P.O.T.N. is down by the end of 2023

[Ko.Fe.]

Mostly Canon digital oriented forum P.O.T.N. owner is removing it from Internet by the end of this year.
Age, no Google advertising due to low traffic.

All forums are going down, young generation has no interest in it.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I'm beginning to understand all my grandfather's anger......... Social Security doesn't pay enough for us geezers to be a prime marketing group.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Ko.Fe.

I'm sure you are probably right, but I'll still miss it.

Years ago, when I joined, I knew it was pretty much a Canon specific place. But you could still ask questions about other brands of gear and once you sifted through the fanboy BS you would get an honest answer.

I shoot Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax digital cameras. I belong to several brand specific digital camera forums. At the same time, I shoot all of them and many more brands of film cameras. I'll miss the talk and chatter more than anything.

Thankfully, I still can come here and ask stupid questions, or just read!

It is what it is.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Dear Ko.Fe.

I'm sure you are probably right, but I'll still miss it.

Years ago, when I joined, I knew it was pretty much a Canon specific place. But you could still ask questions about other brands of gear and once you sifted through the fanboy BS you would get an honest answer.

I shoot Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax digital cameras. I belong to several brand specific digital camera forums. At the same time, I shoot all of them and many more brands of film cameras. I'll miss the talk and chatter more than anything.

Thankfully, I still can come here and ask stupid questions, or just read!

It is what it is.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

To me the only stupid situation is in huge knowledge sources like DPReview and P.O.T.N. disappearing by one click after decades of accumulation of the knowledge which is up to date and valid.
Just because new generation doesn't want to read forums, like older quit from printed magazines.

But, I think it might be possible to create forum archive folder on computer before they kill the web site.

P.O.T.N. owner doesn't believe it will be enough for subscription base.
Which is most likely an excuse to buzz off after two decades of hard work.

In fact it might works. Russian version of rangefinder forum needed money to keep it on-line and it was crowd funded for period of couple of years within few days.
The problem is in support. Someone has to be available. This is why Reddit is new Yahoo now.

 

[Tim Murphy]

To me the only stupid situation is in huge knowledge sources like DPReview and P.O.T.N. disappearing by one click after decades of accumulation of the knowledge which is up to date and valid.
Just because new generation doesn't want to read forums, like older quit from printed magazines.

But, I think it might be possible to create forum archive folder on computer before they kill the web site.

P.O.T.N. owner doesn't believe it will be enough for subscription base.
Which is most likely an excuse to buzz off after two decades of hard work.

In fact it might works. Russian version of rangefinder forum needed money to keep it on-line and it was crowd funded for period of couple of years within few days.
The problem is in support. Someone has to be available. This is why Reddit is new Yahoo now.

Dear Ko.Fe.,

Hopefully they can find a way to survive.

I'm 63 years old and I would much rather hold a book or magazine in my hand and read it as I try to do something than look at my damned phone and try to read that tiny type.

The forums from 20 years ago that I still visit simply because they provide a lot of information for people who are willing to either search for it or ask for help. I personally have no time for the people that want and need immediate answers, but I am a literal dinosaur in today's world.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[mfunnell]

Thanks for the "heads-up" on this.

I joined P.O.T.N. back in 2005 (!) and did post a bit there, but not very much (and not since 2017). I have actively participated in photography forums and that was one of them (until stopping around that 2017 time-frame, due to pressure of work). However, I found RFF (and a defunct-since-2015ish site in the UK, digi-darkroom.com) far more congenial as far as "the vibe of the place" was concerned.

Nonetheless, I had put up a few posts over at P.O.T.N. which I thought worth keeping, and I have now taken the opportunity to retrieve and save them.

So thanks again.

...Mike