I just don't get it! First of all, I'm not going to mention any names because when it boils down to it, the majority of people on this site don't want comments that aren't "ooo that's fabulous" and real criticism is frowned upon.

I see images by certain "arteests" that have no background, the figure is stiffly posed in a canned pose, or a canned pose slightly modified. There is either no expression, the zombie eyed expression, or the deer stuck in the headlights expression. And the work has no meaning, no message, no real creativity beyond showing off the latest toys they bought or were given...and they end up with between 60 to 80 comments saying "ooo" and "ahhh", and telling them what great artists they are and the image gets some of the highest ratings on the site. I saw one image by a "highly regarded artist" that was posted in the gallery (not the WIP gallery either), in which he admitted a joint looked broken, and there were a few other flaws...and he still got a huge number of comments telling him what a wonderful image it was and how great he was.

What the f*** is wrong with us, people??!?!?!?!!!

There is some fantastic talent posting in these galleries like garyandcatherine, originalkitten, Mondwin, samhal, DigitalDream666, Primal, Fredy, and so many others that barely get a notice. These people put a lot of thought and creativity into their images. They go the extra mile to put that "something extra", and they have more talent in their little fingers than most of us have or will have in our whole bodies even if we had an extra hundred years.

I just don't get how some of the hacks get such large followings of sycophants, while the real talents get little to no attention. We really need to re-evaluate our what we're doing. Everyone certainly deserves to post their images here, and they certainly deserve to get comments, but come on people...are we so shallow that we have to keep telling the emperors that their clothes are stupendous when in reality we all know they aren't wearing any. Maybe it's time to end the popularity contests, stop being suck ups, and recognize the real talent for a change.

Take the time to look at some of the artists I've linked to. When you see someone that's got their kind of talent, take the time to rate their image, make it a favorite, add a comment. Let's give the people that really deserve it, the encouragement they deserve, and let all the others work a little harder to earn it.

You know, this has been so often discussed but with no result. I for my part, don't post much images here or in any other gallery and i do net let my images get commented. I for myself experienced that some people only comment to get a comment by yourself. I got ims where i was reminded that the person did make a comment under my image. Hey i don't do images for that. I do them for myself. Or can someone write a comment under the Mona Lisa in the Louvre? ;-) Do images for yourself, for the fun of it and enjoy what you did. That's the best way. Threads like this one won't change the situation. Believe me.

Cheers Marko

well first off, most of the 'hacks' view anything other than mindless praise a personal attack.... to the point where they get the mods involved and what they don't like (normally constructive critique) removed.

add in the Cliqhe element, (you tell them their pic is nice (however bad it is) they tell you yours is nice and round and round we go....), reliance on the Tutorial of the week (use a tutorlal yes. once. then go beyond it!! learn!)  and anyone raising the points you have being told varying versions of 'How dare you judge what art is!' we have the situation we have now where we have a few hundred 'artists' not actually growing or improving but just making cookie cutter images they think are the best in the world which are actually unfinished, uninspired flat images with little merit to them.

Quote - we have the situation we have now where we have a few hundred 'artists' not actually growing or improving but just making cookie cutter images they think are the best in the world which are actually unfinished, uninspired flat images with little merit to them.

Well said Khai...I couldn't have said it better myself, although I'd say it was more than a few hundred. Andi it does seem quite a few of those cookie cutter, unfinished, uninspired, flat images with little merit to them that that show up in the Most Commented, Tope Rated catagory.

Quote - Threads like this one won't change the situation. Believe me.

Cheers Marko

Perhaps not, but drawing a little more attention to it won't hurt and maybe it will get some people to look at some images done by some of the artists that don't have their own swarm of fans buzzing around every image they make...good or bad.

I realise it isn't enuff just to ignore bad images, and it's wrong just to say they're bad without offering information on how to improve them. we might be able to offer contructive criticism if it were supported (e.g. no lynch mobs allowed when a critic sez something's wrong) and if there were a set of links to direct folks who post bad poser renders, a set of "how to do it" links: good lighting good shadows avoiding nostril glow eye reflections facial expressions proper body part proportions dynamic pose methods use of clothing use of props background creation scene set-up material room settings render settings I know that links exist at which all these are described, but I just don't have them organised in any coherent fashion, and I doubt anyone will stick their necks out until we get some assurance from the ptb that criticism will be supported, and that critics won't be left to fend for themselves.

