16.09.2008, 14:10
OK, here's my three cents, Guys...
I think it needs to be clearly understood that going down this road will change the fundamental nature of this forum forever and, IMHO, not for the better. I say this having been involved with sites and forums where this kind of thing was in place.
1- The operant word here is "competition". Do you really want to make competition an integral part of this forum? What are the pros and cons of introducing formal competition?
2- I've never seen a competition that worked well. What I have seen is that when members vote on which is best, the whole thing becomes a question of who has the most friends who will vote for them. When an individual or individuals decide which images have the most merit, human nature and personal taste comes into play. Then we get into, "It's not really a great image but Joe has improved so much."
3- I was charged with awarding image kudos in a forum. The number of unforseen problems which arise are myriad. For example, how are you going to deal with a situation where members are calling for an image to be in the "Hall of Fame"? Want an ethical dilemma? Either you put the image in, even though you don't think that it's deserving, or you stand your ground and refuse to put it in. What kind of fallout do you think comes from that? I know what kind of fallout comes because I've been there, done that.
4- When you get into competitions, people's images are, by necessity, formally judged, hopefully by some more or less objective standards. We have "not good", "good", "better", "best". Is formal judgement what we want this forum to be about? What are the merits of passing judgement on member's images?
5- As I have said many times before, there are already plenty of image sites where there are awards and competitions. There are already more than enough image sites where the undrlying premise of the site and the forums is "improvement". Do we really need more of that? If folks really crave that kind of thing then why not post at those sites instead?
6- Lastly, what is unique about this forum? What is unique about this forum, and what sets it apart from other image forums, is that there are no competitions. There is no "Hall of Fame". There is no formal judgement of images which members post. There is just members posting all sorts of different images; online screenies with text, offline screenies, edited screenies, composites and works of art. All are equally welcome. Anyone at any level can post and have fun. They don't have to be concerned about whether or not their images are "good enough" to post. They don't have to be concerned about their images being judged, picked apart and evaluated. Images posted here have merit simply because a member has made them and posted them.
We already encounter competition, judgement and evaluation in many aspects of our lives. Do we need more of that or do we really need some places where we can be free of such things and simply have fun? Is this forum to duplicate that which already exists or is it to maintain it's unique identity? Do we feel compelled to do things as other image forums do or can we go our own way and follow our own unique path? Are we going to duplicate that which already exists or are we going to offer an alternative choice?
I think it needs to be clearly understood that going down this road will change the fundamental nature of this forum forever and, IMHO, not for the better. I say this having been involved with sites and forums where this kind of thing was in place.
1- The operant word here is "competition". Do you really want to make competition an integral part of this forum? What are the pros and cons of introducing formal competition?
2- I've never seen a competition that worked well. What I have seen is that when members vote on which is best, the whole thing becomes a question of who has the most friends who will vote for them. When an individual or individuals decide which images have the most merit, human nature and personal taste comes into play. Then we get into, "It's not really a great image but Joe has improved so much."
3- I was charged with awarding image kudos in a forum. The number of unforseen problems which arise are myriad. For example, how are you going to deal with a situation where members are calling for an image to be in the "Hall of Fame"? Want an ethical dilemma? Either you put the image in, even though you don't think that it's deserving, or you stand your ground and refuse to put it in. What kind of fallout do you think comes from that? I know what kind of fallout comes because I've been there, done that.
4- When you get into competitions, people's images are, by necessity, formally judged, hopefully by some more or less objective standards. We have "not good", "good", "better", "best". Is formal judgement what we want this forum to be about? What are the merits of passing judgement on member's images?
5- As I have said many times before, there are already plenty of image sites where there are awards and competitions. There are already more than enough image sites where the undrlying premise of the site and the forums is "improvement". Do we really need more of that? If folks really crave that kind of thing then why not post at those sites instead?
6- Lastly, what is unique about this forum? What is unique about this forum, and what sets it apart from other image forums, is that there are no competitions. There is no "Hall of Fame". There is no formal judgement of images which members post. There is just members posting all sorts of different images; online screenies with text, offline screenies, edited screenies, composites and works of art. All are equally welcome. Anyone at any level can post and have fun. They don't have to be concerned about whether or not their images are "good enough" to post. They don't have to be concerned about their images being judged, picked apart and evaluated. Images posted here have merit simply because a member has made them and posted them.
We already encounter competition, judgement and evaluation in many aspects of our lives. Do we need more of that or do we really need some places where we can be free of such things and simply have fun? Is this forum to duplicate that which already exists or is it to maintain it's unique identity? Do we feel compelled to do things as other image forums do or can we go our own way and follow our own unique path? Are we going to duplicate that which already exists or are we going to offer an alternative choice?