General equipment discussion forum

Battou · Jan 15, 2008

I am gonna toss another suggestion at yall and see if it sticks or bounces.

A general equipment forum with subsequent subforums

Equipment Discussions A place for discussing anything pertaining to photography equipment be it new or new to you.
-->Lenses and Glass A place to ask questions about DSLR and SLR lenses and what they are for.
-->Pods A place for questions about monopods, bipods, tripods, what ever pods.
-->Scanners/printers A place to ask scanner and printer related questions

Some of the most common questions that find them selves scattered around the forum, granted Photography News and Reviews is prolly the best place for them at the moment but they still find their way all over the place. Perhaps having subforums for questions like "What lenses go to this camera?", "What tripod should I get?" and "Why does my scanner suck?" may serve to gather them in one location better suited to the question at hand making information easier to find and/or gather.

Perhaps actually make the review section for reviews....maybee

Battou · Jan 15, 2008

Maybe even another subcat
--> My first SLR A place to celebrate or ask questions about first dSLR or SLR cameras.

Ok, I think that one has to be the most popular question in the world.

jstuedle · Jan 15, 2008

Sounds like it might be a good idea, maybe it'll stick.

karissa · Jan 15, 2008

Battou said:
Maybe even another subcat
--> My first SLR A place to celebrate or ask questions about first dSLR or SLR cameras.

Ok, I think that one has to be the most popular question in the world.

This is really what the beginners place is aimed at.

karissa · Jan 15, 2008

Battou said:
I am gonna toss another suggestion at yall and see if it sticks or bounces.

A general equipment forum with subsequent subforums

Equipment Discussions A place for discussing anything pertaining to photography equipment be it new or new to you.
-->Lenses and Glass A place to ask questions about DSLR and SLR lenses and what they are for.
-->Pods A place for questions about monopods, bipods, tripods, what ever pods.
-->Scanners/printers A place to ask scanner and printer related questions

Some of the most common questions that find them selves scattered around the forum, granted Photography News and Reviews is prolly the best place for them at the moment but they still find their way all over the place. Perhaps having subforums for questions like "What lenses go to this camera?", "What tripod should I get?" and "Why does my scanner suck?" may serve to gather them in one location better suited to the question at hand making information easier to find and/or gather.

Perhaps actually make the review section for reviews....maybee

The "Photography News and Reviews" section was created for this purpose. I haven't seen enough traffic in that section to really warrant breaking it down further. I appreciate your suggestions. Keep them coming! We are always looking to make this place better.

Battou · Jan 15, 2008

karissa said:
This is really what the beginners place is aimed at.

Yeah I know, That one was just a halfassed thought I threw in due in part to the frequency I see the phrase "this question is asked a thousand times ...." It was not as serious as the first three but worth throwing out into the open.

karissa said:
The "Photography News and Reviews" section was created for this purpose. I haven't seen enough traffic in that section to really warrant breaking it down further. I appreciate your suggestions. Keep them coming! We are always looking to make this place better.

jstuedle · Jan 15, 2008

I see we could use the sub-headings. Especially if we could move the more recent threads into each sub for noobies to find easily.

terri · Jan 17, 2008

Battou said:
Yeah I know, That one was just a halfassed thought I threw in due in part to the frequency I see the phrase "this question is asked a thousand times ...." It was not as serious as the first three but worth throwing out into the open.

You have not seen enough traffic in this section because they are going every where else, I can provide a pile of examples of this,

Lenses and glass
(Beginners Place)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107902
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107880
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107915

(Beyond the Basics)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107794
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107426
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107651

Pods
(Beginners Place)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107857
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107204
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105099

Scanners/Printers
(Beginners Place)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106892
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106902
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105965

(Beyond the Basics)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10664

(Digital Discussion & Q&A)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107611

(Collector's Corner)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106630

(The Black & White Gallery)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106767

(Graphics Programs and Photo Gallery)
http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106322

These are just the first ones I stumbled across quickly that are not in the "Photography News and Reviews".

perhaps maybe renaming "Photography News and Reviews" and adding the subs, because the forum name itself implies new equipment and those are common questions.

My goodness, look at this list. I appreciate the time you must have spent on this post.

However, this post assumes two things, Battou, the first being that we have not already addressed the issue of having an "Equipment" forum. If you will check the News & Announcements forum, you will see we recently revised the header and description of the Equipment & Reviews forum to include news & noteworthy items from the world of photography. The forum now encompasses equipment reviews, discussion and vendor/manufacturer news and updates.

Secondly, you are assuming that by simply having forums with descriptions, no one will ever post a question in the "wrong" forum. We might like to see all lens, tripod and scanner questions take place in a certain forum, but calling it the "Equipment" forum has not and will not prevent a beginner with a question about a lens from asking in the Beginners Forum. And really - either place is appropriate, so we cant split hairs over it, or confuse a newbie to TPF by constantly moving threads around.

I believe the News & Reviews description is very clear:

Talk about the latest photographic headlines and equipment reviews. Also get your advice on what equipment to purchase and get opinions from others about various products.

We must accept that this can never insure that folks who are new will read everything carefully or pick the forum that others may pick for similar questions.