Quote - I realise it isn't enuff just to ignore bad images, and it's wrong just to say they're bad without offering information on how to improve them. we might be able to offer contructive criticism if it were supported (e.g. no lynch mobs allowed when a critic sez something's wrong) and if there were a set of links to direct folks who post bad poser renders, a set of "how to do it" links: good lighting good shadows avoiding nostril glow eye reflections facial expressions proper body part proportions dynamic pose methods use of clothing use of props background creation scene set-up material room settings render settings I know that links exist at which all these are described, but I just don't have them organised in any coherent fashion, and I doubt anyone will stick their necks out until we get some assurance from the ptb that criticism will be supported, and that critics won't be left to fend for themselves.

Miss Nancy, you can offer constructive criticism without having to resort to being a tutor. You could certainly direct someone to the backroom or the poser tutorial section, or Dr Geeps site if you felt inclined to do so. The idea behind leaving a constructive critique is not to teach someone how to do better but to encourage them to seek the knowledge to improve. That's one of the things the Forum can do. If you tell someone their lighting is uneven, they could certainly post in the forum with a link to the image and ask for advice to improve the lighting.

On the other hand, I'm not saying we shouldn't give out "ooo's and ahh's". They are also ways to encourage people. I'm saying let's not give someone "ooo's and ahh's" when they don't deserve them, or just to make them feel good, or to be friends with then. There's too much refrigerator art in the galleries. I call it refrigerator art becase it's the kind of image our Mother's would pat us on the head for and make a fuss over then hang it on the fridge for everyone to see. when it was really just a meaningless scribble that, under other circumstances, would have gotten thrown into the trash.

I personally prefer the critiques of my art.  I don't always agree with it, but at least it opens my eyes as to possibilities.  If either of you would like to critique my gallery, I'd be honored.  Sycophants are such a pain.
DPH

@Tainted_heart:  Couldn't have said it better myself, and now we have to have it shoved in our faces on the front page of the galleries too!
It's the Hot 20 all over again!

You're asking for honest gallery comments here? It's been discussed over and over again, but I doubt it will ever change.

Honest critiques are good and helpful, I welcome them, I don't however like it when someone takes the time to mock my work, but I have little problem with that, I don't get viewed to offen. 

Back to the point, it is a shame that many great, and I mean great artist don't get recongnized as much, there are some really talented folks here that really impress me and also inspire me.

Sharen

It always has been and always will be the popularity factor. It will never change. There is no way to stop it. Any changes made to the system are just round about changes that still end up as popularity factions. Top 20 is now most viewed/commented. Same thing, different name, same outcome.

No point in letting it bother you. Just enjoy the ones that you like and don't pay any attention to the the others and save all your hair.

I welcome everything, positive or negative.  I value "You messed up on this or that" or "I really like the way you did this" much more than 5 or 10 "that's great!" comments.  As Fixer says though, the recent change to gallery setup is basically the same few artists over and over, regardless of content.

I'm sure all of us have some kind of "fan base" but do you know what I like about mine, I have a few that tell me as it is [Chris, barcode for example], he often [too often, LOL] tells me "blips" in my images and I go away, sort them and repost, sure I'm mad for messing it up but I'm also glad someone pointed it out instead of just looking and thinking "Oh he's messed that up" and going away, or telling me how great it is when there's a glaring mistake in it!!

honest critiques would be nice...but they dont happen....and are unlikely to ever happen........"oohs" and "ahhhs" are nice though...makes ya happy :)

dphoadley - I sent a critique of your gallery to you via site mail. It was easier to critique your gallery as a whole that way although I did mention a few specific images.

thefixer - Absolutely, the Hot 20 by any other name is still the Hot 20. The sad thing is people who aren't "in the know" will look at them and think that is the creme of the crop.

aeilkema - Yes, I'm asking for honest comments or, at the very least...stop and think before leaving any kind of comment at all. Why "ooo and ah" a cookie cutter, uninspiring, flat images with little merit to it, when you can give that praise to someone's who's overlooked but whose work is exceptional.

SAMS3D - Mocking anyone's work is not constructive, helpful, or necessary. You're right, there are really talented and inspiring artists in all the galleries that deserve the praise, the ratings, and the favorites that get little recognition or encouragement.

beryld - I'm asking people to take the time to pay attention to the ones that really deserve it and stop paying lip service to those that don't.  Maybe it is pie in the sky, but maybe it will get people like garyandcatherine, originalkitten, Mondwin, samhal, DigitalDream666, Primal, Fredy, and others the recognition they deserve or at the very least a little more encouragement.

