What exactly is the focus of this site?

09/28/2005 02:54:39 PM · #1

OK, thought I'd start my own thread... was going to head for General Discussion, but at the rate things have been going lately I figured this would just end up in a rant anyway.

This site has really inspired me to become more involved in photography and to try to shift more towards an occupation where I can stay home, set my own hours and raise my new son. There is a lot of talent on this site and although my abilities will never compare to some of the photographers here on DPC, I truly hope that my abilities will improve over time. This brings me to my point.

It really bothers me that so many people here who have so much ability resort to name calling, mud slinging, and overall nastiness. There are an alarming number of threads that do more harm than good. There are also an alarming number of threads complaining about the alarming number of bad threads (just add this one to that list). Even the threads that start off with good intentions quickly deteriorate into multi-faceted war zones. Personally I thought the general mentality of this site was to help each other improve in his/her abilities in photography. Have we lost site of that?!?

Any time you have a large number of people from various locations, backgrounds, and ideals, there will be some dissent and disagreement, but many of us are getting fed up with the fact that this is happening far too often. If we as a whole (and yes, I said WE) spent as much time helping each other as we do splitting hairs over useless debates, we might actually improve our abilities as photographers. That is after all, what we're here to do right?

I realize someone is going to disagree with this thread and someone is going to try to start a debate. That's fine, I'm not going to stoop to that level if it happens, I'll just consider the source and move on. I just feel that maybe we should all take a minute of personal reflection and try to remember why we began to participate in this site in the first place. If you are here to learn more about photography, then start by providing some constructive criticism in the critique club or in one of the many "critique me" threads most of which are located in the "Individual Photo Discussion" forum. If you are here to start a fight, then let's limit it to one thread.

This is a digital photo website people, not a "he said, she said" site. Let's all try to remember that and go help each other instead of kicking virtual sand in each others virtual face.

Edited to add link

Message edited by author 2005-09-28 14:56:53.

09/28/2005 03:14:31 PM · #2

I think thats why there are different forums.

Part of the appeal of this site IS that it is much like a big virtual coffeehouse with discussions going on at all different tables. Some are photo related, some are not. Point is, DPC to me is where I can share my passion with photography among peers and also complain to a (sometimes) sympathetic ear about the crappy day I had.

09/28/2005 03:18:00 PM · #3

Originally posted by barndog:

...Point is, DPC to me is where I can share my passion with photography among peers and also complain to a (sometimes) sympathetic ear about the crappy day I had.

Complain about your day? Fine! Talk to your virtual "family" about non-photography issues? Fine! But to me, we all have a commonality... a love and appreciation for photography. Why must we resort to turning on each other?

Chinabun

Canon PowerShot SD990 IS

09/28/2005 03:20:46 PM · #4

maybe you should ask yourself that. all barndog did was say an opinion, and you freaked out.

Originally posted by ldowse:

Originally posted by barndog:
...Point is, DPC to me is where I can share my passion with photography among peers and also complain to a (sometimes) sympathetic ear about the crappy day I had.

Complain about your day? Fine! Talk to your virtual "family" about non-photography issues? Fine! But to me, we all have a commonality... a love and appreciation for photography. Why must we resort to turning on each other?

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

09/28/2005 03:22:31 PM · #5

Originally posted by ldowse:

You're right. Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter how YOU feel about it. The admins are not willing to come to the party anyhow and shake this place down. In other words: There ain't no Sheriff in town! Giddyup!!

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

09/28/2005 03:24:52 PM · #6

so, lvo, what do want? virtual marshall law?

ralph

Nikon Z9

09/28/2005 03:25:27 PM · #7

Originally posted by ldowse:

Why must we resort to turning on each other?

a)because that what we do in real life ?
b)because we exist as a figment of your imagination and it is really the small voices you hear ?
c)because of human nature ?
d)because of the 44617 people ( and growing) who have droped by this site are all different and they all have opinions ...

(a,b,c,d, or e all of the above, or f none of the above, or pick you own letter ....)

