I hate that there are no Gallery Supporters any longer but I guess they have their reasons. I just hate it for the Newbies. Im sure there are some of the older CCers that will say that they dont need validation on their cakes but go back when you first started. Can you remember what it was like when everyone bragged on how wonderful your cake looked and how proud it made you feel? I know some try to leave a comment if they bring a picture up and I know you may not always have time but wouldnt it be nice if we all put a little more time into giving a little encouragement when we looked at a picture. I found one Newbie from November that had one little cake pic and wanted to know what everyone thought and not one comment even though it was viewed many, many times. Im just saying.. Lets do it for the Newbies..

I totally agree! I finally have a fast access internet connection instead of dial-up, and I've set a personal goal of commenting on at least one page a day of "last uploads". It really doesn't take much time. I know people are being missed, and I wish we were able to access the "Uncommented" cakes. All of us, especially the newbies, love a little recognition for the hard work.
Happy New Year!!

I know that as a fairly new person I love it when people leave comments or feedback, and I try to leave comments to when I can. Thanks for bringing this up!

Thanks for the suggestion. I've only been decorating cakes for two months, I have so much to learn. Any feedback or encouragement on my cake pics would definately help me!

I haven't been at it that long but I do remember when I 1st put my cakes on CC. I was so excited that some of the Big Dogs here on CC would even notice my little cake!

i always make a comment on any pic i click on.. whether they are newbies or been on here to awhile.. i totally agree.. we need to be more courteous to anyone that posts a pic..

I've been guilty of clicking and just looking w/o leaving comments. Thanks for putting this in perspective. You're right...the first time a "big dog" commented on one of my cakes, it sent me over the moon! She could have said 100 things were wrong, but when she said "good job" it made all the difference!

I think it's a good idea as well. I think wat has happened is, some of the complaining that comes with the "comments". Be it someone leaves a rude comment or someone gets favorited and complains about not getting comments. People feel if your favorited why are you complaing about not getting comments. Or they say they want an honest critiques, get one, and then get upset, cause it's not what they really wanted to hear. All of these things have been very off putting for some & why they don't comment. It can also be confusing. How do you know when to just compliment or when to critique?

Good points LaBella. I almost never comment and am frankly amazed at some of the comments I read. I freely acknowledge that other than the Business Forum, this is a "puppies and rainbows" kind of place, but some of the gushing over cakes that are clearly problematic is disingenuous at best.

What always amazes me & I have said this in the past, are the people who save a photo & don't leave a little comment! You obviously liked something about the cake you saved to your faves so just say what it was. I don't like hurting anyone & can always find a little something on every cake that is good or nice. I will never lie but always try to say something nice.

IMO, if someone "saves" one of my pics, I think that qualifies as a nice comment......that says more to me than "nice cake" anyday.

As a newbie, here's my opinion: I would rather have my photo "favorited". Comments are always nice to receive but some them were always so generic when the gallery supporters would go the pics. I understand that 1000s of pics are uploaded everyday and that that they did thier best to comment on them. However, I would rather know that someone saved my pic for future reference than to read several comments all stating "cute cake". JMHO

This is a wonderful suggestion and I quite agree. I am saddened at how many cakes go unnoticed and EVERYONE agrees that we all need a kind word on our cake photos. If nothing else, it gives our day a boost.

From experience I can tell you that I receive so many thank you's and such warm appreciation for my comments on other people's cakes that it boosts my day too.

I have two suggestions besides checking the new uploads.

Contests that have just ended include a lot of photos that don't have comments, so don't forget to go to the Twilight photo contest and comment on some of those right now. Check the Holiday contest photos after the first of the year, they'll need comments.

Also, anytime you look at someone's gallery, it tells you how many comments are on each cake. If you spot ones with zero comments, then take a look and leave them a nice word.

Kathy
Photo Gallery Moderator

Thank you KathyCC for your input to this subject. I see your name so much but there is no way you can comment on all the pics. I never thought about checking the contest entries. I'd view more than I do but I'm on dial-up....don't laugh! My children laugh enough at me for still having dial-up. The price you have to pay for living in the country.

Here is a thought...it is something that we did on a scrapbooking website that I belong to (my other expensive hobby!). We called it the Cold Hard Truth group, and we just started a thread where you could post links to items that you wanted people to actually give constructive criticism on so that you could improve your skills (or if you think something is just now right and want some feedback). Comments were constructive, positive, but yet still offered ways you could improve or tips you could try. When someone commented they could do so on the actual picture, in which case they put CHT at the front of their comment so people would know that it had been solicited, or they could do so in the actual thread. Is that something that would be worth trying here? I certainly could use some constructive feedback being the newbie that I am!!

ZoesMom...it sounds great in theory to have a CHT club, but don't think it will fly here on CC. As I agree with Leah, much here is sugar coated (pun intended) and constructive criticism will get attached like a rabid (sp?) dog.

I am normally a lurker and although I have been a member for a few months, I have only posted a few comments. I wanted to comment on this topic specifically. In this world of absolute craziness, anyone who has found something that they fully enjoy and don't mind sharing with others, truly has something to be treasured. I absolutely comment on photos, save as favorites, and save recipes.

Reason(s) being: (1) Everyone here took the time to share their creativity and passion with all of us when they decided to post (pics,tutorials, recipes, advice, etc). (2) I have 3 photos posted that rate like this: Pic 1- 254 views, 1comment. Pic 2- 161 views, 2 comments. Pic 3-183 views, 3 comments. Let me just say that in some cases 1 comment belongs to me thanking the person for commenting. While it is truly disheartening at times that so many viewed but could not comment whether good or bad, I make sure not to do the same.

Don't think of it as ego stroking- Think of it like this- In a crazy world it's nice to get a unexpected smile or thumbs up from a stranger.

I, myself, am way new @ cakes....positive critisism is great-or maybe some suggestions as to how to improve on the cake-but I also agree that someone "favoriting" a cake is the biggest compliment to me. I am bad about leaving a compliments but love to see all the beautiful cakes everyone puts on here! and how creative people are!

alene, I just wanted to thank you for your generous thoughts. As a newbie I really appreciate this thread.

thank you Juststarted, Just thought it would be nice if we all could do a little to encourage some of the new people. I know it meant so much to me when I 1st started. Just don't want this thread to get out of hand like one did the other day.

If any of you are like I am, it takes an extremely unusual day for me to upload a picture as I feel I am not as worthy as the rest....so it is so uplifting for me to ever get anyone to leave a comment...I am promising to everyone here to go back to every "favorite" I have in my Favorite Sections and give you a comment. If it were worthy enough to be a "favorite" of mine, then it is worthy enough for me to leave a comment...THAT IS MY NEW YEAR RESOLUTION for 2010....starting today I will do 10 a day until I am finished.

Thank you for the reminder to treat others as I need, not wish, to be treated. May this New Year be that year where I keep this resolution...now I have to since I put it in writing to the whole world

I am definately a newbie to both cake decorating and this site, but I get so excited by comments on my photos. I think the five seconds it takes for someone to post a comment is more than worth it for the feeling it gives to the person whose picture it is. I also find it helpful to read other people's comments on pictures. They sometimes ask a question I had but was afraid to ask. The more commenting people do the more free we will all feel to comment and ask questions. I have been pushing myself to make more comments instead of just looking at the photos. I think at first I was just scared of saying something that sounded stupid.