September 2026 Photo Contest Discussion Thread: "The Street as a Livelihood" (page 7 of 12)

Alright, photo submissions for the contest are now closed. Voting is open until Tuesday, September 29 at 11:59 PM!

Otherwise, she really tears up your photo of Ajmer

By the way, I just realized while going through the photos that it was deleted. So my photo 1 is eliminated. Why? I can understand it, but it would have been nice to send a message to let me know the reason. By whom? Mystery...

To the shadow censor, it would have been especially nice to notify me about the elimination of my photo so I could submit another one, especially since I organized this contest myself. Not even a message to warn me. I’m not making a big deal out of it, though, because VF isn’t the center of my life. It’s just that it’s at least strange, not to say something else, but consistent with a certain mentality here to act this way.

Anyway, I congratulate all the participants. Despite the number of submissions being significantly lower than usual (maybe due to a less common theme or boycotts by some), it’s still heartbreaking to make choices because the proportion of high-quality shots is so high.

But without an explanation for the elimination of my photo, I’m not sure I’ll vote in my own contest.

Weird this deletion, especially if it happened recently when your photo was posted at the start of the contest 🤪 Did you write to the moderation team?

Hi Pagal, The disappearance of your photo is indeed strange. However, I think it’s a shame that you assume bad intentions from a member and talk about a “certain” mentality. We’re a very diverse group of travelers that Covid unfortunately divided. Over time, we get to know each other’s tastes and sensitivities, and personally, I find that amusing. As for your theme, I really liked it, and during your contest, I was in China with one eye viewing the world through the “street as a livelihood” filter. Just for that, contest themes can be so enriching. Unfortunately, it’s my lack of technique that keeps me from participating remotely and holds me back from actively joining the contest again. We’ll see, maybe… With that, I also want to say that people may have many reasons for not participating without their silence implying criticism. Finally, it should technically be possible to recover your photo and put it back in the contest. For my part, I want to thank you so much for your organization and your very inspiring theme. With traveler’s regards from one wanderer to another.

Hey Pagal

Who or what did your Ajmer photo represent? I don’t remember 😕 No one can delete a post without a valid reason! It seems only moderators have that ability... Don’t give this any credit by abstaining from voting! Instead, if I were you, I’d ask for an explanation.

Hi Kate,

Actually, I can understand why my photo was removed. Whether it was justified is debatable, but there was an obvious reason: it was the photo of the disabled beggars in Ajmer. I guess it offended a moderator or a member who reported it—those are the only two explanations I can think of.

If that’s how the forum’s rules work, no problem, but I still could’ve been notified with a message and a reason so I could post another one. Plus, it wasn’t removed right away. I’m not sure exactly when because I’ve been really busy this month, but it was fairly recent since it was still there the second-to-last time I checked the contest photos.

As for asking for an explanation, I figure the moderator has read this thread and is capable of sending me a message, since they must’ve followed the contest thread to decide to remove my photo. So it seems they just don’t want to and prefer exercising their right to censor in the shadows. It’s not a big deal—VF isn’t the center of my life—but it’s still a pretty shady mentality, to put it… mildly 😄

Hi Ursula,

Thanks for appreciating the contest theme. I’m glad it inspired you and enriched your trip to China. Hope you’ll share your feedback with us.

Wow, reading you, it’s almost like I’m the one at fault—talk about the world upside down! 😄

I never said the censorship of my photo was the work of a malicious member: that’s what *you’re* saying. That said, it’s still plausible because, as I told Kate in the previous message, there are only two possibilities. So, my assumption isn’t "damaging" as you put it—it’s completely realistic: a VF moderator deleted it without notifying me, and that’s the only way it could’ve happened. It’s a fact. What I’m saying isn’t far-fetched at all, unlike the absurd conspiracy theories and apocalyptic takes from some of VF’s "pillar" members, which, by the way, are the real reason for the "rift" you rightly mentioned.

Otherwise, I did say that lower participation in this contest was likely due to the theme I proposed. That doesn’t rule out other reasons, especially since some "longtime" members (or so I’ve been told) didn’t appreciate some of my comments.

