Welcome to the Forum. Always nice to have a new participant. I can only offer my opinion; I'm sure others will add to or refute it. The "Gallery" tends to be a place for praise, though helpful suggestions from those who have shared their work and gained respect are generally welcome. The "Forum" is a learning place, where those of different training and points of view can learn from each other. The Photography forum here tends to be quite eclectic; with people coming from other artistic backgrounds. Some of these are covered in other Renderosity areas. We generally are fairly conservative with harsh criticism, as folks here approach the subject matter with many different viewpoints. Once we have learned, usually over a fairly long period of sharing how each other is progressing, the critiques can become quite in depth. Or we can come right out and say, "That Sucks," if we already have mutual respect. For some more information on useful critiquing, see Alpha's recent tutorial in the learning center. [Link above.] Generally questions here, either about some posted work, or about photographic technique, are handled in depth, by very knowledgable experts. The Management is always looking for new ways to enhance the "tutorial" aspect of this Forum, so any suggestions are welcome. There are other forums on the web for photography, and other medias within Renderosity, that are much harsher in their critiques. This can be a good thing, and everyone is welcome to participate elsewhere as well as here. We appreciate having useful links to other information brought to our attention. Recently some undercurrents have been raised about this becoming a "closed society" with everyone just patting each other on the back. IMO the very different styles represented by the members refutes this claim. I know in many cases I will congratulate someone here on an image I personnally do not "like," because I see the image as being "good" within the style the artist is trying to develope for him/her self. PC's trippy thing is a reference to this month's Challenge, making a "Triptych." I'll refer you to the Contest page under "Highlights" at the right to get an explanation of this. There is a different Challenge every month, which usually leads to some new thinking and viewpoints. Pictures posted in the Forum do not automatically go to the Gallery or the Users' pages. That is because Forum postings are often works in progress, with requests for helpful suggestions. There is nothing wrong with posting both places. The Forum threads are archived (permanently?) so are searchable and available for future use. Again, this is just my opinion. I'm sure others will have something more to say. Again, welcome.