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I have put off writing this essay for a while for a number of different reasons...but I think its time has come. Watching some of the activity on various web sites has led me in this direction...
I have thought for some time the computer and all its associated activities has been both one of the greatest boons to mankind and at the same time one of the worst things that could have happened to our society. Like a lot of things it appears to me to be a two-edged sword.
Put aside the patients I have seen in my practice whose lives were ruined by the chat room experts who draw others into their fantasy world and know exactly what to say to control them. Put aside the porn sites that pry couples apart and isolate people from the real world. Put aside the "You Tube" idiots who do anything for a moment's fame. Let's concentrate rather on the well-meaning folks who think they are doing the rest of us a favor by just existing and sharing their mantras and paradigms with us....
I've said previously that the internet provided unequalled opportunities for growth in many areas...especially areas such as photography...where the experience and knowledge of others can move us forward at a faster than normal rate. I still believe that...but only with certain caveats.
Take for instance the recent critique I made of a photograph on one web site. I gave what I thought was a kind, honest appraisal of a photo...not the highest rating but not the lowest either. Immediately...and I do mean immediately!...I was accosted by someone (not the photographer who took the photo...) who berated me for posting a rating he considered too low. He further stated it was necessary for us all to be 'agreeable' (whatever the heck that means!) and that we were members of a 'club' where giving less than glowing ratings of a photograph could greatly discourage newcomers and seriously hold back their growth. In essence he was saying posting lower than average ratings was a no-no. I wanted to ask how it was fair to new members (or old members for that matter) to be dishonest and inaccurate in our critiques but I chose not to do so. In my experience these folks aren't interested in any real discussion...they just want to be heard. Talk about 'dumbing down' the learning process! What a load of horse poop! The end result was that I resolved not to go back to that site and critique any more photographs.
Sound like sour grapes on my part? Maybe so...as I said I've been thinking about this for a while and something did prompt me to write it. But truthfully? I think I'm just making an observation on the current state of affairs. Let's be honest...look around at what happens every day! It's not just this one instance that causes me pain...such things are bound to happen when one can hide behind the anonymity of the internet...it's the repitition of this type of behavior I see over and over again that distresses me...
Somehow in the ether of this electronic milieu we have developed an elite vanguard of those who...most without the slightest authority or expertise...decide what is right and wrong and force it upon themselves to 'police' the activities of the evidently untrained and hopelessly lost rest of us! These folks don't even claim to be experts...they just ram ahead with no forethought for the consequences of their actions. How discouraging! And I know the same thing applies on other sites devoted to any number of vocations or avocations. I hear and see the same complaints from others.
Oh I know....this isn't a new happening! And it won't go away...time has proven that. But at least I can vent and raise my own awareness that the internet with all its associated goodness also at times shows the worst of us all. The ego, the desire to be someone else or at least exist in another place (even if it's unreal!), the selfish nature of so many people, the desire to be on top (at the expense of others), etc., etc., etc...
Like so many things this two-edged sword cuts both ways...so be careful. Dancing with the devil is exciting...but also dangerous. Keep your wits about you...judge everything based on fact and not pseudoscience...parse everything you see and read through real world facts and judgements. In other words....partake, but keep your eyes open and your head up!
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Jack I agree very much with your view I think what happens all too often is we find a site and before ya know it people like the subject of what you post or grow to sorta know you thru your efforts. Then soon you can not get an honest opinion of your latest projects and it stumps your growth. I struggle with finding a site that does not soon turn into a full time job running about commenting on others works and in turn they comment on yours. The few works that I had offered for ratings was done when I changed my name and no one "knew" who the work was from because once "online frineds" know its your suddenly it is fabulous. I agree and think that a lot can be learned online especially in regards to photography but one needs to be very careful and see things for what they are. Great title for this essay and I agree with your words. I am not sure how to conduct a photography critique site where you do get honest opinions without people being too harsh as online people often forget to pay attention to how they say things. One of the skills I have learned from RV is how to start with nice words make my point then finish with nice words.
This is a topic many should read and I too have been attacked online for not giving every picture I had rated a 7 and was rewarded with 3's from the same person. It is a game so I choose not to participate in the rating game but am the first to favor an image I admire or that has given me a new perspective.
I like how you can put into words how two sided things can be because they can. We all just need to pay attention to that as we participate in the photo critique sites.
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