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03/29/2011 10:32:43 AM · #1 |
This is sort of a breakaway thread from this that I intended to write ages ago, but forgot (for what it's worth that thread's an amusing clash of opinions read--popcorn and coke stuff :P).
Anyway... bold paragraph is the main part, the rest are my opinions.
What encourages you to mark comments as helpful?
And what makes you not mark them as helpful?
For a while when I started here I wouldn't mark "nice shot" comments as helpful. But then I realised that while not incredibly deep they certainly do inform you that you're doing something right, and I now think they are helpful and mark them thus.
Critical comments are ones that I can appreciate not being marked as helpful. Mostly because the commenter won't necessarily have the same vision as the photographer. But I still think if someone tries to suggest how he would edit/change an image so that he would vote it higher (or she)... their efforts should be appreciated, even if ignored. I mark these as helpful, but might PM the commenter explaining why I did what I did.
I also sort of find it kind of offensive (maybe it's a too strong a word, certainly... objectionable) that when I put effort into writing a comment that my efforts mightn't be rewarded with a simple click. I think that's mostly why I don't comment a whole bunch.
Pre-rollover I sometimes will remove comments I have made if they haven't been marked as helpful during the challenge, not to be petty, but if they don't like 'em they don't need 'em (critical comments are exempt from this culling. I leave them in because I mightn't perceive the shot as the photographer did).
So, what are your opinions about comments? Why do you (not) mark them as you do? Are there any breed that you will never mark helpful? Do you simply not see the need to mark as helpful? And what encourages you to mark them as helpful?
Thoughts?
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03/29/2011 10:35:25 AM · #2 |
I mark everything as helpful -- simply because it's easier to find out if I have a new comment. My comments received and my comments found helpful are the same, so if one is off, I have a new comment.
deep reason, isn't it? :)
Message edited by author 2011-03-29 10:35:50. |
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03/29/2011 10:40:13 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
I mark everything as helpful -- simply because it's easier to find out if I have a new comment. My comments received and my comments found helpful are the same, so if one is off, I have a new comment.
deep reason, isn't it? :) |
Heh. Never said it had to be deep!
In that vein something that annoys me is that our comments on our shots tally in the comments received/made list. But we can't mark them as helpful. This annoys me :) Not that they can't be marked, but that they are counted.
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03/29/2011 10:40:53 AM · #4 |
I'm exactly the same. All helpful to assist in finding the new ones.
At first, I used the helpful/not helpful hint, but soon discovered that those who didn't mark everything helpful were pariah, and it was used against them in the forums. Though I found that petty and childish, I couldn't help but be swayed by it. At the end of the day, the lone checkbox beneath every comment is so useless that it doesn't really matter. And since no improvement to this system is afoot, I suspect habits won't change. |
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03/29/2011 10:41:53 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by NiallOTuama:
In that vein something that annoys me is that our comments on our shots tally in the comments received/made list. But we can't mark them as helpful. This annoys me :) Not that they can't be marked, but that they are counted. |
Very, very annoying. My tally is permanently off by one because I have unwillingly found my own single self-comment helpful. Stuff just isn't polished. |
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03/29/2011 10:45:27 AM · #6 |
| When I first started at DPC I didn't notice this feature so I had a number of comments that I did not mark as helpful. When I finally worked out the system I went back and marked all comments as helpful. I know it takes time to comment (even if it just says one word) so I appreciate any comments. I am also less bothered now about critical comments. Even I don't agree with them I still mark them as helpful. My numbers are not the same because occasionally I reply to a comment with a comment and I cannot mark my own comments as helpful :) |
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03/29/2011 10:46:31 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by Louis:
I'm exactly the same. All helpful to assist in finding the new ones.
At first, I used the helpful/not helpful hint, but soon discovered that those who didn't mark everything helpful were pariah, and it was used against them in the forums. Though I found that petty and childish, I couldn't help but be swayed by it. At the end of the day, the lone checkbox beneath every comment is so useless that it doesn't really matter. And since no improvement to this system is afoot, I suspect habits won't change. |
Very true, but it's weird how much credence we (or at least I) put in it! It shouldn't matter, like!
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03/29/2011 11:42:16 AM · #8 |
I typically mark almost all comments as helpful also so I can make sure I've seen them and know when I get a new one. However, I don't mark some comments helpful if they word the comment arrogantly as if their word is gospel about how I "should have done this or that" when I intentionally didn't do it that way because I thought their suggestion would have made the picture inferior to what it was. I can see someone thinking, "If this were my photo, I would have done....." or "I wonder what it would look like if ...." But if someone automatically assumes that their suggestion would improve my photo and they word their comment in a way that bugs me, I won't mark it as helpful. I'm good with constructive criticism, just not arrogance or rudeness. But then... sometimes I forget too, or may not see a comment for a while if it is a portfolio comment.
