I have noticed something that is a small bummer to me, (and I mean no disrespect to the people who do this), but I'd just like to talk about it. When I upload a cake to my photo gallery, then get a notice that someone has commented on it, I get all excited. I go to it and then sometimes I see something like, "Nice." That's it. To me that is such a let down. I'd love it if you gave an idea of what you thought was 'nice'. I always like to try and say something specific to let the 'creator' know they are appreciated. For instance, "Great work on ____. It really pops!" Or something like that. To be honest, the reason I mention this is because when someone says a one word comment like, "Nice." to me it sounds like they are thinking, "Yah, ok, nice try, but not so good." I know it's all in my head, but it seems like they couldn't think of anything nice to say because the cake just isn't very good. And I know that sometimes perhaps it is a gallery supporter member just trying to get comments on each photo, but there are so many of us supporters that there are rarely uncommented photos, so take just a minute to really support someone! Give a few details and let us know why you think this photo is cool! We'll do the same for you, I promise! Again, I don't mean to be at ALL disrespectful to anyone, and I am not calling anyone a 'bad person' for doing this. Just putting out a request for more info!!

I surely understand what you're talking about. If I really can't make a comment, I pass and hope that someone else could see something that I don't to provide more of a positive feedback to the member.

I totally get what you are saying, Melvira. I have to admit, I am somewhat guilty of this myself...I try to be specific, but some cakes just so totally blow me away that I can't say anything but "Beautiful" or "Stunning"
I will do my part to improve my comments, though, thanks for mentioning this.

We are so accustomed to the exceptional quality of your work that thereare no unique words available to express ourselves anymore.

Theresa

I agree. A lot of us new decorators could use some helpful hints on how to improve our cakes or comments on things that we are doing ok with. I am self-taught (with CC's help!) but I know that I am not doing everything right. I have no one to show or tell me what's right or wrong. I come here for that. Keep the comments coming!--I run straight to my computer everyday just to see if someone made a comment on a cake that I made.

Ok, Theresa... if you're trying to win the "Melvira loves you best" award, you are dangerously close! haha! Thanks guys for understanding what I mean without taking offense. That's the last thing I would want! And, there is definitely a difference between "Stunning!!" and "Nice." You know what I'm talking about shelbur10! I am never disappointed with a comment like "Stunning!" And sweetbaker... that's exactly what I was hoping for... if you're looking at a photo and can't find the words, let someone else try!! That's SO consderate of you! Not that you don't like it, just that the words aren't coming to you at that point! Good call! You guys are great!

I too try to say something positive about something particular that was done, so I get what you are saying. I always think that sometimes people don't want any contructive criticism, they just want to share. So I try to reserve my advise for when people specifically request it .

A post like this never hurts to give people a heads up. I hope no one takes offense to it or takes it too personal. This is such a fun community to be apart of and I am thankful for anyone who takes even a second to say even a simple "great job."

I know what you are saying.I have not commented alot on cakes here lately because I run out of words or I really do not know how to explain my self. Sometimes I just say "I love it". Cause I do. I feel like I use the same words over & over. Sometimes I say that made me smile cause thats what the cake did to me.

There is so much talent here that it takes my breath away. Everyone is so unique.

I am going to try to do better.

I love this site! I love how we can share our talents.

BTW,Melvira, I looked at your gallery, and I saw nothing less than stunning, in fact I started to comment on the lovely funeral cake, but my comment was turning into a paragraph...LOL! I understand, 'nice' is so neutral, it's almost like, why even bother typing it?

Don't feel bad about suggesting that...I agree that we as individuals like to know specifics!

When I taught junior high, I would do a writing excercise with the kids. They had a stack of index cards, one card for every student in the class, and they would have to write that student's name and then write a characteristic that they admired about that particular student.

