Free choice mini avatars

[dnk512]

BTW, I would prefer the 'badge' of honor to be listed inside the 'public profile' of a user. Not in every post. My 2c

 

[RJBender]

Give Jorge a chance to try out some new ideas. These changes are all good, IMO.


R.J.

 

[RML]

I can't comment on how it was before, but I do feel a bit like a jerk posting now.

(I don't own a paypall account, don't even have a creditcard, so I have no way of contributing and getting a fancy leica under my name.)

No need to feel like a jerk!
I'm member 374 with a ton of posts to my name.
I haven't paid either for the extras, which I'm not going to use anyway.
I wouldn't mind donating some through PayPal but I don't need no stinkin' badge-o'-'onour. 😛
I'm not going to let anybody dis me because I don't have a Lieca badge under my name.
Once that happens, RFF has turned into another P.nut.
Too bad I like the people here; otherwise leaving would be easy. 🙂

 

[dadsm3]

There's two issues here...firstly, there's the Leica haters who have a point, although if you're a true RF lover you'd sell your soul to have an MP (admit it). Secondly, there's the anti-elitist/cheapskate coalition....who'd object if there was ANY recognition of contributing. I love my virtual MP, but really don't give a crap if you have one or not.....although people who use this forum extensively have a bit of a moral obligation to contribute, no?
The interesting threads, the general politeness and goodwill, and the members willing to share their knowledge are the real strengths of this forum. It's getting pretty whiney lately.....
Mike

 

[RJBender]

I was under the impression that the consensus was that no indication would be made for premium members. I think this sucks. I don't like the way RFF is changing. RFF is no longer the friendly "pub" it used to be. Welcome to McRFF.

Frank, using the pub analogy, we've been sitting in the bar with drinks on the house for a long time. Now the proprietor needs to take in some cash to pay the pub's expenses. I remember you thanking Jorge for his generosity on several ocassions, but realistically, it's a business. I hope he does very well with it.

Think about all the $$ you saved using RFF to buy and sell gear. Is it asking too much to give $25 to the man who made this possible?

I recently read that some forums hide post counts because they want everyone to feel that they are equal.

It doesn't matter to me if I have one of these

or not. Showing who the contributors are does put some peer pressure on others.

Anway, I don't think it's going to turn into McRFF.

R.J.

 

[lynn]

I don't think the $25 is the point. I simply don't think it should matter who paid and who didn't, and I don't think there should be an extra avatar to set one group apart from the other. That will become clear through the Gallery and Classified "balance".

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I just got in from my early morning visit to my nearest cafe bar. I think there were about ten of us there and nobody had a drink or anything.

Later in the day tourists will go in, and local office workers too, and they will buy coffee, beer and cakes and stuff.

The bar owner does not mind us sitting for free and watching the early morning TV.

But when the office workers go in they don't get an "I'm a paying customer" badge and they don't look down on us people just passing the day and reading the communal newspaper. We're all equal and my opinion about last night's football is treated equally to the bank manager's opinion. He doesn't need a badge to show he paid and I didn't.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

RJ i agree with you but like it or not it seems the two tier system has already evolved which i think is very sad.
It's people's personal experiences that count for me in the sense of what makes this forum a community.
What members shoot with, whether they've contributed to the recent gallery "upgrade" matters not to me, it's what is said and the images posted, that make this a great place to keep coming back to.

Looking forward to seeing some more WNW image threads and a general sharing of knowledge
as this forum grows in membership rather than more threads like this......

 

[Dougg]

Frank, Ernesto, George, Simon, Remy, Lynn, Jon.... I agree with you, good points. This morning I sent similar sentiments in a longish PM to Jorge. I also think it's generally a Good Thing to contribute to the upkeep of the forum. I gave some thought to asking Jorge to revoke my Premium membership features, but arrived at another tentative solution, as you can see. 🙂 Remy, I'm waiting to see if I'll be "dissed" for not displaying the icon, as I've seen on Pnet.

 

[FrankS]

Firstly, I wholly support Jorge's need to raise funds to keep this site viable, and I don't think it is whiney to discuss a fundamental change at this site. A badge of honour for premium members and the creation of a 2-tiered membership is the issue here.

Jorge has created this site, the membership up until now has shaped it. How many of you liked Jorge's auction idea in our new classified section? It was discussed and then droppped. Jorge clearly did not realize that this close RFF community did not what to be placed in a competative situation against other members, which an auction creates. He had not thought it through.

I think the same process should occur with regards to the badge of honour. I don't think that enough thouhgt has been given to the consequences of a 2-tiered membership. As I said, I was under the impression that the consensus was that it was a bad idea.

Yes it is Jorge's site and he can do as he pleases, but hey, we could be sniping each other now in auctions too. Let's not have a membership where some folks may feel they can't make a comment because they lack the premium member status. How long will it be when the lack of premium status will be used in a disagreement between members, one of whom has the badge of honour, and the other does not. Who will be labelled a freeloader first?

 

[RML]

I'll be the first freeloader! Anyone else? Can we have a badge too? 🙂

OK, I'm kidding but I'm with Frank on this. People can say my photos suck eggs if they want to, or that my reasoning is flawed on this or that subject but if such notions ever get based on the fact I don't have a Lieca badge I really would have to reconsider my presence here. It's what happens on P.nut and I don't like it.

 

[RML]

I gave some thought to asking Jorge to revoke my Premium membership features, but arrived at another tentative solution, as you can see. 🙂 Remy, I'm waiting to see if I'll be "dissed" for not displaying the icon, as I've seen on Pnet.

Doug, did you just remove your Lieca badge?! OMG, what's the world coming to?! 😛

 

[BJ Bignell]

Since the "premium membership" is for the gallery, why do we see signs of it next to every post? I think if galleries were marked as belonging to premium members, that's cool. Hell, even offer a way to view only premium galleries (as long as it doesn't make it harder to view non-premium content) would be fine with me.

But, since it doesn't matter two bits when you're commenting on the colour of Joe's M3, or whether you like the "bokeh hokey pokey" of lens X over lens Y, I don't like seeing it here...

Is there a way to turn it off? Just like the option to use/not use the avatar?

 

[Goodyear]

Is there a way to turn it off? Just like the option to use/not use the avatar?

Get everybody to use Firefox, and then get GreaseMonkey involved 😉

I would like rid of my little Leica - I am with Frank etc, it is unnecessary.

 

[Nick R.]

Although when newbies see that seasoned members are usually paying members, then they will be more likely to pay, imo. That's what it's all about, I believe, raising money to keep the sight going.

 

[ferider]

I dislike the mini-avatar.

I paid the US 25 to fund RFF and it should be my choice if this is made public or not.

Roland.

 

[taffer]

AFAIK, if you prefer, you can still contribute directly to the board without the need of getting a premium membership, no ?

IMHO, yes, maybe we're indeed making a mountain from this...

 

[MP Guy]

yes taffer. 5000+ members and only a hand few contribute to this thread. Better things to chat about I think.

 

[jaapv]

I must confess I couldn't care one way or the other. As an addition to my avatar I like the little Leica, but that is about the end of it. Isn't this discussion a waste of bandwidth? We would be better employed flaming one another on "important" issues like film vs digital 😉

 

[FrankS]

Well, I guess to some, creating a 2-tiered membership is a trivial issue. It's not in my opinion. Mark my words.

Would you like polls with that?