September 2026 Photo Contest Discussion Thread: "The Street as a Livelihood" (page 8 of 12)

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, Madam.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm 😉.

Because, come on, we're on a travel forum, a completely informal contest just for fun with nothing to win, so we should all relax 😛

Because, well, we’re still on a travel forum, and this is a totally informal contest—just for fun, with nothing to win—so we should all relax.

That’s why we could ask those requesting photo censorship in this contest—where there’s literally no stake—to relax and share their feedback publicly with the author in this thread. That way, there can be a discussion, and the author can edit their photo if needed.

If, in the next contest, you suddenly find out at the last minute that one of your photos was deleted without notice, wouldn’t you want to know why? It’s still a valid question, right?

If this goes through now, it means that in future contests, anyone could get away with having another participant’s photos removed just by reporting them anonymously. That can’t happen this time.

Thanks anyway to those who cared. Not everyone did.

Still no explanation from moderation despite my request. I won’t be voting or handling the vote counts under these conditions—I don’t see why I should.

Good luck with the rest.

Hi, I’m sharing my experience as a moderator on another (sports) site to help explain: Since I was very active on the site and kept my comments respectful, the administrator offered me a nearly volunteer moderator role (I got discounts on a sports equipment site in return) => I don’t know how it works here. I could step in on my own initiative or when someone requested moderation. When the alert seemed justified, I’d delete the post, but it wasn’t automatic. For sensitive topics, moderators would discuss before making a decision. Most of the time, I didn’t give an explanation because the moderation was obvious, but sometimes I did. Once the decision was made, I didn’t engage in any debates that followed (I had other things to do). Of course, if someone asked for an explanation, I’d provide one. For this case, a simple message: "shocking photo." The moderator may have come across the thread by chance, or someone (it could be anyone) reported it. The moderator likely found the photo shocking and deleted it (it’s entirely their right), and since the reason was easy to guess, they didn’t explain. They might still do so... Since the other "shocking" photos in this thread weren’t removed, we can assume: 1: They weren’t reported. 2: The moderator hasn’t checked this thread in a while.

Hope this helps you understand how it might have happened.

Still no explanation from the moderation team despite my request. I won’t be voting or handling the vote counts under these conditions—I don’t see why I should.

It’s really too bad to "punish" all the participants who had absolutely nothing to do with the moderator’s decision. To echo Envallis:

Because come on, we’re on a travel forum, it’s just a casual contest for fun with nothing to win, so we should all just relax 😛

Check your email, including spam... if your address hasn’t changed since you signed up. To discuss with us, you’ll need to send an email. We can’t respond to reports.

Hello,

- My email address hasn’t changed since I signed up, and I haven’t received any messages—not even spam. - It’s pointless for me to email you to discuss this since you can’t respond to reports anyway 😅 - So, this is indeed a report.

Thanks, goodbye.

Hey Pagal

Attila suggested you use the "report" feature to ask for an explanation. You replied that you’d already done it. I think VF is referring to that message.

So it really is a report.

Maybe just yours since you wrote (message 138) following that guideline suggested by Attila. A paranoid episode? A hint of conspiracy thinking? And under the guise of grand principles, what theatrics.

Alright, I get it. Well, I won’t dig any further—it’s pointless. I’ll never know who deleted the photo or why. I’ll leave the contest here; I’m not interested in continuing.

No paranoia, no conspiracy theories—just facts I clearly laid out earlier: it’s not normal that I wasn’t allowed to post another photo. I reposted it here, and strangely, it wasn’t taken down this time. That’s inconsistent. I’m just pointing out this absurdity and the likely malice behind it. But don’t worry, there’s really nothing serious—it’s just the VF photo contest, which isn’t the center of my life, unlike you.

But actually, a question’s been nagging at me. Why do you always talk like a creep? Why that slimy presence? And I thought I told you to stop talking to me. Incorrigible little troublemaker 😄

Anyway, everyone’s already understood the reason for my request—I’m not going to repeat it again because I’ve really got more interesting things to do. Keep playing your role—it suits you perfectly!

I feel like it's been a while since we've seen such a friendly vibe on VF, Kate 🤗😊. And guys, do you realize that right now, millions of people are getting their faces bashed in?? Maybe there are more serious things than getting worked up over a contest that interests 20 people 🙄

There’s a contacts section with email addresses.

It's true that things get really lively around here! 😄

Though, I think there used to be even more heated discussions about image rights back in the day? 😏

I’ll admit I don’t miss them at all, Agnès 😄

Laugh all you want, I don’t care, but I’m adding to it. Even in a game, there are rules. Always. And there are cheaters. And usually, players don’t like cheaters who don’t respect the rules and who throw a wrench in the works for others. And no one can win when the game is rigged. It’s lame to trivialize what happened and even to laugh about it. Secretly, hypocritically, eliminating a photo by reporting it to moderation to get it removed—that’s petty, cowardly, and vile. There’s no word for that kind of move. There’s a mole among us. And no one’s saying anything about what they did. It’s really lame to have voted when there was such petty cheating in the game, and the round shouldn’t have continued under such blatant cheating conditions. There’s a mole among us, and everyone’s downplaying what they did. If there hadn’t been malicious intent, the person could’ve told Pagal: *‘Hey, you’re out of line—your photo’s disgusting, you should take it down and post another one’* instead of sneaking off to snitch to moderation anonymously.

Not sure if the photo was reported.

Hello! I’ve been following your discussion, and here’s my take 😊 Even if the photo of the disabled beggars is unsettling, the street *is* their livelihood, so it fits the contest theme perfectly. Have a great day, everyone! Chantal

Go ahead, laugh at me—I don’t care, but I’ll add to it. Even in a game, there are rules. Always. And there are cheaters. And usually, players don’t like cheaters who don’t respect the rules and who throw a wrench in the works for others. And the game can’t be won by anyone when it’s rigged. It’s lame to trivialize what happened and even laugh about it. Silently, hypocritically, eliminating a photo by reporting it to moderation so it gets removed—that’s petty, cowardly, and despicable. There’s no word for that kind of move. There’s a mole among us. And no one’s saying anything about what they did. It’s really messed up to have voted when there was such petty cheating in the game, especially when the contest shouldn’t have continued under those rigged conditions. There’s a mole among us, and everyone’s acting like what they did is no big deal. If there wasn’t malicious intent, the person could’ve told Pagal: "Hey, you’re out of line—your photo’s disgusting, you should take it down and post another one" instead of sneaking off to snitch to moderation anonymously.

I’m gonna end up reporting *you*—you’re ruining this easygoing, no-pressure photo contest with your toxic messages.

I’m starting to think you’re actually a troll

Hello, What worries me is that in our Western society, we feel this need to hide reality... In everyday life, death, illness, and deformity are avoided. We bury or cremate in secret, making sure not to show these events...we have to act as if they don’t exist. My goodness, what kind of world are we living in!

We receive between 2 and 3 reports per day for this thread.

Should we close it?