The kicker was....they couldn't write ANY generic stuff! Nothing like "you are nice"....etc. They had to be extremely specific and it had to be a characteristic like "you are a good friend because you are a good listener" or something like that. They couldn't write "you are good at sports or you are smart"....those were too obvious.

They had to put some thought into it. Think about qualities in that person that you truly respect and admire.

Let me tell you....I got some major grumbles from my 7th graders!
They had 2 class periods to work on it and they sat and boy, you could see the wheels spinning on some of them!!

After the second day, I let them walk around and pass out each card they wrote. They returned to their desk and began to read the pile of cards on their own desk. You could have heard a pin drop!! It was AWESOME to watch them read what others liked about them as a person...their honesty, integrity, their sense of humor, their compassion....it was incredible to see smiles light up their faces!!

They had to write in their journal about that experience and it was so great to read how much they were touched by the comments from their peers. Some wrote that they had NO idea what others respected in them and it was neat to know.

Sorry for going on....but I absolutely know what you mean. We all need validation and we like to know the specifics!!

I don't always have a lot of time to comment on cakes so sometime "Nice job" is saying a lot! There are so many pictures being uploaded and with work and life outside of CC (yes everyone - there is life outside of CC) the holidays, etc. it's really hard to sit down and say much most of the time. Take it as a compliment and move on. I'm lucky to get to sit down and catch up on reading posts and looking at pictures at all. I've also noticed less and less comments in general on my cakes - i'm chalking it up to everyone being busy.

Happy Holidays!
Debbie

mocakes, that is awesome! What a neat exercise to really boost the kids' self confidence, and really make them stop and think about the people around them!

Frankly, I am usually soooooooo excited that someone has actually taken the time to LOOK at my cake let alone COMMENT on it that I would be happy just getting an Emoticon!

Bless you all that have commented on my cakes with single notes!!! I will take 'um any way I can!

Cheap date, eh?

I definitely understand what your saying , i have some cakes that i am so proud of and i upload the pictures and don't get any comments at all and i get disappointed especially when i see how many times it has been viewed. It just bums me out some times.

I don't know if I ever commented one word on someones photos but for me, that is a lot. If I take the time to type anything just because of my life (I am usually typing with one hand cause I holding my a kid with the other.), I must really like your cake. If I get any comment on my cakes, it is nice to hear. It never accured to me that anyone would not appreciate anything positive I had to comment. From now one, I will try to be more specific about what I like or I will not leave a comment. I would hate to irritate someone for just saying "nice".

I think we are encountering one of the problems of the computer age...it is so darn hard to convey what you mean just by typing. One person's 'nice' might be an enthusiastic compliment, another person's 'nice' could be a bored comment. I'm sure we can all agree that most people do not comment at all on cakes that we're not impressed with, and at the same time we are eager for feedback to help us improve.
Sorry so long...just trying to defuse what appears to be becoming a controversial subject.

Well I think that people are lucky to get any comments at all sometimes - especially if they post at a high volume time (usually the weekends)! I've come across so many stunning cakes that have just one comment on them (and that has been left by a gallery supporter), because they have been lost in the high traffic and not seen. I'm grateful for all comments I get - I don't care whether it's one or a hundred words!

I understand what you are saying. I felt the same way when I first started on CC my cakes were yikes scary but I have improved. People are always nice by say oh nice..or pretty. I am guilty of doing that but I try to add more to it like pretty I like the colors or flowers. The oh nice or oh pretty made me stop uploading my cakes. I upload one everynow and then but rare these days. I often see that ppl ask questions and I wonder what the answer was. The galleries are great I think we need to figure out how to help improve the way we respond to the pictures. ok enough Im just going on and on.

