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?
But there should be some kind of balance between the two legitimate uses, I would think, as well as recognition about how the majority (or, at least, the most active) members tend to use the site. I, for one, do not use the gallery as a bulk-upload area that I share with family; I'm here for the comments on my photos and to look at and learn from other people's work.
I don't know the demographic breakdown between the two kinds of uses of the gallery, but they do tend to be at odds with one another, don't they? Someone who just wants to populate his/her gallery (and, therefore, loads a lot of photos at once) unintentionally screws up the primary navigation mechanism for those who want to use the site to share criticism, comment, etc.
Surely there's a way to support both kinds of users, without having them step on one another's toes. Providing a bulk upload mechanism that dumps the photos into one's gallery in a private area, without putting them on the main page (as someone else suggested) is a solution that could accomodate both uses of the gallery--coupled, of course, with clear instructions to new members.
Just my thoughts, for whatever they're worth.
-Brian (a.k.a., bclapper)











