Have you ever heard of a traffic exchange? The concept is simple: one visits member's sites in exchange for visits to one's own site. So in an effort to increase the exchange of comments in peoples' Elfwood and Deviantart galleries we decided to start this comment exchange.
The problem:
Have you ever tried going on massive commenting runs? That's the way most amateur artists get their source of comments. They spend hours upon hours sitting in front of the computer commenting on picture after picture, hoping that a few artists will be kind enough to return the favor. What do they get out of it? Just a handful of measly comments or none at all. It's a gamble really, there is no guarantee that any artist will be the kind and curious type, and comment on your gallery in return.
The solution!
Well that's where this site comes in. We have taken the gamble out of it. Now it is simple to receive comments in your gallery. You are provided with links to members sites who
promise comments in return!
Above are several links to the lists of members for Elfwood (galleries and libraries) as well as for members of DeviantArt. If you are starving for comments you should go visit some of their galleries and leave some comments. It's not very difficult to gain comments in this way: if you only leave one comment in each gallery, that would mean you would gain at least one comment for EACH gallery you commented in. There is no guarantee you will receive more than that, but you will certainly not receive less. You actually get something for your hard work commenting. What could be better? What could be easier?
Or, alternatively, you could take one of the Comment exchange tours which have been put together with artwork from our members, and comment on the works you see there. You would recieve a comment back for every comment you gave out.
Constructive criticism (CC) is valued more highly than the “kool pics” comments. So leave as much CC as possible, they are more likely to return the favour with a larger number of comments in return.
You don't even need to be a member to benefit in this fashion!
What are the benefits of joining?
Why not just swing by and leave comments on member's galleries whenever you need comments? Well, not only can you still comment on fellow members' galleries (so that they'll return the favor), but people would also come to you for comments if you were a member! it only takes a little more effort on your part. There is nothing wrong with simply swinging by whenever you need comments but it's extremely easy to become a member and reap the benefits (a constant stream of comments!).
Make sure to read the rules before going and commenting on members' sites or if you wish to join.
30th April 2008, 03:54 pm
Cimatti Consulting just updated the plugin that allows us to enter our gallery URL’s. Doing so fixed the bug that didn’t allow us to save changes to those fields. The CE is now officially up and running smoothly in wordpress 2.5+. That was one rocky road we traveled for a while there, but we’re through the worst of it. I’m going to be working on some tutorials for doing basic stuff around the site (like entering your gallery urls, setting up profile pictures to show up in the forums, etc…).
In the mean time, get out there, have some fun, make some comments, and give some back. This community is growing and it’s growing fast. Hopefully things will move even faster now that everything is 100%
Type to you later,
~Nathaniel
25th April 2008, 09:00 am
Unfortunately, there is a bug in one of the plugins that I use to extend the functionality of this site. This so happens to be the plugin that enables users to enter their gallery URL’s into their profiles so that they can be seen on the user pages.
As far as I know, the problem is being worked on, but due to the nature of this site, and the nature of the plugin, we just have to wait for them to update. If you know PHP programming well enough that you believe you might be able to help, contact me, and I’ll set you up so that you can dig around in the code.
If you have some spare cash in the bank and would like to donate to this plugin (in the hopes that the developer will work on it faster/more often), then simply go here, and donate whatever you think is fair.
For the time being, I’ll make it to where users can enter their URL’s when they sign up (which seems to be unaffected by the bug). Anyone wishing to change/remove/add URL’s should contact me with their username and the URL’s they wish to modify.
Sorry for the mess, this upgrade is still not working perfectly.
Type to you later,
~Nathaniel
(UPDATE: This issue has been resolved. Click here for more info).
22nd April 2008, 10:05 pm
That’s right. It took a while but I managed to get the forums back up and working. I apologize for that taking so long but I had to update the database in order to accommodate this. On top of that, I installed the new version of the forum incorrectly about seven times before I finally read the directions (I figured that might help).
In any case, It’s all working again. Yay!
So feel free to dig right in and keep in touch. The forums really are the best place to network, get to know people, learn new tips/techniques, and get advice. The main reason, however, that you should participate in the forums is that all the cool kids are doing it, so you should too. 
You do want to be cool don’t you?
Go to the Forums
3rd April 2008, 07:24 pm
The Comment Exchange is now listed as a global associates of Elfwood.
This means a lot to us because it means greater exposure, more traffic, and more comments on member’s galleries.
We are listed 1st (as of the date of this article) under the “Global” subsection of the “Elfwood Communities” Section. Because of this listing, we have received more exposure through that one page in the last 30 days, than from any other source.
We’ve got almost 50 members as of this post and we’re growing every day. I’ve got to say, I’m really enjoying myself, and I hope everyone that visits here does as well. Everyone keep up the good work, get involved, and as the pirates would say “Stick to the code.” er… and by code I mean the rules. 
19th November 2007, 11:30 pm
As we grow I thought it would be nice if the URLs where shown in a random order instead of listing them in the oder in which they signed up. I think that just makes it more fair for everyone.
I’m thinking about adding a feature to the sidebar that shows the most recent user’s urls.. But I’ll really have to dig to figure out that one. I’ve got to say… this PHP stuff is a lot of fun, but it sure is difficult to figure out. If anyone of you knows PHP, MYSQL and/or WordPress, let me know. We could certainly use your help.
Glad to have everyone, we’re growing by the day, hopefully this will keep up. Keep up the commenting.
Type to you later,
~Nathaniel