31 replies to this topic

[richard crowe]

I know there are no rules as such about how many photos you can upload at a time / per day - but I was wondering if it would be a good idea considering bringing some kind of restrictions in. I would say that a lot of people are using this site as an online storage area such as flickr etc where you can upload to your hearts content and it wont annoy anyone. To a degree thats what this site is as well, but I would say that it is a lot more than that and that first and foremost it is a comment / feedback arena where we all can appraise / assist each other with our photography. As such, the format that is currently used, which displays the 16 most recent shots on the front page, does not lend itself to bulk uploads if everyone is to get a fair amount of 'air time' for their latest shot.

Obviously if someone joins the site they would not be aware of this and it is understandable why bulk uploads would therefore happen. The question is should we try and change this or is it not that big an issue that we could let it continue?

My suggestion would be to restrict the daily upload limit per member to either 3,4 or 5 photos a day. This gives everyone a chance to keep their shots on the front page a little longer.

I wouldnt want to turn anyone away from the site - but photography blog isnt really just an online storage area, and if thats what people are after, there are plenty of free sites which fall under that category.

I think we are different from those sites - not necessarily better, just different! We are a smaller, more homely community. One that offers far more than just somewhere to store your digital photos - somewhere that feels comfortable - somewhere that we can actually help each other to learn and develop (no pun intended)!

What was I talking about? Oh yes! Daily upload limit. What does anyone think?

Richard

[pacificphoto]

Richard,

I'll bet this is one of those subjects we can all come back to during the next year, and it'll still be relevant. Time and again, I see the same response from newcomers whom I've mentioned the bulk upload problem to: "oops, sorry, there was nothing saying otherwise, so I didn't know." It seems to me that some kind of simple addition to the up front rules of joining would go a long way toward solving the whole issue.

Until then, I think it's part of the responsibility of us current members to share our knowledge in a friendly, respectable, and non-threatening way, and clue in the new members.

Chris

[Bassington]

Good Morning

I am one of those "newbies" that have commited the cardinal sin of uploading too many images from the start. Yes I could hide behind the excuse "but no one told me, there was no mention on the site to say otherwise" In part, that is the problem. The site comes accross as being very friendly and co-operative and when I did upload too many, as I admit to, I was jumped on! All I wanted to do, was to populate my new gallery with some stock photos, taken previously.

Please, please make a simply addition to the joining / upload instructions to make it very clear to newcomers that there is a policy in place. I was accused of not using my "commensense" and for not being "fair to other users" OK? if I had seen a clear and unambiguous message regarding limits etc, then obviously I would have adhered to this. As it is, I started off with some degree of ill feeling towards me and me towards the people "informing" me of my genuine mistake. Surely this cannot be a good thing to promote, what is referred to as a "friendly and suppportive" site.

Perhaps its me? perhaps it would help if the site administers set out to help all newcomers right from the start and not let them fall into the same trap that I did.

All the other web sites that I am a member, of and contribute to, have this declaration and advice displayed very prominently on their home page.

Once again, my sincere aplogise for a genuine mistake.

Richard Tierney ( Bassington )

[richard crowe]

Thanks Chris - although I disagree that it should be the members responsibility to pass this on to new members. This can lead to misunderstanding and in some cases resentment towards those who have passed the advice on. As Richard (bassington) says, if it is going to be a rule change, this has to be up front when joining. At least then, current members, instead of possibly coming across as condesending, would simply be able to point new members towards the rules.

Welcome to the site Richard (bassington) and thanks for your reply. Your response is a perfect example of the issue I am talking about. We are all very friendly here and no-one wants to come across otherwise. You have posted some great shots and I for one hope you stay. You havent made a mistake or done anything wrong and there's no need to apologise for anything. I dont know what the best solution is, but as this site is constantly evolving I'm sure we'll all get to the bottom of it! For photographic evidence of this just ask Chris! lol

While writting this another idea popped into my head. I think that a rule change, while a step in the right direction, does not really solve the issue. There would still be no restrictions and lets face it, do we actually read rules all the time! A restriction of say 5 photos a day is, I feel, a resonable step in the right direction, but I'm not sure how everyone would feel about that. My other idea is that all uploads are marked private and go directly to your own gallery without appearing on the home page. Then you could upload 5, 10 or 20 at one go and they wouldnt appear on the front page. You would then go into your gallery and change an individual photo from private to public and then it would appear on the front page. Dont know if this would be possible under the current setup, but just a thought.

