re: Top 3

If they take the time to share it, they must find the cake quite special.
This is all assuming that this is why people are getting more views, and I don’t think it is

It’s true, but this is how it works everywhere. Don’t you think that fans could favorite their cakes as well? Then we could say that it’s not fair, because they have more fans.
Where else does this happen in the cake world? Your main competitor is Cake Central and that is not how it’s done there – it is determined by favourites alone and as much as I am no longer a fan of cake central, I prefer it and I dare say I am not alone. Fans favouriting and fans viewing a cake is not the same. I am a fan of some of the users here and just because I look at their cakes, it doesn’t mean I like them enough to favourite them – if I like it, I will favourite it – I think that’s a fairly normal reaction if you like something that you love, hence I believe it to be a more accurate representation of what is good. If fans want to favourite a cake purely because they are a fan, then that’s their own business, but I don’t think that happens all that often.

Daily Top 15 is just a way to reward the special cakes posted in the last 24 hours. And yes, special equals popular here. There are no prizes here and there is no jury here.
I don’t understand what you mean here – it was the members of this site that asked for a top 3 category because we all like the accolade if we make a cake that is worthy of the top spot. Therefore in essence we are ALL jury members when it comes to the top cakes – if we are not judging cakes, then what is the point of a top 3 and how do they get selected?

What it all comes down to for me – is that if I regularly see cakes in the top 3 and it is clear to most people that they don’t belong there because there are better cakes in the lineup, then the top 3 just becomes a bit of a joke and really pointless. It’s all fine to say that we are not here to judge each other, but really that is EXACTLY why we are here. Judging is not necessarily a bad thing, you can judge something and LOVE it, just like you can judge something and hate it – anytime you like or dislike anything in life, you have to judge it first.

I’m happy to admit that perhaps I am the only one who thinks like this and if I am then by all means keep things the way they are, but for me personally, it takes away the thrill of posting my cakes if I find it all a bit pointless.

I don’t think anyone here has assumed that what is good for them is good for everyone else – but if the members can’t voice their opinion, then it really isn’t a forum and we run the risk of becoming another cake central where users opinions are not counted.