HOW Helpful are YOUR Comments? - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

10/06/2006 10:41:16 PM · #26

Originally posted by Ivo:

... The biggest gripe I have about making comments is when your efforts are not even acknowledged...

I have a little different view...
I think I get as much out of studying and critiquing an image as the submitter, so if they don't achknowledge it then it doesn't matter. I don't check so only way I know if they read it if they PM me about it. And in those cases it always generates positive exchanges.

I think that more and better feedback back to the commenter that gets suggested periodically are unnecessary. Comments are for the benefit of the submitter, not to stroke our egos and that is all that a feedback system to commenters does.

The "helpful" checkbox is a useless, it is either habitually checked or habitually left uncheck. It provides no meaningful information and does little more than generate arguements. A more complex feedback mechanism would just generate different arguements.

tate

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

10/07/2006 10:08:37 PM · #27

-
You say "more arguments" as if it's a bad thing !! :P

Message edited by author 2006-10-07 22:08:54.

Traff

Nikon D200

10/28/2006 06:52:02 AM · #28

I agree totally with stdavidson on this one â�� flagging that you want a CC comment against your entry would indicate to the community that you are looking for constructive critique. Without that many people commenting are likely to play safe with their comments.

Iâ��m a newbie here and have just entered my first challenge â�� so far Iâ��ve received a handful of very pleasant comments and I really appreciate that those people took the time to drop in on my piece, and lets not forget we are a â��communityâ�� too so Iâ��m not dismissing â��chit chatâ�� comments as worthless - but the more constructive critique I get the more I can hope to improve and thatâ��s what I really want to be doing.

Personally Iâ��d feel very wary about passing constructive criticism on a piece in case it wasnâ��t wanted or welcomedâ�¦ if I knew they were asking specifically for an in depth critique from the CC Iâ��d be much more comfortable about throwing in my two pennyâ��s worth along the way.

Artifacts

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

10/28/2006 09:04:30 AM · #29

Originally posted by metatate:

I'm gonna guess this has been brought up before ... Maybe instead of saying whether a comment was simply "helpful", we can rate comments - say 1-5 as far as how helpful they are....
I realize there are drawbacks to this idea... OR maybe comments will become more helpful because people want to have a good helpfullness percentage..

Any thoughts?

You wild and crazy Davidson's are always trying to stir up the pot, aren't you? LOL!

Prof_Fate

10/28/2006 09:12:31 AM · #30

this is a warm and fuzzy community, so may comments on my train entry are 'wow' or 'good timing' - nice to get but not helpful in bettering my photography. In this case I don't care (i'll be posting a thread after the cahllenge about it) but usually I want to know WHY they didn't like it or thought it was a lousy shot (if you didn't give me 6 or more you thought it was pretty bad so tell me why!).

If i comment i try to give some hint why i thought it was sub par, and at times say what i think needs to be done to make it better.

If the photog wants more info on 'needs some usm' or 'low in contrast' then THEY need to search out what that means - PM me, or ask in the forums or google it. Many folks on the net these days don't want to do any work to get the answers - it's not too common here but on some forums it's outta hand.

strangeghost

Canon EOS-7D

10/28/2006 10:42:25 AM · #31

snaffles

Nikon D7100

10/28/2006 10:54:50 AM · #32

As a relative newcomer to dpc, I find it useful when I get, say, 5 out of 10 comments telling me the same thing - ie a crop is too tight as I got in Oxymoron - but have no time for those who even bother to write asinine remarks, ie 'This sucks'. If it sucks, then at least say why - don't like the pp? Been traumatized by a Mini? Then just effing say so.

In terms of posting comments myself, I would do it more if I simply had the time. And being an emotive sort myself, yes, I often do write 'Wow' or 'Great shot' when I see one. And yes it means good things, usually a score of at least 7. If even I can see a pic is oof, I may say so; a pic I don't care for has to evoke a pretty visceral reaction from me to garner a comment.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

10/28/2006 11:57:34 AM · #33

Originally posted by metatate:

...For Example: I like an image but think that it suffers from a little blur and a little noise ...
Should I say:
"Nice",
or
"Too much noise",
or
"I really like your choice of subject here and you POV. I think it might be a stronger photo if you used a tri-pod or still surface and allowed the shutter to stay open a bit longer - while keeping the ISO at the lowest setting"...

I'd rather read what you think (or feel), as you started out without translating it into what you might think the reader may wish to hear. If you think "I like [an] image but think that it suffers from a little blur and a little noise ...", It would be fine for a comment, in my book, except that adding why you like that image and why you feel that the blur/noise may not be appropriate for it would be even better.

pawdrix

Nikon D700

10/28/2006 12:33:42 PM · #34

I find that many people mention noise or blur too often as if it were a bad thing. I for example, like some noise every now and then.

I enjoy or appreciate comments when the viewer assumes that I did something with intent and then move on to how it makes them feel or how it affects the image.

snaffles

Nikon D7100

10/28/2006 01:59:13 PM · #35

See, a big part of why I rarely comment, I don't know the terminology...I'm just a canucklehead...ie I know what blur is all too well, but what exactly is Noise? I know it's a PS filter, but haven't used it yet.

