Silent Showcase Gallery Show and Tell Poll

[j2canoe]

As many of you already know, a new method of posting your work in the Gallery was begun last night. It is a "Silent" Show and Tell Showcase that seeks to avoid the perception of favoritism and hopefully eliminates time constraints and wounded egos surrounding the current custom of posting comments about the gallery entries of others. It was determined that participants could, if they wish, comment on a particular entry via PM to the poster. You can, of course, make any comments about your OWN entry within your post. Many of the participants feel that this is a much fairer forum in that it provides "equal footing" for both those new to the craft and those whose work is already legendary and, hopefully, also fosters a more personal relationship between members responding to one anothers posts. This poll seeks to try to establish a guideline for what time/date stamp should be used for the thread. It is an effort to reconcile the best timeframe for European and West Coast participants to recognize that a particular thread is the "current" one (although it makes absolutely no difference in this thread as to where you post - no one wants to be "yesterday's news!" lol )! So please vote for one of the options above or suggest your own. My personal take is that Eastern Standard Time be used as that time zone is approximately in the middle of the spectrum and that 5pm EST be used as the "cutoff" for the next day's thread. Example: 22 June 2010 is used until 5pm EST. If someone posts after this time they would post a thread under 23 June.

[Hayley]

Actually for some of us, we would prefer not to have PMs . . . not that I don't appreciate the gesture but because I am ALWAYS struggling to clear out my PM box (it's always at 94-96% full!) with all my exchange correspondences! lol!

5pm EST switch is 2pm in California - that's another 10 hours left on the day!Why not use midnight EST as the switch since you are using it as the middle time zone?

[glassactcc]

Hayley, PMed you:lol:

[Hayley]

LOL! Cyn!

[j2canoe]

That's a good suggestion - I chose the 5pm time as that is approximately when the "noisy" showcase switches over now and I thought it would be less confusing to those wishing to post. As far as PM's go - if you don't want them, that's cool too - if you don't respond a few times then most people will get the message - or you could always make your preferences known as you just did. :)

[glassactcc]

I think this is a great idea Joan, and I think the 5pm time make sense too.

[Elizabeth Beads]

Maybe we should use the time when a new day starts at the international date late, which is Greenwich Mean Time plus 12. I mean right now it is already June 23 in Jakarta and Sydney.

[j2canoe]

Elizabeth you are one smart lady!! :) I'd have to look up that one each day tho! :) I'll start one for tomorrow around 5-ish EST, unless someone else does, tonight. I kinda, sorta know that that is around 2pm today West Coast and 2am tomorrow Eastern European. Hopefully that will be ok with the majority. :)

[Hayley]

I am with Traci and have a fundamental issue with it starting so early for the following day . . . but that's just us, I guess. It never used to be this way. If you looked back in the Gallery, the S&T used to start 4-5pm PST, 7-8pm EST.

Wish your poll gave more options.

[AKDesigns]

This silent showcase idea is nothing new btw. It pops up about once every six months and has for years and years. It lasts a few days and then it disappears until it pops again in six months.
No PM's for me either. My box is always close to full.

[Hayley]

Yup - for whatever reasons, it never seems to catch on for long.

[Listenup]

It just seems so impersonal to me.

[Locococo]

The silent showcase is simply boring :-#.....just my opinion.


Elke

[mnoelker]

Just throwing this out there but I can see that if we set a bunch of rules for the daily S&T that could create an atmosphere where some will want or need to "police" it and new posters or those unaware who stumble in could be offended if they are corrected. Maybe that doesn't matter, I don't know, but is it really worth all the effort to set specific times and rules when making them stick could be a real pain and I believe in the long run it won't be possible to make them stick. There are certainly regular posters but there is also a large percentage of posters that rotate in and out who will not be aware of the rules. Just wondering...

[boobiebeads]

... it's kinda like watching porn with the volume turned off - I'm just saying ;)

[Hayley]

... it's kinda like watching porn with the volume turned off - I'm just saying ;)

bwahahahaha!

[Natsprat]

I sort of have no opinion on silent or not, but totally understand that it would stop people from feeling bad if thier submission was the only one without further comment which does seem a regular occurrance - it sort of takes the politics out of the equation if this is the culprit (I hardly ever look or even comment and only rarely post and therefore are happy to fit in with everyone else).

