Is discrimination a common problem here?
I recently received a comment to the effect, "I don't agree with your view/lifestyle and thus I don't like the photo." (I've kept it bland to avoid finger pointing.) Nevermind that the commentor completely missed/ignored the title of the photo, and made a judgement about me based on that lack of understanding.
I'm aware that my photos are not all that high quality. That's why I am here, to learn and improve, hopefully with the help of constructive critisism. But I am not here to be judged for my skin, religion or sexual preferences.
I can say for myself, while I am not a Christian, I will still vote high on well done photos of stunning church architecture or a child praying peacefully. Good or Bad, I'm not going to impose my opinion of the photographer or his subject matter on everyone. Do I think he could have added or subtracted something to make it a better photo? Ok, then I'll mention it.
Can I write this off as a rare/random occurance, or should I get used to the idea that some people here will always judge photos that way?
It's a huge community. Many different attitudes and approaches. Pay no heed, and soldier on. It's not important that everyone agree with or support you.
You are posting shots to the public, so you should expect a wide range of responses. If you offend someone, they might let you know with a comment. Others will simply vote low. This site is no different in that way than having your shots in a gallery...people will react in a wide variety of ways. And hopefully by subjecting yourself to this type of criticism, you will learn and improve. When I get a comment I find offensive or poorly thought out, I remind myself that I wouldn't respect their opinion as written on someone else's shot, so why give it weight when applied to mine.
I think it is best if you don't take one comment as being definitive of the shots value.
In a community this large you cant avoid finding people who dont like certain things to the extent that they cant help but say something. however on a whole I've found this site much more excepting than any other, and the good people very much outweigh the bad. I've been exceptionally open about my bisexuality in the forums and haven't had any really bad remarks made to me yet. and there have been very lively and still civil discussions about sexuality that made me proud to be a part of such a grown up excepting group of people.
Although this type of thing is unacceptable and should not have happend it happens almost anywhere these days. I would just ignore the comment and try to move on as most of these comments are based on ignorance, unless of course it persists again then I would bring it to the site council and let them know whats going on and they should help to resolve the issue.
Don't let this sort of thing discourage you though, over the years I have joined countless forums and sites on all sorts of topics and DPC is by FAR one of the best I've seen to date. I've seen users hit a string of bad luck and watched as complete strangers step up to help in any way they can, along with other random acts of kindness. Then there is the forums which compared to some others stay incredibly civil even when you expect it to end up in a flame war. There are always some that will go against the grain but every crowd has its numbnuts...
All in all theres a LOT more good, mature people here than there are bad ignorant ones...
Basically, what happens when you publish a picture, or a text, or any work of art, you release it to interpretation, and all your authoritative claims to control the interpretation of that work become futile. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe couldn't prevent Hitler's Germany from interpreting the protagonist of Faust as a man with Nazi-leader qualities, nor could Jan van Eyck prevent the sexist misinterpretation resulting from the deviant version of his painting Arnolfini Wedding in Desperate Housewives.
What your commenter did is create his or her own conception of the picture's photographer. You may take comfort in knowing that this photographer is not you at all, but a mere product of the viewer's imagination.