Take a look at their work and then take a look at the most comment and highest rated, then tell me the ones I've listed don't deserve to be there.

pjz99 - You're right, we are seeing the same few artists over and over and a number of them do the same cookie cutter images over and over again, and it's a shame the real "artists" never get seen on the front page, and it's every members fault!

zollster - oos and ahhs are nice, when they're deserved.

Maybe we won't get anything to change...but ignoring it isn't going to make it go away, and not speaking out about it every so often is an injustice to those that produce the real Art!

You think the Art Gallery comments are a mess... Try leaving a negative review of a product. Rendy will be down on you like a hawk after a fieldmouse. Ask me how I know. It's not about what's good or bad... it's about selling product and pumping up egos.

I understand what your trying to say and I was agreeing with you. But I have been here long enough to know your beating a dead horse. It doesn't mater what the talent is, it matters only with who you know and your buddie at the moment, are. For the most part. But remember what you think is talent may not be to others. Don't read anything into that about the names you picked. It is a statement in general terms. 

You are confussing the community it used to be with the one that it is now. When I first joined, the top 20 meant something, there was some fantastic talent that deserve to be there. But the membership got bigger, the talent got diluted/deluded into what it is now.

In a few months, there will be another one of these threads and nothing will have changed. Sad but true.

Well, I wouldn't be so hasty as to say the people in the top20 stuff don't deserve to be there, but the current setup is basically a bit too much about relationships between frequent contributors and their viewers.

Does any of this really matter? Talent always shines through!

I don't get it either but hey what can you do? There are those who only feel self worth by surrounding themselves with only beautiful things and kind comments. I for one have given up trying to figure out the gallery "crowd" I've been posting less and less and post most of my images at other places with a more "adult' theme. I may post a few images here just to do it I guess but for the most part not as much.

I generally pay zero attention to number of views or number of responses to my stuff, I look for feelings provoked or meaningful technical feedback (content more than quality).  What other people or doing or getting as responses really doesn't interest me too much.

never hurts to have people keep you honest..;)  Tell me I suck (you think I don't know?..;) but tell me why, or how to get better..;)

There are some touchy people out there. I've been given a hiding on occasion, even pointing out minor errors (though I try to explain how to fix them). If someone doesn't want constructive criticism, they can always check the little box.

But you are right, I can always tell when something new and popular comes out (not as bad as the Namihe [sp?..;] fiasco, but it happens..;) dozens of pictures with the same items.

so, how to take this...... I don't get a whole schwack of hits unless I do a nude scene.  I don't get a whole lot of comments except from people who like my stuff and comment as such,.  I've had Trolls hit me and say "do things my way because I am better than you....", only to find that the trolls either don't post images or post the cookie cutters.
which begs the question.... given Tainted's praise of Primal and Mondwin and others (artists I too like), does that mean that since Tainted doesn't normally comment on my images, that I am a lousy artist, or that the ones that give me the "ooo's and aaah's"  are merely sycophants to my way......   
I get so few comments or praise, that it feels good when someone does comment on my work.  When it comes to other artists.... I like what I like... got it?  Should I complain because I don't find myself in the "most commented today" or the fact that I will probably never get to be the coveted "AOM".... sorry, not my style.
i will tell you something, even though some people don't like my work, I like my work, and occasionally, I make MONEY on it.  If you don't view my images, there is no way I am ever going to force you to do so.there.  I have yet to do a Naked Vicky In a temple with a sword>  Mostly because I don't do backgrounds that often.  I also refuse to do windows
am I mad? yessssss!   why7  oh, why not!  you don't like my work, people have already said so.  Does this mean I am going to stop?  No!  should people stop saying they like my work because someone is telling them to stop praising my work.  Again, NO! 
sorry, but somedays I get tired of this.... but maybe that's just me1  Feel free to go to my pages and make all the negative comments you want.... I'm a big boy, I can handle it.
and, unless you've made other plans have a great day!

Quote - I have yet to do a Naked Vicky In a temple with a sword

heavy head And that... is why you fail.

I agree with the sentiment here, but I can remain silent no longer!

What is it with people and this one particular artist? Am I too new? Did I miss something? If you're going to complain about cookie-cutter responses, this particular artist would be a good place to start.

VERY BEAUTY IMAGE!!!! BRAVISSIMO!!!!!HUGS....or some such nonsense.

Now go to the gallery and click on a random image. Nine times out of ten this person has commented.

Now tell me this wasn't to attract comments to this artist's own gallery.

I think you all know who I'm talking about.

