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Site in Decline?
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Is there a pie at halftime in this thread?
I’m not going to talk about the recent worthless drivel, but I’ll give my own perspective on the decline of PI which was the original subject of the thread. I agree about the ebb and flow of the forum. I have seen this on many other forums which I have been involved in and I’m sure the high tide will bring in fresh photographers with new and interesting viewpoints (and hopefully some alternative GSOH’s to balance things up). I think there is a danger that when a photography site starts to revolve around a hub of a ‘general chat’ section, it loses it’s way a little. For instance, comments about how people critique or how people interact etc are often brought in here. As such, this section is very hard to ignore and members will often get pulled into here whether they like it or not. If they are pulled in here then they are probably posting less about photography. I think this needs to be given some thought. A photography site has to revolve around the photography, not revolve around jokes or personality driven politics.
Personally, I’ve been frequenting other sites in the search for a better balance back to the photography again. PI is still number 1 in my book and this is where my forum life started. My personal suggestion would be to turn GC into a ‘Photography Lounge’. In doing so there would still be opportunity for a few jokes (preferably photography related) but the overall themes and bulk of the threads would still be more lighthearted discussion on photography. This might not suit everyone but I think that it would at least stop this section looking like a wart at the end of this very respectable site.
Maybe we should put it to the public vote…
GC goes
GC stays
GC renamed to ‘The Lounge’I’m not sure that this is a democracy.
Voting doesn’t take account of the potential members who are likely to join a friendly, well run site, free from this sort of aggravation.
I’m sure that Mark will decide what needs to be done (if anything), in the same way he always has.
I would not miss general chat at all. It does nothing to improve the value of the site for me. My vote is that it goes because it seems to be more a source of division and aggravation than anything else..I know I know…bah humbug!
I’m voting for it to stay…
For me the site is about People who enjoy Photography… not just Photography in it’s own right.
We could all just pack up and head for Facebook to fufill our social networking desires but I think it’s nice to be able to mix n’ match the way that we do at present via the site.
General Chat is an extension of the things we do when we meet in person… we laugh, we joke, we take the p*ss out of each other, we even fall out sometimes… so if we do it face to face why would we not do it on the forum?
New cameras, sharp lenses, crops, post processing adjustments, critique, “I like it”, “I don’t like it”… no problem, but after a couple of years on that merry go round it all wears off for some people.
Say what you will about me… but I’ve made some good pals on this forum… I don’t get to see them that often… but I do enjoy meeting them at the General Chat crossroads.
Personally, I would be sorry to see General Chat disappear as it is an opportunity for people to look at other topics other than photography, even if this means that things can get a bit heated or wacky. Photography, current affairs or other interests, whatever. It should all be open for scrutiny and debate here.
At the end of the day, forums and topics can be ignored and as long as any debate is restricted to that thread then there shouldn’t be a problem. If a person doesn’t visit a thread because they feel that it has got out of hand or they have lose interest, then the others should respect that without pursuing them across forums/threads or on PM’s.
I think most of us are familiar with a recent incursion where a person was removed from the premises by Security, more than once. Once people know the boundaries, then they should respect them and respect peoples’ choice to not participate on the given thread.
Then there would be no need for heavy tactics and any aggravation.David
This ones gone off the rails abit, bringing out both what is good and what is bad in the forum
Suggestion.
Any posts on the General Chat section do not increase your post count. I have seen this on other forums, where off topics do not contibute to the post tally. Don’t know if it will solve anything, but would stop accusations of people getting their pies posting on GC.Sad to see a great thread end in bickering all well thats GC for you.
PD_BARBS wrote:
This ones gone off the rails abit, bringing out both what is good and what is bad in the forum
Suggestion.
Any posts on the General Chat section do not increase your post count. I have seen this on other forums, where off topics do not contibute to the post tally. Don’t know if it will solve anything, but would stop accusations of people getting their pies posting on GC.Sad to see a great thread end in bickering all well thats GC for you.
Only problem there is that it would need to be constantly monitored to check if people go off topic to stop them accumulating points and it could get a bit messy, possibly even causing a bit of friction :)
The idea is a good one though and possibly some sort of variation could be considered but it would have to be something that would not be divisive and create extra work for Mark or Steve.
Folks. this thread has been cleaned up as best I can (including the Nossie posts). No more of personal remarks, getting people going
etc… None.Sorry if people’s posts might now be a bit out of context, including your last one Pete.
By the way, we’re going to be strict on members having a go at other members.
This means official warning, 14 day bans and if need be final bans.People can have fun, but not at the expense of other members.
PD_BARBS wrote:
This ones gone off the rails abit, bringing out both what is good and what is bad in the forum
Suggestion.
Any posts on the General Chat section do not increase your post count. I have seen this on other forums, where off topics do not contibute to the post tally. Don’t know if it will solve anything, but would stop accusations of people getting their pies posting on GC.Sad to see a great thread end in bickering all well thats GC for you.
I’m sorry if my question can seem stupid and I want to highlight that it is not polemic at all but…… is there any kind of reward for a person who has more “pies” than the others? What I do not understand is why some one should post something just to have more “pies”???? Is it a kind of competition????
Again, sorry, I’m not a forum expert in general, this is the only one I “attend”…. and, regarding the General Chat thing, I think that it should stay: I mean, what I like of this forum, are the people, first of all. And, since I like these people, I like read their suggestions about photography, technique etc as very experienced photographers or as puzzled beginners (like me!) but also I like to chat about stupid things, silly jokes and what ever is but photography, just becuase I like them as “human being”……. And, if some one doesn’t want to take part or read about it, just avoid the GC section…. it’s seems very easy to me!Cheers
a.:lol: I was asking myself the same thing Alessia!
I have been here for almost three years and filled in my pies a long time ago without noticing that I had even. I didnt get a prize in the post or any special privileges here, so I too was curious about the pie comment.
Thanks for asking!Sharon
The pie comment was in response to a comment(s) earlier in the thread regarding posts in the GC and posts to get pie slices.
My view was that if it was a cause for friction then it could be easily resolved rather than closing the GC forum, which would be a shame in my view.
I think the second half of this discussion (which to my mind is a different discussion anyway) might explain why some people might feel the site is in decline.
Thankfully I missed the whole Ossie thing..and I can’t say I’m unhappy about that. But maybe, as Mark as already mentioned, the answer is heavier moderation. I guess because it’s been a small site for so long we’ve had the privilege of quite light to almost no moderation.
There have been times when I’ve popped in to GC and thought..it has just gotten too petty and too personal. Not everybody has the same threshold when it comes to taking a “joke”. Also for others, myself included, it verges on the boring.
It’s not a problem to me. If I don’t like something, I just ignore it. But it can create a bad feeling on the site in general, and obviously has among some members judging by previous posts. Sometimes this can have a direct influence on the serious part of the site, Photography critique.
To say that we should not have a GC section, is a pretty sad reflection on what is after all, primarily an adult site. There should always be an area for non photography related chat imo. But maybe people should think more before posting personal remarks, and remember that PI is not a pub and what you say is seen in pure text without the benefit of visual stimulus.
Anyway, I do believe this argument has been made before…probably many times.
Just wanted to add my garlic to the pot ;-)
Sounds like the underlying feeling is to have GC removed from the “General Photography” section of the site.
Why not have it renamed the “The PI Lounge” (as nfl suggested) or some such and put it in a non-photography section all of it’s own. If people want to frequent then that’s fine, if people don’t like it they can choose to ignore it, enter at your own risk kinda thing.
Also agree with an earlier comment or two that suggested post tally should not increase when posting in such a section…..
€0.02 chipped in.
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