I'm curious - Poll

[PhotosGuy]

I've noticed that the "Sports" forum seems to get more views & fewer comments than some of the others, but in particular, one thread I started has had 238 views without one reply or comment! Here's the thread URL:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75062

I'm pretty thick skinned, but no comments at all? So, I wondered what was the reason? Here's a chance for you to provide some input with only one click.

Thanks for taking the time to click on a choice (if you did). I’m sure that some members will find it interesting, some will get a laugh out of it, & some will still be scratching their heads tomorrow! ;) (Maybe that's a good subject for another Poll?) :D

[anttor]

no poll :/

[PhotosGuy]

no poll :/ When you start one, you have to "Submit" 1st, then you get to put in the options for the poll after. Looks like you just got here too early while I put in the 13 options. Sorry!

[thomascanty]

I've noticed that the "Sports" forum seems to get more views & fewer comments than some of the others

Lately, I've been noticing that it's difficult to get comments if you post in Urban, also. Not a whole lot of views, either.

[Rob612]

Several reasons. I voted "other" because I avoid at all pictures of kids because I do not like kids (nothing against who has them, of course, but I am not the father type, neither the uncle - and I am uncle for 5 kids - or any relation level, simply, I am not able to "manage" kids until they are about 18/20. Of course I do not have kids myself). So i just skip threads with children pics.

Then there is the time factor that must be considered, and finally there are the threads that I totally miss.

[GyRob]

i sometimes dont reply to a bad pic as the photographer is new at it and thinks its good,i dont want to knock someone down when there trying ,yes make a small point to help them on there way we all need that dont we.
Rob.

[Leorooster]

Well, I think this is a very interesting poll. IMHO, I think different people have different interest and that's one of the reasons why we have different forums. For me, the most likely reason would be lack of interest. I am not a big sport fan, so I don't normally comment on threads related to sport..






P.S. I didn't get any comments on my 1st post here in this forum for whatever reasons:cry: :cry: .

[BlueTit]

I voted for not enough time, which is half true, the other reasons that were equally valid were that I never saw it and I avoid sport pictures - not my thing, I only pop in there is I have seen everything else. I rarely do not comment on a photo, however to avoid upsetting people that like a full report rather than a couple of words, I find more often than before I will pass without comment, if I can't come up with a couple of lines commentary.

[neil_r]

If I really like the picture I will post a comment. If I think I can offer a constructive comment or help I will. If it is another forum member with whom I am having a “bit of banter” I will post.

If I really don’t like the picture I say nothing.

N

[blinking8s]

things start to repeat over and over and over and over (most auto racing photos), poor photos are hard to throw down the first comment on as well, especially with the + feedback ration here on the boards. I wish people would critque more and post less "hey, cool shots" which even I am guilty of, but many times tons of improvements could be made to the set.

they used to get burried quick as well...but im not around all that much anymore. Just once a week to check up on the names I know in here.

[PhotosGuy]

" P.S. I didn't get any comments on my 1st post here in this forum for whatever reasons.":
Leo, I can identify with that! Sort of like being shunned by the Amish? I'd rather have negative comments than to be totally ignored! ;)
If I see the thread is started by a relativley new member posting a very so-so shot, & it's not in "Critique", I might just say "Welcome to the forum!" & let it go at that. But to see "238 views without one reply or comment" would have been enough to send me somewhere else if I'd been in your shoes!
OTOH, if several people have already said what I'm thinking, I'll usually move on without a comment, too.

[Belmondo]

There are a number of reasons:
1. As a moderator, I spend a couple hours (several, actually) per day leafing through threads looking for obvious problems. If I stop to comment, it's usually because there's something really compelling about the image (train photos, for example).
2. Either my standards are becoming more stringent, or people are posting more mediocre photos than ever before. I find myself becoming more self-critical of my own work, and post fewer images. I also see a lower percentage of the photos being posted by others that qualify as 'interesting.'
3. When I joined the forum initially, it was for the hardware discussions. I'm something of a gear-head, and only recently realized that these things can actually be used for taking pictures. Maybe if I ever figure out that part of the process, I'll take a more active interest in what others are doing.
4. How many pictures of Blue Tits do you have to look at before they become repetitive?

There is a wide range of abilities among our members, and there are some whose work will always attract a lot of comment. Kenny_G and CharlesU come to mind. They (and several others) have it pretty well figured out, and rarely will you see anything from them that isn't exceptional.

