First off I want to say: " This is the best site EVER!" I keep it up on my computer all day and have learned so much from everyone here. I LOVE looking at all your photos and am in awe of the amazing talent here!

That said, here is my suggestion: A lot of people ask questions when they comment on photos, especially if there is no elaboration in the photo that is posted. I do see some of them answered in the thread of comments, but others I think are answering privately. When I see a question asked, I am curious about the answer too but hesitate to ask again since it has already been asked. Sure, it's nice to get a personal message, but my suggestion is for everyone to answer the questions in the thread for all to see. This would also make less work for you since you only have to answer the question once. I see this same thing happening on one of my other sites and it is frustrating because , Inquiring minds want to know? !
I hope I am not out of line suggesting this. I know a lot of you are extremely busy, I just thought this would make things a little easier for everyone! Thanks and have a great day!

In a perfect world that would work.......however most of the time I only go back to read comments on my photos the first day or two after I upload.

So if someone comes in a week later and asks a question in the gallery, I won't see it.

I think if someone wants to ask a question they should PM the person and not ask in their comment at all.

When someone asks a question in the photo comments, I try to PM them as well as respond in the photo. The only problem is that sometimes people don't take the time to read thru all the comments, and asks the same question. So it's still another PM to send! Personally, I think if you seriously want an answer to a question regarding a photo, it's far better to send a PM to the decorator than ask it in the comments. All you have to do is click on the person's name, which will cause their profile to pop up, and then you hit the PM button.

You can be emailed when someone leaves a new comment for you.

I've tried answering questions in the comment section, but there's a limit to how many characters you can have in the comment section, so you can't write out a long explanation/answer. When you PM, there's no limit, so a long explanation can be written out.

I like it best when the person with a question sends a pm. Usually the answer is quite lengthy and would take up too much space for the comments section. If the answer is just a quick short answer, leaving it in the comment section would be fine. If the answer requires several paragraphs, or pages, to explain....then I would send a pm.
Also...I often send photos with my answers.

I'll try to answer things in the comments if it is quick answer. If it is a more lengthy answer I will PM the person.

I'd much rather someone PM me a question if they have one about one of my pictures. That way I know they really want the answer and will see the answer. I know if I posted an question under the comments of a picture I'd probably forget to check back to see the answer, especially if that person doesn't reply right away.

i post the photo --- and then "out of site, out of mind (and I don't mean I am!)

so....

better is for person to PM or even better....

start a thread asking about XYZ technique in ABC's photo