I would love to look at more pictures and comment more, but when it takes forever for the person's main page to load, and forever for the individual picture page to load...and forever for the comment page to load...I just give up, a lot of the times. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

(I realize this is long but this topic is dear to my heart):

In light of this whole subject (debate ) I would like to share with you all why I am a Gallery Supporter. When I posted my first cake picture, I couldn't believe that someone liked it enough to comment on it. It gave me a feeling of accompishment as a fairly new decorator. It also gave me a boost of self-confidence. There were so many awesome pictures posted by others that I was humbled that someone took the time to say something nice about mine. It was also a boost to know someone saved mine in their favorites. If I had not received any comments I know I would have given up. Those comments meant a lot to me just as I know they mean a lot to many others. I enjoyed the comments so much that I began encouraging others with comments on their pictures. When I first learned about Gallery Supporters, I thought, "why not, I'm already doing that anyway". So I signed up and was accepted.

When I look at a picture, sometimes "Wow" is all I can say at the moment because the cake is so incredible. That to me is not superficial. It is true from my heart. If you were even in the same room with me you would witness my mouth dropping open an some of the incredible cakes Most of the time I try to give additional words of encouragement.

When I look at a picture that some may see as not so great, I study it and find something nice to say about it. There have been times that a member mentions they are proud of their cake or that they think they did good. To me, it's worth giving them a boost of confidence. Just because some may think it's not good, I can still find something nice to say. It was mentioned that "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". I can truly find something nice to say from my heart about any cake. Even if it's the color they used, or the border, or that the cake is smooth ~ anything to encourage them.

If a member doesn't want comments because they feel it's superficial, then sign up for no comments on your pictures. Then they don't have to worry about it and it would be that many less to be commented on for the rest of us. Personally, I like leaving comments and would hope that everyone would sign up for it.

I don't even speak Spanish but I have access to some Spanish phrases and I take the time to look them up in order to encourage those who I would normally not be able to. That's how dedicated we Gallery Supporters are.

Being a Gallery Supporter is a sacrifice for many of us. It takes a lot of our (voluntary) "unforced" time. We are doing this because we want to, not because we have to. There are a lot of other good things I could be doing as well. But I choose to be an encourager and supporter and even one who critiques when asked to. We need critiques to stretch us and help us become better whether we're professionals or doing it as a hobby.

Thank you Bonjovibabe for making this topic aware to everyone. To those of you who appreciate receiving comments, compliments, and critiques, please do the same in return. CC is a great place! Let's keep it that way

I'm glad the Gallery Supports cleared up their position, becasue i was kind of feeling like the PP who thought the comments were just because you had to comment. So i'm glad to know you actually LIKE the work.

But....if i have a cake i want comments on, i just put a post in the forum. like my Marijuana Palm Trees!

29apr00 ~ your palm tree comment is too funny. I had just commented on one of your cake pictures but I saw the trees from the side. I liked the idea of using pretzels. If you hadn't mentioned your post in the above comment I might not have seen it from the top view.
Putting a post in the forums gives you a better chance of getting comments. That's a good idea.

Yep, I enjoy volunteering as a Gallery Supporter. In fact, CC never puts any pressure on us -- ever. We just do our own thing

Wow. Lots of posts.

I hope nobody stops uploading their cake photos. I don't always post my cakes to get praise, but to show what I can do so others can use these idea's too. I search the galleries when I'm working on a project to get idea's for cakes. I've gotten a LOT of awesome idea's from here too. It's one of the few places I've ever been able to find some of the more obscure topic cakes.

I would love to spend more time on cake central than I have been. Summer's are usually a better time for me, but not so much now that my girls are doing more extra curricular activities. I run a scout troop with 23 4th and 5th graders. I have four kids of my own with after school commitments 4 days/week (all of them, many overlapping) I will try better to comment on the photos I see that help me to work on a project. My new years resolution? I know, it's late. But it's a start

I posted a "wow!" on a picture the other day...I told her that I wished I had something deep to say, but all I could think of was "WOW!" because she blew me away.

I've also had problems with the site. Pages loading up so slowly and then saying page not found.

BUT....it is good to leave messages on cakes, encouraging people on their work well done. (as for myself...sometimes I wonder if the comments left for me are obligatory or patronizing). I guess I wouldn't want a comment just for having a comment's sake.

Oh dear... I feel like I played Devil's Advocate. That wasn't my intent.

I just have a problem coddling anyone (including my children). Beyond a certain age, it's time to put your "big girl panties" on. When someone offers me advice, I can choose to take it - or not. I can say "Hey, I never thought of that, maybe I'll try it next time!", or I can say "Thanks for the tip" even though I have no intention of using it. At the rate those "HELP!!!" topics are posted, I really thought most people were here for help and advice - not to get their ego stroked. I'm here to learn - and I appreciate ANY and ALL suggestions given to me. Even if I never actually use them.

I'm with you, Brandi. Coddling shouldn't be necessary at this age. posting comments on people's cake simply to POST comments makes no sense to me.

Sorry, I have to dissagree

I don't need my ego stroked, but say the wrong thing and I will get ugly.

I can't help it, I guess it's the Irish in me

I'm guilty of posting for feedback and a bit of ego stroking - I don't want to hear anything that isn't true and I welcome positive as well as "helpful" critiques. But I am still in the beginner phase for the most part and only bake for family and friends and no one in my family will ever offer criticism so I get the empty compliments left and right from them. I like to post to get real feedback from people who know cakes. I know there are a lot of professionals here and you have a client base that tells you that you're good. But there are a lot of hobbyists here as well and some of us would like first-hand advice or even praise when we pull something off well. I admit I have a lot of insecurities when it comes to my cakes. I have grown tremendously in the past year that I've been doing this and most of the credit for that growth goes to CC and everyone here. But I do think that we're a diverse group with diverse needs and there are a lot of us looking specifically for comments on our work. Regardless of our skill level, everyone started off as a beginner and this is such an awesome resource for honing our skills. And where else could I possibly have so many "masters" and other cake enthusiasts comment on my work? I'd be missing out on a lot if I didn't take advantage of that. I'm only sorry that CC hasn't figured out how to let you smell and taste the cakes, too, for the complete experience!

Great plan! I donated 5$ with my recent CC order because I LOVE this site!! even if we don't ALWAYS agree with each other...LOL

I am a gallery supporter and would love to leave more comments but I have cable modem and the pictures still aren't loading hardly at all for me. Even when I get an email saying I received a comment on one of my own cakes, sometimes I can't even get there to look at the comment. I start looking at all the recent uploads and then give up because the more photos I try to look at, the slower it goes and then eventually stops altogether. So I end up just picking and choosing my 2-3 favorites and that takes up about all my time and then I'm done for awhile.

Anything I can do to fix this?

I donated. I, personally, would not mind an annual donation. But I know not everyone could afford that.....

Speaking of the quote that said "beyond a certain age..."another said "Coddling shouldn't be necessary at this age..."
You might not be aware of it, but we have decorators here as young as 13. Not everyone is in the latter half of their allotted century as I am...
Just FYI.

I am so happy to report that there are now NO photos left without comments - WOW, thank you everyone!