Currently the site is broken out by photographic styles (Landscape, Wildlife, Avian, etc.), which may be contributing to some categories having less activity than others (undetermined if this is the reason). I am proposing a slight change in the organization to help with this potential problem.
Below is a mock-up categorizing the site by critiques/galleries/discussion instead. You can still mute categories that you are not interested in, but it would change the ability to see all images/discussion from a category at once. For example right now you can go to āLandscapeā and it will show you all critiques, galleries, and discussions together. Instead you would go to āCritiquesā to see all images for critique from all categories.
I would really love to hear everyoneās opinion and not just the most vocal since this is a fairly major change.
Pros
All categories get equal exposure
Discussions are grouped together so they donāt get lost in all the images
The āEverything Elseā category goes away
Cons
You can no longer view all photos and discussion for a single photographic style (Landscape, Wildlife, etc.)
If you are only interested in one style you would have to mute all the styles you are not interested in
Will have to remove or redesign the images that are currently below the categories, which were the picks of the year from last year, or remove them altogether.
Neutral
The main Latest/New/Unread buttons will work exactly as they do now
David, I think that you could add one item to the āprosā. When a non-member clicks on Galleries, which are public, they will see a range of photos from all categories, and this may make the site more appealing for them to join. I donāt remember whether or not ādiscussionsā are public, but the same would apply.
I second Allenās appreciation for your hard work. In another thread you mention that some members from the old NPN stopped coming. For me it was the opposite, I had let my membership lapse, but took me only a couple of weeks to rejoin the new site. Key considerations were (in no particular order)
Separation of critiques from galleries. I donāt mind doing a critique now and then, and only if the photographer wants it, but I like the freedom not to seek critique if I choose.
Lifting of the artificial and, in my view, senseless ban on human elements in landscapes. This was a really important one for me.
The up-to-date look and image quality.
The easy to navigate site - at least for me it is much more intuitive than the old site.
Last but not least, your determination to make the site as non-competitive as possible.
If you keep the same format with all the, to me, unnecessary categories then the new revamp would be fine.
I still do not understand why each category is split up.
No one seems to know where to post including me. If I post in the galleries no one looks at it. The critique sites get more response,
People who post want to see their photos viewed and commented on otherwise why would anyone post except to maybe sell productsā¦
Not a lot of Professional photographers post on these sites, it is mostly just serious amateurs and hobbyists.
Most are just posting for critiques and for fun and to get better at their photography.
I appreciate the work and time to make a really quality website but it seems too cumbersome for no reason.
David, I think Iām in agreement with all the proposed changes. And I especially like that macro and flora are separated, and that āEverything Elseā goes away. Keeping the discussion categories separate is I think a good move, too. As Iāve stated before, it is my intention for the time being to post only in the critiques categories. Just because Iāve shot pictures for 50 years doesnāt mean Iāll not invite critique. After all at my advanced age itās refreshing for me to know I still have lots to learn.
EDIT: David I should have mentioned that the proposed layout looks to be much easier to select ones preferences. Question: I assume that with the new layout the galleries and critiques will no longer be mixed together. Whereas currently one can select the genre heading at the top of each and see them both.
Dan: I was just curious about this statement and particularly, the part about no one looks at it in the Gallery, so I looked at your activity. Hereās what I saw:
Critique Images and the number of replies: 3,3,5,5,7
Gallery Images and the number of replies: 3,4,1,2,6
I did not include your latest Critique image since it was just posted a couple of hours ago.
We continue to see the question about the categories being split between Critique and Gallery. For many people the old NPN where there was not an option other than to post and get a critique was a non-starter so they simply didnāt post or quit NPN altogether. Now people have an option, so I donāt understand the continued questioning of giving people an option. I donāt see the decision about where to post as a complicated one. If you desire input, post in critique. If you have an image that you want to share without receiving input on changes, post in gallery. People have many reasons why they just want to share an image without wanting input. Now they have the option. Seems like a great thing to me. For those desiring honest critiques, that option is still available as it always was, which is also a great thing.
Hi David.
I generally like this much better. Have two questions
In your mock-up ,you show sub categories under critiques and galleries. Would we be able to click on those sub categories, ie. Photo Art under āGalleriesā etc?
Secondā¦Would public still not be able to see critique galleries?
That is correct, galleries and critiques would be separate, so you could no longer go to āAvianā and see all images in the gallery and critiques in one place.
Yes, you will be able to go to those subcategories individually as you can now.
The public will still not be able to see the critiques category, they can see what has been posted but cannot open each post.
As Keith said it is rather simple, if you want your image to be critiqued post in the critique forum, if you do not, then post in the gallery. Thatās all there is to it. If you do not like the new gallery category then just donāt post there, stick to critiques and itās just like the old site. All we did was add the gallery category, nothing has been taken away.
But color me āneutral.ā Iām not concerned about āā¦some categories having less activity than othersā¦ā so I can be happy with either outcome. But I recognize that for many folks exposure and activity are important, and Iām more than happy to respect their wishes.
I like the proposed change. Personally, Iām more interested in the Critique galleries, and by grouping them together itās possible and more likely I may comment/critique in other galleries besides Landscape.
