OT? Why is PHOTO.NET so strict?

[justins7]

I posted a thread last week on photo.net that was only slightly off-topic. It was a question about doing your own photo website, which, while not exactly photo-related, is of much interest to photographers.

So after 30 minutes and several replies, they took it down!

It's ridiculous that there's absolutely no lee-way on that forum. How else can people learn things if they limit the subjects so much? It's what's so confounding about the web in general: people only are interested in what they're interested in. And therefore they never learn new things, since their forums are so limited. (This one seems to be better!)

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Maybe you posted it in the "wrong" forum. At least the Leica forum is pretty tough when it comes to these things. If you post it in other forum closer to your concern, it won't be deleted.

Good luck!

 

[BJ Bignell]

Perhaps this question would be better off posted on photo.net in the administration sub-topic of the forum in which your original post appeared, or lacking that, the general site feedback forum. How can any of us possibly know what the moderators of some other site deem on-topic or appropriate for any particular forum? And even if one of us here was a moderator from that site, this would be a very inappropriate place to have that discussion.

If you're unsure about what's appropriate, or whom to talk to, you can find an "About" link at the top of each forum on photo.net. This page describes the allowed limits of a forum. At the bottom of each About page, you'll find links to each of the moderators for that group. Send one (or all) of them an email, and ask them if your intended topic is appropriate for the group.

Sorry if that sounds rude, but complaining about photo.net here does nothing to add to the quality of photo.net, nor does it make RFF any better.

 

[rover]

I noticed in the past couple weeks they have really stepped up the moderation of their forum, but it is often very appropriate for them to do so. There are so many very talented and knowledgable photographers there, but some times the comments are way over any line of reasonablity.

I would guess that maybe Francisco is correct, perhaps there is a forum for your post where you should have placed it. Think about the sheer size of that database. Every bit of space must be important to them.

 

[justins7]

My post was in the appropriate place (Digital Darkroom) in photo.net.
I am not complaining -- just curious if anyone else encountered this issue. I am also commenting on how this type of thing may limit the absorbtion of new ideas, even if they are on the fringe of their field (in this case, photography). Certainly this forum is a lot more flexible and therefore more interesting (to me).

(I contacted the moderator who then curtly barked that I wasn't on topic so he pulled it, so I replied with "fascist". Not very mature, I know, and I was therefore banished forever from photo.net into the gates of hell for this serious transgression.)

 

[back alley]

gee, banished and now you wanna hang out here?

better behave! 😉

each site has each own culture, code of conduct etc.
most sites, like this one, are privately owned and can make the rules as the owner sees fit.
fortunately, jorge has allowed this forum to grow and mature without a lot of 'interference'. i have been lucky in that, as moderator, there has been little (some) to moderate and i offer more direction than mandates.

i agree with bj though,i'm not comfortable making a strong comment about another site.
to each their own.

joe

 

[George S.]

>> Sorry if that sounds rude, but complaining about photo.net here does nothing to add to the quality of photo.net, nor does it make RFF any better. <<

It does sound rude, because it IS rude. He asked a simple question, he didn't complain to us, just gave us a context for his question. Maybe he really thought someone here would know the answer. I'm glad that all of YOUR posts make RFF a better place, we mere mortals will try harder next time.

 

[FrankS]

Oh, oh. Please, not here.

 

[back alley]

no worries frank, we're the kindler, gentler forum.

right guys?

joe

 

[Natalia]

I don't participate too much at that other forum, but reading some of the comments posted under some photographs (not bad ones either) are quite painful...and lacking finesse.

 

[Solinar]

Calling the modreator a fascist, especially if it was Bob Atkins, is a sure fire way of getting banned from photo.net.

There are rebels who are full of hot air and then there are rebels with talent.

Something had to be done over there at photo.net to reign in juvenile gamemanship on the Leica forum. With that said, censorship is a slippery slope, in my opinion. It's a power that should be used judiciously.

My concern is the older generation of photographers, (my generation), may be cutting themselves off from a younger talent pool.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well this is not a unique event. We all have experienced that particular kind of... say, discipline. I had a thread removed in Photo.net. And it wasn't in the Leica forum, but the Nikon. Later, I received a rather curt, yet not rude note from the moderator, explaining his reasons to delete my thread.

I had to admit he was right. And, if you want to know, it was about a merchant offering Nikon gear at a surprisingly low price. I was wondering if it was a true operation and got all kinds of warnings about the vendor's dishonesty.

By then, I had seen comments edited (including one of my own), not deleted, in other forums. The moderators grew a couple of inches taller to me; that's dedication!

That doesn't mean I won't visit and post on that forum as much as I post here... it simply happens that I've learned about my limitations and their rules. And, as every forum has a culture, this one tends to be very laid back and cordial precisely because we all want it to be that way. It's something we're proud of, because it's been like this ever since its inception, so, dear BJ Bignell... cool your jets, please.

Sorry about getting this preachy... And, thanks, Joe, for being this cool! 🙂

 

[back alley]

franciso,

one more outburst like that...and i'll have to delete something of your's...😉

joe

 

[Pherdinand]

Why they are more strict over there? Because, i guess, it's a much bigger site than this. They have tens of thousands of hits per day. You can't really let such a mass do whatever they want, because there will always be, say, 0.1% having nothing better to do than be an azzhole. And, 0.1% of ten thousand is alot. In the meantime, we have a maximum number of simultaneous online RFF'ers still below 200.

Of course I did not mean you and your deleted post. It should be ok to put such a post in the digital darkroom forum. The moderator might have a different oppinion or have had a bad day, though.

 

[ddutchison]

I think part of the reason they're (now) stricter about keeping to topic is that they've archived all posts since day one - and over the years they've grown into quite an important internet photo-related resorce. I know that for any photo question I may have, the first step is a google search restricted to photo.net. If I do the same search on usenet, I've got a lot more chaff to look through. Cutting posts deemed OT makes searching easier.

Also, since they do archive every post, and they're very popular, that's a lot of info to keep on the servers - which costs money. They are also commited to providing a free service, payment is optional, and advertising minimal - so I suspect some culling is encouraged.