ZBrushCentral

Did forum moderator(s) remove my thread?

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Umm… forgive me sounding rude, I do not intend it to come across as rude… but, where is the thread that I started a day ago? The thread posed a question, a simple question, and now the thread is gone.

Let me try to ask it again:

What is the criteria in deciding who and or what goes to top row?

I know that there are plenty of people that come here, browse through some artist’s work, and think… WOW! Yet, they never make top row. Then, there are times when you come here, browse through other threads, and they seem to immediately get the green light.

Is there some criteria that determines this, some check list of skill, composition, lighting, time in grade… something? If not, is it subjective depending upon the moderator at the time who views the work(s)?

I know that my question is bound to upset someone, again, I mean no disrespect. It is just odd, if not confusing, to see an artist who is hands down high caliber NOT on top row, and then someone else who maybe isn’t at that skill level get selected almost immediately for that honor.

I am only asking for clarity, nothing more, so please forgive my offending anyone… it’s only a question.

Have a blessed day,
-kmkenpo

#2

It wasn’t removed, just moved to an appropriate section:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?172469-How-is-the-criteria-set

With that bit of helpfulness out of the way, let me be even more helpful: your post was bad and you should feel bad. It doesn’t matter what the criteria is for people entering the top row, and your individual opinion regarding the relative values of the work that gets posted there is worthless to anyone but yourself. The people who run these forums choose what work they want up there, and may or may not be influenced by the community’s responses to said work through their posts or their votes/ratings. All you can do is use this great community for knowledge and inspiration, and use that to make your own work better. Outgrow your “inability to just sit back and enjoy the art”. No one is going to go through each piece and explain to you why it made the top row, because that’s stupid.

With that said, it definitely couldn’t hurt your standing in the community to learn the appropriate forum to post in. Let me give you a hint for this particular thread: there is no appropriate forum. Despite my rudeness, I do hope that you grow as an artist and that you learn to reap the benefits of this community without feeling the need to justify anyone else’s work. Good luck!

#3

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction as to where the post mas moved… much appreciated.

Now, pleasantries aside… go back and look at my posts in the past. All of them have been positive, with the exception of a time or two where I pointed out someone’s rude behavior. Let me continue that trend… you sir(?), are rude.

I was asking a question, a simple question. One that wouldn’t be difficult to answer, yet, you would rather make it out to be my fault for somehow not seeing the way a moderator judges an artist’s work?

Now, as to my “standing in the community” remark… a remark that was childish at best… matters not. I am not pandering to a community for votes on who is the most popular forum member… I was asking a question. A question that does serve a purpose, one of clarity. So, do yourself a favor and back off on the chest beating, which serves NO purpose except to make you feel somehow more important. Now, my question still stands, whether you like the question or not.

Lastly, I had asked that people forgive me if I offended them by asking the original question… maybe you missed that? So, I will state it again, just for clarity: Forgive me for offending anyone by asking this question, I am only interested to understand the method of choice for Top Row honors.

#4

It absolutely is your fault for requiring the moderators to explain themselves. There have been countless other posts on this subject, why do you think yours is worthy of its own thread(s) and - more relevant - an actual answer when no other post on the subject has been deemed worth the moderators explaining their judgements? Your question doesn’t serve the purpose of the community, but only your own personal “clarity”.

There was nothing childish in regards to my statement about your standing in the community - it wasn’t an attempt to insinuate that you were pandering for votes, my apologies if that is the way you interpreted it. It was, however, a remark on the fact that not only did you make a fairly childish thread in the wrong section of the forums, but after that childish thread was moved somewhere more appropriate (but less appropriate than the trash can) you didn’t take the effort to search your own posts to find the thread, and then you created a second, even more childish thread - again in the wrong section. If your post had been intentionally removed, don’t you think that duplicating it would be undesired?

Why taint your history of positive and constructive posting for something like this? It is a question I now have to ask myself, obviously, and I would answer that it is because I hope - in some small way - to make you see that you are worrying about the wrong things and instead focus your energies on your work and encouraging the community instead of pointing out things you view as less than fair.

You apologized for offending people because you knew what you were asking was silly. I, personally, am very hard to offend and assure you I take no offense to you being unable to deal with the moderators’ judgements. If you take my, admittedly blunt, remarks as “chest beating” then I apologize - nothing I’ve said is meant as a personal attack, merely an attack on the kind of mindset that causes people to worry about something like this. All you can do is work for yourself as an artist, encourage others in the community, and rate threads highly when you feel they are deserving.

