Dedicated 30-Day Challenge comments section

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

09/30/2006 08:33:03 PM · #1

Greetings Admin,
With the upsurge of the 30-day challenges being done, can a dedicated comments section be alloted to those challenges?
I think the 30-day challenges are a fantastic idea and really gets people to try and learn new things, but the comments flood the site's recent comments page, hiding the site's regular image comments.

fotomann_forever

09/30/2006 08:35:10 PM · #2

Pretty good idea... although I have no idea how it would be implemented.

cryingdragon

Canon EOS-10D

09/30/2006 08:37:41 PM · #3

It's not a bad idea, but comments are made by people who aren't involved as well. I agree that the photos do kind of take over.

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

09/30/2006 09:25:20 PM · #4

I imagine you'd have to put an extra checkmark on the photo description.

This brings up another thing.

I'd like to see and upload page pop up, with multiple files, the ability to create them all in a new directory or existing, and with the ability to fill out some or all of the image info on the upload page, with global settings and individual setting/image comments.

Say, able to upload 10 at a time.

Maybe this added class can be inserted in the page addition?

I think the quick upload feature should remain, but the addition of the mass-upload tool would be very VERY nice.

Message edited by author 2006-09-30 21:25:32.

09/30/2006 09:36:53 PM · #5

I think I'm missing something. If all the posts and comments are in one thread, the one dedicated to that 30 day challenge, how is it taking over the most recent comment list? I could see that if there were dozens of very active 30 day challenges going on at the same time, but I believe there is only one or two going on at any one time. I just joined my first one and I'd hate to see it regulated off to the back room somewhere when there are so many other less than photographic related threads filling up the most recent comment list on a regular basis now.

I guess I'm just not seeing the reason for this. Or maybe I'm not understanding what you are asking for.

Mike

fotomann_forever

09/30/2006 09:47:40 PM · #6

Originally posted by MikeJ:

I think I'm missing something. If all the posts and comments are in one thread, the one dedicated to that 30 day challenge, how is it taking over the most recent comment list?
Mike

He means this page - //www.dpchallenge.com/photo_browse.php

09/30/2006 10:13:37 PM · #7

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Pretty good idea... although I have no idea how it would be implemented.

With a strong database and php/active server pages as this site is built on, it probably would only require a flag on the initial upload page to put it in it's own area, then on the Photos, Browse, add an additional selection for the 30-Day challenges / PaD section.

fotomann_forever

09/30/2006 10:18:56 PM · #8

Originally posted by BradP:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Pretty good idea... although I have no idea how it would be implemented.

With a strong database and php/active server pages as this site is built on, it probably would only require a flag on the initial upload page to put it in it's own area, then on the Photos, Browse, add an additional selection for the 30-Day challenges / PaD section.

Was thinking about that. Could be like the Nudes gallery, where everything that is loaded there is automatically tagged and then browse.php can deal with that tag appropriately.

10/01/2006 01:17:22 AM · #9

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by MikeJ:
I think I'm missing something. If all the posts and comments are in one thread, the one dedicated to that 30 day challenge, how is it taking over the most recent comment list?
Mike

He means this page - //www.dpchallenge.com/photo_browse.php

Ok, so how does posting an image in a thread affect that page? Does every image posted in a thread show up there? I've never run across it before, so I don't know. I view the most recent threads when I log in, but that's just threads like this one. So I guess I still don't see what the problem is. But then maybe it's obvious to those of you that have been on DPC for a long time. It just seems that the whole 30 day challenge routine is trying to be changed real fast and what seemed to be so simple now sounds like it's being made a lot more complicated. I don't do blogs, so if that's what is now going to be required to be in a 30 day challenge, I guess I'll have to stick to the normal threads.

Thanks for pointing out the above page.

Mike

whiteroom

10/01/2006 02:30:53 AM · #10

excellent idea! i'm all for it.

yanko

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

10/01/2006 02:34:29 AM · #11

Instead of creating flags for this and flags for that how about just an added option on the browse page to view recent comments per gallery?

Message edited by author 2006-10-01 02:35:09.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

10/01/2006 02:42:03 AM · #12

Read up ^

"With a strong database and php/active server pages as this site is built on, it probably would only require a flag on the initial upload page to put it in it's own area, then on the Photos, Browse, add an additional selection for the 30-Day challenges / PaD section."

