Hi all-
I’m finding it difficult to define a comment as to a critique. Are comments only positive remarks?
It depends on whether you’re in a critique forum or a gallery, Bob. Critique forums are the place for constructive criticisms. In the galleries we’re supposed to limit ourselves to attaboys or silence.
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Thanks Dennis. I’ve always had trouble with a one sided conversation. It’s really hard for me to only choose the good stuff when it may only be 10% of the whole. Kinda like trying to make a sentence without the vowels.
Me too Bob. I try to make it easy on myself and just understand which gallery I’m in. Critique galleries are for just that, critiques; honest and respectful constructive criticism. Personally, I’m here to not only learn and receive critical feedback, but also to give it and help others.
In the regular galleries just for sharing, I understand that. I can appreciate any and all types of photography and just appreciate it for the art of it. I get that too. There are images that do get posted that have glaring and correctable flaws. In those cases I often just don’t comment, which is one reason I spend the majority of my time in the critique galleries.
There’s value in both, we just need to remember which gallery we’re in. IMHO.
Lon
Well said, Lon. I tend to spend my time in the critique galleries. In the regular gallery, unless the image is pretty dang good, I just don’t say anything and move on. But I do get the value of having the non-critique area. Many people just don’t want or like suggestions and I respect that. I have had friends leave NPN because their images got critiques and it did not work for them.
At times, it can be tough to remember where you are. The time I violated the rules without realizing it was on one of Lon’s images. Luckily, he has a thick skin and actually appreciates and values the constructive feedback. It was my bad, but no damage done.
Like Harley, I spend almost all my time in the critique galleries. I just don’t quite understand why someone posts in the regular galleries, I guess. To me, if you don’t want any critiques, does that mean you ONLY want attaboys/attagirls??? My time online is extremely limited, and I am not on here to just give out a bunch of those. There are plenty of places on the internet for people to post if they do not want critiques.
Once in a while I go over to the regular galleries, but I generally look at a couple images an then go back to the critiques. I guess I just understand better what is going on in the critiques: learning. 
Same here. What is still more confusing is that some posters in the non-critique gallery ask your opinion about some aspect of their image. These people are not mistaken about which gallery they’re in. So how do you respond to that? It’s as though they want some kind of feedback but not others. Some kind of feedback is desirable and others are not. I suppose that’s understandable to a degree. You have no control over what comments you’ll get and not all are equally welcome. Hence we got the non-critique gallery.