As for the "certain VF mentality" I mentioned, I stand by it. I’m attached to VF and joined as soon as it reopened. But it’d be dishonest to deny there are quite a few odd things that only happen here and nowhere else—even before the COVID era: arbitrary administration and moderation, members with outlandish takes, harassing trolls, fake accounts, "longtime" members (as someone perfectly described) who seem to take on a role beyond that of a regular member and cultivate a kind of insular, almost cliquey vibe. It’s classic VF, and it doesn’t exist elsewhere. Even if I didn’t find the same atmosphere I loved on VF over on "the other forum," you’ve got to admit they’d solved these issues by weeding out suspicious profiles.

Anyway, I’ve expanded a bit to share my full thoughts—I’ve done this before. That said, it doesn’t mean I’m hung up on it; I’ve got way better things to do.

But the fact remains: I should’ve gotten an explanation for my photo being censored. You can’t deny this weird way of handling things raises questions, right? Well, I’ve asked them now.

(test)

And I almost posted these ones too!





In Ajmer too, on the same street! Shows how profitable the spot is!

Or this one in Tiruvannamalai



And then, I had this weird feeling... like censorship...

Hi,

I have to admit that photos like these are really off-putting. I’m even surprised that someone could take such photos of human misery 😕.

I don’t know who blocked the photos on the forum, but I think self-censorship wouldn’t be a bad idea sometimes. You should’ve just stuck with "I almost posted" 😉

Your balloon seller is still way more cheerful 🙂

As far as I'm concerned, I did say I can understand why the site would censor my photo. But why wasn’t I told so I could post another one?

How can the voting continue when there’s such a blatant irregularity? A photo was arbitrarily removed. So the vote can’t proceed because who’s to say that photo wouldn’t have won all the votes? The election can’t happen without that photo being reinstated. We can’t just brush this off like nothing happened and keep voting as if everything’s above board. What would happen in any election, anywhere in the world, if a candidate’s ballots weren’t included at the polling stations?

Personally, I wouldn’t have voted for this photo.

It seems like this is the first time a photo has been removed under the new VF format.

In the old version, it happened often because Google ads were calling the shots back then. Nudity wasn’t allowed because American puritanism equated it with pornography. So, goodbye to all the Himba women and even ancient statues...

Here, someone must’ve hit the "report to moderation" button. To find out why, you’d need to send a message to the moderation team.

These votes are absolutely illegal in any contest whatsoever. No one—absolutely no one—neither a rival candidate, nor a voter, nor a contest organizer, has the right to remove a participant's entry, especially arbitrarily, on the sly, without warning them. No country would tolerate this kind of electoral fraud, except in certain regimes, of course. It's a matter of legality and democracy, ma'am.

I must admit that such photos are off-putting. I’m even surprised that photos of human misery like this can be taken.

I agree with you! But what are the mods and whistleblowers doing, letting such awful photos stay in this thread when they’re so quick to censor them in the contest? Double standards 😏

If my photo is still accepted here, why was it censored in the contest? Conclusion: either the moderation is inconsistent and asleep at the wheel (sweetly so), or the reporter didn’t dare do their job a second time out of cowardice (or both).

For my part, I’m still waiting for an explanation about why my photo was censored and why I wasn’t notified (no need to stress me out, nothing life-or-death...). I know I’ll probably never get an answer.

We're on a forum, not in real life.

As for the *why*, anyone who wants to know can ask the mods.

I don’t think posts are scrutinized by moderation the way they were back in François and Michel’s day.

Did you ask via message?

(You click on the "report" button on one of your own posts where you mention the deletion and ask)

Thanks, I’ll give it a try!

Now, I think it’s a shame you’re assuming bad intentions from a member

Well, you may find it a shame, but that might just be the case. Goes to show, suspicion isn’t always a bad thing 😄

We're on a forum, not in real life.

Of course, I agree. Someone even asked if they could submit someone else's photo for the contest.!!! All of this is nonsense under the pretext that it's just a forum. No one, I repeat, has the right to remove any of the entries submitted for voting. This should have been stated BEFORE the vote and the contestant NOTIFIED. The vote cannot take place under such irregular conditions, forum or no forum. Have a good evening. Have a great weekend!