David.C

10/01/2006 03:54:50 AM · #13

We recently had a 'Community Projects' section added to the main menu. When I first saw the announcement I was thrilled to see the dynamic projects that spring up from time to time getting a place of their own. Unfortunately, it was not what I first imagined it to be. It is merely a links page where we can link to those projects that have an existence outside of the DPC site (with CJ's MS Tournament linking to the announcement thread as the sole exception).

Most of the community projects, as Brad is mentioning, do not live well within the confines of a single forum thread -- but at the same time do not have an existence outside of DPC. These projects, from month long portrait studies to year long PADs to the many learning threads, die early deaths when they hit a lull in activity that lasts more than a day or two. Once they are off the recent threads list, they receive little to no notice.

Since they don't live well within a single thread, they need additional site features to flourish and become what they have the potential to be:

-- The Picture A Day type projects need the ability to upload images to a PAD gallery. Yes, I know, members have portfolios to which a folder can be added and it is simple enough. But this scatters the project across the site, and the internet as some post and link to other sites. The more scattered they become, the more tenuous the projects become. A dedicated place to upload PAD images to, as part of a specific, organized, site project would add to the cohesion of the groups -- and their benefit to DPC and its members.

-- Learning Threads have come and gone and come back again, but ultimately they all suffer from the same fate -- thread bloat. The lessons and examples presented in these threads end up being lost in the pages upon pages of replies. One solution would be to have each lesson as a site tutorial and each example as a 'HTDT' article, but once again that breaks up the cohesion of the project. Each lesson and planned example needs to be preserved, apart from the chatter of the project but still together has a part of the whole. In such as space each lesson could have it's own discussion -- aiding new-comers who may feel like they are intruding by coming late to the project. I know each tutorial has an announcement/discussion thread attached to it, but they soon suffer from the same thread bloat as the full learning threads. Even the existing tutorials would benefit from a space in which people could practice the material they contain and see how others have practiced it as well.

So I am in full support of Brad's encouragement to make the member projects a full fledged site feature instead of just something that is also done by a few ("go check them out, but hurry back"). I have probably blown his suggestion up a bit further than he intended it to be, but these projects need to not be considered something that 'they are doing' outside of DPC -- it is WE who are doing them, and it would do us all some good to embrace them as a part of what DPC has become.

As a currently non-paying registered user, I am fully behind the above -- even if it is implemented as a member-only feature. In fact, I feel it probably should be a member-only feature -- we registed users leech enough off the site as it is. :P

David

Germaine

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/4.0L IS USM Lens

10/01/2006 03:41:38 PM · #14

May I add my voice to those who would like to give the 30-day challenges their own area? We are now almost through with a second 30-day self-portrait challenge, a 30-day pet challenge has started, and there is talk of a woody and/or rubber duck challenge. I realize we all have the right to post what we want, but frankly, these challenges are of limited interest to me, and I would like to be able to look at members' plain old pictures without having to sift through these unofficial challenges.

These comments are not directed at anyone or any group -- just an attempt to politely state an opinion and suggestion.

whiteroom

10/01/2006 03:51:56 PM · #15

Mr_Pants

SiPix Blink

10/01/2006 04:10:50 PM · #16

Originally posted by Germaine:

Respectfully, I feel that I have to disagree. It's my feeling that any picture uploaded should be in with the same chance of being viewed as any other and should stand the same chance of being commented upon as any other.

Much like you, I'm not aiming this at anyone. This is merely my thoughts on the matter.

10/01/2006 04:32:20 PM · #17

The recent comments page is perhaps one of the most valuable assets on this site in my opinion. New images that would not normally be seen often show up here. It's nice to be able to drop in there and see what's new and what captured the eyes of others enough to comment on them.
If there was a separate drop-down in the menu to look at the 30-Day images commented on, that would be great, as we could see them and comment as desired.

As it has been recently, the SP 30-day challenge had so many comments from the members in the group as well as others not in the group, that it flooded the recent comments page, so much, that it beacame difficult to navigate as to what was there since the last visit to the page.

A lot of great shots were swept under the carpet so to speak, not being seen, and am sure many had the same frustrations as I did. At times, looking at 100 images per page, it all looked the same every visit.

It would just be nice to have a separate section to go look at the 30-Day/PaD informal challenges in their own page. These challeges have done great things to enhance the creativity and technical finesse that many members have learned a great deal from. I'd just hate to see it all go off-site personally.

10/01/2006 08:03:28 PM · #18

Rather than bury challenges in their own area, maybe the number of most recent posts that can be viewed should be increased. I pop on a number of times during the day. I rarely go into the forums themselves but instead go down the most recent posts and look at any that catch my eye. Then I go to My Home and look to see if there were any comments left on the threads that I posted in. For those times when I have more time, I'll go into a couple of the areas and look at what else is there.