One more thought:
I'm far more likely to comment on a so-so photo that appers to have been the product of some hard work and creativity by the photographer than I am on a very good photo where all the hard work was obviously done by the automatic functions of a camera, and all the photographer had to do was point it in the proper general direction. (A lot of 'kid' pictures fall into the latter group.)

Tom

[cmM]

When it occurs that i look at a thread without responding it is because sometimes the pictures suck...and I prefer to keep it to myself than make some negative coments (unless the poster speciffically requests critique).

Oh, and also, a lot of times I look at a thread multiple times and reply just once.

[intechpcx]

You know, I've had the same problem in all the gallery forums and the critique forum too. Based on what I've seen responded to here and all I think there are a couple things at play. First, I think people get bored with the photos after a while. The photos can be good, bad or somewhere in between but ultimately they all end up looking the same when the subjects are so similar. I also think there is a tendancy among group members that have had past conversations with eachother and have become "forum friends" to post more on eachother's threads than on others.

As far as the pictures becoming more mediocre and such, I just want to remind everyone that there are varied experience levels here. The only way that those taking Mediocre shots can learn to get the "great" shot is if people are willing to share their knowledge and make critiques on pictures. Now granted I think it is harder to post negative feedback in the Gallery forums than in the critique forum, but I would love to see more of it.

As far as how I choose what threads to respond to, I don't respond to many at all because I am not very accomplished as a photographer. If something jumps out at me that I can make a comment about for improving a shot I'll post it, but for me that is not very often.

I'm thinking I'll have to look at the pictures in my last post again because with 0 replies, they must have really sucked. :lol:

[Curtis N]

As for reasons for not offering comment, I few quotes come to mind:

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
Mark Twain

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
My Mother

Among other factors:
1) Many of us are newbies who are here to learn and aren't qualified to give advice, especially to someone more experienced. But we look at threads and hope to learn from those who ARE qualified (hence the 238 views).
2) Many of us know darned well how hard it is to get good, sharp pictures of a moving target from 200 feet away in dim light. There just aren't any easy answers.
3) Pictures of a high school football game are boring, unless the shot shows something spectacular or the subject is our own son or daughter. We've seen so many cool pictures in Sports Illustrated that anything else seems mundane.
4) The only opinions that really matter are the photographer and the customer. The rest are merely subjective opinions of art, which ain't worth much in my book.

I voted for "Other." I hope my explanations have been helpful.

[intechpcx]

I wonder if it wouldn't help get more responses if the poster themselves had specific questions. I know I personally feel guilty about posting pictures and just asking "are these any good". I'm trying to get better at locating what I don't like about a picture so I can ask how to improve it.

[quickben]

In this particular instance, my reaction was "I don't like American football" but that's just my British'ness coming to the surface since football is FOOTBALL over here :-)

Plus, unless it's a close up, isolated action portrait of an individual player with good bokeh, I find team sports make boring photographs IMO.

Gary.

[Moppie]

I make it a point to look at all the threads in the transport, sports, people, glammer and other sections, they are things I have an interest in, and things that some photographers I admire post in.
I also look at threads in the other forums if they are by someone I know is a great photog, or its looks interesting.

If I replied to that many threads with a comment I would run out of time in my evening very quickly, and any comments I could give would rapidly become repetitive and meaningless.

There are also rather a lot of photos that are, well, rather average in quality.
There is just lots and lots of the same thing, people posting a photo of thier kids or thier neighbors kids because they think they look cute. To the parents and the photog they probobly do, but to everyone else they just look like another stereotyped photo of a kid.
The same thing with photos of cars and birds.

Combined with my relative lack of knowledge I find it simpler to just post only when I have a question to ask about the photo, or it is something that is really special. .

[mkh]

Not enough time to read and reply to all of the posts. I have been concentrating on the forums and posts that really interest me.

Recently I've started using th e"New Posts" link so I see all of the new stuf and this has exposed me to more posts. Consequently I'm posting more now.

[Croasdail]

reasons I don't respond... well "if you don't have anything nice to say.... " thing comes into play, but more often I tend to learn more with my mouth closed then listening to myself - and I more times then not don't have the right advice to give if any is needed - there are those on this forum who are ever more qualified to comment..... plus I already comment way too much. I should shut up now....

