Lately, there have been quite a few discussions about the rating features. Some people even seem to really dislike these functions. Apparently, they find it impossible to simply ignore these features or to genuinely be happy for others receiving praise. For example, some former members have deleted their accounts solely because these features exist. Others attack members who appreciate and use the rating functions. So, it seems there are many misunderstandings and especially strong prejudices against the rating features. I wondered where these misunderstandings and prejudices actually come from and discussed this with a psychologist friend. There are mainly two reasons why some people find it difficult to see this feature as a positive addition:
1. Envy and Resentment Instead of Joy for Others
The main reason is the feeling of being disadvantaged by this feature because other members, who supposedly have worse photos, receive more praise. They feel that this praise is undeserved. If they could simply be happy for those members’ praise (whether justified or not), they could share in others’ joy. But when caught up in envy and resentment, it’s impossible to “be happy for others.” By the way, a compliment doesn’t mean “this is a masterpiece.” It simply means the person giving praise appreciates a photographic achievement. The person praising isn’t saying the photo appeals to you or everyone else. They are acknowledging the photographic effort under very specific circumstances that you might not even be aware of. Praise is always subjective, never objective. Therefore, no one can judge another person’s praise.
2. The Idea That Praise Isn’t Helpful
First of all, the praise function isn’t meant to be a tool for photographic development. It’s designed to let you express your personal appreciation for a photo and give the other person a good feeling. Praise doesn’t harm your photographic growth because it doesn’t claim a photo is a masterpiece. Praise encourages you to keep going, not to stop. The more photos you take and the more you engage with the craft, the better you get. Praise can never cause you to get worse. Of course, constructive criticism promotes growth... but praise does too! Praise instead of commenting? That’s nonsense! One doesn’t exclude the other. If someone doesn’t want or can’t comment on your photo, it’s hardly because of the praise function. It’s simply impossible to comment on every photo. You’d need more than 24 hours a day for that. So, when commenting, you inevitably have to choose. Whether your photos are included depends partly on the subjective quality of your photos and partly on your activity and behavior in the photo club. How you respond to constructive comments is especially important. The praise function has no influence on this!And now, let’s be clear! It can’t be that bad to make someone happy and praise them. What’s so wrong about making someone happy? Just like in real life, everyone appreciates praise, whether they admit it or not. So, I actually find this whole discussion pretty pointless. Just be kind to each other, leave envy and resentment behind, and praise photos you like. You can even add especially good photos to your favorites. It doesn’t even matter if they’re your own or not. And yes, of course you can praise your own photos too! There’s nothing wrong with that. PERIOD!
To address the misunderstandings and prejudices mentioned above, we have revised the rating features. This mainly involves symbols, labels, help texts, and some minor technical improvements. Here’s a quick overview:
"Like" for photos is now called "Praise Photo." For all other content, it remains "Like" as before.
The symbol for this is now again the thumbs-up, as it best represents the function.
The symbol for favorites is now a star (previously a heart), as this is simply more common.
The number of praises is now again visible below the preview. Clicking it opens the list of raters.
In all lists showing who rated, only members with profile pictures are displayed.
Rating in the full view now works with a direct click on the symbol (previously "+" and "-"). Once you’ve rated, the symbol is shown filled (previously colored).
In full view, raters (favorites and praises) are now displayed at the bottom right (previously in a popup when clicking the rating symbol) — again, only members with profile pictures.
A member’s praised photos are now also visible to other members via their profile.
Info texts, tooltips, and help have been updated system-wide accordingly.
(Incidentally, the design of the full view page has been streamlined, making it lighter and clearer.)
This blog post was written and can be linked to whenever the topic comes up again.
Here again is the purpose of the rating features, which can also be found in the help section:1. Favorites
a) Mark the best photos in the photo club as your top favorites. You can view your marked favorites under "Photos" in your profile. b) Photos are displayed in the photo club in various places according to their popularity. Additionally, the homepage shows a random selection of the most popular photos. The more members who favorite a photo, the higher it climbs in popularity. c) To prevent rating manipulation through multiple accounts, this feature is exclusive to premium members.
2. Watchlist
Collect and organize photos according to your criteria, whether your own or others’. For example, create a private watchlist of photos to follow their discussions, or to comment on, recreate, or analyze them later. You can assign detailed permissions for watchlists, such as private, friends, members, or even individual people. This is a premium feature.
3. Praise
Everyone appreciates praise. If you especially like a photo, you can express that with this feature. Your praised photos can be viewed by you and all other members under "Photos" in your profile. The number of praises, along with the number of favorites and comments, influences how photos are sorted by popularity. The more members praise a photo, the higher it rises in popularity. Of course, it’s always good to write a detailed comment on a photo. But sometimes you just want to express your praise or appreciation without writing a comment.
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