With the timing of the thread, we are a day ahead of you blokes and therefore I have never seen it start "early".... well not for us in Australia at any rate, but seeing as the forum is based in the US I would expect it to run on your time not ours - happy to go with the flow, I usually end up posting a date behind myself anyway.

Nat :-)

[glassactcc]

Yeah, but there has been talk about folks not wanting to post in the ST at all. I think this opens up another option. I do agree it's not as personal, but there is the original ST that is. Something for everyone.

[glassactcc]

Well put Nat. That's what I was trying to say but you said it better.

[j2canoe]

Well - I guess it doesn't matter - the poll was probably a dumb idea of mine. I just thought it might help. Personally, I can rarely post after 6pm EST as I have to get up to go to my "real" job (the one that supports my glass habit) at 3:45am EST so I rarely make it past 10pm EST. I will just start a new Silent thread if no one else has between 5 and 6 pm EST and everyone else can choose where they want to post. If you are subscribed to the thread it tells you anyway when someone posts in either thread - so I guess it is machs nichts.

[Ekkie]

Well put Nat.
I love the silent showcase because I get really annoyed when there are 3 pages of posts and half of them are the same beads over and over. I would much rather just look at everyone's beautiful beads without wading through pages of comments and reposts.
And, I admit to being guilty of commenting occasionally on a favourite and always feel bad for not listing everyone.

[Teena]

"ditto" to what Mikelene said.

[Shrimp]

I always appreciate when my friends here tell what glass they used.

[lonerp]

I really think that it is a shame to have TWO s&t pr day. And I can understand why people would put the same beads in both threads, but come on... why two?
I love it when a s&T is actually a show and TELL. I usually don´t read comments on other people beads, but I love when you guys tell what´s in your bead or how you made it. Now that to me is usefull and interesting. On the other hand I also really, really like when people have nice comments on my beads:p.:lol:

[fcfmountain]

A forum is a free exchange of ideas. Exchange if you want to. Comment if you want to. Share an idea if you want to. Post a picture if you want to.
Do you really need to control things to achieve the purpose of 'maybe, perhaps, possibly' keeping someone from having their feelings hurt? You can't or shouldn't try to control all the world, unless you are also willing to stifle what a forum is and toss freedom out of the window in the process. If you don't like the above comment then you can fire back at me if you choose, that's "A Forum". Besides, I put my 'big boy underwear on every morning' and I'm willing to live in the real world. TIM

[Nicker]

I like the silent but it never seems to stay around. I find it's too hard to feel the pressure of commenting on each and every post.

[Hayley]

I think one of the reasons the silent ones don't stay around is that people are posting in both and the traditional ones always win out when most people get tired of looking at two threads only to see most of them are duplicates.

I love the fact that the traditional ones seem to hardly have any quote with image repeated! Yay!

[Elizabeth Beads]

I think it would be OK in the Silent S&T to comment on your own bead, such as saying what glass it is made of or why you were tickled with it. I noticed some people gave the name of the bead or the set and that seems cool. Saying "now on ebay" is a pet peeve of mine (in any thread, especially if your selling links are in your sig.) but I'm a live and let live person so I will deal.

[Hayley]

I actually love when they say "now on ebay" or "now on etsy" so I don't have to click on all the links in their sig to find the bead! lol! That goes to show that there is not "right" or "wrong" in most situations, Liz! ;)

[patienthand]

I went and looked at the silent thread the other day and enjoyed it. I rarely look in the gallery because I find it a pain to wade through all the multiple images of work and chatter.

Candice

[Carolyn M]

A forum is a free exchange of ideas. Exchange if you want to. Comment if you want to. Share an idea if you want to. Post a picture if you want to.
Do you really need to control things to achieve the purpose of 'maybe, perhaps, possibly' keeping someone from having their feelings hurt? You can't or shouldn't try to control all the world, unless you are also willing to stifle what a forum is and toss freedom out of the window in the process. If you don't like the above comment then you can fire back at me if you choose, that's "A Forum". Besides, I put my 'big boy underwear on every morning' and I'm willing to live in the real world. TIM

I agree with this. Frankly I like the regular S&T better, I like when people share, I like when people comment on my beads, and don't get all bent out of shape when they don't. It's kind of a regular occurrence to have people complaining that only the 'clique' (which has changed many times over the years BTW) gets nice comments on their beads. IMHO, the best beads get the most admiration, I don't look to see who made the bead before I post kudos. I'm very tempted sometimes to make a wahwahbabypants comment when I see the same complaint pop up again

OMG, I'm starting to channel Andy Rooney..............

