OK Folks, what is Missing? How can we improve RFF ?

redisburning said:
I'd like to see a considerably improved classifieds search and more control of my profile in easy to reach places.

currently it takes a lot of effort to see my own posts. far too much, IMO. also, it's too difficult to navigate between my forum profile and my classifieds profile. I would like to see them play nicer with each other.
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I second that. Sometimes I want to pull up threads I was part of in the past, there is no simple way to do that. Also, the 30sec limit between searches is lame, have not seen that anywhere else.

Small gripes for a great site, thanks for all you have done.

Randy
 
Keith said:
Actually there is one thing that bugs me but god only knows how to address it. People are constantly posting oversize images in threads that instantly make the thread unwieldy with the need to side scroll. Threads that are affected in this way are a pain and I avoid them.

Though I don't know if this an be corrected with software ... I doubt it!
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I agree with this. I wonder, is there a way for the forum to be able to detect the size of our screens? Or, maybe, a way for us to each specify our own so that images are rendered/sized to our screens?

Lss said:
As far as I know, the original poster is still able to delete an entire thread thus wiping out everyone else's (often useful) contributions. That should never happen.
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Deleting my own posts is one thing but deleting some one else's is not right.
I started, for example, a thread of cell phone photos. That thread has 300+ replies and 30 thousand views :)eek:) and just because I started that thread, I should not be able to delete all those replies.

A few folks have mentioned video; I think "how to" type videos would be very useful. Not sure what the best way to implement that would be. Given that video takes up more resources than text or stills, maybe have that section be curated?

Thanks for asking, Stephen!
Rob
 
Noll said:
I happen to really like the dedicated lens review section found at pentaxforums.com There is so much collective experience with so many types of equipment here that it would be great to feature this knowledge in a structured way. As it stands, even with google and the internal search feature, much gets buried in the archives.
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I agree. I also really like their dedicated section for camera reviews. It makes "researching" different Pentax cameras very straightforward. It shows features, descriptions, and of course allows for user reviews. Finding such concise information here is significantly more complicated. While I realize this site covers a much broader spectrum of cameras, it would be nice for some kind of quick reference type guide for various makes and models.

Regarding the "like/dislike" option, I would say no. If I want a farcebook style site, I'll go to facebook (which I don't go to anyway). Personally, I am not interested if someone else likes or dislikes a thread.

redisburning said:
I'd like to see ... more control of my profile in easy to reach places. currently it takes a lot of effort to see my own posts. far too much, IMO. also, it's too difficult to navigate between my forum profile and my classifieds profile. I would like to see them play nicer with each other.
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and
johannielscom said:
Posting feedback to sales is quirky, to say the least.
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Agree with these 100%. Any improvement in these areas would be great.

I love this site. Thanks for keeping it going!
I may not post here to often, but I sure do spend a lot of time reading. The people here have taught me many things and have helped me recall things I had forgotten. That, and have inspired many GAS attacks!
 
Altho it is not related to site improvement, I would like to see another run of the RFF baseball type caps.

Agree on the "Like" button.
Agree on limiting image size.
 
Noll said:
I happen to really like the dedicated lens review section found at pentaxforums.com or direct link here: http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/

There is so much collective experience with so many types of equipment here that it would be great to feature this knowledge in a structured way. As it stands, even with google and the internal search feature, much gets buried in the archives.

Thanks for posing the question.
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I'm happy here, but Noll (and seconded by JonWNC) came up with a good one: a lens review section. These reviews (on PentaxForum) are personal but set up so there is an 'at a glance' quick review. I like this because you don't have to read the complete post. To expand on Noll's suggestion, their camera review section is set up in a similar way. As these are all SLRs it isn't as interesting as the lenses, but with the almost infinite numbers of new and used cameras and camera bodies, I think this would be a real 'pig pile' on RFF.

This would also be an outlet that we get just in simple post from very expert people. There is a ton of knowledge in our ranks (me excluded) that would be dumped into an easy to get to section. You might even consider the same treatment for film, and now that digital has found it's way onto RFF, maybe a sensor comments section within the camera section.

Thanks Stephan for your forum.
 
I'm not adding anything new, just adding my plus one for the following ideas. Most of these are not simple changes, but would require serious changes to the forum software.

-Easy ability to find threads I've posted on (similar to APUG's "My Threads" and "My Posts" in the menu bar)

-Like button, mixed with the above for "My Likes" so I can "like" pictures/posts and then easily go through them again at a later date

-As an offender of the 'posting too big images', having an option for users to automatically size down photos that are bigger than the current window (never stretch images, just shrink them) would be nice. That way I can still post images at a size I feel does them justice, and viewers on smaller screens aren't stuck scrolling.

