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DPChallenge Forums >> Web Site Suggestions >> Make "Number of Comments" visable while voting
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05/02/2008 08:28:54 AM · #1
I was wondering if the following would help improve the quantity (and perhaps quality) of the comments during voting.

Have "Number of Comments" visable on the voting screen and perhaps the thumbnail screen. This way if I give a photo a low score and I see there have been few comments, then I will make sure to leave one about why I voted low. Sometimes I "assume" that others have commented about flaws/improvements and I do not want to beat a dead horse. Conversely, if I vote someone high and there are tons of comments then I know it has been covered, but if only a few comments have been made, then maybe I'll leave a comment to say what I found so great about it.

Do you think this would lead to more comments? Better comments?
Is there a downside?

-Bob
05/02/2008 08:41:22 AM · #2
Originally posted by bobnospum:

This way if I give a photo a low score and I see there have been few comments, then I will make sure to leave one about why I voted low. Sometimes I "assume" that others have commented about flaws/improvements and I do not want to beat a dead horse. Conversely, if I vote someone high and there are tons of comments then I know it has been covered, but if only a few comments have been made, then maybe I'll leave a comment to say what I found so great about it.


My initial reaction is ... BRILLIANT :-) It would be wonderfully useful to me in spreading out my comments for the reasons you cited.
05/02/2008 08:48:59 AM · #3
I think it is a good great idea. If I am pressed for time while voting, I will often skip leaving a comment on the entries that I expect have already gotten a bunch. It's not always the case, though. My recent macro entry scored fairly high, but only got 4 comments during voting. Knowing this for sure would benefit both the entrant and the commenter.

05/02/2008 08:51:28 AM · #4
Wow, I wonder why no one thought of this before.
05/02/2008 08:55:11 AM · #5
Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?
05/02/2008 08:59:48 AM · #6
Originally posted by Jac:

Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?


No-one is stopping you from giving a brilliant entry a commend regardless of the comment count. If it is brilliant then go ahead and leave one. I think the OP was talking about images that need feedback help not the brilliant ones.
05/02/2008 09:01:30 AM · #7
It seems to me it would unfairly draw attention to select photos (those near the top and bottom of the heap).

05/02/2008 09:04:04 AM · #8
Originally posted by Gotaka:

Originally posted by Jac:

Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?


No-one is stopping you from giving a brilliant entry a commend regardless of the comment count. If it is brilliant then go ahead and leave one. I think the OP was talking about images that need feedback help not the brilliant ones.


I understand what the OP was saying.

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote. You're giving information to people that is not needed when we're in the context of a vote. By displaying the number of comments you give the voter information that can bias his vote, whether it's giving a comment to a low scorer or giving a comment to a great photograph.

Message edited by author 2008-05-02 09:07:21.
05/02/2008 09:10:54 AM · #9
Originally posted by Jac:

Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?


Comments are NOT votes. And the comments of Jeremiah Wright have already done (proper) damage to Obama. :)

Message edited by author 2008-05-02 09:11:05.
05/02/2008 09:11:58 AM · #10
Originally posted by Jac:

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote.


I don't think it would change my voting; I vote in the order images are presented for the most part. But when I am pressed for time and can't comment on everything I vote on it would highlight all those shots that are scoring in the 5's somewhere and have no comments. Ideally I comment on everything I vote on, but ... reality sometimes takes precedence.

I've thought about it some more and I still like the idea a lot!
05/02/2008 09:15:21 AM · #11
Originally posted by Jac:

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote.


You're suggesting it would be an aid to cherry picking? Hmm. There's no real knowing how many people do this. I generally start off by clicking one image at or near the beginning of the thumbnail page, and then just take them in the order they are given.

The comment quantity could be displayed on the voting page for the image, but NOT on the thumbnail page. That would probably get around the suggested problem.

But is cherry picking really going on? If there is a huge disparity in numbers of votes between entries that may be an indicator, but if they are within a handful of each other, that tells me the voting opportunities are being fairly distributed.

Message edited by author 2008-05-02 09:16:08.
05/02/2008 09:20:58 AM · #12
Originally posted by yospiff:

Originally posted by Jac:

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote.


