Thread moved from beginner forum

[Robin Usagani]

ok... starting today I will start posting on the appropiate fora. It will mostly be "just for fun".. Cause I am on the fun bus.

 

[white]

This is just a place to have fun and share. I don't expect anything.

Stuff in the galleries gets ignored unless you're good.

WHY SO CEREAL, GICE?

 

[Ron Evers]

When I first joined the forum I was advised by a moderator that I should be posting in the nature & wildlife forum. I did & could not get a response, so I came back here & never left.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

I've been shooting film for a lomg time and just recently (in the last couple years) started shooting digital.

Although I am technically not a beginner... I need improvement on many aspects of photography. I understand the basics of exposure and lighting and composition... But I have a long way to go before I stop calling myself a beginner.

Plus, there is WAY more traffic here than in any other forum. Thus, way more opportunity to get honnest, helpful C&C and advice.

Plus, I have memory issues caused by Cancer and radiation...So, I often find myself re-learning things I already know/knew (forgive me if I repeat the same questions several times).

 

[Overread]

I wonder - if we moved the galleries up and put the beginner section at the bottom what would happen?

 

[Josh66]

I wonder - if we moved the galleries up and put the beginner section at the bottom what would happen?

I think that would be a good idea.

When did the beginner section switch over to beginner section/gallery?
I can't remember when it was, but it wasn't that long ago.

It was the same time the C&C section went away because people didn't like hearing bad things about their pictures. Keep in mind that this was in addition to the galleries - there were tons of places to post pictures without asking for C&C. People would post in that section, specifically wanting C&C on a picture, then get all upset if you told them it was out of focus.


It just seems like all anybody cares about anymore is getting a pat on the back..

 

[Derrel]

I'm afraid I do not quite "get" what the problem is with so much stuff being placed in the beginner's forum...but then, I read TPF by always clicking on Active Topics, and then New Posts...I hardly ever,and I mean ever, look at which sub-forum active thread is posted in...I just don't.

If you ask me, TPF has wayyyyyy too many sub-headings.

 

[Overread]

TFF has not got many more subheadings than most forums of its size. Also like Derral I do tend to stick to the newposts option to surf the site - we get enough action here that it works, but not so much that its overpowering (like very big sites such as photography on the net).

However I the problem with the speed of a section like the beginners is that it means posts cycle fast - if you're not a popular thread quick you'll soon slip to page 2 and 3 whereupon you won't get any viewing or input at all, through no fault of ones own.

I do think that if we could spread things out a little more it would even the view count and chances of replies to people posts in general

 

[Josh66]

Yeah, on a busy night a new thread will get buried on page 3 of the 'new posts' screen withing 10 minutes. You look down the side of the new posts, and almost every one is either in the beginners section or off topic. It buries everything else.

I don't think there's anything wrong with those sections, other than they cause everything else to get neglected.

If everybody posted their pictures in the gallery instead of dumping everything here, I have a feeling that the posts would be much more evenly distributed through the various sections.


BTW ... I usually browse by new posts too... First thing I do is go to the User CP, read whatever is in there, then hit new posts. If it's slow, or I'm bored then I'll start digging through the other sections.

 

[Derosa]

I've only been hanging around here for a short time. I lurked around for a few weeks waiting for my camera to arrive. I learned a ton in this section. ...got the camera and hung around because I continue to learn a lot from beginners and more advanced folks. I respect the experience of Ron, the (mainly ) objective comments of Bitter, the clarity of Derrel...love the sense of humor of erose and feel like I am learning with her...I would also hate to see Schwetty and kundalini post elsewhere, they've got a lot to offer...there are many others who I have not mentioned....it is an interesting group, to say the least.

I don't mind the tangents...it keeps things interesting. If we were all to meet up, in person, over a regular period of time, I am sure the same kinds of tangents would arise...eventually, we get back to the business at hand...but we've also developed a better sense of community.

Guess this is just to say, I think any major changes would diminish this particular section. I am having fun and learning a lot.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I have to agree with Derrel. To many sub fora.

I'd love to see one Crit forum for everyone, and turn the beginner forum into beginner "tech".

I believe with one Crit forum people could learn more from the broad spectrum of posters.

 

[OrionsByte]

Yeah, on a busy night a new thread will get buried on page 3 of the 'new posts' screen withing 10 minutes. You look down the side of the new posts, and almost every one is either in the beginners section or off topic. It buries everything else.

You could always PM erose and ask her to respond to your post, that'll make sure it stays on the front page for while.

I don't think there's anything wrong with those sections, other than they cause everything else to get neglected.

If everybody posted their pictures in the gallery instead of dumping everything here, I have a feeling that the posts would be much more evenly distributed through the various sections.

Yeah, I agree, but if the current galleries were the only place that photos were posted, I think there are a lot of photos and learning opportunities that would be overlooked. Ron mentioned that he was encouraged to post his photos to the Nature and Wildlife forum. If he'd done that and stayed there, I doubt I'd ever have seen much of his work, which would be a shame. That genre just isn't something that interests me so I'd probably not frequent it as much.

Having that mixed-genre "dumping ground" exposes beginners to a much wider variety of styles than they might otherwise take notice of.

BTW ... I usually browse by new posts too... First thing I do is go to the User CP, read whatever is in there, then hit new posts. If it's slow, or I'm bored then I'll start digging through the other sections.

I always start with User CP, but I do tend to forum-hop rather than using the New Posts or Active Topics links. I don't know why, but that never occurred to me; I'll have to check that out. :thumbup:

 

[Josh66]

I'd love to see one Crit forum for everyone, and turn the beginner forum into beginner "tech".

That's exactly how it was not long ago.

People would post in the C&C section and couldn't handle it when someone pointed out a flaw in their photo.

Now everything is all warm and fuzzy so nobody gets offended (but it still happens).

 

[Overread]

We can keep a general photograph area (infact we HAVE one) but its the fact that everything gets dumped into beginners section because its the one that garners all the sites collective attention at present (at least it seems that way ). This makes for a muddled organisation structure and also pulls attention away from the specific sections setup to try and avoid what the beginners section has become.

I think if we forced people out into the proper sections a lot more we would see them pick up in views and comments a lot more. A reshuffling of the order on the first forum page might also help a lot (and heck at least it would get some new members to notice those other sections ).


Derosa = do I get a place in your list of nice people?

 

[Overread]

I'd love to see one Crit forum for everyone, and turn the beginner forum into beginner "tech".

That's exactly how it was not long ago.

People would post in the C&C section and couldn't handle it when someone pointed out a flaw in their photo.

Now everything is all warm and fuzzy so nobody gets offended (but it still happens).

This is the thing - with or without a crit section those who will take offence are still taking offence. I'd still love to see a crit section back here but I have a feeling that the mods (most of which are far more "old guard" than many of us today) have seen too many fights over crit sections in the past to want the bother of opening the can of worms again.


That said the beginners section almost is a crit section with all the C&C wanted posts