Do we want to save this forum?

OK, a few things have been said that should or maybe should not have been said. I have also noticed a lack of comment from quite a few, although they may have contacted Darren directly which is fine.

The simple question is, do we want to rescue this situation? The simple answer at this time is yes or no.

I am not at this stage going to offer a solution as to how this could be done simply because there has to be a will to do it and if that will is not there, then there is no point in trying to come up with a strategy.

Let me just say this though. A forum does not have to be big to be successful, it just needs to have a purpose for being.

So I will ask again, do we want to rescue the forum and move on or what?

Answers below please.

I think it should be saved, its a great place & should be saved if at all possible.
But as you say Paddy it needs input from members.

Frank

It does need input Frank but it does not have to be hundreds of pictures per day, it can exist small and comfy for those that want it that way. I think if people want to continue there will have to be a slight change in expectations of what the forum can do.

However, I will wait and see if there are many replies to this as I have no pre conceived ideas as what to do or what can be done as yet.

Yes it will be interesting to see what members say


Frank

This post has been edited by knarfrekab on November 03, 2009 05:25 pm

I want to see this forum saved, but ive got to admit that the lack of input from alot of members in the last few days has really got up doubts up.

I dont mind the forum being a quiet one as im not a fan of forums where posts dissapear off the front page and seem lost. The thing that does need sorting out is the lack of replies and once that is done weve got to keep it that way and keep new members coming back.

hi Paddy, im gobsmacked obviously would love to see the forum saved, if at all possible, yes it can run as a comfy glove and some members will be happy with that but the one thing that doesnt guarantee as no forum can is people to comment on posts and pics or competitions i like yourself dont know what the answer is maybe this forum has just outgrown itself considering it started off as s5600 forum and most if not all members have since moved on to other formats and it seems to me that since finepixels evolved and members using other cameras have gone on to bigger and better things and this forum just isnt enough anymore.

Im happy to help if anyone cares to take over as i now have time to spare but alas no magic wand,

Well I would be sorry to see the forum disappear, as I've learned a lot from members here and also enjoyed posting here.
Maybe I haven't posted often enough, but I do visit fairly often.
I do feel that I'm not competent enough to comment on some of the posts here, so often choose not to comment, rather than just reverting to 'great pic' or 'fantastic image' etc

Anyway, I would continue to post pics if the forum continued (esp if I get my DSLR next month )

Thanks again
Chris

I'm very much the same as Chris.

I'd love it to continue.

I haven't posted in any of the ' Forum is shutting' post's ( apart from the pop corn, which i shall deal with later re:Paddy and Skye). The reason being is it's all been said before and if it's shutting then so be it. However i would hate to see this forum shut because it is my home. It's where it all started for me, I have tried other forums but it's just not the same, I feel as if I know each and every member, I know their styles, likes and dislikes.I log in and flick through at least twice a day every day. although i hardly ever post( guilty as charged) and I have no excuse for that and I'm sure we're all guilty of that.

I guess to save the forum we would all need to take a look at ourselves and ask why we don't post on pictures. Not make empty promises like before(i include myself here), but ask what would make us post, what excites us about photography. As we have all grown up in our approach to taking pictures, lets try to grown up in the commenting of pictures too, I don't really care if I don't get a comment on a picture, I take that as a comment in itself, (no one likes it) that's the way of the world I'll know not to post that type again or at least improve on it.

I would like more of a discussion on pictures, I have pictures that I wont post, not because they wont get commented on, but because they wouldn't get discussed, which for me is what I want. Please don't read this as It's all about me because it's not, It's about all of us getting valuable input to allow us to improve in our art(see what i said there Paddy?). I will always try to comment on pictures that are posted with the Constructive Criticism icon as i feel that the poster is after some input and if they ask for it I should at least make the effort.


I guess at the end of the day it's not about quantity but the quality of the posts.


ok i need to go lie down now, i have worn myself out

Vic


and Paddy and Skye i'll have you know i'm happy to share my salted pop corn ( ah see you don't want any now), some people are just so fickle

As for 'I don't feel competent enough to post ' I can identify with that as i'm sure most of us can, but after time I found that the feeling goes, and looking at a picture and asking yourself why or what you do or don't like about it improves your own photography.Maybe the next time you look through the viewfinder you will maybe look that little closer and take just a little more notice. As long as you post in a constructive way your likes/dislikes i'm sure no one will mind.

