Who remembers RFF when it started ?

I came to RFF on the ark (so it feels), but over the decades I've left and returned and left yet again and returned yet again. Always being entirely myself, so for personal reasons (usually to do with over involvement in other areas of my life). This time I'm here to stay.

For me it's by far the very best of the lot of photo web sites. The others (no names need be mentioned, we all know the usual suspects) seemed to turn toxic, with RWNJ and a few crackpot members leaping down the throats of anyone daring to post a contrary opinion to their commandments engraved on stone.

But not here. Civility, politeness and friendships have prevailed on RFF. A rare thing. Most enjoyable.

I have also learned a great deal from other members' posts. Correcting my (many) mistakes in photography has been an positive task with all the good advice I've found here. For which I am most grateful.

I have at least two other 'avatars' from years past. Alas, with the passing of time I've forgotten the names and log-in details of those. I am madly curious to return to them and reread my original rants, but it seems I can't. Oh well. As I so often say (= repeat myself, I do this a lot), time passes, everything changs.

So yes, carry on, RFF. Long may you go on going on.
 
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DownUnder said:
For me it's by far the very best of the lot of photo web sites. The others (no names need be mentioned here, we all know the usual suspects) seemed to turn toxic as the years passed, with RWNJ members leaping down the throats of anyone daring to post a contrary opinion to their commandments engraved on stone.

But not here. Civility, politeness and friendships seem to have prevailed on RFF. A rare thing. But enjoyable.
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It impressed me when I came back recently after an absence. The internet is a haven for keyboard warriors in general but this place seems to have remained civil. 🙂
 
Once I was at a conference in Lisbon, Portugal. I asked here about RFF members in Lisbon. Well, there were 5 or 6 RFF friendly guys who gave me a walking tour of some places in Lisbon! It was a treat. Similarly, we met with a RFF member in Copenhagen. Come to think of it, we did not know how to spot him in Copenhagen as we did not know what he looked like. He saw Dana, our daughter, and he recognized her from my posted photos of her in RFF! Problem solved.
 
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I joined in 2005 and was fairly active for a few years. That included meeting up with other rff members around the San Francisco Bay Area some of whom I’m still in contact with. Then I got busy with other things in my life, such as work, which led me away from photography. Getting back into photography now and I’m glad to see riff is still around, active, and remains a friendly place.
 
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vrgard said:
I joined in 2005 and was fairly active for a few years. That included meeting up with other rff members around the San Francisco Bay Area some of whom I’m still in contact with. Then I got busy with other things in my life, such as work, which led me away from photography. Getting back into photography now and I’m glad to see riff is still around, active, and remains a friendly place.
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Work is an insufferable and boring interruption on the road to retirement. ;o) You are in a great section of the country. I lived there for about 20 years and it was the best place I ever lived. Lots to shoot, too. Valencia and 16th was always interesting. Mitchell's Ice Cream down on 24th and Guerrero IIRC. America's best ice cream and always, always mobbed. It was like a little UN there. Everybody loves ice cream. Burritos at La Cumbre, dessert at Mitchell's. Life is good!
 
Yes, I do remember the early days. When RRF started, I already had sold my first rangefinder camera, a Nikon S2, to fund a Pentax 67II. I finally joined RFF when I bought my second rangefinder camera, a Leica MP, in June 2005. I am still using that camera. I was quite active on RFF for several years and even joined two RFF meetings in Amsterdam and Antwerp. I moved on for various reasons but recently returned to RFF. I am very impressed with the new (to me) RFF user interface, which is just great. Looking forward to contribute more in future. And who knows, maybe there will be opportunities to join RFF meetings again someday.

PS: When I had my Nikon S2, I was a member of the Nikon Historical Society for several years (when I moved to Leica, I switched to Leica Historica). When I recently returned to RFF, I was sad to see that the NHS had been shut down. I am glad to see that there are efforts to bring it back to life on RFF.
 
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Interesting to note that RFF attracts a number of new (and many younger) members at time passes. Unlike the usual suspects - the other web sites - which are still populated by The Old Guard, jealously guarding their engraved stones of photo commandments against all newcomers with their newfangled new ideas.

As for us at RFF, I'm especially pleased that we have a number of highly intelligent young posters here, who contribute regularly and expose us to entirely new ideas about things photographic and also general. Life sucks a bit in many ways in this unhappy age, but it's reassuring to know there are young-un's out there with new ideas, and hope for the future.

As I try to keep an open mind on all subjects, I surf the 'net now and then and revisit all the old sites. Invariably I return here. To me, RFF has always been by far the best of the lot. My wish here is, may it go on going on for a very long time. I hope it will outlast even me!
 
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I joined in 2009 ... I learned so much here. Also bought and sold quite a bit of gear in the Classifieds, had many nice interactions that way, too. Miss the likes of Al Kaplan, Roger Hicks, TomA ... learned about loading IXMOOs from his descriptions and short videos und bulkloaded that way for a good while. Am without a rangefinder at the moment (an inherited Rollei 35S does not (completely) count), but the choice of owning two OM-2n after having used Nikon and Pentax before my rangefinder days owes a lot to the legendary Zuikoholic-thread here at RFF. And I've begun to develop BW-film again. Made it only once to a meetup here in Berlin, maybe there'll be another one coming up?
 
Two-plus years on from my last post on this thread ... 14 years since I subscribed ... it is delightful to note that the often-capricious membership community continues in its pace on RFF. The mix of frequent posters ebbs and flows, the cameras in use continue to ebb and flow.

Since that last post here, I've been through a bit, expanded my small collection of Kodak Retina RF cameras by a little, and am now awaiting the return of my latest RF (a Plaubel Makina 67) from repair and service. I look forward to having that one ... I've been curious about them for decades but they've always been a bit out of reach. It should be fun. 🙂

Where RFF goes as 'the old guard' ages out, well, that's up to those who value it, participate it. I hope it continues along in its uniquely amusing way for a long time yet. 😀

G
 
MP Guy said:
When I created RFF 20 years ago, I never thought it would grow into what it has become.
When I first started the site, I was hosting it on my own server in the closet using a DSL connection to get out to the world. Yes, DSL. Laugh all you want but it was the beginnings of RFF and I still remember many of the original members. Having said that, this is what the home page looked like back in the days.


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According to my profile I joined in October 2004, which I don't remember, but sounds right 😅 ! If I do recall correctly, I was looking for a rangefinder camera-oriented community/forum that wasn't brand-specific as the others (mostly Leica-oriented) that existed at that time. Thanks for the great work!
 
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