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05/19/2006 02:57:36 PM · #1 |
We frequently see posts in forum threads saying we need to get the thread back on topic. There is an awful lot of stuff in our forums lately that doesn't have anything at all to do with education, the challenges, or even with photography in any general way. I think the forums as a whole need to get back on topic.
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05/19/2006 03:05:15 PM · #2 |
Isn't this thread a bit off the topic of photography? hmmmm
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05/19/2006 03:08:47 PM · #3 |
I agreed with everything else you posted in your original post, except this. It's something that's been discussed among the SC a bit and my personal opinion is that one of the benefits of a strong community is that they provide trusted information, even on other topics. I occasionally ask off-topic questions here just because I no longer really participate in any other large, forum-based sites and I know that the people here are knowledgeable about a lot more than photography.
With the General Discussion forum and the ability to hide sections as you wish, you really shouldn't have to read off-topic posts if you don't want to. That being said, I do agree that it would be nice if certain antics were kept to specific threads, rather than dragging the games across the forums (ie. bringing up old, irrelevant posts for a "kill" and the apparent need for a certain dairy-related photo to be posted in every thread, etc.) and polluting them for other people. |
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05/19/2006 03:16:49 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Isn't this thread a bit off the topic of photography? hmmmm |
It's in "Web Site Suggestions". That remark was so predictable that I almost put something about it in my OP.
After you've heard them 300 or 400 times even the really funny jokes lose their punch.
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05/19/2006 04:59:41 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
It's in "Web Site Suggestions". That remark was so predictable that I almost put something about it in my OP.
After you've heard them 300 or 400 times even the really funny jokes lose their punch. |
Personal attack aside, What you fail to see is that not everyone thinks every single word out of his mouth is important.
I'm not one to bitch much and YES I do play around a lot. But, there are a few members here that are involved in every single bitch-fest that breaks out.
Which is on-topic? Niether. Which is more productive?
I'll go back to joking.
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05/19/2006 05:05:48 PM · #6 |
That is an interesting opinion. Care to elaborate on it? Because honestly my gut reaction was to blast it. Do you somehow get fed less if there are forum topics that you don't care to get involved with? Why would it bother you if a community that drew together on a common interest such as photography decided to discuss other common interests, no matter what they might be?
Personally I think the forums are a great thing. Besides the obvious photographic collaboration, they bring people together, they show different sides of people, and they can expose interests outside of photography. |
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05/19/2006 05:49:52 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by rich:
That is an interesting opinion. Care to elaborate on it? Because honestly my gut reaction was to blast it. Do you somehow get fed less if there are forum topics that you don't care to get involved with? Why would it bother you if a community that drew together on a common interest such as photography decided to discuss other common interests, no matter what they might be?
Personally I think the forums are a great thing. Besides the obvious photographic collaboration, they bring people together, they show different sides of people, and they can expose interests outside of photography. |
Go ahead and blast me if it makes you feel better. Lots of people do so I've gotten pretty thick skinned about it.
I read your remarks as somewhat similar to what mk was saying. Hard to argue against spending some resources on something that many people seem interested in. But my feeling is that if we try to be all things to all people we will lose our identity as a website community organized around photography. Photography, especially trying to learn to do better photography, is what we all have in common. It degrades the quality of the site if so much of our discussions revolve around things that are not in the main vein that should be of interest, at least marginally, to all users. I just think we, as a group, can do a better job of being about out common interest if we are not trying to embrace everything else as well.
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05/19/2006 05:52:54 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by mk:
...With the General Discussion forum and the ability to hide sections as you wish, you really shouldn't have to read off-topic posts if you don't want to. That being said, I do agree that it would be nice if certain antics were kept to specific threads, rather than dragging the games across the forums (ie. bringing up old, irrelevant posts for a "kill" and the apparent need for a certain dairy-related photo to be posted in every thread, etc.) and polluting them for other people. |
Just today I was talking to a newer member who commented that when they joined, they thought the forums were a place to discuss photography and was hoping to learn more about photography through them. Regrettably, their hoped-for experience has not been met because a great number of threads are mostly nonsense posts. Interestingly enough, this new member expressed both a desire to comment more but was feeling held back due to a fear of making a "bad" or "worthless" comment and being called out in publicly in the forums about it.
It made me really sad to think that there could be number of potential contributors out there that are similarly discouraged from making comments or otherwise participating in the site due to the some of the behavior we've seen here lately.