For me the most fun time i had on these forums was when we had the 'Devils Darkroom' I would post in there often and i learnt so much and possibly improved a little.


ok really need to lie down now

ah just read the OP carefully .....



yes

Yes, I would love to see the site saved!!!.

As you know I started out only photographing wildlife, which was an extension of my main hobby Birdwatching. But with the ideas and inspiration of others on here I had a go at other things which I would never have tried before joining Finepixels.

I have been guilty in the past of not replying to posts and a lot of the time it was because I didn't feel confident enough to comment on things in case I upset someone. I have been trying to comment a bit more lately but noticed a lack of posts both pictures and replies unfortunately. I know you can't take pictures and post every day and sometimes you lose inspiration, get stuck in a rut and don't take any shots for a couple of weeks or so. But it was always good to know you could visit Finepixels, see what everyone's been shooting and suddenly someone gives you an idea to get you in the mood again.



This post has been edited by Shaggy on November 03, 2009 09:14 pm

I have been lurking and reading all your comments folks with regards to my rather hasty decision & post on the other thread, i agree with you all as per above, i don’t want it to go at all. I love having our own little photo community, we don’t need to be big and brash to be successful, we have already proved that over the years..........!!

The main reason it was set up was because of all the snobbery on a certain other forum, with similar attitudes still exists on many photo forums if you haven’t got 3K worth of gear you don’t get a look in, which i for one hate, and so it seemed did our mate Dave who if i remember rightly was the 2nd forum member, closely followed by Paddy & skye.

Yes i get disheartened when people post pictures and it gets very few or no replies, when in most cases its a bloody good photo and then i think well what’s the point, then we get the days and sometimes weeks were nothing happens, but we must all realise that we all have hectic lives ( me especially ) outside the forum, and we can’t be on here 24 hours a day although i try.....lol

So if we have a quiet period so bloody what, it will have to be, things will pick up again slowly in a few days. I may be taking a back seat from now on, but i still will be hear and will contribute when i can, as life at the moment is just sooooooooo busy, but the forum isnt going anywhere just yet...........!!

Sorry guys if this seems like a publicity stunt or similar it isn’t meant to be that way at all, i just got a bit fed up a few days ago and one of the drastic decisions of the day i made on that day were THAT STICKY post i added to the forum.

Thanks for your support in the past and for the future, if you have any suggestions on how i could improve the forum, add sections, delete sections whatever please let me know..

Daz

That's what I always liked about it.

Thanks for that Darren. I for one do not see it as a publicity stunt, I see it as frustration due to lack of action. On the Civil Service forum that I have helped set up, we have just reached 70 odd members, amazing to say we cannot advertise it throughout the Civil Service and out of that, there is probably 8 or 10 regular posters.

I have discussed with the other guy who runs it, who is in South Wales by the way, cannot get away from you lot in Wales about doing many different things to get more activity and all I get from this whipper snapper who is half may age by the way is, calm down, it's only a forum. What does it matter if a few post regularly and the odd ones pop in now and then? He is right of course, what matters is that it is there but we are becoming activity based..

As for where do we go next? Well, in my opinion, the forum needs to be like its members, laid back and slim.... well everyone but me then What I would do now is do some pruning.

Get rid of all the inactive members, anyone who has not posted this year unless you know of good reason why someone has been inactive but still visits on a regular basis.

Cut down the content by making a 'Your Pictures' forum with sub forums for people, wildlife, landscape, architecture, mono and Photoshop or editing with a discussion group for the latter.

Keep General chat but have another for IT/Technology or something like that so people can post issues with their camera/computer issues.

Re introduce the Alphabet Challenge and keep the monthly competition which has been more supported this last two months than the rest of the forum, a very big positive I feel.

