that picture explains about where I'm coming from. I am sick and tired of these banners. They seem to be a constant entry or addition in the banner contest and for people like me they begin to degrade my respect for the artist and website in general. There seem to be two types of people in this AMV community: There are those who solely watch AMVs and those who make them.
As the picture above portrays, one of the messages sent from those who make AMVs is that if somone downloads their AMV then that person should leave an opinion. That idea has spawned multitudes of "Leave and opinion!!!" banners and they have far more a negative effect than positive. Who wants to be scolded for not participating as others see fit? Consider the opposite extreme. What if a banner was made that said "Be grateful that your AMV was even watched!!!" ? Would that make the artist actually be grateful? Perhaps that message indicates that those who solely watch AMVs do not think it a requirement to leave an opinion if they download an AMV. Hence, there are two conflicting messages within the community.
I am aware that art needs to be critiqued and am quite for it. However, twisting people's arms with exclamatory demands will lead to nowhere. When I first became a member here I enjoyed leaving opinions. I liked that ability to interact and found it pleasing to express my thoughts regarding something I just watched. Eventually I reached the point where I felt the need to write opinions that were worthy and helpful for the AMV and artist. I concluded that leaving a useless and short opinion does relatively nothing for the artist. Perhaps the more opinions an artist receives the more encouraging it is for them, but I should think that a more detailed opinion/review is both more helpful and more what the artist is seeking. Also, posting something of worth makes the poster feel better about their addition, especially in the light of several other opinions. However, leaving a detailed and analytical opinion is rather time and effort consuming. How can one always find the motivation to put forth the necessary effort and sacrafice the necessary time to review an AMV when they initially only cared to watch a few new AMVs?
Here lies my primary point. Where is the insentive to post a worthwhile opinion or any opinion for an AMV? Currently, all that happens when you post an opinion is that you are graded on the value of it, you are allowed to read everyone else's opinion for that specific AMV, the artist may reply to your opinion, and your opinion may help the artist in some manner. Finally, it is curtious to leave an opinion, but curtiousy and goodwill do not last forever. Eventually, people will want something in return for all their gratitude.
I considered it for awhile, but could not come up with any great innovation to provide insentive for the average A.M.V..org member to leave an opinion for the AMVs they watch. The basic idea is to heighten the importance and benefit of leaving an opinion or a good opinion. One way to slightly meet that objective would be to have a "most usefullness" list that lists usefull people who leave opinions (similar to the other "top" lists). Actually, I do not think that is a new idea, but I don't see that list any longer if it ever existed. If a way can be found to provide definate insentive to post an opinion then I think it will be to everyone's benefit. Either way, such brash banners like the one above will not aid any such cause.
