My take on "comments for comments"

[lynnh]

Jumping to the foray... I believe that we might be discussing two types of commenting. The rules of the Challenge Forum call for commenting. I don't expect a comment for every photo I post. I would rather not have a pat comment or one that is cut and pasted on everyone's photo. But, the forum is a social circle that requires a sort of comment ettiquet. You should comment now and then, even in your native language, even if it is constructive criticism or to be supportive of someone's efforts.

If you are not inclined to comment or you don't have the time, then please don't join the forum.
Lynn

[gpaai]

Ok Gary : "After all, I'm not one of those individuals that have my eyes glued to Pbase 24 hours a day." Me not too.
If you see my galleries you'll see i'm a great traveler and Africa is my second home !
Let the good time roll !
and I will never count. I do not know . I just have feelings.
All the best and happy shooting!

Marielou

Thank you Marialou. I guess there are times that communication between two individuals Online gets confusing. Again, I apologise for any ill feelings I have caused.

Gary

[amoxtli]

Here's an idea. For the January 2010 Monthly Challenge why don't we just leave out:

"If you receive a comment, you will return a comment....”

We can just use the old "guidelines" which no one ever objected to as far as I know:
Comment on at least some images of fellow participants
Post fresh images specifically for the challenge, don't dig in the archives
Try to stay on topic

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

[gpaai]

If you are not inclined to comment or you don't have the time, then please don't join the forum. Lynn

Personally, I don't mind leaving comments to images deserving of them. What I don't like is being forced to do it for no other reason than someone left one on mine. Or maybe I, (and I do know individuals that do this) wait until let's say 3:00AM Saturday to play catch up. I dislike being pounded because I didn't do it on the same day the image was posted.

Many of the older PAD participants will be the first to tell you that I try to play an active role in staying in touch with others on Pbase be it by comments or messages. It's just that there are times with my busy schedule I'm not able to.

Gary

[lynnh]

Gary, I agree - we should not be obligated to C4C. I don't leave comments for every shot I view in Pbase. But I do try to comment on the challenge shots, because we are all in a contest - a game among ourselves - to find and photograph the defined subject.

I usually comment on your photos because I genuinely enjoy your work. I don't expect you to comment in return. When you have commented on my photos, I appreciate it very much! ( Especially since we don't have accurate hit counts - comments help me see the image is being viewed and received by others in the contest. )

I think we've got off track because we have different expectations from this Challenge. Some expect comments tit for tat. Some of us try to adhere to the "fresh" image rule while others post things from years ago. Perhaps, like Walter said, we need to look at the rules and make some decisions about what we are trying to accomplish here.

In January, we can define the rules and then it can be up to us to follow them or not join in the challenge. If someone is just worried about selling images, then maybe the challenge is not the place to be anyway.

Hopefully you will stay !!!! L

[imorozoff]

...I don't mind leaving comments to images deserving of them. What I don't like is being forced to do it for no other reason than someone left one on mine.

Indeed Gary.
I'd much rather provide a heart-felt message on a photo that moves me in some way, than post an obligatory "That's nice" because it's expected. Likewise, I expect the same in return. If my work moves the viewer in such a way that they *want* to leave a comment, well that's nice, and I appreciate it. And if not, well that's OK too. I find the whole notion of C4C to be juvenile and distasteful. Then again, what the hell do I know?

I think we've got off track because we have different expectations from this Challenge. Some expect comments tit for tat. Some of us try to adhere to the "fresh" image rule while others post things from years ago. Perhaps, like Walter said, we need to look at the rules and make some decisions about what we are trying to accomplish here.

Agreed Lynn. When I started participating in these monthly themes a year and a half ago, I honestly thought they were about: participation, building friendships, sharing the love of photography, broadening old skills and learning new ones, committing to daily camera usage, and so forth and certainly not about soliciting comments. I would never have participated had I thought or known that these monthly themes were all about C4C.

As you said, we all have our own ideas of what these monthly challenges are all about.