Certainly MK is correct in that not every single thread needs to deal with photography specifically, and certainly there should be room for members of the community to have a few laughs, but IMHO it would be nicer if the majority of the threads had to do with photography and challenge discussion and only a minority of them having to do with unrelated items. |
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05/19/2006 05:53:35 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
... not everyone thinks every single word out of his mouth is important. ... |
If it's not important to the you then why bore the rest of us with it?
If it's about photography, especially if it's something that will help someone learn something about photography, then it's likely to be important to at least a few here. Too much of the stuff in the forums these days doesn't have anything to do with what the site is supposed to be about.
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05/19/2006 06:06:57 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
... not everyone thinks every single word out of his mouth is important. ... |
If it's not important to the you then why bore the rest of us with it?
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I won't bore you with an explanation.
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05/19/2006 06:18:49 PM · #11 |
The name of this site is "Digital Photography Contest". When I first found this site, I didn't even expect to SEE forums. Some sites for photo contests, that I have seen, only have the contests.
If you want to "learn" about phtography, IMO, you should take physical classes somewhere local to you, or do an online course. This site is not advertised as Digital Photography Class, but Digital Photography Contest. It's mainly about challenges. Anything actually learned is a bonus and not a requisite. We must also remember that not all members here are professionals and not even in the leaque of being able to teach, nor should they be. Most are here for fun, and I know I am. Also, there are specific forums here for certain actual photography information. There is also a rant forum, and a general discussion forum, etc. Naturally not every post is going to be about photography, nor should it be expected we be robots only for the craft.
As for the person who wrote to A125 about being called out for making comments, that is a VERY real possibility, no matter how constructive you are with them. If they are not thick skinned, then I wouldn't advise they bother doing commenting. Unfortunately, there is no rule set at DPC that prevents the commentee from PM'ing you or emailing you with their opposing view (to put it lightly) as to what your comment was about. I hardly make comment myself anymore because I TRULY am sick of the repercussions of constructive criticism.
Bottom line? This isn't JUST for this forum. ANY forum will not be totally restricted to it's purpose for being. You can go to a forum on gardens, politics, or fashion, for just a few examples, and find just as much lightheartedness and disruption. It isn't limited to DPC at all. You will also find the threads for learning and the interest you seek. All you have to do is look. But if you are expecting every forum based word to be about photography only, forget it. We are people, not robots.
Message edited by author 2006-05-19 18:19:11. |
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05/19/2006 06:22:20 PM · #12 |
| Just an observation from a lowly non-member (for now). Most of my forum interactions start from the list of Recent Forum Activity. A little bit ago, I noticed that 25 of the 30 threads in that list were directly related to photography. |
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05/19/2006 06:24:21 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
... not everyone thinks every single word out of his mouth is important. ... |
If it's not important to the you then why bore the rest of us with it?
If it's about photography, especially if it's something that will help someone learn something about photography, then it's likely to be important to at least a few here. Too much of the stuff in the forums these days doesn't have anything to do with what the site is supposed to be about. |
The site is about the competition the forums are an added bonus if your not happy with what is being discussed turn it off.
I'm sure people would leave the site if you dictated to them that they were only dicuss photography in the forums.
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05/19/2006 06:28:21 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by espy:
The name of this site is "Digital Photography Contest". When I first found this site, I didn't even expect to SEE forums. Some sites for photo contests, that I have seen, only have the contests.
If you want to "learn" about phtography, IMO, you should take physical classes somewhere local to you, or do an online course. This site is not advertised as Digital Photography Class, but Digital Photography Contest. It's mainly about challenges. Anything actually learned is a bonus and not a requisite. |
I have to disagree a bit. This is from the Help > About page, explaining the origin/purpose of DPC (emphasis added):
The original idea behind the site was for it to be a place where the two of us and a couple of our friends could teach ourselves to be better photographers by giving each other a 'challenge' for the week.
"Education" is the purpose, the challenges are the mechanism/method chosen to accomplish it.
Message edited by author 2006-05-19 18:29:10. |
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05/19/2006 06:36:12 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by espy:
The name of this site is "Digital Photography Contest". When I first found this site, I didn't even expect to SEE forums. Some sites for photo contests, that I have seen, only have the contests.
If you want to "learn" about phtography, IMO, you should take physical classes somewhere local to you, or do an online course. This site is not advertised as Digital Photography Class, but Digital Photography Contest. It's mainly about challenges. Anything actually learned is a bonus and not a requisite. |
I have to disagree a bit. This is from the Help > About page, explaining the origin/purpose of DPC (emphasis added):
The original idea behind the site was for it to be a place where the two of us and a couple of our friends could teach ourselves to be better photographers by giving each other a 'challenge' for the week.
