Photo Gallery Format Discussion

The quarterly gallery of entries and voted best pictures
User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:04 am

ge_rik wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:19 pm I must admit I'm with Peter on getting the winner to choose three possible themes. I struggle to think up one..... :?
Me too. The only thing I can think of to possibly help, is for anyone/everyone to PM me with theme suggestions at any time ( whenever they have a bright idea) and I'll put them in a computerised hat and pull one out at random each quarter. That way evryone gets a chance of setting the theme irrespective of particular interests or photographic ability.

The danger is of course that if there is a proposal for pictures based around somthing like " Outer Mongolian Yak powered railways" we may only get a single entry that quarter!

It also requires that everyone trusts me to be honest and unbiased in announcing the theme, and an understnding that, if a couple of dozen themes are suggested than it will take 6 years to work through all of them at the rate of one a quarter, and won't mean that I'm simply sitting on ones I don't personally like.
Philip

User avatar
Jimmyb
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 492
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:43 pm
Location: Weston-super-Mare

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by Jimmyb » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:27 am

philipy wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:04 am It also requires that everyone trusts me to be honest and unbiased in announcing the theme, and an understnding that,
Philipy, as with a lot of things in life, trust is something we accept, and if we cannot trust our "Admin Team" then who could we trust :)

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:36 am

Jimmyb wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:27 am ...trust is something we accept, and if we cannot trust our "Admin Team" then who could we trust :)
Thank you Jimmy, I appreciate that. I only said it because if my idea is taken up, and it may not be, then I don't want any flaming in the future. :roll:
Philip

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Mon Jul 19, 2021 12:10 pm

It's getting to a point were it's now going in the wrong direction I feel. It's supposed to be more accessible to all members, so yes that does include Admin and no it doesn't need 3 themes suggested and a poll. it would be hard enough for Phillip to sort out now with all the inputs however welcome.

Yes most members know who's line the photo's come from because most people follow their lines and I have since joining the forum got through a fair few of them, but even I, as I suspect most members and Admin have forgotten a lot of photos of members lines, so for me it needs to have names on them, whether we get embarrassed or not. I did come from the generation of being bullied, at one time I was, I stood up to them and they soon went away. Notice there wasn't any capitals, I don't like shouting and that is what capitals are in the main. Sometimes they are needed by Admin to make a point though. I digress :imsorry


Even though I don't feel I have any photos that are worthy of showing I will in future start to use the Photo Gallery or Competition, what ever it is being called more and hopefully we can get an even better Forum than it is now. Most members know that I think our Forum is the best on the Interweb anyway. :salute:

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Fri Jul 23, 2021 5:23 pm

The observant amongst you may have noticed that The Gallery has been promoted! We are now a self contained and hopefully more obvious part of the General section.
Thats one suggestion for improvement acted upon already! :D
Philip

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:04 am

Where would that be Philip. Is it "Photographs" or is it somewhere else. I am not that observant obversely.. :scratch: :lol:

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:13 am

Screenshot 2021-07-24 at 07-11-01 Garden Railway Forum - G scale, Gauge 1, 16mm scale, 7 8ths and more.jpg
Screenshot 2021-07-24 at 07-11-01 Garden Railway Forum - G scale, Gauge 1, 16mm scale, 7 8ths and more.jpg (143.61 KiB) Viewed 5647 times
Philip

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:43 pm

:salute: of course it is.Thanks Philip, it was a dumb question to ask really...... :oops:

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Wed Jul 28, 2021 7:04 pm

Well, despite the 18 people who thought there should be changes to the way the Gallery is run, there have been remarkably few actual suggestions.

However, the suggestions made so far ( with only a couple of days still to go) are:

1) Increase the visibility of the Gallery -- Now done, the Gallery has it's own Heading.
2) Make "Announcements" for the Quarterly Gallery - I will do this, going forward.
3) The forum management team should be barred from entering.--- There doesn't seem to be any support for this idea.
4) Entries should be anonymous -- This is not feasible in the forum software.
5) A suggestion that each Quarter should have 3 themes suggested and one picked by a poll.-- There is a fairly wide feeling that this would be cumbersome and difficult to think up enough ideas.
6) It was suggested that perhaps we need more reminders during each quarter -- I'm not 100% keen on this idea myself since it would fill up the thread with reminders ( not to mention, making more work for me)! However, it may be that the intended future "Announcements" will achieve similar publicity.
7) Identify winners with a note on their forum avatar -- I have asked Rik & Steve to look into this. However, although I was initially in favour, I've changed my mind to reduce the chances of a few members being seen as a "winners clique".
8 ) A suggestion for anyone to submit theme ideas to a pot, and one would be picked at randon each quarter. --

So, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are dealt already by one means or another.

That leaves 7 & 8 to be resolved, plus of course, any fresh suggestions submitted in the next couple of days.
Philip

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by Peter Butler » Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:24 pm

Well done Philip for giving this so much of your time, it has become clear that it hasn't been easy threading through the different opinions of members who don't see this as a fun activity with participation as the main objective. Whether it is called a 'competition' or not there is still a winner, along with 'supporting acts', all of whom enter just for fun and are happy to try again next time. There is certainly no reason to be embarrassed by this as we are never critical of others and encourage everyone to share their photographs. I believe I have entered each time but won only once, for which I am perfectly content and will continue to enter in the future. I have also been in the position of receiving no votes cast, but that's life!
The matters raised appear to have been dealt with adequately, items 1 - 6 are sensible and workable solutions. Item 7 is one I raised myself, but only because it was done during the earlier 'competition'. If it is not desirable I am perfectly happy with that too.
Item 8 raises one issue for me..... If a subject is chosen at random from a 'pot' of suggestions, would the previous winner be barred from entering? I don't see how that can be justified, even if it was their own theme.
Most importantly....... it is all intended as a fun activity with the intention to unite our membership, we should lighten up a little.
Last edited by Peter Butler on Fri Jul 30, 2021 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:53 pm