Lastly, lets have a tuition, advice and DIY forum where we can discuss anything from how to write a critique, Tutorial or make a light tent as well as real photographic hints and tips. This would include a 'How do I' section that would enable members to ask how to do something. I am sure that there is enough knowledge spread between us to do this. We can even teach Trig Point mounting eh Skye

I would also consider clearing old posts, again any from 2008 backwards.

Let's slim it down and make it more activity based rather than just picture posting. I hope that if the activity works, pictures will follow. Can I also suggest something that may seem counter productive but I think it makes sense. That is, bizarrely, not to post so much. Sometimes three or four pictures posted by a single person every three days or so simply make it impossible for people to comment on in a constructive way, there is only so much even I can say.

That is my opinion for what it is worth and, I am more than prepared to help in running it should you want any more help.

This post has been edited by Paddy on November 03, 2009 11:57 pm

see told you it was a ruse ,thats it i'm off




:)

lol at trig point mounting I still aint recovered from that!!

wtg daz, i for one have been guilty of not posting often or doin cc's but not competent in writing crits so thought people get fed up of my "nice pic" comment guess not will try to be more active in future with pics or without.

Nice 1 Paddy

Frank

daz just a thought if you ever feel like chucking this forum in or its getting no posts, just says thats it, somehow it always brings everyone out of the rut and posting again, say every 3 months or so thats it im off lol

Can we at least get rid of the shoutbox so that I can use the forum at work? I don't think that a day goes by when I don't want to look in here, but, I can't, because my work's PC won't let me passed the shoutbox, which is hardly used anyway.

I would like the forum to continue there is nothing better that taking some photos then seeing what the forum members think of them. I personally think I am a better photographer now than before I joined the forum It has given me loads of ideas to branch out and try other things.

I think the real quality of this forum is that it is a bit of an exclusive club. Maybe that is not what it was meant to be, but that is how it has evolved. So, if we think of it as the "The League of Extraordinary Photographers' where we know each other and, although we have our own lives to follow, we know that we can meet here when we want to.

It doesn't have to be every day, it doesn't have to be serious but when the chips are down, we know where to come for support. Not many photo clubs are as good and relevant as this one is.

Hi there
I know I haven't been around for awhile(logged in) but I do visit regularly and check out your shots and read the posts,although I don't leave comments(sorry for that) this still is my favorite photography site and the place where I basically learned everything about photography from Paddy and the rest of you,it will be a sad day if this site closes.

Photography is still my no 1 love in this live and I post on a regular basis on other sites,my one and only problem I've got with this site is Photobucket,its one helluva schlep first uploading there and then uploading here if I could upload straight from my computer it would save allot of time and trouble,don't know if its possible but if you can sort that one out it would be great.
Nice talking to you guys and gals again.

Hi Kobus, great to hear from sunny South Africa again

I will leave it to Darren re the upload direct decision but I will say that there are usually some limitations as to the space available for storing the forum data, and that would include pictures which would be a huge part of that storage. Using links on Flickr or Photobucket means that the forum space is not affected by the number of images linked to. It also means that once you have resized and uploaded to Flicker or Photobucket, it is the same process to link to them for any forum.

Glad to see that you are still around and clicking away and I for one would love to see more of your images. People don't have to post loads of pictures per week, just to be here and offer the odd comment and picture is enough. We all have other lives and accept that, good as this forum is, there are other demands on time.

hi kobus, nice to hear from you again, unfortunatley we cannot upload pics to the forum directly..........well saying that i can, but the amount of space i am given is very small and i find that the servers do sommat to the pics which make them loose quality so i dont use it

Daz

Hello how the devil are you. Nice to here from you again, nice to know you are OK.

Frank

I think the real quality of this forum is that it is a bit of an exclusive club. Maybe that is not what it was meant to be, but that is how it has evolved. So, if we think of it as the "The League of Extraordinary Photographers' where we know each other and, although we have our own lives to follow, we know that we can meet here when we want to.

It doesn't have to be every day, it doesn't have to be serious but when the chips are down, we know where to come for support. Not many photo clubs are as good and relevant as this one

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I have to agree 100% with Paddy on this one, this web site gives me a reason to take photos, I have never used any other. I tried it I liked it.