Cheers

Richard

[Skye]

Dear Mr. Bassington,

I'm (D.) or Daenna, I was one of the people who contacted you about posting. It was not my intention to jump on you...so to speak. I was only trying to explain and (suggest), how you can better utilize this site; for your own benefit. So you may have your photos receive quality viewing and feed back time. So they may have a chance at winning in the competion as well as feed back. I do not respond to everyone that uploads a lot of pictures. I responded to you because, "I really liked what I saw with your photography skills!!!" And wanted you to have a chance to be viewed fairly. I thought I conveyed that in my message, but perhaps I failed and my intention misunderstood. I appologize for that most sincerely. I would like to welcome you once again to this site and I hope you will continue to post. I am looking forward to your postings. By the way, I was new to this site not so long ago. I agree it would be nice if our site host would suggest to those who are new, how this site works. I don't like the idea of limiting submissions but a suggestion toward uploading might be nice.

When I first ran across this site, I observed how people responded to each other to get the feel of it. Then I posted and hoped I was up for the critiques. I was a little affraid I would be too close to my work or get my feeling hurt. But I also new that if I was going to grow as a photographer, I really need those critiques. In some cases, I've learned how to stand-up for my work and in others; I have utilized the advice of many really talented people who have gone a long way in helping me improve my skills and try new techniques. I've even had the chance to give advice every now and then, which is a really nice feeling.

Don't give up on us Richard.
I am looking forward to seeing more
of your work!
Daenna

[markgoldstein]

I have a few things on my to-do list with regards to the Gallery - I'll make sure to add this to it

[Andy D]

I have a few things on my to-do list with regards to the Gallery - I'll make sure to add this to it

Well Ive just come back from looking on the gallery and found one member has loaded 13 pics and another member 11 and they are not new members.

It is a big turn off .

IMHO the limit should be one a day that will make the photographer think as to what is their best before they upload.

[alexjk]

I know there are no rules as such about how many photos you can upload at a time / per day - but I was wondering if it would be a good idea considering bringing some kind of restrictions in. I would say that a lot of people are using this site as an online storage area such as flickr etc where you can upload to your hearts content and it wont annoy anyone. To a degree thats what this site is as well, but I would say that it is a lot more than that and that first and foremost it is a comment / feedback arena where we all can appraise / assist each other with our photography. As such, the format that is currently used, which displays the 16 most recent shots on the front page, does not lend itself to bulk uploads if everyone is to get a fair amount of 'air time' for their latest shot.

Obviously if someone joins the site they would not be aware of this and it is understandable why bulk uploads would therefore happen. The question is should we try and change this or is it not that big an issue that we could let it continue?

My suggestion would be to restrict the daily upload limit per member to either 3,4 or 5 photos a day. This gives everyone a chance to keep their shots on the front page a little longer.

I wouldnt want to turn anyone away from the site - but photography blog isnt really just an online storage area, and if thats what people are after, there are plenty of free sites which fall under that category.

I think we are different from those sites - not necessarily better, just different! We are a smaller, more homely community. One that offers far more than just somewhere to store your digital photos - somewhere that feels comfortable - somewhere that we can actually help each other to learn and develop (no pun intended)!

What was I talking about? Oh yes! Daily upload limit. What does anyone think?

Richard

i agree, bulk upload has been an issue before ( i was told off as a newbie ) is it possible that when newbies join they have to accept some kind of rules of conduct, as its unfair to others when 10 images are loaded at once.. i usually only have time to check the home page and notice that images i would like to view have been bumped off before i get a chance to see them.

Maybe a limit of two images per hour would be an idea... thoughts ???

[markgoldstein]

Currently there is no way of limiting uploads through the software - it would have to be a purely user awareness thing.

[Andy D]

Currently there is no way of limiting uploads through the software - it would have to be a purely user awareness thing.

