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09/14/2004 12:20:54 AM · #1
Is it acceptible to respond to comments offered on my backlighting photo? You would know who I am at that point right? I appreciate those that respond to my comments, but do you realize that people can change how they rated your photo right up until the challenge ends? You may not want to respond to comments while the challenge is ongoing. On the other hand, I think if I could respond to those that have been left for me, it would help present a reason behind why I did what I did!
09/14/2004 12:29:39 AM · #2
Originally posted by luv2photo:

Is it acceptible to respond to comments offered on my backlighting photo? You would know who I am at that point right? I appreciate those that respond to my comments, but do you realize that people can change how they rated your photo right up until the challenge ends? You may not want to respond to comments while the challenge is ongoing. On the other hand, I think if I could respond to those that have been left for me, it would help present a reason behind why I did what I did!


Interesting point. I respond to some of my comments and I see my few 2-5 responses as a minor segment of the voting population. Overall though, I find it respectful to reply to especially insightful and educational comments. It's always nice to let others know that taking an extra minute to comment had a positive impact.
09/14/2004 12:32:51 AM · #3
To me, if a photo requires explanation for a challenge, it's that much weaker for it. The photo should stand on its own.
09/14/2004 12:42:45 AM · #4
Originally posted by Spazmo99:

To me, if a photo requires explanation for a challenge, it's that much weaker for it. The photo should stand on its own.

Not if it was intentionally done to hide a defect in the subject, and it really does not take AWAY from the photo.
09/14/2004 12:45:46 AM · #5
When you get comments like this: "well this seems sunlight not the backlight." It is very difficult to hold your tongue.

This fella is under the impression that sunlight cannot be the backlight in a photo. While I appreciate the time taken to make a comment, and understand that I cannot change the vote, I feel it necessary to try to explain. I can't keep quiet while someone marks down my photo for clearly misunderstanding the concept of the challenge.

I had several photos to choose from for this one, and chose the one that was the most obviously backlit simply to avoid any confusion!
Go figure.
09/15/2004 10:01:21 AM · #6
I say if you got something to say then say it. I never ever hide what is on my mind and for this people tend to respect me but others thend to hate me cuz I say usually what has to or needs to be said. If you wanna respond on a comment the I say go for it cuz if they make it lower then whocares. Just make sure you like what you shoot and have fun shooting just don't mark their comment as useful.
09/15/2004 10:11:11 AM · #7
I was receiving quite a few comments about the dark eyes on my dog Reece. Reece is an old dog and is completely blind, which means her pupils stay dialated and shining light in her eyes would have revealed this and the forming cataracts. I think that would have taken more away from the photo of her then the darkness of her eyes, which truly are as black as they appear in the photo.

Thank you all for the wonderful comments and compliments though! She is a dog that was adopted from a local rescue league 10 years ago. She was an adult when we got her, so we are not certain of her age, but I have always said, "I cannot believe someone gave up such a great dog!" She does that pose naturally, of course I have NEVER been able to photograph it quite like this. She usually shies away from having her picture taken. Normally, she has a look of nervousness in her face when I do this, like she is being punished. For some reason, while I was taking her picture, she just crossed her legs and put that chin up!

09/15/2004 10:18:13 AM · #8
as much as I don't like cat dog or kid shots this happens to be a really well rounded shot and very well done. I say reply to the people that piss you off and let them know. people don't always like my coments but at least I didn't lie or spare their feelings.
09/15/2004 10:26:58 AM · #9
This was my alternate choice for the challenge that resulted from shooting my dogs, but the photo of Reece alone captured sooo much of her personality.


09/15/2004 10:29:58 AM · #10
Originally posted by luv2photo:

She usually shies away from having her picture taken. Normally, she has a look of nervousness in her face when I do this, like she is being punished.


How does she know that you're taking her picture?

Nice shot, by the way.

Message edited by author 2004-09-15 10:30:13.
09/15/2004 10:31:00 AM · #11
Originally posted by notonline:

as much as I don't like cat dog or kid shots this happens to be a really well rounded shot and very well done. I say reply to the people that piss you off and let them know. people don't always like my coments but at least I didn't lie or spare their feelings.


If someone makes a comment that "pisses you off" you have three choices.

1.) Respond and let them know you're pissed.
2.) Respond and explain, gently, why you disagree with their conclusion
3.) Ignore the comment, realize they are one of approx. 200 votes.

