Quite often, I feel in a dilemma about how to respond, and if one should when it comes to the comments people make about pictures one posts. People have obviously taken the time and trouble to look and write a response, and in most cases it's a carefully considered and thoughtful response - and more often that not, kind and generous. I feel I should thank each and every respondent, but I almost never do as I am sensitive to a. huge threads and b. the fact that some people use this as a technique to bump the post up. Generally, therefore, I might thank people for looking in one single posting in the thread. Do you think that this could be regarded as ungrateful or seem to be arrogant by some people ? I am truly grateful for every comment I get, but I wonder what the correct and considerate "netiquette" is for this - without doubling the size of the comments in a single thread... Best Peter Oh, and PS -- Thanks in advance for your responses!
Peter, I am always grateful to each and every person who responds to my posts, but I too have wondered the same thing...So I look foward to seeing how people respond.
I don't think that answering in bulk is ungrateful at all. If we all did this, useful information that we all look for would only get diluted in a sea of back-patting. I think that it's OK to address multiple users in one message, either blanket thank-you style, or if needed, some personal entries within the message. As more and more comments are added, I feel it would be also ok to thank/comment in return on subjects that have not been touched earlier. That's my take on it. My problem is that I don't feel I comment enough... but that's another topic. Oh, by the way, I adore your work
Peter, In my opinion, it depends on the response to your post. If there are very specific comments or questions concerning, say, equipment and/or technique, I think those deserve a personal response. On the other hand, general or nonspecific comments might be handled collectively. I might be wrong, but I don’t think it is ever impolite to say “Thankyou.”
I think that people do not expect a thank you for each response in threads. I tend to check on a thread often and inject a general thank you for the responses posted. If I feel the need to elaborate on a response or critique I do so. I for one do not feel bad when I comment on someone's post and do not get a direct thank you reply. Just my .02 ps Thank you Peter for a nice topic...
Peter, Excellent question. I often have the same dilemma. I have recently started doing something that I've seen others do here, and that is to answer / respond / express my appreciation for kind comments in one single response, calling each responder by name. I do want to express my appreciation for the time that folks spend responding, but like you, don't want to just double the size of the post. I too will be interested in what others think.
I would be the last to complain for almost any post since I have encouraged people to take the time to do so. I do however agree with the point you make. Perhaps there is a good middle ground.
Peter, Great topic...obviously many think as you do. Personally, when I respond to a post, I don't expect a thank you at all. I have simply given my opinion and any suggestions that I might have and assume that the poster will take them for what they are. I think most people feel that thank yous are a given, whether actually posted or not. It's part of the discussion board "system". Of course, if you are really moved or touched...a thank you can be a great thing. As a poster, I try to thank people when I can...doing several in a big post isn't rude or incorrect etiquette by any means. When I post, I want honesty - good or bad - and to be treated as I would treat you. I believe we are all here for the love of Nikon, photography, education, friendship, and sharing. It shows in the responses to the posts I have made so far and hopefully it's what people feel in mine. Overall, it's all about the amount of time you have, how many responses you get, your individual feelings and beliefs, etc. I really don't think anyone will be angry without them, but sometimes the do make one's day. Especially here in this group, with such friendly, helpful, wonderful folks...I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just goes to show how nice and respectful of a person you are...for taking the time to ask. C
hi peter (and everyone else)- in my opinion, if someone made a comment on your photo, they deserve a reply. a simple "thanks to all etc." is good enough. i usually do that, or else i'll list the names of the individuals who posted comments. call me old-school, but i still believe politeness goes a long way ricky
I'm more of a "thank you all very much for stopping by and looking and going awwwww" kinda person. I'm very conscious of making the thread too long when my whole purpose was just to share what I thought was a good pic. If, however, I posted a pic and wanted tech info on it, ie "what went wrong" then I would thank the individuals who took the time and posted their knowledge. I think a general 'David, Gale, Frank... thank you all very much' is totally acceptable without making the thread endless.
Thanks, interesting comments and perhaps an issue we have all thought about -- Paul, sorry to say I chickened out and used the D70 instead for the big job - some pictures will follow later, maybe!
Seems like most of us agree there's a middle ground to be found, though I admit I'm still sometimes unsure exactly where that middle ground is. While I don't want to be seen as shamelessly bumping my own threads, I also don't want to seem ungrateful to people who have taken the time to respond. My thoughts are, if somebody takes the time to offer a real critique, or ask me questions about equipment/technique, etc, I'll try to respond individually. If there have been several "nice pictures" type replies since I last checked I might lump them into a single reply. Sometimes though there's only been one reply since my last post and I have to decide whether to respond with a simple thank-you or just let the thread die.
Jeff, I think that you've given a pretty good summary of the middle ground that most feel is appropriate. Thanks,
Because of this forums software, I tend to post one general thank you with each persons name in bold type after a day or so. Just my way of recognizing their welcomed comments. Usually, I don't respond any further in that thread and I have always wondered if that was construed as being rude. Hopefully not. My habits are a bit different at DPR where I find it easier to respond on an individual basis. Regards RFC
Well, I speak for myself only, and I don't exepect everyone to do the same or even agree. It really doesn't bother me what other people do, but.... I do to others what I would want someone to do for me. I take the time to think out some of my comments, and personally, I'd even like a offbeat comment than no comment at all. Sooo, anyways, I always check back on threads I post in to see if there was a response to a comment I made - might even spark an interesting discussion, after all, it is a 'discussion forum,' no? So, yes, I take the time to respond to every comment in my pic threads. I've found two things to this: 1) When I do respond to every comment in the thread, it's never very long anyways - my pics generally don't even reach one page. 2) Only in one thread did I not respond to every comment on my images, in fact, I only responded to like the first 10 - it hit the magic 151 posts in DPR, depsite my non-response, before it was deleted (per my request). Soooooo.... Seems to me that if the photos adding a response to a comment has negligible impact on a thread (remember, this is for me), and if a thread is going to go wild, it will go wild anyways. So, out of gratiousness for the commenter, I take the time to respond even though they may not read the response. As far as bumping the post, if it got a comment, isn't it worth a second look? If it's a conversation piece, it will tend to bump itself. If it truely sucks like most of mine, it will go away quick enough. because of my schedule, I also don't have time to respond to people as soon as they post, and sometimes there's a significant delay between thier post and my response (I blame it on the kids). Anyways, that's just my opinion. Doesn't bother me if people don't respond to my comments, but I do enjoy it when they do.
I'm with you on this one for the same reason. On the other side, I've deleted threads that I have started if they don't get a response with 6-10 hours (usually overnight) figuring no sense in wasting space. No doubt there are some shy readers (lurkers?) and I'd encourage them to post. And when I see a thread without responses, I'll post if I can contribute. Oh, there is nothing wrong with your photos.
I think you've hit the nail squarely on its little head here, Gregory. It's about what's polite, or considerate. Whatever else we might call a thread, it's a conversation. If someone makes a meaningful contribution to a conversation, it's rude to ignore them. It's surprising to me how frequently people absolutely ignore very real contributions to a thread (conversation) both here and at dpreview. Or worse, someone starts a thread just to gather information and then proceeds to ignore everybody who responds, leaving a lame "TIA" in the original post to suffice. Mike