I dont have a clue lol  - totally lost here.

Nope. I hardly browse any of your galleries, and don't take seriously any comments on the single image I so far plan to keep in my own. All I know is that if your gallery doesn't have a naked Vicky then I don't want to see it.

No matter how big the fish get, this is still a small pond, and putting it in perspective makes it impossible to take seriously. While this may be a good place to get exposure for artistic works, it doesn't appear to be one which would net you any credibility anyway. So you might as well prostitute your naked Vicky in a temple with or without her sword.

Don't feel bad, I haven't done a NVIAT, yet.  I don't pimp my vickies here, much. There are more mature sites that love that kind of stuff and don't get upset about the naked thing.

Now you've done it. I'm going to have to post something in my gallery, I think it's been a couple of years. I'm going to prostitute a V4 morph I'm working on and see if I can get some lovin.

That'll always get you comments. And be sure to give a cheery, 'Thanks for looking!'

okay, everybody take a deep breath, in.... out...in....out... relax.   no need to get insulting, or nasty in this forum.... life's too short for that sort of thing..... besides, there's this old Canadian saying, "Be nice to people on your way up, because you'll meet those same people on your way down".  one thing that should be noted, is that this is and international gallery and people may speak other languages than english, so when they respond with simple words, like Hugs, or Bravisimo, it amy mean that they are articulating as best they can, and that should be respected.
and if you refuse to look in galleries that don't have Nekkid Vickies, your loss, :-)
all is well,  really....

Well, I don't see things changing, though I DO try to comment on really good images that
are hurting for attention. I saw one excellent pic of a dragon taking a drink on the riverbank
that only has five comments, FIVE fer cryin' out unprintably! And as you said, a cookie cutter
on white background had over twenty. There is no justice, BUT, that is R'osity. I've been here
since 1999, when it was still the Poser Forum run by Willow and Grey. Sycophants and 
ass kissers have always been part of the Gallery scene, mores the pity. All you can really do,
is try to make sure the GOOD, yet ignored pics get a comment from you. I'm usually hurting
for free time, but I do try to comment when I can. I don't ignore pinups if the character is in
a scene, but white, black, or any color background will just be ignored. I hate a lack of effort.

Greywolf

I understand command of the English language can be a barrier, but posting essentially the same comment on literally hundreds of images in order to divert traffic to your images is downright manipulative in any language!

More to the point, said traffic is being diverted to a gallery that has so few updates, those people that now feel obligated to post a comment must do so on an image from twelve months ago! This accounts for the MASSIVE number of comments, which in tern is responsible for the percieved popularity of the artist.

I'm not really angry, just completley puzzled as to why nobody has said anything.

I'm going to climb down off of my soap box now and have a cold shower.

Greywolf I feel threatened by the cat you wield with such obvious skill.

Well, I notice that some styles of images are very popular at different times. For example using the photoshop filter flood by flaming pear was all the rage - just like wearing bell bottom pants was the rage when I was in college. I usually try to make Poser water with reflective surfaces. It's just what is popular at certain times. Many of the people who comment on my work now commented on my work  when I first started out and stuck with me all this time. A lot of folk IM people privately with the real criticism, out of politeness. Mondwin does beautiful work, and I commented on it, but she/he hasn't posted anything since August 18 2006. That is true of some people. I can't comment on their stuff it they don't post images. Poser was very difficult for me to learn. I am dyslexic, and so reading manuals and even typing comments can be a challenge. Most folks here helped me a lot and pointed me to tutorials. Poser is a hobby for me, so what does it hurt if peole leave nice comments? Terragen hardly gets any comments and there are some really nice things there in that gallery. Art is also subjective. I would rather not leave a negative comment just because I hate a style of art that someone else likes. I guess it all boils down to "so what if people get lots of comments"? Let's worry about our own art and the reason we are doing it. Is it for fun? A hobby? Self expression? Hoping to make money? Anyone remember Andy Warhol and the Campbells soup can art? How about the guy who let worms squiggle around on a canvas in some paint and called it art. Remember, poor Vincent Van Gogh died insane and a pauper. Now, his paintings are worth millions. Doesn't do much good for him in his grave, does it?

Heh, that's my cat, Blaize. He's an attention whore fer shore! It was a great pic my sis
took though! BEWARE the man with the large caliber PUSS! Sounds almost obscene
doesn't it? :)

Quote - I saw one excellent pic [..] that only has five comments, FIVE fer cryin' out unprintably! And as you said, a cookie cutter on white background had over twenty. There is no justice

Meh, whether it's five comments or twenty, how valuable are those comments in substance? So maybe someone can feed their frail ego on twenty empty gestures, and they'll probably keep purchasing their ego crutches from the real artists who actually get shit done.

I'm only going to have one purpose to posting any pics here, and that's to promote the people who gave out the freebies that made them possible.

Okay, I went and looked at the listed artists. They all had a lot of comments that I saw. Mondwin, however, is the only one who commented on my stuff. A couple of the mentioned artists do art I would not like no matter who did it. It's just not my taste so I wouldn't look at it. For example. Many folks love Kiki, Koshini, anime stuff. I hate it, but that does not mean it is lousy art.

The gallery here is about girlie pics.  Naked girlie pics first and foremost, but also various other forms of girlie pics.  Manly pics barely get looked at, nor do abstract or landscape images.  Similar corelation to comments and favorites.  It's the culture here ^_^

I'm always up for constructive crits if you want to take the time.  I don't have huge amounts of free time to respond though so it might take me a few days :) (RL is hell sometimes)

Interesting about the white background, I had an email from Alamy the other day and they are actively looking for images on a plain white background.  Depends on the target market I guess.  I tend to use plain white a fair bit (until I get a bunch more flames rendered up that is)

OK, I did it. I posted an image. Now you can all go and thrash it all you want. I did it just for the fun of it but then again I never said I was an artist. Oh and to tick some of , I said thanks for looking.

I hate to connect the dots, but note one of your commentators.  ;)
ps: not talking about myself

No one's mentioned those whose gallery titles are all " Titleofimage FOR oneofmygallerybuddieshere "   There are some who do not have a single image in their gallery that isn't dedicated to someone or other.  

WHY??

I do the odd ones for birthdays and things but these are overboard.

If not for the comment feature, I'd still be trying to learn how to put hair on a figure etc.....

While I admittedly only post "junk" here in my galleries now,

When I was the least bit concerned with posting anything worth anything  I liked the comments feature. I liked it when I would get real comments that are/were truly constructive criticism..Its how I learned that I needed to work on my lights or, camera settings etc...

OK, I'm hearing a lot of comments about "It's all a big buddy system" and "I want honest and helpful comments, not backscratching". But what can we do to change things?

How about forming a kind of critique-friendly buddy system? E.G., if you want your pics honestly critiqued, join up in "the group". The idea would be, the other members of the critique group would add you as a favourite, and agree that when you post, they will give you honest feedback for improvement. You would have to agree to give (honest!) critique in turn - it wouldn't be fair to expect critique from others if you're not prepared to give it. (And let's be honest - it takes a lot longer to write an effective critique than it does to copy/paste "Oh wow i luv it hunny hugzzzz!")

I'd be happy to put up a sticky thread in the forum for this purpose, and if it takes off, we might even be able to wangle a new forum for it, you never know ;-)

Alternatively, we could all go and use the criminally-undervisited Art Theory forum, where there is a monthly "Critique" thread.

Feel free to suggest refinements/alternatives. I for one would love to see more critiquing going on.

While I do not generally have any complaints about the number of views in my gallery, nor the comments and critiques of my work, I do get where this all started. I see images that get hundreds of views and numerous comments that I consider marginally bad, or at best average. But as we all have said, if you stay here long enough you get to understand it as the way things are. Granted I post in the Aviation and Military sections, and we are a clique of our own, and tend to stick together. I have a couple images that are way up there in views and comments and are proud of those particular images, but i also have images that I like better than those and they have much fewer of both. Sometimes it is timing, sometimes the thumbnail doesn't inspire a click. Who knows, that is the way it is. Stay here long enough and post enough and you will get a fan base. It may take quite a while, but just take what you can get.

I consider myself a free speech absolutist in the context of public expression. Any other position is oppressive and censorial. Having said that, I must take exception to the incivility that so often seems to pollute otherwise interesting and valid topics of discussion.
Demeaning others with whom you disagree or find wanting in some way by calling them "hacks" and syncophants" is neither constructive or conducive to a free exchange of ideas. And why intentionally harm another human being's enjoyment of participating in a shared interest? Not everyone who submits their work here has the time, talent, resources, technical expertise or experience to consistently create genuinely beautiful images. 
Offering honest critiques of another's art is a desirable action since it can provide perspectives and information that supplement an artist or hobbyists skills. Calling them names doesn't. All that accomplishes is alienation. 
Anyway, I'm convinced Emilio Estevez is living in my hot water heater. I have no idea what he's up to, but he keeps stuffing broken crayons and wadded balls of rice paper in the pipes.

I wasn't aware of the art theory forum.

Whats it about/for?

"Quote - "I have yet to do a Naked Vicky In a temple with a sword"
heavy head And that... is why you fail."
**pjz99 - LOL!! I did a semi-naked VIATWAS once in my early days here, I never realised then how common this feature was. I did get quite a few comments though!

**"And be sure to give a cheery, 'Thanks for looking!'"
**DokEnkephalin - Oh no, I say that! I only say it to be polite & thank people for taking the time for taking a look & hopefully giving me some positive feedback. (this does include criticism which I see as a positive if it helps to improve). 
**
**karen1573 - Interesting idea, worth looking into.
**
I've read this thread with interest. I don't browse the galleries as much as I used to. It has annoyed me for some time how little response some of the amazing artists on here get compared to the hundreds of comments others get that just churn out very average work. I'm not criticising anyone's work, we all have different levels of talent & what we perceive as 'ART'. It's just ridiculous for people to comment on a picture just because they're buddies or to get a comment back, what's that all about?!! I like to look through the art charts but this system is flawed. Yes, there are some great pieces up there which I admire but there are still those there that have just got there through the 'buddy' system! You know there will be an artist that will get on there most weeks regardless of how good the actual work is. I only really visit the charts in the hope of seeing something really good that I somehow missed. One of my favourites of recent times is this one: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1387561 
My main reason for posting into the gallery is just to share with others, as I like to draw inspiration from other peoples work. I would hate to get to the stage where I no longer wanted to post a picture or a comment because of some of the nonsense which does exist here. I don't mean nonsense in the quality of peoples work but how things are done here.

Personally, I'd rather have people being honest with me about my work.  That's the only way I expect to grow as a 3D artist.  If the pose looks unnatural - tell me; if the lighting looks horrible - tell me; etc. etc..  I won't curl up and die just because someone had an idea as to how I can better myself and make my images more appealing.  I understand that everyone has their choice & taste and not everyone is going to like my work, but even if you don't like my style, tell me why!  What's interesting to me is that I can post an image here and then post an image to my gallery on another site and I'll receive constructive criticism on the other site where I don't receive any here.  That's one of the reasons I haven't posted anything here in a while.  Right now I'm working on a few pics that I think need that extra push but I'm kinda stuck.  I may take karen's advice and go the the Art Theory forum to see if anyone has any ideas.

karen- I really like that idea! :thumbupboth: It would be great to have more people getting involved with the 'honesty' aspect.

ok, a couple of things.

first off, let me say i appreciate any comments whatsoever.  i generally get relatively few (below average, i think), but the people who comment seem fairly consistent and i really appreciate them taking the time out of their day to comment. 

second, i truly and really appreciate it when people take the time to critique my work.   i know it does take time to do constructive criticism, and i think it shows a lot of care and consideration to take the time to help me be a better artistl.

i think there's a couple of issues in play here. the first is the size of the community.  it's almost impossible to get views other than by posting comments. images move off the front page within minutes.  if you don't have some hook to bring people to your image, you won't be reachable long enough to acheive any of the high profile slots.  conversely, i find it too time consuming to do much random browsing.   so the comment network is probably the best way to generate traffic. 

but how many times does one have really interesting critiques of images?  there are many times i'd like to leave a rating without a comment.  not all images are so obvious that i can easily sum up why i like them better than "beautiful" or "lovely."  and i'm a pretty analytical person.  not to mention, if i have negative things to say about a picture, i feel obligated to say what i find good about the picture as well.  and that takes a lot longer than "looks great!"

and then there's the medium.  there's so little context for online communication (no body language, no expressions, no rise and fall of the voice, etc.), i think most people are very cautious about what they say about other people's works.

and then there's the site itself.  i listened to a talk last week by JPG magazine.  they accept photographs on a theme, allow users to vote for images, then make choices for their magazine that are informed by users' feedback and votes.  when someone asked them how to prevent people gaming the system, they said, "don't show the score."   unfortunately, that's what "most commented," "most viewed" and "highest ranked" do.  i'm not saying they should be eliminated, but if you keep score, people are going to play the game.

how do we get good critiques?  well here are my two ideas: 1- individually ask for critiques in the forum when posting images.   2 - do what dphoadley does and thank people for their critiques.   2 - start a sort of informal artist workshop group here, where we subscribe to each other's galleries, share ideas in the forums, etc.

that's  just a few random thoughts....