09/28/2005 03:28:08 PM · #8

Originally posted by queanbeez:

maybe you should ask yourself that. all barndog did was say an opinion, and you freaked out.

Freaked out?!? Actually no, I was agreeing with him. Just adding the fact that many of the threads don't have that "coffeehouse" feel. More like a hostile takeover.

Message edited by author 2005-09-28 15:28:38.

09/28/2005 03:32:53 PM · #9

Originally posted by karmat:

so, lvo, what do want? virtual marshall law?

I dont know. What would you propose besides determinimg what monitor we best view this site on?

09/28/2005 03:33:24 PM · #10

Originally posted by Ivo:

...Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter how YOU feel about it. The admins are not willing to come to the party anyhow and shake this place down. In other words: There ain't no Sheriff in town! Giddyup!!

This is very much a "while the cat's away, the mice will play" mentality. I'm not saying we should "police" the site. I'm saying that it shouldn't be necessary in the spirit of DPC. Our focus should be striving to improve our abilities, or as in barndog's example, find someone friendly to talk to when we're down or have good news to share. This petty bickering simply shouldn't be so prevalent. I'm not saying it will ever be eliminated, but geesh, it seems to dominate the forums lately.

09/28/2005 03:38:03 PM · #11

Originally posted by ldowse:

Originally posted by Ivo:
...Unfortunately, it really doesn't matter how YOU feel about it. The admins are not willing to come to the party anyhow and shake this place down. In other words: There ain't no Sheriff in town! Giddyup!!

This is very much a "while the cat's away, the mice will play" mentality. I'm not saying we should "police" the site. I'm saying that it shouldn't be necessary in the spirit of DPC. Our focus should be striving to improve our abilities, or as in barndog's example, find someone friendly to talk to when we're down or have good news to share. This petty bickering simply shouldn't be so prevalent. I'm not saying it will ever be eliminated, but geesh, it seems to dominate the forums lately.

You are talking about an ideal which cannot exist on this site without very clear structure. Look at challenges for example. We cannot agree with basic subject matter and you hope that we align our values and maintain a utopian integrity on this site. Please define "values" - in the context of a challenge of course. ;-)

09/28/2005 03:45:41 PM · #12

Originally posted by Ivo:

Perhaps you're right, but maybe if we ALL went and made a comment or a critique every time we felt the need to post an inflammatory response/remark, maybe there would be less threads about the lack of comments. And again I say WE, because I'm guilty of it myself.

09/28/2005 03:46:00 PM · #13

Originally posted by ldowse:

Originally posted by queanbeez:
maybe you should ask yourself that. all barndog did was say an opinion, and you freaked out.

Freaked out?!? Actually no, I was agreeing with him. Just adding the fact that many of the threads don't have that "coffeehouse" feel. More like a hostile takeover.

There is quite a bit of "Brawling" in the virtual parking lot going on. Maybe coffeehouse was not the correct analogy. How about "Roadhouse Bar" ---Thats "Pub" to my English side of the big water friends. ;P

09/28/2005 03:48:22 PM · #14

Originally posted by ldowse:

Originally posted by Ivo:

You are talking about an ideal which cannot exist on this site without very clear structure. Look at challenges for example. We cannot agree with basic subject matter and you hope that we align our values and maintain a utopian integrity on this site. Please define "values" - in the context of a challenge of course. ;-)

Perhaps you're right, but maybe if we ALL went and made a comment or a critique every time we felt the need to post an inflammatory response/remark, maybe there would be less threads about the lack of comments. And again I say WE, because I'm guilty of it myself.

Is that the concept.......ACCOUNTABILITY? I heard it used to mean something once upon a time.

09/28/2005 03:48:46 PM · #15

Originally posted by barndog:

ROFLMAO... now that's probably a better analogy! This leads to a very interesting point.

What differentiates a coffeehouse and a "Roadhouse Bar"? Uhmmm.... the first thing that comes to mind is alcohol. Maybe it's just that we have a bunch of drunks starting sh@# on this site! You could be on to something. Maybe we should start an investigation!