[LoriB]

I love the idea of a Silent ST where the poster can still say something about their bead so we can enjoy the inspiration from them! I rarely post in the regular ST because I always feel such pressure to comment on every single bead so no one feels left out. I also hate all the repeat quotes and pics—so much to wade through some days. I would definitely post more often in this format and like the idea of sending PMs to people too. *ü*

[beadaddicts]

I like the silent but it never seems to stay around. I find it's too hard to feel the pressure of commenting on each and every post.

I love the idea of a Silent ST where the poster can still say something about their bead so we can enjoy the inspiration from them! I rarely post in the regular ST because I always feel such pressure to comment on every single bead so no one feels left out. I also hate all the repeat quotes and pics—so much to wade through some days. I would definitely post more often in this format and like the idea of sending PMs to people too. *ü*

These exactly sum up how I feel. I rarely posted in the regular S&T, not because I really cared whether or not MY beads were commented on, but because I felt very insincere when trying to find an individual comment to make on all the beads posted before me! I too got tired of seeing the same beads quoted over and over, and love the true "gallery" feel to the silent showcase.

I love the option of having both....and for those of us who like the silent ones, I think its up to us to keep starting them, but I don't really see a need to set a timeframe for it. I started today's....Thursday...around 9:30 a.m., which makes much more sense to me than starting Friday's at 2:00 this afternoon! :lol:

[cadia]

Love SS!!!!

[2kids&atorch]

Okay, so call me stupid (or talentless). I always assumed that nobody comments on my pictures in the original gallery because nobody really knows me here. And NOW come to learn, it's because they actually DON'T LIKE MY WORK!!!!
He hee hee.

[Kalera]

I really like the silent showcase... and I think it should start anytime after midnight for the person who's starting it, since many of us are not on the American continents at all.

[Astrid Riedel]

My 2 cents worth...Suggestion, I think if you want to look at beads in a gallery type setting, why not post the beads on Beadartists.org? I feel a forum is for sharing and I love the feedback other than just from my family;) I aggree with TIM.
I think all the double posting on one forum just gets too much, even other newer and older forums don't last as we all gravitate to the one forum which is most visited.
Pm's takes more time and it also means you need to answer each person individually!
At the end of the day if no one pm's you on your bead you will also be hurt not so?

Regards Astrid

[Sheila D.]

Nope,no one has to PM me with kudos or raspberries.I just like the silent s&t cause it's easier!

[Kalera]

I sometimes post in both, but not the same beads.

I like looking at the silent showcase because it's not loaded with comments, quoted pics, or pressure.

I am always happy to answer questions but don't expect or need anyone to PM me compliments.

To each her own.

[Juls]

I like that the silent showcase feels more like an actual showcase~ streamlined art without the clutter of words.

[Kevan]

Love the SS, but it doesn't matter what the poll here shows, someone is not going to have read this thread and is going to start it at some time someone has a problem with.

[Kalera]

Someone's ALWAYS got a problem, with SOMETHING. They can suck it!

[Astrid Riedel]

You know thinking a bit more about it, I think you should not have to get an opnion on whether you should have a SS or not, do it and those that prefer it will post, those that don't won't, you will never please everybody, so if there is an interest you will soon know.

I think though that getting an agreement on the time to start will never stick as not everybody will read this thread, I also don't think if you post in both threads that you want to come back at a later stage to post again, do it when it is convenient to you.
You know it might even be possible if there is not so much clutter that you keep the SS open for a week, than you can peruse the whole show of the week?

Astrid

[2kids&atorch]

I agree with Astrid. And I do like the silent idea...it's nice to scroll through a thread and see a bunch of different pictures, instead of a few photos and a bunch of text and a few re-postings etc. Sometimes I like to share threads with my coworker (who is not a lampworker but has great appreciation for the artwork we do!). When we are looking for something and we have to scroll through a bunch of text and quoted posts, etc., etc., she gets dizzy and gives up! It would be nice to see a long stream of bead photos one after the other without any text in between.