You're suggesting it would be an aid to cherry picking? Hmm. There's no real knowing how many people do this. I generally start off by clicking one image at or near the beginning of the thumbnail page, and then just take them in the order they are given.

The comment quantity could be displayed on the voting page for the image, but NOT on the thumbnail page. That would probably get around the suggested problem.

But is cherry picking really going on? If there is a huge disparity in numbers of votes between entries that may be an indicator, but if they are within a handful of each other, that tells me the voting opportunities are being fairly distributed.


I'm not saying it's happening now yospiff but it will with this info added. Your suggestion would curtail what I'm talking about a little though. As for voting I start with the first image and go on until i'm bored, I don't choose thumbnails to vote on. I try to vote on all images, no matter their quality.
05/02/2008 09:22:26 AM · #13
Originally posted by citymars:

It seems to me it would unfairly draw attention to select photos (those near the top and bottom of the heap).

I agree. At first I thought this was a good idea, but after giving it a moment of thought I think seeing the number of comments that images have while voting could influence voting. If an image is shot pretty well and has a boatload of comments, it's usually an indicator that the image will place quite high when the voting is done. Meaning that image "connected" with the voters...it would certainly give those "trolling" extra info that's not helpful to the participating community at large.
05/02/2008 09:40:32 AM · #14
I like the idea. I have often wondered if I should leave an image what might just be the umpteenth comment about what I think is an obvious flaw. If I knew the image had none or only a few comments, I would be more likely to leave one.

That said, I do think that there is potential for skewing results and/or voting. If I saw an image had 24 comments by day 3 I'd know that it was destined for the top 20...and who wants to miss the party?

So I'd suggest that in addition to putting the number of comments received on the voting page (and not on the thumbnails), maybe the text could read something like "This image has between 0 and 5 comments." After an image has received more than 5 comments the text could change to something else. (Not sure what, yet.) But we'd only ever know about the lack comments not the excess.

Message edited by author 2008-05-02 09:41:45.
05/02/2008 09:44:35 AM · #15
As an alternative solution, perhaps instead of " number of comments," have only an indication if the image has "no" comments.
That way if you want to vote it high or low, it would be helpful to know if no one has commented on the image yet. That might encourage me to leave feedback about the strong or weak point of the image.
05/02/2008 09:58:50 AM · #16
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:

As an alternative solution, perhaps instead of " number of comments," have only an indication if the image has "no" comments.
That way if you want to vote it high or low, it would be helpful to know if no one has commented on the image yet. That might encourage me to leave feedback about the strong or weak point of the image.


That a great idea!

I really like the OP's suggestion. The only problem is that some may be swayed from leaving a comment if there are already "enough".
05/02/2008 10:06:47 AM · #17
Perhaps a simple "less than three" and "three or more" would suffice. That way it wouldn't be as likely to skew voting - if a shot has 25 comments, one could, as others have said, infer that it's a ribbon winner. But a range would be nice. If I hit a shot that's middle of the pack in my vote, and it has less than three comments, I might be more inclined to leave a comment as to why, since it's the middle of the pack shots that garner the least amount of comments.
05/02/2008 10:08:03 AM · #18
Originally posted by Jac:

Originally posted by Gotaka:

Originally posted by Jac:

Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?


No-one is stopping you from giving a brilliant entry a commend regardless of the comment count. If it is brilliant then go ahead and leave one. I think the OP was talking about images that need feedback help not the brilliant ones.


I understand what the OP was saying.

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote. You're giving information to people that is not needed when we're in the context of a vote. By displaying the number of comments you give the voter information that can bias his vote, whether it's giving a comment to a low scorer or giving a comment to a great photograph.


It is the difference between wanting to help everyone learn or make the already good photographers better.
05/02/2008 10:38:34 AM · #19
Originally posted by citymars:

It seems to me it would unfairly draw attention to select photos (those near the top and bottom of the heap).


