Does anyone know a good forum where grown-up photographers meet?

[Chris of Arabia]

I have asked one of the mods, but he has yet to come back online to answer my pm. However I have the strong feeling that they are as in the dark about this as we are at present.

Not sure who you're referring to Overread, but I've not received anything from you on this topic myself.

 

[Battou]

I would suggest you take a look at www.photocamel.com but I have never participated in the glamor section of that site which is where the discuss nudes.

photocamel is pretty communist, The people may be nice but the management I don't like, I got bitched at for having a link in my signature to Photo Lucidity. They flat out told me to remove it.


Iron, You could always come over to PL. We don't have the restriction about NSFW works, We just don't have a lot of people either.

 

[Overread]

Well most communities don't like members linking to competition on their site. So I can well understand them not wanting you to link to your own photography forum in your signature. I just consider it bad manners to link to competition sites for anything other than a specific refrence to the other site (eg a thread or content where it is better for me to present the original source rather than try to rehash it into a post).

As for mods I pestered Big Mike (he was online at the time) though dealing with a bad case of the flu meant that he's not been as active in recent times, but he had this to say:

"From what I've heard, it was a business decision, based partially on concerns by some sponsors. It seems to have been made by the owners, after discussion amongst themselves. (Mod team had no input)"

So it is as we did suspect was the case.

 

[Darkhunter139]

I cant blame them for pulling the section if sponsors were getting upset...

I like these forums a lot and plan on staying

 

[Kristov]

I wouldn't jump ship just yet. The NSFW section is not deleted, just hidden. If you posted there, look at your previous posts and whatnot, the area still exists.

For those that are lazy...
NSFW/Nude Photos - The Photo Forum - Photography Discussion Forum

 

[Overread]

hahahah neat find Kristov!
Kind of makes one wonder - as its hidden and all - can we still use it ? ?? ??

 

[ghpham]

Since you just provided the link, it is now no longer "hidden". The owners may just delete the whole thing soon.....

 

[jbylake]

It seems to me, that about every three months, a group of people decide/threaten, whatever to jump ship. I notice that a lot of them are usually back within a week to a month.

Some issue is always going to piss someone off, I suppose.

I don't always agree with everything that goes on here. Rules? Well some people get away with breaking rules that others don't. I've reported a serious spam problem not to mention posted in the wrong category to boot. Nothing done. I guess these people know somebody that owns the forum. I know if I did it, I'd at least get slapped around a little in a PM or something.

I guess the bottom line is, that people own this site, other than me. Freedom of Speech (if that's how you see it) or censorship is not gauranteed in a privately owned forum. Hell, it's not even protected in the U.S. anymore, where it's "protected" in the Constitution.

I agree with Iron's origional PM, but no matter how long you've been a member, or a contributing member ($$) for that matter, it's still the managements perogitive to do whatever the heck they want. I've learned to live with this, on all kinds of forums, from Harley Davidson/Custom Bike forums to photo forums.

Sure, I hate to see the most talented, and generally most helpful people bow out. I'm a hobbyiest, and have been since circa 1977. I'm still learning from people here, some probably half my age, all the time, but much more advanced, or formally educated in photography, than myself.

But, if you gotta go, you gotta go. Hate to see you leave, as well as others that have been mentioned that they're leaving also. No reason for a big deal over it, just say your goodbyes, if you need too, and go.

Lastly, one thread mentioned the posters disdain for the "newbies" in the beginners forum. So what? That's what the beginners forum is all about. And kindly enough, very seasoned pro's/advanced photographers are almost always willing to help. But back to the newbies in the beginners forum, well, were you born with a camera sticking out of your ass? Who did you go to for help, or if you were new again, would your post your question in the for sale thread? I also see this arrogant high handeness here all the time too.

I don't think there is a utopian site anywhere out there that caters to everyone's taste. That's why I still visit here often, but also frequent other photography sites.

Have fun, and best to all of you that are leaving for good, and greener pastures, hope you find, after a cooling off period, that you might want to come back every now and then. The "newbies" need you.

J.:mrgreen:

 

[Joves]

I wouldn't jump ship just yet. The NSFW section is not deleted, just hidden. If you posted there, look at your previous posts and whatnot, the area still exists.

For those that are lazy...
NSFW/Nude Photos - The Photo Forum - Photography Discussion Forum

Also you cant post in there so essentially it is a dead area so useless.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

I heard about this controversy on another site. I have not posted here in many months. I gave up out of frustration, as one poster pointed out, with all of the newbie questions, rants, and generally sophmoric threads.