[Hydro]

This is a good subject. I have to agree with many of the responders that as a newbie here, I don't really feel qualified to critique anything. Other reasons may be that often the poster's narrative doesn't really invite comment, and simply makes declarative statements. I think this forum works best when you ask a specific question (after doing a little research yourself) that brings in excellent help from some very accomplished people willing to share their knowledge.

Also, as mentioned by others, sometimes the shot is not that special. There is a pretty high bar set by the better photographers on here, and often folks post an image that has more of a "snapshot" look than something particularly noteworthy. Plus, the forum sometimes gets so busy, the post may just move down and off the first page pretty fast---before it reaches a person that might be moved to comment.

Finally, I think there ought to be a word like "chimping" created for the act of repeatedly going back to your own post in short intervals to see if anyone has commented on your picture. I consider myself a reasonably well adjusted person (with a variety of interests) but when I finally got up the nerve to post a picture or two I thought was pretty good, I found myself accounting for a decent percentage of the "views" -----which made me laugh at myself. The lack of comments suprised me at first, but like everything else on this forum, there was something to learned from that as well.

RICK

[Andy_T]

Other ... you didn't comment on my last shot, either :p

Just kidding ... actually, I was looking forward to seeing the shots ...

...but they are a bit out of focus, and I didn't want to sound like a know-it-all, as I had warned you before to take action shots with a manual focus lens :lol:

So I guess I didn't want to give the first critique along the lines of
'Frank, I love your photography ... provided your subjects don't move :wink:'

Best regards,
Andy

[PhotosGuy]

...but they are a bit out of focus, and I didn't want to sound like a know-it-all, as I had warned you before to take action shots with a manual focus lens:D:DGeeez! Picking on my 5% & 10% crops? :D So I guess I didn't want to give the first critique along the lines of
'Frank, I love your photography ... provided your subjects don't move

[weemannie]

I selected 'Other' because I don't have the time to look at all images posted in all sections. I like to comment on those areas I enjoy personally, as there's more chance that I will appreciate the composition etc. I try to comment on most images I see, unless, to me they really suck:D , as I assume that the person posting is pleased with the result. I would be discouraged if no one liked a picture I took, when I loved it, and feel that they would be too! By encouraging members of the forum to enjoy their photography, I hope that they may dig deeper into the forum and learn from the more experienced contributors, who freely and willingly share their knowledge and expertise. To them I would like to express my own thanks, for the tips I've picked up by trawling through the threads.:)

[stoneylonesome]

I picked other but a lot has to do with the amount of time I have to look through the threads. So I've broken it done to 1) the work of people that I've come to know and enjoy there work and yes banter. than 2) a glance through the threads that interest me most to see what else is out there. Than if I see something that interests me I will post a comment. One thing is that in the almost 2 years that I have belonged to the forum I've seen it grow almost 10 fold. SO MUCH MORE TO SEE :) :)

[symes]

for the same reason I almost didn't respond here...What I wanted to say has already been said and even when I am the first to a photo I really don't feel qualified to comment.

My photography has been helped a great deal by the people on this forum and when I am able to help out I offer my 2 cents. I find myself writing half a critique and then erasing it as I shake my head and say...you're not at the level yet where you can offer anything productive to the conversation...

Cheers,

[sixshot]

Most of my comments fall into the 'great shot' category. When I do feel I can advise I do, but this is rare as I do not even have a DSLR yet - but can still comment on the overall shot.

I use the new post link the most and view shots in all different forums so only then comment in the ones I find interesting. Some threads are boring to me, especially if I do not know or need to know the answer to a specific question.

But hey, look at how many posts I make, I like to post!! Too much time as I have no camera at the mo!

[Cr8tor]

1 of my choices was "other" and the reason is because most of the time someone else has already commented and said what i would say...

Too bad there is not a little button for each post that you could click to "second that opinion" hint hint :) especially in the feedback request posts...

[Ballen Photo]

First, For THIS topic, I feel you should be able to vote for more than one excuse, um, I meant REASON.
I try to look at as many photos as I can, but at the same time I have to realize that it would be a rugged schedule trying to leave a meaningful comment for each and every photo that passes through this forum, therefore, I try to pick on subject matter that interest's ME.
Here are some of the reasons for NOT commenting on a particular photo post.
1, Not enough time.
2, Enough comments have already been made that say the same basic thing that I would have. (If I have time, I might post; I agree with so-n-so.)
3, Total lack of interest in the subject, meaning I couldn't give it my best thoughts anyway.
4, The photo is terrible, and I haven't got the heart to tell them so.
5, I plain ole missed the post all together.

