OMG, I made through ALL four pages!! A lot of very good points and observations. Some I may underscore. To get back to tainted_hearts original post: Here's part of the problem, tainted_heart: 1. Your list of artists didn't include ME! ; ) 2. The artists in your list are good but that's still just subjective opinion, yours or mine. 3. This place is so big I amazed that after 8 years there are plenty of people whose work I have never seen. Like, this is so amazing how have I never seen this? 4. I can hardly believe I took the time to plow through everyone's post to this thread. So, while I agree with your original post and feel sometimes someone ( you, at this moment) has to say what you have said, I don't think it is worth the effort to change what is essentially the nature of the galleries/internet. Humans get attracted to praise, good feelings, drugs, sex, like-minded-ness. I also agree with those that say this thread will repeat in a month or so. I rarely leave constructive comments unless, by looking at the image, I believe that the artist is invested in their pursuit of a better image and might want to hear my "tip". There just isn't enough time to leave comments on work if the person doesn't have the desire or ability or appreciation to include a comment that isn't "this is wonderful". And to another person's comment re: having blind comments only The comments have been my avenue into other galleries that normally I wouldn't find. I see an interesting avatar with their comment and I'm intrigued to see what else they've done. Clearly, we all know this can be a blind alley as some avatars are acquired in ways other than via their own art. For the record: Yes, I see some pictures that I consider "bad", "painful" even, but somewhere out there someone might see my gallery and feel the same way.