Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: ericevans on April 01, 2006, 02:52:19 am

Title: Here's a idea
Post by: ericevans on April 01, 2006, 02:52:19 am
Since the digital back shooters have lost a great resource and are showing up here I have a idea . We need a place where honest discussions can take place without fear of getting banned so how about this . There has been a discussion about starting a private forum as well . To keep commercial interests from influencing discussions how about allowing members here being able to donate to the cost of the bandwidth and help pay a bill or two around here ? I would have no problem donating $25 a year to this site or to a private site with no outside interests so that information can be shared freely . Anyone think this is a good idea ? I know these sites have someone paying for them , whay not have members help with the cost so the owners don't have to sell out ?
Title: Here's a idea
Post by: tonypassera on April 01, 2006, 05:39:03 pm
Quote
Since the digital back shooters have lost a great resource and are showing up here I have a idea . We need a place where honest discussions can take place without fear of getting banned so how about this . There has been a discussion about starting a private forum as well . To keep commercial interests from influencing discussions how about allowing members here being able to donate to the cost of the bandwidth and help pay a bill or two around here ? I would have no problem donating $25 a year to this site or to a private site with no outside interests so that information can be shared freely . Anyone think this is a good idea ? I know these sites have someone paying for them , whay not have members help with the cost so the owners don't have to sell out ?
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I agree, but i'd like to vote for staying here on MR's site rather than setting up
a new private site.   This site is as neutral as you're going to find, and pretty much
everybody already knows about it.   I've noticed progressively more activity here
in the MF forum since RG's purge a few weeks ago.  Hopefully this trend will continue
until the wonderful dialog we all enjoyed at RG is re-established here.

I like your suggestion that we all contribute so that the site can stay commercially independent.   While we have the option of subscribing to MR's video journal, i
imagine Michael will tell us if there are other ways to support the site as well.
Tony
Title: Here's a idea
Post by: michael on April 01, 2006, 05:44:08 pm
Everyone is welcome here, and no payment is necessary. If people want to support this site by subscribing to the VJ, that's always appreciated, but not a condition of participation.

The only constraints that I place on conversation are that people act like adults and keep a sense of humour.

I also prefer if discussion remain related to photography in one form or another, and don't wander off into politics or religion, though such references are not disputed out of hand.

Michael
Title: Here's a idea
Post by: Sfleming on April 01, 2006, 08:50:15 pm
I used to read the MFDB forum on RG daily.  Twice daily.  I would have to strive to care less about MFDBs.  I'll pick one up in several years when a P25 or it's equiv. can be had for a couple k.  That may never happen and again I don't much care.

I read the RG forum just to hear the professionals debate, discuss, BS and generally run off at the mouth.  It was very interesting.  I picked up some great tidbits.  I read several other forums over there as well.  Not anymore.  I pretty much avoid the place.

I encourage MT and JR and other professionals to come on over here and just take up where they left off.

Why not?
Title: Here's a idea
Post by: free1000 on April 05, 2006, 04:13:23 am
Hi Eric...

just found this board.

I understand why you might want a private forum but I think that its not a good idea.

The reason is that, in my experience, the private boards soon fragment and its hard to get new users. An example of this is the yahoo groups on stock photography. There are a few of them now, many with just a handful of users.

There is a benefit in having the board attached to a site like LL or even RG (though the content is weaker there and I think they have kinda missed the point that the board was driving their traffic rather than the other way around)

The benefit comes from the ability that a site like LL has to accumulate new users. If you have an independent discussion, its hard for people to find it.

Without being disparaging to other places, the great thing about the MF forum was the concentration of professional debate there rather than finding less well informed views. That may of course have been due to the good effects of the moderation. So its not moderation that was the problem... just the overkill of the moderation.

This LL board seems like a pretty good compromise and because MR actually has a content rich and valuable resource to act as a magnet, should hopefully continue to attract new blood.