Reasons why I try to comment on photos.
1, I love the subject.
2, I'm familiar with the photographers work, and try not to miss out on it.
3, An attractive subject line. (this one should probably really be #1)And YES, I've been "Baited".
4, The photo is really that good! (OK, THIS should really be #1)
-Bruce

[PhotosGuy]

First, For THIS topic, I feel you should be able to vote for more than one excuse, um, I meant REASON. I put that option in. Maybe I should have said so. ;-)

[jfrancho]

The rest are merely subjective opinions of art, which ain't worth much in my book.I for one am interested in others subjective views, and how they arrived at them. I realize this may not always apply to a sports shot, but it can. Seen an UnderArmour ad lately? Sorry to pick out your comment, Curtis, it struck a chord.

I think some of the lack of response has to do with the viewer's unwillingness to commit the time and effort to actually look at the picture, think about it, and put the thoughts in a post. That is my reason for not always posting a reply. Lately, I haven't been as motivated to make the investment that some of the posts require. There have been some really outstanding work shared here, and it deserves more than a "great shot" reply.

I also wonder if members are intimidated by some of the personalities that make up this forum. Fear can play a big role in how one participates in social environments. This sounds silly, but I peruse the sports areas frequently, looking for ideas when I shoot my son's t-ball team. I don't see too many of the shots similar to what I take, and I've wanted to ask why, but I hesitate, based on my own insecurity. Maybe I should post some of these pics and see what the response is (hopefully not what were talking about here). Again, in this example, I am at fault.

Finally, I agree with many of the earlier posts, where it is so good, or so bad, or so mediocre, there isn't anything to say. I too am thick skinned, I can take. Be sure to include an explanation though.

[d'homme]

I chose other. If I don't have anything to help the poster or add to the conversation, why post and take up space.

[Bamamike]

I choose other.
One reason is, that I don't want to say anything because I'm just not capable in this matter and read this thread because I wanted to learn something. Just saying thank you is possible when I really learned something and this can take time.
Second; any pictures I see in a thread will not get a comment because it just couldn't be my style and the creator would be upset about a negative comment.
Third, if you can't help, shut up.
Fourth, some threads sound interesting but then they are just way apart from what you have expected.

[chakras]

Others - of course there are variety of reasons.
1. If the thread is very old, I normally ignore it
2. I joined the forum to learn better photography from the pros. Being a novice, many of the times, I do feel that the photos are so good that I do not have the capacity to put any comments on it. I try to learn from these

I myself am pretty thick skinned, and when I don't see any comments on improvements for one of my photos (I survived multiple instances:cool:), I assume it didn't qualify for comments. So, I make up my mind to improve. However some comments on improvement always helps.

[PhotosGuy]

Being a novice, many of the times, I do feel that the photos are so good that I do not have the capacity to put any comments on it. I try to learn from these I've been known to put up some crap so you can learn from that, too. ;-)

[chakras]

I've been known to put up some crap so you can learn from that, too. ;-)
:lol::lol:

[longshot]

I'm shy.

[Ballen Photo]

I'm shy.
I believe You. 1st post after joining in May? ;)
Welcome to the forum. Also, Feel free to jump in on any of our topics. We dont bite (Well, MOST of us dont.) Seriously, this is a pretty friendly crowd.
I hope You're enjoying your visits. :D
-Bruce

[exposingmyself]

jfrancho is a very good post perosn.

i'm sleepy, i'll post my opinion later (hey, that's why i don't post at first attempt. i'm usually sleepy.)

[roanjohn]

Cuz I commented on this thread!!! hahahahaha!!!

Sometimes, I just have nothing to say................OR, I know somebody could say it better.

Ro1

[Belmondo]

We dont bite (Well, MOST of us dont.


I bite. (At least that's what I've been told.)
Welcome to the forum.

[jfrancho]

jfrancho is a very good post perosn.

i'm sleepy, i'll post my opinion later (hey, that's why i don't post at first attempt. i'm usually sleepy.)Aww Shucks.

[rich_yau]

yeah, sometimes i think the pics are mediocre, so i dont reply