Perhaps we need a few moderators that have the power to delete images that would go over the set limit.

[Bridget]

I do believe that something has to be done as it is a little irritating to wade through the same sort of image one after another,and the thing is i won't comment on them as i am irritated.I do think as northscape said if it is limited then photographers will maybe think,is this my best one to put on today,instead of loads of images.(there i have said it).Just shows how it has got to me,i don't normally have a go.I have a tremendous amount of patience but it is on the way out.I was a new member once and my shots were of a poor quality,but by only putting on one or two at a time i recieved constructive comments (and still do)on how to improve my work.I have found this to be enormous help and hopefully have improved.As it stands members it seems are unable to comment on all the images so nobody gets any help.I would like to comment and maybe offer some help,but not on so many.Thats me off my soap box lol

Bridget

[markgoldstein]

I think this question depends on how the majority of people actually use the Gallery.

Some use it to gain constructive criticism on their work, posting just a few photos at a time.

Others fill up their space with photos that they want to share with family and friends (a perfectly valid use) and tend to bulk upload their images, especially when they first join.
This has the unfortunate side-effect of "flooding" the Recent Photos section, which the first set of people use a lot.

I'd argue that both uses are fine, but what do you all think?

[Andy D]

I think this question depends on how the majority of people actually use the Gallery.

Some use it to gain constructive criticism on their work, posting just a few photos at a time.

Others fill up their space with photos that they want to share with family and friends (a perfectly valid use) and tend to bulk upload their images, especially when they first join.
This has the unfortunate side-effect of "flooding" the Recent Photos section, which the first set of people use a lot.

I'd argue that both uses are fine, but what do you all think?

Mark its your site and you should run it as you see fit.

However and this is only my opinion as things stand at the moment with some members uploading several images at once it is spoiling it for others and perhaps stopping new members joining as they come along and look at the gallery and see that it looks like a friends and family on line photo album.

For me it makes little sense in posting several images in a row as i for one will not comment on them and it does the photographer no good because he/she may not get the feed back they want or need.

I wonder what other members think?.

[pacificphoto]

It strikes me that there may not be such urgency about this subject if there were more spaces available on the front page. One suggestion I've heard mentioned before is to do away with the random images feature, and offer more spots on the first page. Even though there has been a shot or two of mine that has gotten renewed attention thanks to the random images, I would be willing to do without it in favor of more space.
--Chris

[richard crowe]

I agree with Northscape that it is Marks site and ultimately it is his decision as to what the gallery's main reason for existence is. We as members can make suggestions and if there is a strong enough viewpoint on something and Mark is happy to make any changes then that is the way it should be. As Mark says, the gallery is currently being used with two separate purposes - namely by those who seek feedback and constructive critisism, and by those who want an online storage area to store their snaps to show friends and families. At the moment they co-exist, but of late, there seems to be an upsugre of new members who are posting large numbers of photos at once. Its good to be getting new members, but it seems to me that the time for these two strands co-existing is becoming more and more strained.

My own view would be to decide what the gallerys main purpose is and stick with that. Either have it as a feedback area with a limit on the number of photos you can upload put in the rules - or make it as an online storage area with no restrictions which has a feedback feature included. Personally I would prefer the former and feel that the latter will have a negative outcome with a lot of established members who use the site to try and better their photographic talents.

As I mentioned before, there are oodles of sites out there which offer free online storage galleries where you can upload a 100 photos at one go if you want, and share them with familiy and friends. In my eyes this site is not really the same as those - it is more of a community of like minded people who want to help each other with their photography through the medium of feedback and critisism on their photos.

I have two or three other online galleries like the ones I have mentioned above. I give the address for them to friends and family and share photos that way. I use this site simply to improve my photography.

I would suggest to all those who want to use this site for storage only - stay here as members, but use the site to improve your photography, and if you want an online storage gallery have a search on google and find one of the many that offer that specifically. That way you could use the skill and help of everyone here and also have somewhere to upload all your snaps without restrictions.

At the end of the day it is really up to Mark to decide how he wants his site to operate, but I do feel that as far as the gallery goes, it is perhaps time to decide what is the best way to go forward.

Cheers

Richard