| Author | Thread |
|
|
11/19/2002 01:11:24 PM · #1 |
Just because I feel evil today...
Every week we have competent people who have taken competent photos who end up complaining about comments made by incompetent commenters (or substitute votes and voters if you like).
In other words, asinine commments on perfectly acceptable photos.
And every week, we have still more competent people who tell the photographers just to let it slide. To turn the other cheek if you'll pardon the overtly religious source of that phrase.
And every week, there's another batch of photographers who finally see the "wisdom" of this course of action and stop complaining about the dumb comments they've been getting. (At least, I assume so based on my own experience.)
I think we've all made a GARGANTUAN mistake.
I think we should turn on the dumb commenters en masse and route them out. Tar and feathers. Thumbscrews. Dunking chairs. Scold's bridles.
OK, seriously. I think we have a right and a need to be upset by people who say silly things about our work. I'm not talking a comment that offers a constructive, if impossible, alternative, but one that is either mean and nasty or simply misinformed. Maybe if people other than the photographer were to write them and politely and tactfully tell them why they were "wrong," they might learn something?
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 01:20:46 PM · #2 |
Or perhaps it's just time to start rooting out people with unbelievably low voting averages. (I'm talking about GIVING votes, not receiving them.)
I've only lately started looking at the correllation between useless/hurtful/mean/stupid comments and unreasonable voting averages. It just hurts everyone collectively to have people like that around.
I don't know. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, and it's a free site, but come on......
Rob |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 01:25:34 PM · #3 |
I too have noticed the "low voting average" thing. And coming from folks that are complaining... It is sad. All so very sad.
Perhaps there should be some retribution for such nonsense. But I hardly think nice letters and reason are worth our time. Learning doesn't seem to be what they are after. |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 01:28:13 PM · #4 |
IMO, it's not worth worrying about. I can always take it up with the person who left the comment after the challenge if i believe it's necessary.
Telling someone that their OPINION is wrong is just a farce. The fact is that some individuals don't have tactful skills of epxressing their opinions.
I also believe that these 'email educations' would be widely ignored.
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 02:27:29 PM · #5 |
I got a terrible comment this week, gah!!!
Patella, I think you should just let the issue slide.
Let's all just become wise and stop complaining.
or
If that fails maybe we can somehow implement a "site police squad". They could be on the lookout for trolls, and then check out their other comments and voting averages.
Or course if the comments are simple negative then there will be nothing they can do.
Does anyone remember the mass of Sponge Bob Squarepants comments? They were not helpful at all, and in my opinion the police squad should be able to delete these inappropriate comments and forward the user ID to an admin, who could purge all future activity on the site if they see fit.
Does anyone ever notice these mass rude commenters never have submissions themselves?
Makes ya think
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 02:34:04 PM · #6 |
These comments can usually be interpreted with a broad mind. I can usually distinguish between an idiotic comment and a misinformed comment. When a voter says "it's out of focus" on a photo where selective depth of field was used to isolate some particular part of the photo, it can be easily interpreted as "I don't like your selective use of depth of field. I think you should have brought the entire subject/scene into focus."
It simply says that the viewer did not like your choice. It does NOT make the viewer's opinion wrong.
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 02:39:18 PM · #7 |
dont forget that someone with a voting avg of 1.67 .. most of those votes are discarded anyway by the anti-troll algorithm .. ; )
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 02:40:09 PM · #8 |
mag... if they are discarded i assume they dont get put into the vote average?
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 02:54:10 PM · #9 |
there is still a record of what votes the person cast. they just don't count towards anyone's score, is my understanding.
and i wasn't going to post this, so as to not 'tip off' said trolls, ubt then again, i doubt they read the forums .. :P |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 03:01:35 PM · #10 |
In my past history, the 'troll code' usually causes between 5 and 15 votes to be discarded on my photos each week...
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 03:06:16 PM · #11 |
| Can we hear from the admins on this subject of a 1.661 vote average, and an illegal dated photo. |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 03:36:50 PM · #12 |
Surely if someone went around giving everyone a really bad score, regardless of the picture, it wouldn't really matter to the overall result. Maybe everyone will be a fraction of a point lower in score for the week, but if it's a global thing maybe its no great shakes.
On the other hand, people with absurdly low average voting scores should be treated in the same way as people trying to cheat with picture submissions, as it could also be seen as a form of cheating.
I've only been visiting here a few couple of weeks and I think it looks like a good site to learn from others and help me improve my novice photography skills. I wouldn't like to think that the enjoyment of the site could be marred by a few individuals.
I look forward to reading any comments I get for my submissions so I can see where I may be going wrong technically. I'm not too bothered about people who don't like what I've done in an artistic sense, because that is in the eye of the beholder after all.
* This message has been edited by the author on 11/19/2002 3:37:03 PM. |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 03:41:29 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by JEM:
Can we hear from the admins on this subject of a 1.661 vote average, and an illegal dated photo.
Well pretty much those votes would get thrown away every week anyway,
so would be unlikely to influence the final result.
Not sure of the precise decision pattern, nor will it likely be disclosed, but basically anything that is extreme, such as 1's for everything bar a couple of 10s or similar, will get discarded at the end of the week. |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 04:43:29 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Patella:
Just because I feel evil today...
Every week we have competent people who have taken competent photos who end up complaining about comments made by incompetent commenters (or substitute votes and voters if you like).
In other words, asinine commments on perfectly acceptable photos.
And every week, we have still more competent people who tell the photographers just to let it slide. To turn the other cheek if you'll pardon the overtly religious source of that phrase.
