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

[Overread]

The problem is members often take them far more seriously than even post counts.

Not to mention that they would be more accurately called 'popularity points' rather than reputation points. People started giving them to their friends & the popular people, and they became utterly meaningless.

Yep that's pretty much the view of them in the one forum where I know them to be and to work. Heck they even have a "Give reputation to the person(s) above you" thread

 

[Big Mike]

We have even toyed with the idea of hiding the post count, as that is/was a sign of false status. I think it's a lot better since we started to not count posts in the off-topic and welcome sections.

 

[Overread]

You can take my reputation but yea shall never have my postcount!!!!


But I do agree on cutting it from the spammy sections

 

[Dmitri]

Hahahaha...I like that idea

But if there was one, it would turn into a retribution mechanisim, and would eventually fill every nook and cranny of the forum, eventually reaching the scale of a full blown thermo-nuclear war. The forum would eventually melt down. It would be, "I'm a Jerk?" "O.K., I'm going to "jerk you" on every thread I could find in the search function". Eventually, friends of the people who were "jerked" would begin "jerking" friends of friends of said "jerked" posters, until enough people were jerked-off the site, that eventual melt down would occur.

Sounds like a real jerk off :lmao:

 

[jbylake]

We have even toyed with the idea of hiding the post count, as that is/was a sign of false status. I think it's a lot better since we started to not count posts in the off-topic and welcome sections.

Maybe you might reinvestigate that, and getting rid of the "member since" tag under their name. Some people post here more in a month of membership, than many do over a year or two. My question is: where in the heck do they get the time to do all this posting, and photography also? Not to mention time consumed by working a job.

I really feel that it's a double edged sword. Seeing a lot of posts, substanial posts, scattered all over the forum, might well indicate that they are very active and knowledgeable, or really trying hard to learn from other forumites. Or are genuinely trying to share knowledge with those having less experience.

I truly believe, though, that it's more of a false "status" symbol, if a member has been here for 3 months and has 3,000+ posts.

If I got to flip a coin, I'd sacrifice the reputation for competence, over the "see how many posts I have, I'm the greatest thing since Adam Ansel".

Also, for the few arrogant asses who never pass up a chance to express how much "noobs" annoy them with their "sophomoric" posts, would be autonomous, and only judged by the content of their posts, not their post counts, or time here.

All persons would be autonomous, and only judged by the content of their posts. The BS'ers would be sniffed out quickly.

I get the feeling that many people judge posters validity and knowledge based on post count and number of posts. It's common practice on many forums, not just here.

I know a few "true pro's" who have said "I never visit forums". Given their skill level, I've wandered if they did join, had one post, and a "newbie" tag for status, if people would judge them as "newbie" to this forum, or "newbie" to photography.

I've experienced this same thing myself. On a "film only" forum I belong to, I introduced myself, posted in a couple of threads, and asked a question about Medium Format camera's. The first response I got was that a "newbie" would be far better off learning the "basics" on a 35mm SLR, rather than trying to jump in to a niche that requires more than basic knowledge of photography. I really wasn't offended at all, but actually got a good hearty laugh.:lmao: I'm not a pro either, but I have been shooting and developing/printing film, seriously, since circa 1977. I think I've at the very least got the basics down, although I still get stumped once in a while. Oh well, you get the idea.

My guess is the latter, given this is the nature of a great many Forums of all sorts of interest groups.

Give it a try BigMike, at least for a short time. I think the only people that you would piss off, are the posers, and arrogant people. I think the greatest contributers here, who do have great longevity, experience, and a large post count, would care less.

J.:mrgreen:

 

[Overread]

Honestly be honest with yourself - people who are going to be rude will be rude - unless you assess each and every member and have them under close watch you will have that problem in the site.
The correct method of dealing with such is first to correct their points in a polite manner in the thread - then if their attitude is offensive report the post to the moderation team. Try not to get into a fight (ie just ignor the rudness/rude member) and focus on the topic at hand - trying to get into a fight is pointless because the thread quickly falls into a who gets the last word race and the topic is quickly lost to a torrent of fighting posts.

As for assigning weight to opinion that is something that everyone has to work out for themselves - its not easy (again with a set of standards, tests and review) to ensure that a member is capable of giving the correct advice on a particular subject.
Does this mean that false truthes and lies become told - yes it does - you either have to deal with that and hold your tongue or try to correct the matter at hand.

As for the whole newb thing most new people partly bring it on themsevles by introducing themselves as a newb (rather than just a new member) whilst those who constantly mouth of about them - meh ignor and make your own welcome to the member and report the post.

 

[manaheim]

Happy happy!