Message edited by author 2011-03-29 11:44:34. |
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03/29/2011 11:45:04 AM · #9 |
I use the helpful box more as an indication that the feedback was read and appreciated, even if it was not what I would have preferred to hear. It is rare for me to not mark them as such. I think there may have been a couple that said there was "clearly no effort behind it", when there was a LOT of effort and the result just didn't come off well. I did not mark those helpful, as there was a distinct lack of understanding displayed and I found that more offensive than a harsh critique. I've had low scoring entries that had a ton of effort behind them and high scoring shots that were just easy snaps.
Occasionally, I'll notice when reviewing entries after a challenge, that my "Grog" comments are the only ones not marked helpful. I suppose in a strict definition they are not helpful.
Message edited by author 2011-03-29 11:47:55.
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03/29/2011 11:46:17 AM · #10 |
This and the voting trends topic are the most popular on DPC :-)
I use it the same way Wendy does. My count is off because it took me longer to realize that the dang thing was there, and although I've gone back to try and find them, I've not been successful, although perhaps a couple of them were self-comments.
As for what I DON'T mark helpful, just about anything with one keystroke:
.
/
-
l
q
and so on. I don't read hieroglyphs. |
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03/29/2011 11:53:22 AM · #11 |
| Just in case some people did not notice - the easiest way to catch up with reading comments is by using your profile page and clicking on Received: number. This way I can see any comments made on any images including SCs and portfolio additions. |
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03/29/2011 11:53:26 AM · #12 |
My favourite comment of all give me no information about the iamge.
And the comment is "This coffee cup looks like it's"
Doesn't mean anything, I wish I knew what the end of it was, but it amused me and I like to think they dozed off mid comment.
Tanguera, how about a comment with one key stroke that was simply "9"? :P
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03/29/2011 12:29:03 PM · #13 |
One of my favorite comments was the person who said this entry made him angry. He disagreed with the statement I was making, but my message was conveyed to him clearly, and I appreciated knowing it had come across to at least some people.
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03/29/2011 12:32:21 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by NiallOTuama:
My favourite comment of all give me no information about the iamge.
And the comment is "This coffee cup looks like it's"
Doesn't mean anything, I wish I knew what the end of it was, but it amused me and I like to think they dozed off mid comment. |
That's great. That would keep me up nights (and not just because of all the coffee I would have had to drink after the shoot). "The coffee cup looks like it's what?! Full?! Not got coffee in it?! A teacup??!! MORE INFORMATION IS NEEDED!!" |
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03/29/2011 12:37:39 PM · #15 |
I have marked all comments but two helpful, which were just not nice. They didn't offer any compliment nor any critisism for improvement, and one even went so far as accusing me of copying someone else (which obviously I had not).
Besides that, I mark things helpful for the same reason that vawendy does, so I can see if I get new comments. |
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03/29/2011 03:40:43 PM · #16 |
Personally I don't care if people find my comments helpful or not. I appreciate comments both positive and negative as it helps me grow and learn. I realize that everybody has a different perspective and taste when it comes to photography. It is art and art is open to interpretation, some people like HDR some people don't, some people like black and white others don't. I leave comments because it makes me look at images a little closer and longer than I would. Why am I rating an image a 7, why am I rating it a 2. If I can't put into words what I like or don't like about an image maybe I need to reconsider my scoring. I know not all of my comments are seen as helpful, and that is OK with me. My comments are sometimes positive, sometimes critical and sometimes it doesn't apply to the photo at all but is rather discusses how it reminds me of a memory.
I wish more people would comment during the challenges, I think some are scared off from commenting as they are afraid it won't be considered helpful. The past 3 challenges I have commented on every image. This has resulted in some very nice PMs from members explaining more about their image or thanking me for the comments. None of the PMs I have received are negative or hostile, and I appreciate these few PMs more than whether or not the box was checked.
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03/29/2011 03:47:39 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by NiallOTuama:
Tanguera, how about a comment with one key stroke that was simply "9"? :P |
On the fence about that, Nial. I usually don't. Although "5" is pretty much "meh", "meh" says a lot more to me. |
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03/29/2011 03:55:52 PM · #18 |
I pretty much will mark anything helpful. I assume there is some effort put out there, and it's helpful as a whole that people are putting an effort out. I wish more of them would be critical, or actually discuss something about the photo. I always try in my comments to do that, and it doesn't really take much more time to say why instead of that something is. Those that are not helpful were incomprehensible to me or my own.
It seems most of my comments to others are marked as helpful, completely separate from the relative content of the comment, so that's more proof that it's largely useless as a tally goes. It is curious how it's thrown into people's faces every now and then, and I admittedly find it interesting what some people will and won't mark as helpful. But whatever. You'll find pettiness everywhere. I like to think I get more directed feedback from DPC users than my cohorts (unless I really prod their responses), so it's useful to me overall. I guess I've got better things to base myself and others on than a comment tally. |
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03/29/2011 03:58:16 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by NiallOTuama:
My favourite comment of all give me no information about the iamge.
And the comment is "This coffee cup looks like it's"
Doesn't mean anything, I wish I knew what the end of it was, but it amused me and I like to think they dozed off mid comment.
Tanguera, how about a comment with one key stroke that was simply "9"? :P |
hey, this gave me an idea for a thread! |
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