Choice one is obviously bad. It's childish, solves nothing, and just begs them to lower their vote. Choice 2 takes the moral high road, but can be construed as "please change your vote!" Choice 3, while difficult, is the best path to take when a comment really has no content other than to provoke. This is rare in my experience.
You also have another choice. Take path 2, but delay until after the end of the challenge. This avoids the "vote pandering" dilemma, and still provides feedback to the commentor. This is also a great way to go with those particularly helpful comments; if you feel that thanks is required, do wait until after the challenge. The anonymity of voting at DPC is one of the things that make it a great site.
09/15/2004 10:32:31 AM · #12
Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Originally posted by luv2photo:

She usually shies away from having her picture taken. Normally, she has a look of nervousness in her face when I do this, like she is being punished.


How does she know that you're taking her picture?

Nice shot, by the way.


Thanks! I haven't tried this in quite awhile, not since she went blind. That may be exactly why I was lucky at getting this one! She is pretty good about hearing movement though, she knew I was up to something.
09/15/2004 06:28:20 PM · #13
This one won't let me take her picture any more. Sees the camera and runs and hides. Took the photo close up with a flash. :-)


09/15/2004 06:46:00 PM · #14
I often reply to comments during a challenge. I've had questions on how it was done, and I don't care if they change their vote because they know who took the photo. I'm here to learn new techniques, to get ideas, and to motivate myself to be more creative. And I'm also here to share my ideas and techniques with others in this community.
09/15/2004 08:30:48 PM · #15
Originally posted by mhoogendyk:

This one won't let me take her picture any more. Sees the camera and runs and hides. Took the photo close up with a flash. :-)



Well, you know mhoogendyk, I expect that if someone exploded a flash right in front of your eyes unexpectedly, you would run and hide the next time and the time after that too.

It's a pretty little dog...
09/15/2004 08:50:03 PM · #16
If someone asks me a question, I usually reply during the challenge. Or to clarify something like in the backlighting challenge. Two people made comments on my emu
thinking it might be Pedro's emu
from the previous challenge so I let them know that Pedro's emu lives on the opposite coast from mine.

And, of course, Pedro's emu is a ribbon winner and mine isn't but I think they are both quite handsome birds. :)
09/15/2004 11:07:48 PM · #17
Originally posted by ericlimon:

I often reply to comments during a challenge. I've had questions on how it was done, and I don't care if they change their vote because they know who took the photo. I'm here to learn new techniques, to get ideas, and to motivate myself to be more creative. And I'm also here to share my ideas and techniques with others in this community.


That's nice for you, --that you don't care if someone changes a vote on your entry-- but what about the other people who have entered? It's not at all fair to them unless each has the same opportunity to PM the commenter with additional info to perhaps secure an improved score. There is never a good reason to blow off the anonymity of the challenge. When you surrender your integrity it affects everyone in the challenge. By doing that you are giving away something that does not belong to you. Anything that needs to be said can wait until the voting closes.
09/15/2004 11:19:45 PM · #18
Originally posted by coolhar:

Originally posted by ericlimon:

I often reply to comments during a challenge. I've had questions on how it was done, and I don't care if they change their vote because they know who took the photo. I'm here to learn new techniques, to get ideas, and to motivate myself to be more creative. And I'm also here to share my ideas and techniques with others in this community.


That's nice for you, --that you don't care if someone changes a vote on your entry-- but what about the other people who have entered? It's not at all fair to them unless each has the same opportunity to PM the commenter with additional info to perhaps secure an improved score. There is never a good reason to blow off the anonymity of the challenge. When you surrender your integrity it affects everyone in the challenge. By doing that you are giving away something that does not belong to you. Anything that needs to be said can wait until the voting closes.


How does it affect you if I reply to a comment made to me?
You can PM anyone you want to if they comment on your photo. It will not affect me at all. My replying to comments does not affect you either. I'm not "surrendering my integrity" at all. You need to explain yourself better if your gonna charge me with blowing it for everyone else.
09/16/2004 12:03:33 AM · #19
Before everyone gets all hot and bothered, this is an ongoing topic here, with MANY previous threads ... (try a forum search!)

The bottom line is that it is perfectly "legal" to PM any member at any time, but it is not OK to attempt to manipulate or sway the vote. As with the voting systems, some will do it one way and some another with the site admins' blessing, so let's "escalate" the matter ...

Personally, if a commenter asks a direct question and seems to want a quick response, I'll reply during the challenge. Otherwise I will PM them afterwards, and/or respond to their comment directly in the photo's discussion thread.
09/16/2004 01:16:33 AM · #20
Originally posted by sfalice:

Well, you know mhoogendyk, I expect that if someone exploded a flash right in front of your eyes unexpectedly, you would run and hide the next time and the time after that too.
It's a pretty little dog...


