I think the big difference here is that while some (including the posters here) are approaching tying as a 'craft', and viewing it from a technical aspect, others see it more as an 'art' and view it from a artistic/design aspect. Neither view is wrong or right, just a difference in opinion. While a recipe would be nice, I feel the picture is the key. Given a choice of a recipe & instructions or a picture, i'm going for the picture every time. Usually an experienced tyer can decipher what materials are in use (at least as far as natural materials), and how to tie up any typical pattern as well.

Again, recipes and step-by-steps are nice, and if someone wants to make a FOTW, great, but I don't think it should be seen as any sort of a 'requirement', as that would likely result in even less sharing. Sometimes you just want to post a picture of what you've been working on, and I think you should be able to do that without feeling like you need to do any more. It may not take long, but doing a mini-research project when you really would just rather post some pics...well its a pain in the butt, and it's something that anyone can do on their own time if they really want to know.

As far as FOTW, I know that me personally, am unlikely to ever submit a pattern for two reasons: 1) I visit the forum here way more often than the fotw section, which I've only ever really checked out once or twice, and 2) I'm a blogger, and if I'm generating content, I'm publishing it myself, not donating it to another site. Not trying to sound self-centered, but if I do the work of making up a tutorial, I don't really want to turn around and give it to someone else to display.

Just presenting a counterpoint.