Sheryll

10/28/2006 03:48:45 PM · #36

I too am a relative newcomer and have checked the box for in depth comment but, didn't get one from checking that box. On my second challenge entry I got an in dept comment but, it was spurred by an original comment that I replied to and thru that exchange I was left a long and very helpful comment from someone who is also in the critique club.

I think this thread is attempting to decide first whether there is an issue about comments that needs resolution and second how to resolve it. The first problem could be done by SC via a poll like they did on rule 2 to see what most people think so here's my input on a resolution.

There were a couple of great ideas here. One of them showed a different set of check boxes which is along the lines of what I was thinking. What about changing the boxes to "helpful" "unhelpful and "general/other"

When the unhelpful button is chosen you are forced to PM the commentor to leave a reason why it wasn't helpful such as "You said my photo was '...' but I don't know how to fix that." The General would be for those comments like "Wow" which may not fit into either category but is still a welcome comment.

As a comment recipient I can already promote discussion by replying through PM but as a commenter if the helpful block isn't checked then I don't know if it was because it was "UN" helpful or if it was just viewed and appreciated or even if it was read at all.

I think if people knew how their comments were received or if they're making any difference then they would leave more comments. If they just don't have time fine but at least those who do take the time would have a better idea of how their comments are received.

Maybe after a while then there could be some sort of reward for those who leave helpful comments. Obviously "unhelpful" would be bad, General would be fine or mediocre, and Helpful would be best. Who knows could even become a little side challenge or a goal someone aspires to.

Sorry it was long but that's my two cents.... I want to improve so getting comments on how to do that is what I'm looking for. In fact my bio pretty much says so.

Traff

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

10/28/2006 04:17:30 PM · #37

Following on from my earlier postâ�¦ I just did my first shot at voting/commenting and did indeed find it very intimidating to leave constructive crits not knowing if they would be welcomedâ�¦ there were plenty of images I felt could have been improved by considering such things as crop / composition etc. but I didnâ��t know if my comments would be considered presumptuous. If there had been an indication that the photographer welcomed constructive crits Iâ��d have felt much happier about offering my suggestions.

Personally Iâ��m desperate to receive as many and varied crits on my work as I can â�� theyâ��re much more meaningful than an arbitrary score â�� and though Iâ��d welcome an in-depth crit from the CC, a range of â��simpleâ�� crits from members would be just as rewarding.

I really do feel

stdavidsonâ��s suggestion to flag photoâ��s looking for crits could only be of benefit â�� I can see no downside to the suggestion at all - it would help encourage the leaving of constructive critiques/comments, making DPC a much more productive environment, and it would be very simple to implement.

wavelength

Nikon D300

10/28/2006 04:24:22 PM · #38

This issue has always been hilarious to me, but I guess I'm just used to spouting off my opinions without giving a crap that you like it or not.

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

10/28/2006 04:27:42 PM · #39

Originally posted by Traff:

Personally Iâ��m desperate to receive as many and varied crits on my work as I can â�� theyâ��re much more meaningful than an arbitrary score â�� and though Iâ��d welcome an in-depth crit from the CC, a range of â��simpleâ�� crits from members would be just as rewarding.

Umm, not to be contrary (yeah right) but if you want a crit so bad, you may want to enter a challenge or something more often ;O) (I can see from your 6 comments that you have recently taken this endeavor, yes)

Traff

Nikon D200

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM

10/29/2006 06:14:55 AM · #40

Well, maybe â��desperate wasnâ��t quite the right word :) Maybe â��eagerâ�� would have been more appropriate. And yes, after weeks of loitering with intent around the corridors of DPC I finally submitted to my first challenge.
Truth is Iâ��m not a naturally â��competitiveâ�� person (so right, Iâ��m not looking to make a living as a commercial photographer!) so I had doubts as to whether DPC would be the right environment for me â�� but truth is I enjoyed the challenge immensely, it pushed me into thinking in ways I wouldnâ��t normally stretch myselfâ�¦ and even the score total will be kinda motivating as a way of monitoring my own progress (at least within this community) in future challenges. But the score total alone doesnâ��t tell me how I could improve the image â�� comments mean a lot to me.
Having said that â�� and by way of a slight contradiction I guess, probably the most rewarding way to understand my own photos is to study and critique other peoples work â�� and to note the critiques left on other peoples work too â�� at the end of the day furthering your own work requires a lot of self-help â�� you canâ��t sit back and just expect someone else to tell you how to take better photoâ��s itâ��s far more meaningful if you work out how to take better photoâ��s yourself.
Hmmm have I just shot myself in the foot?

cloudsme

Canon EOS R5

10/29/2006 07:17:37 AM · #41

It seems to me that some like encouraging comments and others like constructive criticism. I think we should have a preference choice that shows up with our photo. That way we could guide the tone of our comments. There should be a check box if you have read a comment. Maybe a second if you found the comment helpful. I myself would like constructive criticism and now check almost all the comments as helpful because I appreciate the efforts it takes to make comments.

Sheryll