If any challenge, not just the 30 day ones, is regulated to some spot of their own, I feel it can't help but limit the number of people that will view them. Sure, those that are involved in them will go look them up, but viewers are creatures of habit... if they are use to looking in a few places for new threads, that is where they will mostly go look. They might never see any of the 30 day challenges. That means there would be sets of losers... the people that might miss out on some great photos and postings and those that post their work so that others can view them and maybe leave comments about.

Saying that posts on the 30 day challenges are taking up too much space at the expense of other posts is like saying that all the posts about scores and what picture should have done better or all the outtakes, etc., is taking up too much posting space. There are a lot of threads taking up a lot of room on a large variety of subjects. If there was a poll as to what was important and what wasn't, I'm sure the results would be as varied as the people that view them.

I'm sure the powers that be will do what they think is appropriate, but I just don't understand the need for this and don't want them to think that the thinking on this is all one sided.

Mike

10/01/2006 08:17:41 PM · #19

Originally posted by MikeJ:

Saying that posts on the 30 day challenges are taking up too much space at the expense of other posts is like saying that all the posts about scores and what picture should have done better or all the outtakes, etc., is taking up too much posting space.

This had nothing to do with Forum posts.
It was about flooding the site in the recent comments page. For instance, let's say 20 people joined a 30-Day informal challenge. Each day, 20 people commenting on the 20 pictures in their group. That adds up to a lot of repeated images on that recents page, obscuring the images shared and commented on from regular challenges and those shared in their portfolios. After a while, the page looks like it never changes and those of us that look there for images commented on from all corners of this site that we may not have found otherwise, are lost in the process.

Elvis_L

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/01/2006 08:34:43 PM · #20

While I understand your concern Brad I think there are many other avenues to achive what you want to do. Punishing those that want to participate in these seems like the wrong thing to do. I know that what you are asking may not hurt them but from some of your posts in those threads it seems that you would rather them not happen or that they be run off site. If other threads opperated with the same vigor and enthusiasim as the 30-day threads then you would have the same problem. for instance if people in the upload your latest new image actually looked at and commented on the other peoples photos then the recently commented section would be over run with those photos (BTW my experience in that thread is that most do not actually look at the others posted there) the same goes for the pick your favorite from the person above you thread. also if you want to see new things then what is wrong with seeing all the new self portraits?

I understand that you want to view many things that you wouldn't normally see. you can also achieve this in the least commented page (I know you know this, I am just saying) these people may need your incitefull comments more than those that already have comments. also the recently fav'd section is nice for finding new things as well.

BTW here's to hopping your next buyer doesn't back out

cheers,
Elvis

Message edited by author 2006-10-01 20:35:35.

10/01/2006 08:58:57 PM · #21

Like this:

Drop down to browse and click on it, goes to recents page as it is now.

Drop-down and slide over to the 30-Day section and
choose one to look at the coments section of each.

It's not about punishment in any way either. Running them off-site??
I've never said anything to even hint to that, and want them kept on-site.
Just an organization thing.

ETA (need to proof-read more - or get a keyboard that spells right)

Message edited by author 2006-10-01 21:12:48.

Elvis_L

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/01/2006 09:05:09 PM · #22

I completely understand what you are saying and would support it if it were implemented. I just don't want people to be discouraged from participating becasue they don't want to or can't figure out how to use a blog, because they don't want people to be mad at them for flooding the recent comments section. there is much to be learned in those challenges.

10/01/2006 10:41:57 PM · #23

Originally posted by BradP:

Originally posted by MikeJ:

Saying that posts on the 30 day challenges are taking up too much space at the expense of other posts is like saying that all the posts about scores and what picture should have done better or all the outtakes, etc., is taking up too much posting space.

This had nothing to do with Forum posts.
It was about flooding the site in the recent comments page. For instance, let's say 20 people joined a 30-Day informal challenge. Each day, 20 people commenting on the 20 pictures in their group. That adds up to a lot of repeated images on that recents page, obscuring the images shared and commented on from regular challenges and those shared in their portfolios. After a while, the page looks like it never changes and those of us that look there for images commented on from all corners of this site that we may not have found otherwise, are lost in the process.

As I said, it doesn't make sense to me, so... do you mean that when someone leaves a comment in a thread or when someone clicks on the image and leaves a comment on the image itself from within someone's photo forum?

Mike