I finally pulled the plug on posting a lot here because there seemed to be so many members here with very little quality content. Oh, there were a few really good photographers, but they were far and few between. And now this.

I used to belong to a forum called The Nikon Cafe. The same thing happened there. In the early days, there was a nude forum. Everything was fine until several right wing Christian members complained about the forum. A huge debate took place between the mods and the members and eventually the nude forum was deleted, to make "The Cafe a more family friendly place." In reality, what it did, was turn the place into a vanilla, boring, bunch of bird and bug shooters filled with newbies and their endless quest to be spoon fed information.

It appears that is what is happening here. When I left here a few months ago, I could not quite put my finger on exactly why I was leaving but it was just a feeling that the place was headed down a one way street to mediocrity. And I have been a member on forums where that street is nothing but a dead end.

Good luck to all of you here.

 

[Dmitri]

Sadly, this is what happens when owners change from someone who loves the forum they created, to someone who looks at the bottom line. The art goes out and the "business" comes in.

On that note, Photocamel is great and I have heard good things about Fred Mirandas forums but haven't been there myself.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Sadly, this is what happens when owners change from someone who loves the forum they created, to someone who looks at the bottom line. The art goes out and the "business" comes in.

Why don't you start a forum and let us know in a few months how it feels to spend a awful lot of time on not shooting photos for zero money...

Or ask inTempus about it. Seems to me he doesn't even have his own forum in his sig anymore.

Or ask Manaheim about his. He can't have his in his sig because some members there were obnoxious here.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't really disagree with you but I think I'm more realistic than you are. A forum that is not for profit can and will take as much time and dedication as the subject of said forum. I don't know about you but I sure as hell wouldn't spend that much time and energy on something with so few rewards. I'd rather spend my time and energy on creating than on running a forum...

So, some people left here for there. So what? Quite a few members of the there are here regularly (including its creator.) Doesn't that tell you something? There is slow, has not a single pro member and very few who really know what they are doing. How long before some of those people who left are back here?


To get back to the subject of this thread, yes, I find the No NSFW rule weird as nudes are a big part of the photo experience. Just as they are of the art experience in general. But we are talking about a very small percentage of threads. Not to mention that if most posts were good, helpful, and serious some were obviously from horny teenagers. Yes, they can find much better porn with a few clicks of the mouse but obviously, some don't know that and frankly I found those posts extremely annoying.

I would never have banned the NSFW stuff for that reason but, then again, I am against any kind of censorship. However, some people need to grow up and, maybe, you should get pissed at them rather than the owners of this place.

Food for thought.

 

[Overread]

Cloud its not just that the NSFW section and ability to post those images was removed and its not really because its a site that is run for profit over a site run for just fun.

The reason many are feeling scorned by this is because many are trying to build up a community here. The problem is however, if the administration make choices that affect a great or a proprtion of that population without consultation or explination (remember even the moderators were left out of the dicision making process) then the membership feels greatly insulted. Furthermore those within the community who are trying to build it up feel like their efforts are going to waste because at any point the admin might shut down or change something that again affects a proportion of the membership without informing them or dicussing things with them

That I think is why so many have reacted the way they are - its not just that nude are banned but that it shows that we the members are not considered important at all

 

[c.cloudwalker]

When was the last time you saw a business ask its employees what they thought of changes to come?

There are some but they are rare. Most of them just post a notice (if they even bother) and you deal with it. As far as I'm concerned this is the same.

How I feel about it and what I would do in such a case means absolutely nothing as I am not the owner. All I know is that you decide to deal with it or not. No one forces you to stick around.

You can go to another forum and feel happy for a while until you realize how sh*tty it truly is. You can never post on a forum again. You can do whatever you want but it makes no difference. You are not in charge!

There is only one way you can be in charge, start your own forum. But, then, come back in a few months and tell us how you are enjoying it.

If it was that easy, we would have some great forums. We don't! What does that mean?

 

[Overread]

Actualy most of the forums I am on take a different view (and serveral are very much run as a business). An employer has you caught because you have to work or you don't get paid, whilst most businesses also have customers stuck because they provide a service that they can't get anywhere else - or that is only availble from a few others (most of which are doing the same things anyway). Rather like how if canon annoy you you jump to nikon and if they annoy you - well you lump it or wait for sony to catch up

Forums though don't offer quite the same since - as you say - you can go elsewhere. So its in the best interests of those running the forum to at least consider their membership.