The reason I would leave it up to the moderators is that they presumably would choose the most representative photo . I might vote for the glamor shots that really aren't representative of a plant, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that would do that. Besides, I don't imagine that the moderators would have to use the override that often. I do think they should have the option, however. This is not a photography contest, after all. It's a source of information, and the information should be as reliable as possible.

I am hoping that when someone clicks on the new images that they scroll down to see them all and then click as many as they like but I do agree, with so many images coming in, I would want the a nice decent shot to represent the plant in the genus listing. Do you ever scroll through just one genus listing to see what it looks like? This is what Zuzu and I are talking about, the main thumbnail.
http://garden.org/plants/brows...
http://garden.org/plants/brows...

On Davesgarden, in the early days of the database, digital cameras weren't the greatest and some of the first images for some entries were poor quality but at least they had an image. As more people started adding more photos, it was sad to see the original thumbnail representing the plant in the genus listing. A few times I requested admin to change the order and put in one of the nicer photos so it would show up in a thumbnail.

I enjoy giving thumb ups for images and posts within a thread and it's nice to see them from someone else. The system works as it should, just a little tweaking for the database purposes is all that's needed. Not a big deal.

I agree that it would be best for the moderators alone to chose the main photos that best represent the plant in question. The rest of us could still use the thumbs up to say "beautiful shot" or "very helpful image for identifying seed" or whatever. I think Dave chose the moderators because of their knowledge of a group of plants. We should take advantage of their knowledge

I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one who was confused about the significance of the thumbs up in different areas of the site. I'm glad I raised what I thought was a stupid question.

Karen

No question is stupid except the one that isn't asked. Honestly, I was confused also.

I think giving the moderators some control over the thumbs up would be good. That would also control any people just giving thumbs up to friends, although I haven't seen this as a problem. I agree with Sue, just some control for the database.

I love giving thumbs up, too!

The database should have the most accurate and best quality picture as the first one in view when someone searches the database so I really like the idea of moderator control, with moderators being able to over-ride the thumbs up!

I love the thumbs up feature ... it's a lot of fun and it lets the photographer know we appreciate them sharing their beautiful photo's!

I like the thumbs up too, as a matter of fact I was getting addicted to them for my daily pat on the back, and then they almost stopped, Oh Well!!!

I haven't changed my mind from the beginning. I like the thumbs-up okay but only if they are anonymous (which they aren't).

I love the thumbs up feature and would not like to see it go away. I feel it would be the rare occasion that a moderator would have to over ride a thumbnail in the database.

I don't know about anyone else, but in the sempervivum we have the first/original photos for some cultivars that were pretty poor quality, because that was all we had at the time. I can say this because most of them were mine. So that's all there was to give thumbs up to, so people were choosing the best one out of the batch of bad photos. I have been removing my poor quality photos now that we have some very nice photos entered by a lot of great people here at ATP. I think this will all even out once each plant entry is filled with photos.

But I still think it's a good idea to have the ability to over ride if it's necessary.

Dave said "I know what you mean, Karen. I love moderating these images because it gives me a chance to see each one.
Paul, you're somewhat right. The thumbs up survive the moderation process. Initially the idea is that by giving a thumbs up, you are indicating to the moderators that you agree with the proposal, i.e., this is a quality image that indeed belongs to the plant that it was submitted to.
Once the plant is approve, the thumbs-up is copied along and becomes a "quality vote" for that image."

And Calif-Sue said "I am hoping that when someone clicks on the new images that they scroll down to see them all and then click as many as they like but I do agree, with so many images coming in, I would want the a nice decent shot to represent the plant in the genus listing. Do you ever scroll through just one genus listing to see what it looks like? This is what Zuzu and I are talking about, the main thumbnail.
http://garden.org/plants/brows......
http://garden.org/plants/brows...

Since the photos we're questioning is ONLY for the plant displayed in the genus listing (see Calif-Sue's links immediately above), I think the current system is fine as long as moderators alone pick the image that shows in the genus listing. Images on a page for each specific cultivar could still get lots and lots of thumbs ups from all ATP members and the fun part of the feature remains. We could all keep giving thumbs up as we have, the number of them just wouldn't determine which photo displays in the genus listing. That would be determined only by moderators.

Sounds simple to me. Until I read Calif-Sue's post, I didn't understand which image we were discussing. It's just what shows on this page.
http://garden.org/plants/brows...
I guess I don't understand why this is such a controversy. If we just let moderators choose which photo displays on the genus page, it's easy, isn't it?

Karen

kqcrna said:I guess I don't understand why this is such a controversy. If we just let moderators choose which photo displays on the genus page, it's easy, isn't it?

Yes, it greatly simplifies things. I will be updating the system according to the below:

The thumbs will continue to determine photo order, but a moderator will have the ability to over-ride that and directly choose a thumbnail.

I think this is the perfect solution.

dave said:The thumbs will continue to determine photo order, but a moderator will have the ability to over-ride that and directly choose a thumbnail.

I think this is the perfect solution.

Perfect!!

Me, three!

Perfect and easy, I hope.

So, the rest of us can still use a thumbs up just to signify "pretty picture" or "very helpful for identifying seeds" or whatever? And use the feature with abandon?

Karen

I am so glad you understand what we moderators were trying to get across, some didn't get it or didn't like that others didn't quite agree with their ideas, got in a huff and took their 'toys' home. We all stuck together and with a group effort, hashed it all out and Karen, you came up with a concise description of the problem and an easy solution that Dave could implement.

Don't give me too much credit, Sue. I was the first to MISUNDERSTAND what we were even talking about- the image that shows on the genus page. I didn't get that until you explained.

I've entered some seed photos which have gotten some thumbs up. I do think that they're valuable additions to information about any plant. Ditto seedling photos. But they don't show how pretty any plant can be. I'd never think that that photo should be the ONE image displayed on the genus page.

Karen