I’m in favor of real names on “serious” sites like this, but as many have said, good moderation matters more.
But, as the thread has expanded to another look at politics, I’ll give my thoughts on that as well: I think political discussions are sucking all the air out of this forum, and as they do, the value of the forum to photographers is diminished.
I made the mistake, some time ago, of commenting on the “American constitution” thread. I realized the pointlessness of it in short order, but having commented, it continues to appear on my “replies” list even though I’ve set my profile to ignore the Coffee Corner. I see that thread has now grown to 90+ pages in a fairly short time. What other thread gets that much attention? The “Professional Works” thread has 140+ pages, but it’s been going on since 2013.
It doesn’t matter what I think of the opinions expressed. And I do understand that for some members it’s an important social outlet—even community. But what I see is that the energy expended in the political discussions is not being expended in discussions of the photographic arts, and I think it’s an existential threat to this forum. Internet forums live and die on their brands. If the brand is vibrant discussions of the art of photography and deep technical resources, then it has value. If the brand is a bunch of photographers talking politics, I see a dim future.
I feel I've been in LuLa since forever; remind me of the times when there were great discussions on the "Photographic Arts". Posting on the list of links (Style) to great photographers is a pretty lonely profession... I know all about that - check it out. It was always like that. If there is a shortage of posters, it's because so few are actively interested enough to spend time online
looking for such photographers or artists to enjoy and to pass along for the pleasure of others.
True, we used to enjoy input from several very good professional photographers in advertising; most abandoned LuLa as a place in which to place images. Some fell out amongst themselves and others just realised that, professionally, it was a waste of time: who was gonna offer gigs out of LuLa? Be serious; and time is money. And why would they pay to read articles they could write even better? LuLa is a site aimed fairly and squarely at the amateur photographer, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Pros get their kicks by impressing other pros: that amateurs say wow! means not a lot in the greater scheme of professional life. If you were around during the period from the 50s to the 80s you'd see that
personal competition on the pages of every fashion magazine, every travel magazine and every weekend supplement: the client was secondary - we had to kick the asses of our competitors: that was the spiritual payoff after basic professional survival.
Anyway, those who contribute to the political threads are/were not
all prolific posters of images, whether great or shitty. Posting in one end of the LuLa spectrum has never prevented the same person doing so in any other section. The main reason for not posting images is this: we have no great list of great new ones to post. And the longer one remains here, the more one becomes aware of one's own inadequacy and how few of us really have the style or even ability to make a picture a picture, rather than just a record of something we saw at some time or in some place.
Don't pass the blame to the politically interested: pass it to those not willing to post their snaps.
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