That's a very good point. My average comment/image received is around 6, but for my recent ribbon winner in Odd II had 19 and my current Health Food entry which currently has a score around 7.6 has 21 comments. It would be very easy to tell which images are going to win just by looking at the number of comments and that could influence voting.
05/02/2008 10:52:25 AM · #20
Originally posted by Gotaka:

Originally posted by Jac:

Originally posted by Gotaka:

Originally posted by Jac:

Good idea but I think it'll punish some images that deserve the comments because they're outstanding photos.

I think it'll make some people skip giving a comment because they'll notice the image already has a few comments. I don't mind giving comments to an image that already has many, if it deserves it, why not?

I feel it will unfairly place some images in a position where they have enough comments already, so I'll skip it.

You can't add information like that while voting, it's not fair to everyone. Would you like to know how many votes Obama will be at when you go voting this Nov.? Wouldn't it influence your vote?


No-one is stopping you from giving a brilliant entry a commend regardless of the comment count. If it is brilliant then go ahead and leave one. I think the OP was talking about images that need feedback help not the brilliant ones.


I understand what the OP was saying.

My point is that it'll make some people vote on some images and skip others and that's not fairplay when it comes to a vote. You're giving information to people that is not needed when we're in the context of a vote. By displaying the number of comments you give the voter information that can bias his vote, whether it's giving a comment to a low scorer or giving a comment to a great photograph.


It is the difference between wanting to help everyone learn or make the already good photographers better.


I would have to say that generally speaking, the comments on higher scoring images aren't entirely helpful. They are more complementary in nature.

However I do agree that it might lend to cherry picking which I really dislike. I've been on another site where that's ALL that happens and 95% of the comments are the fluffy "Nice picture" variety.

One thing that would be nice is to be able to go back after voting is done and sort the images by the number of comments so you can come back and provide feedback.

One more thing? There is the critique club and then you can provide good detailed constructive feedback on an image. Yes this is after voting is done too but to the person receiving the comments? Are the comments really any more helpful during voting as opposed to after it? Personally, I think that people feel compelled to comment during votinng. Its when someone comes back to comment where I appreciate it the most.

Message edited by author 2008-05-02 10:53:51.
05/02/2008 10:54:01 AM · #21
I think a range would be good, and only on the page with the actual photo, not in the thumbnail view. I often don't leave a comment if I think the flaws are obvious and assume some comments have already been made. If I saw "This image has less than 5 comments" I would be much more likely to leave a comment.
05/02/2008 11:38:21 PM · #22
Thanks for all the great responses.

Using a range makes a lots of sense. How about having one of the following 4 statement placed in the voting screen:

This photo has no comments.
This photo has few comments.
This photo has several comments.
This photo has many comments.

I would calculate "few", "several", and "many" by percentage of voters who commented, so it would be valid and useful over the entire week of voting. Someone at DPC could come up with good percentages based on voting stats of past challenges. My guess at a good percentage (from looking at some of my photos) would be few is < 2.5%, several would be <= 5%, and many would be > 5%.

Hopefully these categories would be general enough to not identify the "great" photos and lead to "following the herd" voting patterns.

-Bob

PS: If anyone has a better title for "many" I'll take it. We still want people to comment if they want and "many" sounds like they need not comment :)
05/02/2008 11:45:07 PM · #23
Originally posted by bobnospum:

Thanks for all the great responses.

Using a range makes a lots of sense. How about having one of the following 4 statement placed in the voting screen:

This photo has no comments.
This photo has few comments.
This photo has several comments.
This photo has many comments.

I would calculate "few", "several", and "many" by percentage of voters who commented, so it would be valid and useful over the entire week of voting. Someone at DPC could come up with good percentages based on voting stats of past challenges. My guess at a good percentage (from looking at some of my photos) would be few is < 2.5%, several would be <= 5%, and many would be > 5%.

Hopefully these categories would be general enough to not identify the "great" photos and lead to "following the herd" voting patterns.

-Bob

PS: If anyone has a better title for "many" I'll take it. We still want people to comment if they want and "many" sounds like they need not comment :)


As has already been pointed out, the images that get the most comments tend to be the ones at the top and at the bottom of the pack. So as not to skew voting indicating that an image has no comments I think would be the only viable option though that could possibly skew voting as well.
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