"For example, if my wife who is also a member of the forum, were to vote on a challenge she would do it based on the final appearance of the presented images. She has no or little knowledge of postwork techniques and would thus be making an uninformed decision based solely on the appearance of the image."

And, would her decision be a bad one because the postworking was not revealed?  Images are photographics, yes.  This does not eliminate artistry but encourages it.  I see artistry as the goal to reach in photography unless one is bound to technical photos only.

We do not agree but I do see where you are coming from.  This is where I come from in voting for an image:  Does the photo catch my attention?  Does the photo in some way speak to me?  If so, the producer of that render has done better than others.

I do not vote on the technical merits only of a photograph and obviously overdone postwork will eliminate it from the voting when I start through the challenge entries.

Telling all the post work done would not hurt but would require much more than needed for a challenge based on the image more than the "how it got there".    While of interest to some, I would likely not read the extra info and change my votes.

And, by the way, what if I shot film and actually knew enough about it to truly pre work my shots? I would choose the film for saturation, contrast and grain desired..I would have the film developed in the manner needed for a certain result...I would likely shoot with lens filters at the get go...just a thought.       TomDart.

Enough said by me on this thread.