dared to question whether what they are producing is art. Art may be many things to many people, but one thing that I think is an essential element of any artist is a sense of perfectionism and pride, and if you're prepared to churn out hundreds of mediocre images without honing your skills, then you're not an artist (at best you're a craftsman). If that's the case, then you should be prepared to take a bit of flack every now and again from those people that do work hard on everything they do and who have to wade through your images to find the good stuff by other people. As I say, it's not about absolute technical ability, it's about attitude. My comments aren't directed at people that aren't very good, they're directed at people that don't care that they aren't very good but don't want anyone to actually tell them so. Encouraging people, especially beginners, is important, and I honestly think that I do that with my comments, but I do get a little irritated by those people that expect to get flattery for very little effort. Those people that try, even if they haven't (yet) achieved technical or artistic marvels, have all my support and encouragement. Anyway, time for me to get off my soapbox now too. :-) Best wishes, Simon.