"Education" is the purpose, the challenges are the mechanism/method chosen to accomplish it. |
I agree the education comes in the form of a By-product from the competition without the competition what would the site be?
It is ludicrous to expect the forums to stay purely on photography education.
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05/19/2006 06:42:49 PM · #16 |
| I have sat on the sidelines quite a bit. I have seen much more photography conversations, good,bad and the rant, than anything else. But I also see a community that has given advice, maybe not always expert including myself, but it gives people the correct avenue to search and solve their problem(s). In some cases I would guess to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars (insert appropriate currency), in wasted time and effort. I live in a community of homes, but I do not talk to my neighbors only about their or my house! |
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05/19/2006 07:05:35 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
Originally posted by rich:
That is an interesting opinion. Care to elaborate on it? Because honestly my gut reaction was to blast it. Do you somehow get fed less if there are forum topics that you don't care to get involved with? Why would it bother you if a community that drew together on a common interest such as photography decided to discuss other common interests, no matter what they might be?
Personally I think the forums are a great thing. Besides the obvious photographic collaboration, they bring people together, they show different sides of people, and they can expose interests outside of photography. |
Go ahead and blast me if it makes you feel better. Lots of people do so I've gotten pretty thick skinned about it.
I read your remarks as somewhat similar to what mk was saying. Hard to argue against spending some resources on something that many people seem interested in. But my feeling is that if we try to be all things to all people we will lose our identity as a website community organized around photography. Photography, especially trying to learn to do better photography, is what we all have in common. It degrades the quality of the site if so much of our discussions revolve around things that are not in the main vein that should be of interest, at least marginally, to all users. I just think we, as a group, can do a better job of being about out common interest if we are not trying to embrace everything else as well. |
There is obviously a lot more going on in the forums between some of the stronger site personalities that I am not clued into, especially after poking around a bit. I still do not see the problem with off-topic posts like those about "Lost" or "The Bar is Open", etc, but I get the feeling you are talking about something different. But I can't tell for sure. The original post was a blanket statement that I was responding to.
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05/19/2006 08:36:19 PM · #18 |
I've got nothing relevant or important to add. I'm just popping in to disrupt. ...and also for the popcorn.  |
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05/19/2006 08:46:12 PM · #19 |
This is a community. Socializing is part of belonging to a community.
Perhaps we need some non-photo forums?
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05/19/2006 08:56:48 PM · #20 |
I'm here to learn about photography, but, I'm also a person that has a life (well, I like to think so). I treat dpc as my local magazine, I read the articles (threads) that interest me and dont read those that have no bearing on what I'm looking for.
imho I like the fact that dpc is more diverse than (maybe) your more normal fotog site. DPC rocks and I'm glad I came back to it, I say vote with your feet (or your mouse).
I personally find it fun to read somebody knocking threads 4 or more pages deep, if you don't like it leave it alone and go and find a thread that you are interested in :)
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05/19/2006 08:58:27 PM · #21 |
dude, you miss all the good stuff! connecting, meeting people, having fun, not taking life too seriously, sharing common interest other than, as well as including photography. Its all good. Kick back, enjoy.
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05/19/2006 09:06:01 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by rich:
I still do not see the problem with off-topic posts like those about "Lost" or "The Bar is Open".... |
Agreed, no problem with folksy, off-topic, community-binding banter, and thank god for the "Ignore" option for threads like the latter. ;-) |
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05/19/2006 09:21:14 PM · #23 |
I like that the people here have personality and that they are comfortable enough within this community to express it. And speaking of comfortable, I think that life is full of questions and this is an awesome resource full of diversity where you feel comfortable enough (because this is a community of people bonded together by their love for photography) to ask those questions and get responses and enlightenment from people around the world. I also agree that the MAJORITY of the forum posts are about photography, I mean, sheesh, I started a thread having absolutely nothing to do with photography and these people just bombarded it with photographic references.
I'm really glad that everyone posting here has brought up such good points to support the fact that the forums here are awesome and are working just fine. Go DPC! |
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05/19/2006 09:54:58 PM · #24 |
| dpc forums are like a salad, and salads taste better with cheese. |
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05/19/2006 09:56:35 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
dpc forums are like a salad, and salads taste better with cheese. |
LM *** AO!!! |
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