 

[Rocky8]

Honestly be honest with yourself - people who are going to be rude will be rude - unless you assess each and every member and have them under close watch you will have that problem in the site.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And so is gunk. What you consider 'rude' isn't in the next guy's opinion. Who has the right to apply his/her mores on someone else's opinion and/or lifestyle? Nobody does! But there are an awful lot of people arrogantly and paternalistically appropriating that right for themselves. People that should do better to relax their gluteus maximus, learn to look elsewhere if they don't like what they see, and leave other people in their own right.

 

[jbylake]

Honestly be honest with yourself - people who are going to be rude will be rude - unless you assess each and every member and have them under close watch you will have that problem in the site.
The correct method of dealing with such is first to correct their points in a polite manner in the thread - then if their attitude is offensive report the post to the moderation team. Try not to get into a fight (ie just ignor the rudness/rude member) and focus on the topic at hand - trying to get into a fight is pointless because the thread quickly falls into a who gets the last word race and the topic is quickly lost to a torrent of fighting posts.

As for assigning weight to opinion that is something that everyone has to work out for themselves - its not easy (again with a set of standards, tests and review) to ensure that a member is capable of giving the correct advice on a particular subject.
Does this mean that false truthes and lies become told - yes it does - you either have to deal with that and hold your tongue or try to correct the matter at hand.

As for the whole newb thing most new people partly bring it on themsevles by introducing themselves as a newb (rather than just a new member) whilst those who constantly mouth of about them - meh ignor and make your own welcome to the member and report the post.

Heck Overread, that would just be too easy.....

J.

 

[Formatted]

This thread needs more cats!

 

[jbylake]

This thread needs more cats!

Cool, maybe they'd eat the rats?

J.:mrgreen:

 

[Rocky8]

Honestly be honest with yourself - people who are going to be rude will be rude - unless you assess each and every member and have them under close watch you will have that problem in the site.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And so is gunk. What you consider 'rude' isn't in the next guy's opinion. Who has the right to apply his/her mores on someone else's opinion and/or lifestyle? Nobody does! But there are an awful lot of people arrogantly and paternalistically appropriating that right for themselves. People that should do better to relax their gluteus maximus, learn to look elsewhere if they don't like what they see, and leave other people in their own right.

You confuse me... weren't you just trying to figure out how to unregister in one of your last posts? If you hate it here, why are you still lurking about? I mean don't get me wrong... if you want to stay, stay... but... you confuse me.

My staying or leaving doesn't change the arrogant, paternalistic 'moderation' here one iota, erose. So I fail to see the connection.
Besides: I haven't found a way to UNregister yet. So I'm stuck with you and The Photo Forum. As you, and they, are stuck with me...

 

[jbylake]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And so is gunk. What you consider 'rude' isn't in the next guy's opinion. Who has the right to apply his/her mores on someone else's opinion and/or lifestyle? Nobody does! But there are an awful lot of people arrogantly and paternalistically appropriating that right for themselves. People that should do better to relax their gluteus maximus, learn to look elsewhere if they don't like what they see, and leave other people in their own right.

You confuse me... weren't you just trying to figure out how to unregister in one of your last posts? If you hate it here, why are you still lurking about? I mean don't get me wrong... if you want to stay, stay... but... you confuse me.

My staying or leaving doesn't change the arrogant, paternalistic 'moderation' here one iota, erose. So I fail to see the connection.
Besides: I haven't found a way to UNregister yet. So I'm stuck with you and The Photo Forum. As you, and they, are stuck with me...

Don't think the arrogance problem is with the mod's, I think it's more with certain individual forumites. You've been here a week or so, and are going to make that kind of assumption? Oh well, send a PM to one of the mod's, they'd probably be able to "unregister you".

J.

 

[Rocky8]

We have even toyed with the idea of hiding the post count, as that is/was a sign of false status. I think it's a lot better since we started to not count posts in the off-topic and welcome sections.

Post count says nothing: if someone gets banned again and again and registers again and again under new handles his/her post count starts everytime from #1 and will never get over a couple dozen before he/she gets banned again. I know a guy who was banned between 70 and 100 times from a board, but he kept coming back and now, after years, he has ratcheted up a total post count of well over 10,000 on that board...

BTW, the mods there finally gave up banning the guy, since that had proven to be a futile exercise. They couldn't get rid of him, however hard they had tried. It became the running gag of the forum. Everybody saw the mods' impotence to silence the dissident, it was hilarious. Everybody but the mods. Typically it took them years before that reality sank in...

 

[RyanLilly]

I know a guy who caught a fish that was "This Big"!