Peter Butler wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:24 pm
Item 8 raises one issue for me..... If a subject is chosen at random from a 'pot' of suggestions, would the previous winner be barred from entering? I don't see how that can be justified, even if it was their own theme.
Thanks for your thoughts Peter.
Re your question, I would see the pot of ideas as removing the bar, because nobody would know who had submitted the idea or how long before. As I suggested when I first floated the idea, if we got 2 dozen themes submitted, it would be 6 years before we got through all of them.
Philip

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6497
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by ge_rik » Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:34 am

Another possibility is that members could be allowed to submit more than one photo.

In favour - it might encourage more entries. It will also help if a member is trying to decide which of several to submit

Against - one member might flood the gallery with loads of pictures and discourage others from entering.

Just a thought.

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
Jimmyb
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 492
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:43 pm
Location: Weston-super-Mare

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by Jimmyb » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:08 am

ge_rik wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:34 am Another possibility is that members could be allowed to submit more than one photo.

In favour - it might encourage more entries. It will also help if a member is trying to decide which of several to submit

Against - one member might flood the gallery with loads of pictures and discourage others from entering.

Just a thought.

Rik
Rik, I do see the pros and cons to this, and in theory it would be a good idea, however if one entrant had 91photos and 9 others 1 each then the odds are the entrant with 91 of the 100 would win. However a compromise may be to allow up to for example 3 entries - just a thought.

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:09 am

ge_rik wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:34 am Another possibility is that members could be allowed to submit more than one photo.

In favour - it might encourage more entries. It will also help if a member is trying to decide which of several to submit

Against - one member might flood the gallery with loads of pictures and discourage others from entering.
Interesting idea. How does anyone feel if we tried it as an experiment by allowing 2 entries per member for the next gallery ( starting beginning of July for two months)?
My own thought is that I wonder if it might give a 'good' and/or prolific photographer, an advantage?
Philip

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:36 am

I personally think we should keep it to the same format. It's going to be even more work for Phillip and it would discourage members I feel if now members think they don't have any photos that they feel are not good enough, yes I agree it should be fun and not something that is so serious that it gets to the stage of a separate forum that is only interested in putting photos for a 'competition'

The format that has been going now for quite some months in my mind be really successful, so why mess with something that works.

I agree with Phillip on so many points, one of which is the question of allowing more than one ie: 2 for a few months or longer. Doesn't the forum have limited photo storage and therefore it is reducing the amount left for members to put up on other threads. Leave it as is, it works perfectly now. Let's just get on with the gallery like it was, this as been going on for to long now, so let's start to enjoy the photos that are displayed....

I think I may have upset a few members again, but hey, it's a discussion for all members isn't it. :dontknow:

User avatar
-steves-
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2412
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:50 pm
Location: Cambridge & Peterborough

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by -steves- » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:42 am

FWLR wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:36 am Doesn't the forum have limited photo storage and therefore it is reducing the amount left for members to put up on other threads.
Hi Rod

Not sure if you have read the recent announcement, but our hosting company have dramatically increased the number of files we can store. We have now upped the limit on how many pictures can be on one post because of this. Hope that helps.
The buck stops here .......

Ditton Meadow Light Railway (DMLR)
Member of Peterborough and District Association
http://peterborough.16mm.org.uk/

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:47 am

Hi Steve.

Thank you, I hadn't seen the announcement, that is good news. I think a lot of members will be happy to now that. Does it mean we can put more photos on our threads without going to a third party.

I will look at the announcement and find out.... :thumbright:

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by FWLR » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:50 am

Just seen it....... :wav: that's brilliant. Well done Steve, you're a STAR...... :salute:

User avatar
Jimmyb
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 492
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:43 pm
Location: Weston-super-Mare

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by Jimmyb » Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:46 am

philipy wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:09 am Interesting idea. How does anyone feel if we tried it as an experiment by allowing 2 entries per member for the next gallery ( starting beginning of July for two months)?
My own thought is that I wonder if it might give a 'good' and/or prolific photographer, an advantage?
I think trying out your idea (i.e. a maximum of 3 entries per member) for the next competition is a good way forward. Can I also suggest that all three entries should be on the same post i.e. you can not have 3 entries on 3 separate (or even 2) posts.

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Photo Gallery Format Discussion

Post by philipy » Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:59 am

Jimmyb wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:46 am
philipy wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:09 am Interesting idea. How does anyone feel if we tried it as an experiment by allowing 2 entries per member for the next gallery ( starting beginning of July for two months)?
My own thought is that I wonder if it might give a 'good' and/or prolific photographer, an advantage?
I think trying out your idea (i.e. a maximum of 3 entries per member) for the next competition is a good way forward. Can I also suggest that all three entries should be on the same post i.e. you can not have 3 entries on 3 separate (or even 2) posts.
Yes, thats a good point about them being on one post, Jimmy, thanks.

However, from a purely personal/administrative pov, I would still prefer to limit it to two rather than three pictures, to begin with at least. It does already take some considerable time to go through the entry posts and separate them from the various subsequent comment posts, download each picture and collate it with its title, then upload them all again onto the voting thread and then construct the poll. Going from one to two pictures each will more or less double that, and going to three will triple it!
Philip

Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests