Please Please Please....pics Posted To Gallery.......
Decorating By umgrzfn Updated 27 Jun 2009 , 5:11am by Elise87
Thanks for starting this topic - interesting! I like to hear HOW a cake was decorated..is it buttercream or fondant; is that a gumpast figure or purchased; edible image or colorflow; did you really make those beautiful flowers; why did you choose those colors; story behind an unusual design; construction tips...and so on. Short - sweet (of course) and informative.
Less interesting (for me anyway) are the flavors. From a picture, I'm not sure I really care that it's chocolate with cookies 'n cream filling. I think the flavor topics are much better in the Recipe Forum. Maybe - if it's relevant to the design - say a carved cake, what kind of cake...but again, when I'm looking at the pictures, I'm interested in how and why....
Another point that I've seen made before, but follows along this discussion is - please use the keywords. Simple descriptive words for the search engine....say: pink princess tiara pillow tassles. That helps anyone searching for a design or idea - either one I remember seeing last week and forgot to "fave", or looking for something I've never done before.
good point on the flavors...i agree....i really just want to know how you got it that way....not really whats inside....unless RKT was used or gumpaste etc....
I like to read different flavor combo's. So maybe if it's butter cake with buttercream, ehh... but if it's coconut cake with disarrano, I may drool a little and give it a shot.
I know sometimes I feel like the descriptions are 'no kidding', kind of stuff that I feel stupid writing it out. Look, it's fondant covered, and I piped on it... ya know?
I know sometimes I feel like the descriptions are 'no kidding', kind of stuff that I feel stupid writing it out. Look, it's fondant covered, and I piped on it... ya know?
Me too...I can tell pretty much what's on the cake...fondant or buttercream, edible image or painting or colorflow, etc...and I can tell the difference between a figure that someone made and one they bought. So it feels like other people can probably tell what's on the cake and they'd be reading my description and thinking it was a waste of time. If I did something unusual and I feel like sharing 
then I will describe it.
I do like to describe my flavors though if it's a particularly good combination. Plus I like to talk...or write...and sometimes I just like the way the flavors sound, for example, "the cake is amaretto with a cherry swirl, filled with rich fudge buttercream and covered in tootsie roll fondant"
i write descriptions all the time for my photos but i think i write a bit too much lol
Me too! Sometimes I think I can be a little 'long winded'!!!!!!!
But I too, love to read the descriptions and can and have
learned a lot from some of them!!!
I, too, love to read ABOUT the cake...each one tells a story - we don't need to know the whole thing, but what was used to decorate it, why it is a certain color, design, etc. is VERY helpful, not to mention interesting.
Things like cake sizes are helpful, too...and YES - PLEASE - KEYWORDS! That is the beauty of this site - you can search for a "square hawai'ian tropical cake" and see what others have done, get idea, etc.
As for the language issues, I think it's great some people have gone to the trouble of translating. freetranslation.com I think is a better translation site. (I used to teach Spanish in my 'other life'... 
It's just as easy as babelfish but I think more accurate.
...and YES - PLEASE - KEYWORDS!
Seconded! I've also done this before, seen a cake which I loved, didn't favorite (rarely if ever do I favorite)-- and when I went back to look it seemed to have disappeared.
Keywords are SOSOSO important! If you want your cake to have any type of exposure on this site-- beyond "Last Uploads"-- keywords are a must!!!
LOVE hearing all the delicious combos, but serving size would be very helpful. Also, I'm always curious what people charged for their creations.
but if nothing is written to describe the cake, how do we know what language to use? (which came first, chicken or the egg?LOL)
I posted the same a while back, got a negative response to the request, made me feel really bad, one person told me that the majority of ccr's don't really care, I felt it was unfair for one person to speak for others, so I am glad this is going around again and that I am no the only one who would like to read about others cakes, being a newbie there is alot I don't know and would love to find out about ie: cake flavors, colors, techniques.
I posted the same a while back, got a negative response to the request, made me feel really bad, one person told me that the majority of ccr's don't really care, I felt it was unfair for one person to speak for others, so I am glad this is going around again and that I am no the only one who would like to read about others cakes, being a newbie there is alot I don't know and would love to find out about ie: cake flavors, colors, techniques.
I have felt the same way ..a little intimidated at times...sometimes reactions to a question are a little condescending at times....times are hard, we are all trying to do the best we can with a little help from our friends....so i too, have had questions or comments as things come up but dont feel i have the rights or qualifications to respond....
but if nothing is written to describe the cake, how do we know what language to use? (which came first, chicken or the egg?LOL)
Here's what I wrote a few comments ago:
If someone does not leave a description and it's obvious the person does not speak english (like if there is something wrote on the cake in a different language) I do not bother to take the time to translate anything. I will just leave a comment like I would for everyone else. I'm going through the pics that are "uncommented" on and OH MY. There are TONS of pics that have little to no description. To me, "cake" is NOT a description! Of course it's a cake silly!
I guess if people don't take the time to write SOMETHING about the cake that they worked so hard on, I'm not going to take the time to try and figure out what language they speak. I just leave a comment like I would normally.
On a side note, I am sorry that there are people on here that can be condensending! I know when I was new on here my questions wouldn't get answered, etc. It was so frustrating. All I got was "search" for the topic, it has already been talked about or something like that. And I understand, sometimes I get frustrated cause I will have just explained something and then here is another thread about it. BUT, I ALWAYS try to reply (since I know how I felt when I was/am trying to get a question answered) and try to answer the question as best I can then give them the link to the other thread and tell them if they need more info, check here. I will also periodicaly go through the threads that have 0 comments and answer the ones that I can.
To be honest cakesbycindi and grandmaruth, I CARE or I wouldn't be on here!!!! That's really sad that someone would say that and I'm sorry they made you feel bad!!! We all had to start somewhere and we all learn from each other. 
I posted the same a while back, got a negative response to the request, made me feel really bad, one person told me that the majority of ccr's don't really care, I felt it was unfair for one person to speak for others, so I am glad this is going around again and that I am no the only one who would like to read about others cakes, being a newbie there is alot I don't know and would love to find out about ie: cake flavors, colors, techniques.
I have felt the same way ..a little intimidated at times...sometimes reactions to a question are a little condescending at times....times are hard, we are all trying to do the best we can with a little help from our friends....so i too, have had questions or comments as things come up but dont feel i have the rights or qualifications to respond....
grandmaruth
I agree, I am a hobby baker, but want to learn more, there are NO classes with 100 mls. of me, therefor this forum and others are my only link to learning new things. I sometimes feel that just because I don't have a zillion fabulous cakes posted under my name that I am not suppose to ask questions, but in the defense of the many, many wonderful ccr's who have answered my questions, there have only been a handful that I can say that have been negative, and those people are that way in their everyday lives and nothing can change that, overall this is a wonderful site, very informative and helpful. So I just don't let those few bother me, and neither should anyone else. This is an open forum, everyone is intitled to their opinions, although I would think being helpful would generate more response than being negative.
I posted the same a while back, got a negative response to the request, made me feel really bad, one person told me that the majority of ccr's don't really care, I felt it was unfair for one person to speak for others, so I am glad this is going around again and that I am no the only one who would like to read about others cakes, being a newbie there is alot I don't know and would love to find out about ie: cake flavors, colors, techniques.
CakesbyCindi, that really is a horrible, unfortunate response that you got. Allow me to apologize on whomever's behalf, although I doubt that they themself would have been so gracious!
I find the comment about 'not caring' interesting, though. This site was built with the intention of sharing, learning, and teaching the art of cake decorating--not just a visual showcase of any particular user's talent. Which is the main reason why I believe descriptions on pictures are so incredibly important--they serve a purpose greater than the picture itself. Come to think of it, for the person who said that [s/he, at least] didn't care, I would be inclined to direct them towards Flickr or Photobucket, where images are uploaded as images and the masses have no expectations other than a pretty sight. Because for that particular user, a website of that calibur would seem more fitting.
I agree, I enjoy reading what size, flavor, how things were made, it is very helpful...however I must admit I am one who has uploaded a few photos in a hurry and didn't take the time to put any explanation. Needless to say, I went back and put a little info with them since I want to give what I get, right? Thanks for the good reminder!!
I posted the same question a few weeks ago. I won't post a comment anymore on someone's cake if there isn't a description or key words added . I know that is ugly of me but I have to agree with some it only takes a few minutes to point out something about the cake.... I love the stories that go with some of the cakes. Or some of the wonderful flavor combos, a certain technique they used, etc...... I am also sensitive to posters that don't speak english..
If you don't want to leave any info.. that's cool... I just won't be commenting... each is a choice.. not being ugly....
When I 1st started posting pics in the gallery, I used a long, drawn out description. After a while, I cut it down a lot b/c I thought it may be annoying.
Now my description is short & usually only includes what the cake's covered with & what the decor is made from. I figure if anyone wants any greater detail, they can pm me (it's very flattering). Honestly, most of the time, I do good to post pictures, let alone write a story about them.
I have pm'ed people about cake pics. Some have received responses, and others have not. I just chalk it up to people either not having enough time to respond or not wanting to share their secrets. A lack of description does not turn me off to viewing the cake or giving a positive comment. That's kind of the beauty of this site. You can share as little or as much as you wish.
If you don't want to leave any info.. that's cool... I just won't be commenting... each is a choice.. not being ugly....
I totally understand, however, there are over 12 pages in the gallery of "uncommented on" photos. I have spent the last two days going through starting with page 12. I find something to comment on. The difference from when someone leaves a discription to someone who doesn't is my comment. It goes from "Very nice...I love....." for someone who has left a description to "Nice" or "Looks good" and maybe "like the flowers".
I ALWAYS find descriptions educational. I am more likely to comment on a cake with a description than one that doesn't include it. If you don't tell me a little bit about it, I don't know what to comment. I like the titles too, I think it makes it feel a little more personal. Sometimes I wonder if the pics without titles or descriptions are just being uploaded by a bakery or grocery store, which would be 
kind of like cheating a little bit.
About what was said before with people being rude about answering questions:
1. When someone pm me for help about something i made i always eg. have given instrutions on how to make it etc when they have asked
2. I don't know that much but like was said before i try to go to unanswered topics and answer them if i can same with on other threads
3. Yes similar questions get answered in the forums a million times
(i prob am quilty of this lol) but i still like to answer them if i can. Also i do this too at the start and say sorry if this has been done before because most of the time the search engine in the forums doesn't really work so i can't find what i am looking for ahhhhhh!
....BUT just a note about that: If you are looking for a thread and the search won't work on here, go to google and type in eg. 'Fondant colouring cake central' and you are more likely to find threads on what you are looking for that may already have answered your question
About what was said before with people being rude about answering questions:
1. When someone pm me for help about something i made i always eg. have given instrutions on how to make it etc when they have asked
2. I don't know that much but like was said before i try to go to unanswered topics and answer them if i can same with on other threads
3. Yes similar questions get answered in the forums a million times
(i prob am quilty of this lol) but i still like to answer them if i can. Also i do this too at the start and say sorry if this has been done before because most of the time the search engine in the forums doesn't really work so i can't find what i am looking for ahhhhhh!
That's funny!! I think we are related!! This is almost exactly what I said I think on pg 3
Keywords are SOSOSO important! If you want your cake to have any type of exposure on this site-- beyond "Last Uploads"-- keywords are a must!!!
Thats true because my first ever cake uploaded on here i find still randomly gets views etc months after i posted it and i am like how on earth are people still finding it? The only way would be through a search lol
And also i get to find great cakes that were posted years ago that i prob wouldn't have been able to find otherwise
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