Well, sfalice, that's exactly what happened. And Lucy (the pretty little dog) thanks you for the compliment. My daughter, who owns Lucy (if that's possible), thinks the image makes Lucy out to be "Devil Dog" and really doesn't like it. :-)
09/16/2004 06:10:59 AM · #21
I'm interested too in this question.. I've got a few comments now and some of them seem to see things in my photo..THAT AREN'T THERE!!! They obviously voted by their insight too, and now I'm getting curious about what and where it exactly is in my photo that they see the things (and they all see different things too!!! :) ) but I'm having second thoughts about commenting back during the challenge...I don't want to influence them, but on the other hand I do want to influence them, since I find it unfair the way they've voted..oh wel...not that my scores would fire up or anything if they'd voted higher..but still...
09/16/2004 07:59:29 AM · #22
i have an opinion on this, but i'll wait until after the challenge to express it...
09/16/2004 09:32:49 AM · #23
Originally posted by ericlimon:

How does it affect you if I reply to a comment made to me?
You can PM anyone you want to if they comment on your photo. It will not affect me at all. My replying to comments does not affect you either. I'm not "surrendering my integrity" at all. You need to explain yourself better if your gonna charge me with blowing it for everyone else.


If a voter makes a comment and you respond in a way that convinces the voter to go back and review your entry again, and then the voter raises their vote by a point or two, you have given yourself an advantage in the challenge not shared by all the other entrants. That one point may move you ahead of a couple of others in the final rankings. It could conceivably determine a ribbon. Under the present system it is impossible, and probably not desirable, to prevent voters from making comments that will benefit both the voter and the entering photographer when there is a response. And there are voters who will comment in a fashion deliberately intended to elicit a response (trolls?) such comments in the form of a question. Responding to comments during voting is a method that could be used to intentionally cheat. Every time someone who does not intend to cheat responds to a comment they group themselves with those who do cheat. If you respond to a comment during voting no one will know for sure that you didn't intend to influence the vote. If you wait until after voting and then respond everyone will know that you declined an opportunity to influence the vote and respected the integrity of the challenge. What could possibly be so important that you feel compelled to respond immediately instead of waiting a few days? Unless, of course, you are trying to get the voter to understand your entry better, trying to get them to look more favorably at it with added information about what you had in mind when you entered, or to get them to raise their vote. There a lot of ways of saying it that sound innocent but they all come down to the same thing in the end. Therefore, we must rely on each person to refrain from this type of activity, an Honor System if you like to think of it that way. Your entry is an image and it's title. Let it be judged on it's own merit, not on your willingness or ability to talk it up.

If you don't understand the ethics of it, think about this. There is always the chance that the person who made the comment will not like your explanation, or perceive it as you trying to get them to raise their vote, and react negatively. They may go back and lower their vote by a point or two, or maybe lower it all the way down to a one.
09/16/2004 09:47:04 AM · #24
here's and Idea for you coolhar.

why don't you request that the administrators remove the name of the commentor during a challenge instead of telling me that I'm trying to intentionally cheat? I'm willing to bet that way over half of all entrants have commented during a challenge, not just me.
09/16/2004 11:05:30 AM · #25
Originally posted by ericlimon:

here's and Idea for you coolhar.

why don't you request that the administrators remove the name of the commentor during a challenge instead of telling me that I'm trying to intentionally cheat? I'm willing to bet that way over half of all entrants have commented during a challenge, not just me.


First of all, I did not say you were intentionally trying to cheat. I said that by repsonding to comments during voting you put yourself in a group with those that are. A group that is defined as people who respond to comments during voting.

As for removing the name of the commenter during voting- that is a change that has been talked about a lot in the forums for quite some time, with sentiments being about evenly divided. My understanding is that the original voting system for dpc was set up that way, that comments were anonymous until voting was over, and then the commenter's name was revealed. I believe it was changed at a time when the dpc community was very much smaller and there was a very high level of trust among challenge participants. As the community has grown it becomes increasingly difficult to rely on people's good intentions. I would very much like to see a return to the original system where comments were anonymous until after the voting is done, and have stated so many times in these forums.

But, in the meantime, we can all conduct ourselves in a manner that discourages cheating. One way to do that is to refrain from replying to comments until after voting is finished. To act, or advocate, otherwise gives cover to those with less than honorable intentions.
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