MC

I understand what your saying, But I'm SO excited when I get a comment I don't really care what it is. Though granted I really start jumping for joy when it is a nice long one. lol

Again I'm not trying to hurt anyones feeling either but I can't understand why you would put a cakes in your favorites and not comment on it. I have seen a lot of cakes that have a is a favorite of a lot of people but only a few comments. lol if that happened to me I would worry that people wanted to save it to show someone how bad it was lol.
I hope I don't offend any one but I think it would be nice to comment on a cake if you have it in favorites.
Emily

AuntEm,

I agree with you. If you put in your favs please make a comment. If it was that good that you put it in your favs you should (I think) post a comment. If you felt it was stunning!!! post that but ohhh i love the floweres or i really like the way you did the borders state that.
I know we are guilty of just nice but lets work on it.
MC

Hi, at least you got a NICE! I got a comment with UGLY! in one of my pictures...

I have to agree on the favorites. I have noticed quite a few cakes that are in "favorites" but don't have many comments. If you have time to look and add it to your favorites you have time to say something even it it's just "great job! into my favorites it goes!".

Debbie

OH NO, nefgaby! I can't believe that, your cakes are SO LOVELY! I'm so sorry that someone was so rude to you!

Gaby,

Sorry to hear some posted "ugly" on one of your pics. I just took a quick glance at them and they are by no means ugly. You want ugly look at mine there is one that I just think its UGLY its the blue one with the baby blocks on it. I do have questions about your one of your cakes. I will pm you on that one.

MC

Are all of you who are commenting in this thread members of the Cake Gallery Supporters?

I joined, and I make the time to comment on pics every day; sometimes I can only do 2 or 3, sometimes more, depending on the spare time I have.

I would like to know what your opinion is of this:

I ran into a series of 4 pictures of the same cake. I only commented on one of the pics, but gave very positive feedback - it really was unique and lovely. Do you think it is necessary to comment on all 4 pics?

Theresa

Gallery Supporter? I dont think I have seen that before you mentioned it. That is a nice idea how do i Join?

MC

I appreciate any comments left on any of my cakes--one word or just an emoticon. I know that means someone took the extra time to do those extra clicks of the mouse and typing on the key board to do it. As in most cases, people just view a photo and then move along. I think "Nice" is a good word. I think if it were to be sarcastic, I think the person wouldn't have bothered taking the extra time to comment--just view and move along. There are so many single words that say just enough: nice, fantastic, cute, sweet, awesome, cool, etc.

Many have mentioned leaving constructive criticism--this has been a sore topic in the past. Pretty much most of us don't tread that ground unless it is specifically asked for, but then even then people tip-toe lightly.

Thank you to those who do take time to make comments. I wish I could make a comment on every photo--anyone who makes the effort to share their work deserves a thank you. Unfortunately, I may already be fired from my job from spending too much time here...

Boy, again, I had no idea about the favorites! If someone saves my cake as a favorite, I consider that a "I like this sooo much I am saving it so I can look at it whenever I want and as often as I want and I want to make one juuuuust like it!" comment. LOL I guess I don't think enough about my fellow CCers' feelings. Sorry guys!

i agree with the favorites thing. i can say i've done both -commented and not commented. if i don't comment its usually because i'm flying through the galleries to catch up on what i've missed since the last time i was on CC. i try to go back and add a comment but it doesn't always happen. i'll work on that because i totally agree. if you can add it into your favorites to use as a reference or for whatever reason, the least you can do is add a kind compliment.

as for the comment of "Nice"... i'll take it!!! i'm just grateful that someone took the time to comment. not everyone's personalities are as enthusiastic as the rest of us. when i see something beautiful i can't contain myself so there is no way i would just say "nice". but, i have a friend who just doesn't get as excited about things as i do and getting a "nice" from her would be equal to getting a "WOW! Amazing!!" from me. know what i mean?

Thanks MC and Shelbur10 (just curious, where in VA are you?)
I really appreciate your nice comments and support, I was soo sad to read that UGLY in my picture, I was so proud of those pops since my 4 year old helped me coat them with chocolate. Thanks again for cheering me up!
MC - you are funny, you baby cake is not ugly, I do like it! And I love your pumpkin!