And every week, there's another batch of photographers who finally see the "wisdom" of this course of action and stop complaining about the dumb comments they've been getting. (At least, I assume so based on my own experience.)
I think we've all made a GARGANTUAN mistake.
I think we should turn on the dumb commenters en masse and route them out. Tar and feathers. Thumbscrews. Dunking chairs. Scold's bridles.
OK, seriously. I think we have a right and a need to be upset by people who say silly things about our work. I'm not talking a comment that offers a constructive, if impossible, alternative, but one that is either mean and nasty or simply misinformed. Maybe if people other than the photographer were to write them and politely and tactfully tell them why they were "wrong," they might learn something?
Man, does this sound like the good old USSR :) Remember what you loose, when you removed the unwanted opinions.
Just a thought.
* This message has been edited by the author on 11/19/2002 6:08:53 PM.
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 05:53:39 PM · #15 |
Perhaps I should share a technical device I have to deal with this kind of issue. I call it an "Idiot Filter (Patent pending)". Here's how it works...
When I see a comment that is less than helpful, rude, or otherwise just plain annoying, my mind doesn't actually see the comment anymore... Instead it is replaced with "Hi... I'm an idiot... Have a nice day..."
Works for me :)
I almost forgot! It works in the forums too :)
* This message has been edited by the author on 11/19/2002 5:51:24 PM.
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 06:08:02 PM · #16 |
OK, the spirit of this was lost -- but that's what happens in forums anyway. *grin*
I'm mostly joking, folks.
I DO think there are people who should be tarred and feathered for the comments they habitually leave.
I DO also believe that there are people who comment here, with the best of intentions, that could stand to learn a thing or two (about photography, about tact, about how to open their eyes and see, about a number of different things -- some of which they will hopefully pick up by participating on the site).
However, I had no intention of limiting anybody's voice, of changing the way things work, or of any other drastic action. Consider this a talentless Dave Barry-esque look at something we see every week. People commenting on comments--many of which hurt, but can be useful, and many of which are simply inane.
Something needs to change -- but it won't. Instead of the people commenting changing the way they comment, we're forced to have the artists change the way they feel about the comments they receive. Short of dictatorship, there isn't anyway to effectively patrol this kind of thing without limiting "free speech." I know this. That doesn't stop me from wanting people to police themselves.
PS:
Since I haven't submitted a photo for competition in donkey's years, I'm not currently lashing out in response to anything anyone has said to me -- this is all about comments I see on other people's work. (See the plagerism thread, or the DOF thread, or the B&W thread, or whichever thread is currently active in the Rant section if you want examples of some of the comments people are leaving.)
* This message has been edited by the author on 11/19/2002 6:05:45 PM.
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 10:07:27 PM · #17 |
I dunno....I think the best thing is to just ignore stupid, or insulting comments. If someone is barred from the site, they'll just rear up their ugly head with a new id.
If the admins can block the votes of offenders, without their knowledge, that would likely be quite effective without ticking anyone off.
If I find a comment offensive I could try to contact the person, but the troll may not even have left their email addie.
The real responsibility lies with those of us who want to work on keeping this site great by setting good examples, and carefully choosing our words when critiquing.
I had a comment once, by a regular dcper, calling my backdrop a "cheap little piece of cloth"...or something like that. My impulse was to blast them right back. But ya know what? I let it slide and I'm better for it. Actually...I haven't seen that person around lately...lol
Ok...I'm rambling...gotta run..... :-) I wanna keep my good rep...lol GRACIOUS
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 11:08:21 PM · #18 |
I don't understand the reasoning behind making the filter for low scores so secretive. If people know it's there, won't that dampen their enthusiasm for trolling the site? Won't that then cut down on the number of comments left by the types of people who score everything 1s and 2s?
Send an email to the people who get filtered or put it up in bold, red letters when they log in the next time, that says none of their votes counted. They'll realise they've just wasted their time giving out 300 1s. Isn't that justice? |
|
|
|
11/19/2002 11:21:09 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by lisae:
I don't understand the reasoning behind making the filter for low scores so secretive. If people know it's there, won't that dampen their enthusiasm for trolling the site? Won't that then cut down on the number of comments left by the types of people who score everything 1s and 2s?
Send an email to the people who get filtered or put it up in bold, red letters when they log in the next time, that says none of their votes counted. They'll realise they've just wasted their time giving out 300 1s. Isn't that justice?
Rock on! Let's brand 'em like Hester Prynne!
|
|
|
|
11/19/2002 11:40:58 PM · #20 |
I'll post my patented cure for some of this low vote or less than useful comment behaviour.
Here it comes...once again.
Make the the voting non-anonymous at the end of the week.
After all the voting let everyone see how each person voted on each photo, then the photographer could judge how his/her photo was received by different voters who have different styles and tastes. I believe this could accomplish several things.
1-Folks who might want some respect on their opinion about photos would realize they are going ot have their voting skills open to the public.
2-suspicion of vote rigging could maybe be diminished a bit.
3-Photographers could see how their photos rated with other photographers they feel akin to in approach, experience or overall personal opinion.
4-we could have a feeling of community built around thoughts of vote patterns and differences and use the week after voting to talk about said differences maybe to open up different paths of discussion and insight.
Anyway..just my routine open voting suggestion :-) |
|
|
|
11/20/2002 09:06:49 AM · #21 |
Lisa, Muckpond, and hokie....yeah...I see your points. I just hate to see trouble stirred up. But truly your points are well taken.
I guess I've never been much of a policy maker. I tend to just adapt. Not saying that's better or not...just me.
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/26/2025 05:09:14 PM EDT.