I wish you all the best with your own artwork!

#5

Odd… you say that it is my fault for asking a question that has been asked, yet remains unanswered… but, isn’t that the point of a question… to get answers?

Now, I am able to “deal with the moderator’s decisions”, I am just asking for an understanding as to what standard are those decisions being made. Be offended if you want, call it childish if you want, beat your chest and be condescending if you want… a question is not silly nor childish, a question is just that… a search for answers.

Lastly, you confuse your “bluntness” with being rude. I am blunt, I always have been… you(?)… rude in a most arrogant sort of way. Not only are you most certain that my question was/is silly and childish, you endeavor to make a case as such. Thanks to you pointing me to my original thread, I was able to see that others expressed a similar concern of criteria. Which, by your definition… makes the others childish with silly questions. Again, beat your chest at someone who may back down from your opinions, I will not.

Thank you for the well wishes, I do appreciate the sentiment, even though you seem as warm as a wet toilet seat.

Have a blessed day,
-kmkenpo

edit: a minor spelling issue… drat.

#6

Yes, others in your thread and numerous other threads have asked the same question. I have yet to see others, however, create multiple threads and continue to ask a question that will not (and perhaps, cannot) be answered in a satisfying way - which is where the childishness comes in. The people in your other thread at least attempted to make some kind of explanation or comment on the subjectivity of art or the varying interests of the mods as ZBrush evolves, while you just remain unsatisfied without someone giving you a simple and concrete answer that isn’t likely to come. If the moderators wanted to answer this question, they would have already done so, and not instead have chosen to move your thread without reply.

Feel free to be overly sensitive at what are merely objective responses, and mistake my words for some kind of aggression, but the fact remains that you are not championing for some kind of community understanding but are instead just trying to have someone spell out for you why one image received top row honors while others have not. You are free to assume that my well wishes are insincere, but they are not.

#7

I don’t doubt your wishes… I thanked you for them. My concern is that you assume there is not, and will not be answered to the non-childish question of criteria. I think, as apparently do many others, that it would be nice to know what that criteria is… You obviously, don’t care to know, and would rather continue as if it doesn’t matter. I can concede that to you and many others, that it is a non issue… But to many others, it is. A simple answer of determining factors would at least secure it for some, that this top row isn’t just a whim of the one who saw it first, but rather a well thought out check list.

Forgive any grammatical errors and such… I am responding via phone.

#8

Well, see, I think you have reached the key element to our disagreement with your last post. It is true that I feel that the criteria for receiving top row honors doesn’t matter, or at the very least that it would be detrimental to the community to be given a concrete listing of requirements or qualifications. For one thing, while being in the top row is certainly an excellent achievement both as an artist as well as for those who may use it as an accolade on a resume or CV, the primary goal of people creating art and sharing it with an artistic community should be (from my perspective) the joy of expression and creation along with the critiques and inspiration from other artists. Having a set of guidelines that people would be apt to follow in hopes of reaching the top row would limit the amount of variety and spontaneity seen in works here and rob of us of seeing new kinds of techniques or styles or other experimentation.

I think it may be unsatisfying to hear, but top row honors probably are given out on “just a whim” - in that the moderators merely choose the work they like personally, or demonstrates a novel or particularly skilled use of the tools, or provides a pleasing example of newly implemented functions, or shows some kind of value that they think is in line with what they want ZBrush to be as an artistic outlet. It’s not like we’re talking about a bunch of curators and PhD’s getting together together to discuss what works should be included in a major art museum, it’s bound to be more casual and fluid.

Finally, let me dry off that toilet seat by saying that my above posts were more charged than necessary. As you mentioned, my perspective is that it doesn’t matter what these criteria are and I therefore attempted to divert your energies to something I felt was more constructive. I still hold that you aren’t going to get a concrete answer to your inquiry, in fact I hope that you do not, but I still wish you the best. Happy ZBrushing!

#9

cdizzle
You have gone the extra mile to mend something, when there was no requirement for you to do so… and for that gesture, it means more than you know. Thank you.

Thank you for putting your position in a more understandable perspective, and yes, I will concede that in the big scheme of things… this is a minor question to a minor concern. And, even though my concern is still there, I will shelf it for now and await answer that may never arrive.

Again, I thank you for going to the lengths that you have to express your views, and make amends… my apologies for offending you and any others as I had, it most certainly was not my intent.

Have a blessed day,
-kmkenpo

#10

No offense taken. All the best!