Still, for any professional to post a thought or give out information they need to have some idea of who they are talking to and the level of experience that person posesses. Right or wrong, I'm not going to get into a conversation with someone over the mertis of my workflow or a particular lens if they've only used a Canon D-30, or shoot cats in the living room. I really don't understand these id's anyway, why would you post and not put your real name?
What's the purpose?
JR
I have been a part of moderating several forums similar to this one. While this one is a good start, my own personal suggestion is that, in its current form, it will never evolve into a truly honest, professional level, due to the fact that the participants are not required to sign in, go by their true real names, and show a website or email link.
I feel that this Medium Format forum should really not even be viewable over the Internet without each person registering and signing in each time. True professionals with real world experience simply will not contribute, unless this rule would go into effect. This leaves a forum with the vast majority of the people only having questions and never getting answers, since no one with experience would be willing to answer. Witness the current state of the old RG.com forums, if you doubt my word. The end result of this often leaves a massive amount of disinformation; speculation based on no facts; and no one really learning that much. I see it in post after post on this forum.
I would suggest that this forum be taken private. It's one thing for some guy with a 5D wanting to know what zoom lens to buy to shoot his kid's soccer game, but it's quite another for a true professional to share valued information, when he has no idea who he's talking to. Personally, I'd NEVER reply to anyone using one of those silly alias names. Show your face, show your website, show your email, come out of the shadows, and maybe a professional might answer your question. But since the owner of this entire site just goes by his first name in these forums, I guess this policy would never change. Plus, he garners a following by the potential purchasers of those DVDs by allowing the entire universe to just waltz in here, anonymously, and view anything, without the slightest amount of responsibility.
This is my constructive feedback. You've got to pick a path. One path is like a bunch of kids in a Chat Room, trying to say that they know the difference between a Leaf file and a Phase file, when in truth, they've probably never seen a digital back, in person, in their entire life, let alone tested the two side by side, under identical conditions. The other path, if set up properly and responsibly, leads to true, honest, responsibly sharing of information by real professionals. You can't have it both ways. I would hate to be some guy risking $30k on a back, and come here and have this forum as the only source of information. I know people mean well here, but speculation and honest experience are two radically different things.
Good luck. And buyer beware.
Mark Tucker
http://www.marktucker.com