Okay, so I haven't said much on this thread for two reasons:
1. I'm usually on my iPad when I'm on the forum and am so slow at typing on it that I tend just not to post anything, especially if I think it's going to be more than a sentence or two.
2. I'm planning on participating sometimes, but possibly not for the first several weeks as I have other obligations at the moment that are taking up a ton of my time, so I don't feel my thoughts/ideas/opinions should be taken as seriously as someone who is planning on participating every week, right from the get-go.
That said, I'm on an actual keyboard right now and do have some thoughts I'd like to contribute.
I'm under the impression that this is a challenge, not a contest. It seems there is some confusion around this, so maybe I have it wrong. As far as I can tell, there aren't any judges and there aren't any prizes. I believe using the "contest" format that the forum allows is simply for ease of viewing submissions, not that it makes it an actual contest. It doesn't matter to me either way, but maybe some clarity would be helpful.
I think the more fun, encouraging, and inclusive the challenge can be, the more participants we'll have, which is part of the reason why I think we should allow all types of expression--from things written to created to performed to what-have-you. We have a lot of ages, abilities, and interests represented on this forum, and it would be great for everyone to feel that they might have something to contribute when the prompt word inspires them to do so.
As for prompt words, it has been mentioned that not everyone has a specific type of tank. I'm not sure why that matters. Not everyone has wood, decor, plants, rocks, anything to do with breeding,
sand, gravel, and so on to infinity. Does that mean we can't use hundreds of prompt words because someone might not have it? That just doesn't even make sense to me. There are people on this forum who don't even have a fish tank but just love fish. I like the idea that as long as it is aquatic related, it could be used as a prompt word. I'm only *guessing* here, so I hope not to offend anyone, but I'm *guessing* that the idea of not allowing prompt words that require a certain type of tank comes from ones who want to submit photos and, therefore, feel that they wouldn't be able to do so because they wouldn't have the object needed for the photo. For example,
anemone--unless someone has a
saltwater tank with an anemone in it, they can't take a picture of it. If that's the case, I think there are options available: Is there a beach, aquarium, friend with a saltwater tank, or lfs with saltwater stuff nearby? What about taking a picture of a picture? (I don't mean to simply take a photo of a photo and post it as your own. I mean something more like watching a documentary and watching for a good creative shot or something more like that.) What about trying a different type of expression for that week--try your hand at drawing or something else? What about only entering the photo contest that week?
I'm not sure if it was already mentioned, but I think a quick write-up with each submission would be nice, just to let us know basic information. Like, if it's digital art or pastels or photographic elements. Or in the case of a song, what instrument is being played and who composed it? Or in the case of a photo, where was the photo taken? Just something simple and brief.
Looking forward to seeing everyone's submissions!