09/28/2005 03:50:17 PM · #16

Originally posted by Ivo:

Is that the concept.......ACCOUNTABILITY? I heard it used to mean something once upon a time.

EXACTLY!!!!

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

09/28/2005 03:51:05 PM · #17

Originally posted by ldowse:

Originally posted by barndog:

There is quite a bit of "Brawling" in the virtual parking lot going on. Maybe coffeehouse was not the correct analogy. How about "Roadhouse Bar" ---Thats "Pub" to my English side of the big water friends. ;P

ROFLMAO... now that's probably a better analogy! This leads to a very interesting point.

What differentiates a coffeehouse and a "Roadhouse Bar"? Uhmmm.... the first thing that comes to mind is alcohol. Maybe it's just that we have a bunch of drunks starting sh@# on this site! You could be on to something. Maybe we should start an investigation!

Well judging from some of the entries in the challenges I would say some of the people MUST be drunk.

Ha ha just kidding. Don't flame me :(

muckpond

Nikon D200

09/28/2005 03:53:48 PM · #18

Originally posted by Ivo:

Originally posted by karmat:
so, lvo, what do want? virtual marshall law?

I dont know. What would you propose besides determinimg what monitor we best view this site on?

the admins developed the forums for the purposes of supporting the challenges (which were the original intent of this site).

forum conversations have changed into conversations on every topic, due to the growth of this site as a "community" in addition to (or in spite of) its original focus on photography.

are you suggesting that we now police the forums and remove ANY threads that are irrelevant to the purpose of this site? do you REALLY want the admins to come in and start censoring conversations left and right?

the only alternative i see to that would be to eliminate the forums entirely and go back to a purely challenge-based site with interaction coming in the form of comments on photos only.

the "happy medium" between forum free-for-all and no forums at all is what we've got here. the forums are "policed" for violations of the terms of use, but otherwise we have little authority or desire to get into it. this is the same reason that we don't disqualify challenge submissions that are not appropriate to the challenge: who's to decide what is and is not appropriate?

we've drawn the line in the sand: stay out of the way of the ToS and you can participate as you please. other than that, the SC's hands are tied.

the admins COULD come in and start crackin' skulls, or they COULD give us a new set of guidelines by which we should monitor the forums. but i doubt a lot of people would like the result, which means that even MORE people would leave than do now.

which, speaking of... i thought you quit? :P

09/28/2005 04:03:25 PM · #19

I agree with what you are saying though you really do use alot of big words and I find that scares me a little. Yes, site council should crack the whip and hand out tall "Helga Boots" and rubber under-garments to all of us offenders. Am I quitting this site? No I am expiring at the end of the month and not starting again.....unless I need new rubber under-garments of course.

Seriously though. A multitude of suggestions have been made within these forums and a teeeeeny fraction are ever put into practice. What has been done to add value to this site other than a hands-off attitude in forums...........which now dominate it??

09/28/2005 04:05:50 PM · #20

Originally posted by Ivo:

You could always start your own site?

09/28/2005 04:06:53 PM · #21

Oh my! Are you suggesting a mutiny. hehehehehe

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/28/2005 04:08:18 PM · #22

Originally posted by Ivo:

Oh my! Are you suggesting a mutiny. hehehehehe

No way! I like it here.

Long Live D & L!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

09/28/2005 04:11:11 PM · #23

Originally posted by Ivo:

Seriously though. A multitude of suggestions have been made within these forums and a teeeeeny fraction are ever put into practice.

Sorry, this is just incorrect.

We get lots of threads railing against SC "censorship" whenever we take any action in the forums.

As was said, the forums have rules, spelled out in the terms of service. As long as people follow those, we leave the posts alone. If someone posts something you think violates the TOS, use the "Report Post" button and we will assess the situation. I'd say most of the "problems" come from people not doing this, but instead carrying on the argument themselves in the thread, thereby becomong part of the problem instead of part of the solution.

09/28/2005 04:15:37 PM · #24

I said "within these forums" not necessarily about the forums. Structural modifications, voting guidelines, commenting (lack threreof), membership and participation eligbility and requirements. yadadada.