-Slide show function for every photo in a thread. That's really cool! especially if I could stop the slide show on a certain image and go to the post directly (to either like, or reply specifically to). That would make going through W/NW threads absolutely fantastic.

-Camera & lens review pages would be cool. Something like mtbr.com has for mountian bike equipment. Especially if it was linked into a search function (even just a simple "search for this item in the forum" hyperlink that auto-populated the equipment name into the existing search) and the classifieds section.
 
Stephen, Thank you for opening up for discussions on improvements to an already great site, but however great, there are always room for improvements.

I recently raised a question in one of the forums about the gallery but did not get anywhere with it.
  • The gallery links in the lower left hand side of the home page no longer works.
  • The 4 random photos displayed on the home page are not representative of the total volume of uploaded photos. Perhaps still linked to the old gallery?
  • The large photo displayed at the top of newly uploaded photos in the gallery section are a tiny small selection with maybe no more than 20 photos.

So, my main concern is with the gallery and the old gallery links. I hope it will be possible to get this cleaned up, otherwise a great site.
 
one request would be to re-create the ability to load images into the gallery from an outside server.
We used to be able to do this with an older version of the gallery.

The gallery Jorge created is gorgeous but, making a specific version of images to upload there is cumbersome.

I'm sure many are like me and once an images is ready to go online it goes to one place and is shared from there.
I load all my sharable images to Flickr at full size in non-public privacy setting. Sharing them here and elsewhere in threads.

It would be great to be able to load them into my rff gallery as I did in the past.
 
For those who prefer limited images sizes for within thread viewing.....what size do you suggest?

Isn't a 1024 standard just fine? Is anyone having trouble with that? (it does not exist now...I'm making a suggestion).
640 seems too small and 800 is not as common on each photo storage site (500pix, flickr etc...)

Cheers!
 
The only think I would like to see is some sort of flag on the classified to alert us buyers as to what country the seller is from. For the most part, shipping from any foreign country will scotch a deal for me and I'd like to not have to bother reading the entire add before I discover the seller is from another country. Other than that, don't mess with it!
 
Great forum like it is, and I generally am liking change for the sake of change less and less with each passing day.

But there is one somewhat bothersome issue, and that is having to resize photos before posting. I'm for bigger images, not smaller -- sorry to those with tablets -- after all this is a photo forum.
 
I am somewhat newer, but not a day that goes by that I don't check out the gallery/forum. Never disappointed with learning and as a result RFF influence a M6/M5(from a RFFer)/few lens later and I shoot film as much or more than digital from my x100.

I wish it was easier to get an image out of Aperture on my Mac into RFF and now that flickr tweaked their site, having an issue of easily grabbing an image and posting it.
Thanks and keep up the stimulating site!
 
Great forum and generally great contributors.
Thanks for running this, Stephen.

Am automatic resizing of Avatar photos would be useful - the poster to upload any size photo and RFF to resize it.
An automatic resizing of Gallery pictures too - the poster uploads any size photo and RFF does the rest 'to fit'.
Both suggestions would make posting faster and easier.

I find it interesting that many of the observations made so far involve 'gear' rather than photos.

Again, thanks for running RFF.

jesse
 
Suggestions

Suggestions

To start I would like to say that this is one of my favorite sites. So the suggestions I would like to make are not an indication that I am not happy with what you have done. In that respect I would also like to point out just a few features I do like.

Things I Do Like - The Classifieds are very well done.

Things I Do Like - Coffee With Mentors is a terrific idea. I love considering the topics that are brought up and getting a sense of how the pros think.

Things I Do Like - The Film vs Digital section. Too many forums try to ignore this as if it does not exist, but it does. Rangefinder treats it very intelligently allowing a forum to discuss the differences, positive and negative.

Things I Do Like - Incorporating the Classic Camera Repair Site was a great addition, and very timely in execution. Thanks.

Some Ideas:

Suggestion - Make it very easy to search My Posts (those where I am the OP) and My Participated Posts (those which I have participated in but was not the OP.) I don't think e-mail notifications are necessary, this can stay in the Subscribed section.

Suggestion - Give some thought to allowing user reviews of rangefinder cameras and lenses. I realize this could be logistically difficult but I think it would be easy to start by categorizing things exactly as they are classified in the Forum itself. A lot of people are interested in buying rangefinder cameras but it can be a real challenge to find good user information about them. This forum could certainly perform a great service by providing a place for these user reviews.
 
I'm fine with how everything works, I do think 'thanks' symbols are a good idea. I think they'll foster good will among forum members. I think a lens review section may lead to homogenization of opinion and have a deleterious effect on prices, from my pov.
 
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