Wow! Ok take this from someone who has deleted her gallery more then a few times to seek greener pastures... I won't do it again publicly anyway, I would prefer to just delete it and go unnoticed if there ever is a next time... While some members saw my leaving as a slap in the face or humiliating to them, let me explain what I think is the main reason I did it. I never meant to slap anyone or humiliate them if that makes you feel any better. I have never thought that I got the recognition I deserved here, very simple. You can read one of my rantings under the first post in my gallery under the name of Nilla. I also suffer little bouts of depression when I have done this in the past, so maybe that is part of it??? Yep probably. And I have always felt guilty about never having enough time to participate as I would have liked to, but hey what can I do? I can't manufacture time to spend here because days only have 24 hours in them and I have to work and sleep at least 16 of them, I also have to balance friends, family, hobbies, pets and relaxation in the remaining time, and no matter how hard you try you can't make a day 36 hours long. The leaving, banning or censorship of other members is just an excuse imo, or it was in my case me thinks. Sure I was angry when it happened, but I don't think I will be deleting my gallery because of it again any time soon. I joined other communities as you will read below, and guess what? It isn't any different there and each community/gallery comes with its own set of problems. Many don't have forums where the members communicate such as this, and many would have deleted this thread just because of the content! Think about it! I return here eventually, because it is the forum here that keeps me coming back, and the wealth of knowledge that I can find here in this forum. I personally don't like being second to 3d programs, I think they mostly suck, but without them this site wouldn't be here would it? I also think that the photography section of this site is popular enough and could sustain itself on it's own. It needs to break off and become its own site, but hey that is just my opinion. Here is a recent reply to a question asked about those other communities: I learned tons at Use Film but the censorship thing is/was out of control there, I have been getting letters from a few members recently about how bad it is. I also joined Fotola I think it was, I was like a grain of sand in a desert there, or at least that is how I felt. I also started a gallery on photopoints, hard to navigate for me, but I started getting the hang of it... wasn't a bad community I didn't think, but I never found a forum where I could ask questions and learn. I liked the fact that when you uploaded your posting there it was anonymous for 24 hours, so unless you signed your work, no one knew who you were. I uploaded a few images to Dc mag as well, wasn't impressed with them either! Scratches head Seems to me there are a few more, they left such an impression on me that I can't remember them LOL! And of course there is Photo-Genesis, a wonderful place but it is privately owned and invitation only! OK that is the run down! I like being here and I like the new improvements being made like LWITG. I don't comment or post much, sporadically if I do, and know that if I pay you a compliment I truly mean it. I don't know Pete's reasoning for his departure, we each have our own reasons for doing the things we do, we are each responsible for our own actions. If he decides to return he should know that he is always welcome. Brenda :)