Group Submissions & Favorite Suggestions
Based on the poll, the majority of the club is bothered by the volume of submissions to the Open Member Submissions gallery folder. The last thing I want to do is cause people to leave the group because they find the group an annoyance. So here's the solution I've come up with.

Open Member Submissions gallery folder
I hate to do this, but this folder will be closed for submissions until further notice. I've contacted the help desk to find out if there's anything in the works to make it easier for group members/watchers to manage their devwatch with relation to groups. I'll update as soon as I find something out.

Group Favorite Suggestions
Since the club is all about the members, I still want to allow you guys to submit to the group. Luckily, when you submit a suggestion to the group's favorites, it doesn't notify the group's members or watchers. So starting today, you may submit 2 of your own deviations per week to the group's favorites. This will allow club members to get exposure while helping people keep their devwatches clean. You may submit other people's deviations to the group's favorite in excess of your own 2 per week, but try not to spam me with every photo you see. Pick the best and submit those.


Contest: Winter Holiday
There's a new contest going on, and it's located right here: Winter Holiday Contest.


Contest: Group Avatar
The group avatar contest is still open, but the deadline is fast approaching. Submissions end on Jan. 1, so hurry up. Contest information can be found here: Avatar Contest


Contest Voting
I still haven't found a way to vote for contests other than to have people send me notes with their vote. This is a lot of work for me, so I'm trying to avoid it. Does anyone know of any other way? Polls only allow 10 options... Please comment if you have any suggestions.


Contest News Article
I've written a news article for the Winter Holiday contest. Take a look at it and give the little heart button a click. The journal can be found here: [link]

Permissions Update
The permissions got reset again on submissions to the Favorites Suggestions, Open Member Submisisons folder, and Contest Entry:Group Avatar folder. DA said they fixed it last week, but it apparently wasn't fixed. They have updated today that is is now fixed again. I have set the permissions to allow members to submit pending approval. If you are unable to submit, send the group a note to let me know and I'll reset the permissions.


Reminder
I'm seeing a lot of submissions to the group favorites suggestions where members are submitting their own deviations. Please remember that submitting your own work to the favorites will be rejected. The favorites suggestions are for when you find someone else's macro photography that you really like and want to share with the club. If you want to submit your own work, please submit it to the Open Member Submissions gallery folder (limit 2 per person per week).


It's on.
I like the new DA groups features. There's some pretty slick stuff. So I'm going to give the group a try. Hopefully I can keep up with things now that the club is a group. One cool feature is that I can add other people as admins to the group and assign permissions for what they can and can't do. That should help tremendously. I'll let the group know when I'm ready for help, so please don't ask until then. Moving right along...


And there's a contest to prove it!
Yep. There sure is. The contest is for a new group avatar. Submissions go to the Contest Entry: Group Avatar folder. The avatar must be a macro photograph. If your submission doesn't show up immediately, it's because I must approve submissions to the folder. I usually check the group a couple times throughout the day as my work schedule allows.

Contest Rules:
ONE SUBMISSION PER PERSON PLEASE
You must be a member to submit
Imagemust be a macro photograph
Image must be 100px wide by 50px tall
Photo must be 100% your own (no stock)
Photo manipulations should be kept to a minimum (minor retouching, contrast, brightness, color adjustments, etc... things like that)
The winner of the contest will have their submission used as the avatar for the group. Obvious, but I guess I should say it.
Submission deadline: Jan 1, 2010.


Open Member Submissions folder submissions
I have decided how I want to administer this folder. The rules are as follows. Please try to respect them. It will make my life easier.

Please limit yourself to 2 or less submissions per week. Please choose only your best photo(s) to submit. With the sheer size of this group, watchers will be excessively spammed if everyone is submitting every photo they take.
Submissions must be macro photographs. If you're not sure if your photo qualifies as a macro, take a look through the group's galleries and see if your photo seems to fit in.
Please keep photo manipulations to a minimum. You may use things such as minor retouching, contrast, brightness, color adjustments, etc... If you're even considering using an artistic filter in Photoshop, don't.
There is no theme for submissions, other than macro photography.
It is highly suggested that you enable comments and critique on your submissions, but it is not required. We just like to encourage community interaction.
Last, but most important, have fun!


Suggestions
Feel free to submit deviations to the group for favorites. All favorites must be approved by me, so it won't show up instantly. Here's a couple ground rules to follow:

Only choose the absolute best macro photos you come across. If you don't think "Wow! That's awesome!" when you see the photo, it's probably shouldn't be a fav.
Don't suggest your own work for favorites. It will not be approved.


Other Thoughts
=DarkMatter77 has written a pretty cool news article featuring macro photography. Give it a view! Macro Nature #1: Jumping Spiders!

The journals are ugly. I need a couple beers to even consider looking at it. I'm going to upgrade to being a super group and try to make the journals more attractive with CSS formatting and images.

I need some input from the group on this. Contest voting. We used to do it via notes. That's a pain. Does anyone know of a better way? I've been out of the loop for quite a while, so I'm looking for your help here. What have you experienced with other groups? How would you like to see it done here?

This one is important, give me suggestions and feedback on everything! Do you like my blog posts? Hate them? What do you want to see happen with the club? What color should the blog posts be? Give me a piece of your mind. Please. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks to =GildedTiger for the background image!