rff…this could be a much nicer place to be...

[jpfisher]

I think we should just agree that the best camera is whatever camera Ashton Kutcher is using at the moment.

 

[Gid]

No problem with the sentiment, but it has been a lot worse than it is currently. I try not to say anything that I wouldn't face to face, but I am an aggressive Scotsman :bang: The majority of the regular posters far outweigh the antagonisers, IMO, most of whom probably have inferiority complexes and small penises so are deserving of our sympathy😎

 

[Bill Clark]

Would it help if each moderator had an email account set up just for Rangerfinder? Don't know if that would help.

Also the moderator can just delete emails from those that raise up the hair!

Don't let it get to you because as a moderator and participant you do a great job and provide a positive service here.

 

[pete hogan]

This is a pretty nice place. I've always wanted to start a thread: "Brassing - Good or Bad?" But I haven't, but I could. That's how it works.

 

[dct]

No problem with the sentiment, but it has been a lot worse than it is currently. I try not to say anything that I wouldn't face to face, but I am an aggressive Scotsman :bang: The majority of the regular posters far outweigh the antagonisers, IMO, most of whom probably have inferiority complexes and small penises so are deserving of our sympathy😎

😉 Beautiful description.
And I agree with your perception: As long as the (regular) trolling posts in this forum are way under 5 % I see no reason investing in additional filter and moderator activities. That's perhaps why my ignore list is empty.
My personal opinion!

 

[Ken Ford]

I'll be honest - I don't come here anywhere as much as I used to.

This used to be a friendly place for enthusiasts of rangefinder and other direct view users to hang out, but it's morphed into a more general photography site with a lot less focus.

It seems like a small subgroup of active posters take delight in running down the opinions of others, even when those are expressed as *opinions*, not facts. A situation like this a few months ago fattened up my ignore list and also made me seriously consider moving on to a more mature forum.

I'm a mod on a very large forum, so I know what Joe and the rest of the mod team put up with. Joe, props to you and your cohorts.

 

[Steve M.]

This sort of thing tends to happen w/ younger, less experienced photographers (or gear heads) I would think. It is annoying, and it is funny as well. Hey, any camera that gives someone the images that they like is a good camera. When you've done this for decades you begin to get a good idea that it's usually not about the camera/lens, it's about proper exposure, a good subject, good lighting etc, and even w/ all that stuff under your belt, it is awfully hard to get consistent results. Let's face it though, a sense of humor is not always present when people are on the internet, for what ever reasons. Maybe they're like that in person too, I wouldn't know. All pretty small s*** though in the whole scheme of things, yes? But I can understand the tiresomeness of it happening. To tell the truth, I seldom even go back to a thread that I posted because of the negativity that some people have, for what ever reason they have. It isn't the criticism that I don't like....being married for a long time means I get plenty of that on a regular basis, it's the negativity.

 

[willie_901]

High school never ends.

I applaud Joe for taking the lead to create a more positive and productive environment.

The rate of change in photography and the endless stream of new cameras makes us uncomfortable since the landscape is constantly changing.

The blogosphere financial model rewards anything that creates page views and click-throughs to commercial sites. Bloggers who generate pseudo-controversies, harsh criticism or over-hyped praise stir the pot.

These and the well-known dynamics common to all Forums makes the moderators' jobs very difficult.

 

[Sparrow]

It could also be a lot worse IMO ... we have some people here who may be happier strangling puppies in their spare time but what the hell, this is the way democracy works! 😀

Apparently it's not a democracy ... it's like a bar, or something; and anyway I'd like to see more photos and people dwelling less on the

... and an irony filter to avoid misunderstandings

 

[Kenj8246]

I'm with ya, Joe. 🙂

Kenny

 

[Richard G]

Apparently it's not a democracy ... it's like a bar, or something; and anyway I'd like to see more photos and people dwelling less on the

... and an irony filter to avoid misunderstandings

Which is itself ironic, unless I misunderstand you.

 

[kshapero]

Wow, am I sleeping? I had not noticed this problem (or at least rarely). This is a community and I would hate to see folks banished for getting "mouthy" once in awhile. No one is perfect. At the same time, I applaud the mods for doing a thankless job.

 

[lxmike]

When l first joined this forum in 2009 l started a thread regarding ltm leica, l sought user advice, before l knew what hit me a troll shot me down, thankfully before l could respond a mod jumped in and sorted things. In general l feel my time on this forum is not just time well spent, its very informative to and a lot more friendly than other forums l have frequented. Some of the fly fishing forums l used to spend time on had more trolls than all three volumes of Lord of the rings. I do however appreciate that a vast amount of work goes on behind the scene and I am very appreciative of the mods efforts. At the end of the day opinions differ, especially when you get a lot of passionate people in one place, sometimes those passions may boil over, sometimes people come along who enjoy friction and unharmony, l tend to follow the maxim that it cost nowt to be nice and l find in general a vast majority of people respond well to that, mind you there are always exception to any rule.

 

[kbg32]

Can we do away with polls? 😛

 

[daveleo]

Aside from asking people to be civil, there's not much an adminstration can do to set the tone of the place. Forums have a dynamic, like restaurants and bars - crowds come and go.

I personally am in 98.6% Read Only Mode here, simply because I am very tired of talking about gear.

It does upset me when some of the very best contributors leave town because a few obnoxious people behave badly. That's the real loss to everyone here.

 

[anjoca76]

Last summer I went away from here for a while. In large part due to life circumstances, but also because I felt there were too many contentious threads. I don't mean trolls; I mean bickering among some very senior members here. It was nice to get away. I actually spent more time using my gear and photographing than I did fretting over the merits of zinc v. chrome, or 35mm POV v 40mm, etc. We get caught up in the details, myself included.

I applaud the mods. You do a great job. If very much like visiting here, but if I was here day in and day out without a hiatus now and then, I would lose my mind. Moreover, the aforementioned trolls would drive me nuts. But, I'm not, so they don't.

The film/digital debate will always exist here. As will the Leica-lovers versus the Leica-haters. If a byproduct of a forum dedicated to rangefinders.

If you go to other forums--and not just photography or gear forums--it's a lot worse. Everything is relative, I suppose, but RFF is heads and tails above most others I visit. I don't think that is a coincidence. I think the mods do a good job in dealing with the trolls and others who try to sour things.

 

[KM-25]

It's an Internet thing really. You want to see it *real* bad?!? Go to any prolific amateur astronomy forum and talk either about telescope mirrors or worse, eyepieces. I can't believe the gear snobs who look down their noses if you don't own a $5,000 Zambuto mirror and pair it with a case of Televue eyepieces...and yet they use this stuff in a light polluted backyard in New Jersey, lol!

It's far worse other places and besides, just do like I do and if it gets to you, bail for a few months and get back to making great pictures...

 

[anjoca76]

It does upset me when some of the very best contributors leave town because a few obnoxious people behave badly. That's the real loss to everyone here.

Agreed. I noticed that Chris Crawford hasn't been here in a while. That's a shame. I learned a ton from him. But I could see him slowly getting more and more annoyed with the gear debates. He is a working photographer, as are many others here, and to him a good photograph is more important than the color of a re-skinned Barnack or whatever.

When the good contributors leave, this place suffers immensely.

 

[daveleo]

Can we do away with polls? 😛

Hey..... start a poll on that 😀

 

[Sparrow]

Which is itself ironic, unless I misunderstand you.

........... 😉