Rick.
This is starting to feel a bit like a Solomon's Baby situation. If everybody stayed in one place at the old forums, they would continue to work. If everybody moved here, that would also work (and be easier for those of us that shoot with multiple systems). But staying in both seems like an awkward situation as critical mass is generally needed to keep the "feel" and pace of any forum. I like that Kevin is Kevin and not some mega-conglomerate (unless he's made a conglomerate out of the 1980's, aliens and a tiki lounge
It seems that many are fleeing Vertical Scope.
), but I also hate to walk away from the old sites if nothing has actually changed with respect to day to day visits since they are functioning fine at the moment. If/when the new owners did something to really change the forums for the worse, it would have been much easier for me to have walked away cleanly without wondering why I left.
Ken, I suspect that I'm not the only one who got seriously pissed off at VS wanting to have co-ownership (effectively) of my images, regardless of the fact that they may well all be worthless.This is starting to feel a bit like a Solomon's Baby situation. If everybody stayed in one place at the old forums, they would continue to work. If everybody moved here, that would also work (and be easier for those of us that shoot with multiple systems). But staying in both seems like an awkward situation as critical mass is generally needed to keep the "feel" and pace of any forum. I like that Kevin is Kevin and not some mega-conglomerate (unless he's made a conglomerate out of the 1980's, aliens and a tiki lounge
--Ken
What's kind of funny, for me at least, is that the footer links with the other sites were added more so to be picked up by Google while our members here have mostly ignored them up till now. With an influx of new visitors here checking out the site, including the footer links, all of a sudden folks are realizing "Hey, you know, Kevin is a bit of geek!".I like that Kevin is Kevin and not some mega-conglomerate (unless he's made a conglomerate out of the 1980's, aliens and a tiki lounge
. If the pandemic extends into the winter of 2022 I don't even want to guess what the next one might be. 
So, do you ever like...take a picture?What's kind of funny, for me at least, is that the footer links with the other sites were added more so to be picked up by Google while our members here have mostly ignored them up till now. With an influx of new visitors here checking out the site, including the footer links, all of a sudden folks are realizing "Hey, you know, Kevin is a bit of geek!".
For anybody wondering about them, I'll try to be brief. I've been online a long time (like, a really long time), going back to running a large BBS back in the days of dial-up in the 80's. Over the years I've had a bunch of interests and have been involved in several projects but the the sci-fi/genre site has been usually where I call 'home' online. At some point I scaled everything back and dropped out of everything/everywhere except for a few things that I consolidated into what is now named "Alien Soup". The full back-story of that site alone would be a long conversation in itself. Back in 2018 I was fortunate to be able to add Cameraderie to my project list and, really, it's been a great mental relief because it allows me to work on code. Fast forward a few years and we're in a pandemic. So to keep me busy mentally during the winter of 2020 I did "Tiki Lounge" aimed at fans of US tiki pop culture, mid-century modern design, and that time period in general. For the winter of 2021 I'm keeping busy mentally by working on "WLT80's" aimed at fans of the best decade
Yes, but ironically, most end up it in the digital wasteland of my home SAN. I still have my EOS 77D in the bag, it just doesn't get out much these days.
I would be curious to know the total number of members at mu-43 and the cafe, as well as how many are actively participating in each forum. And while there was certainly this uptick in migration, I have no idea if it will move the needle in any of the forums. I liked to keep my participation in forums to a manageable number, so adding one is not a major issue, but I can say that while I have enjoyed both of the forums that I mentioned, one key aspect that kept me coming back was the abundance of knowledgeable replies. I like the social aspects, but there are times when I also appreciate having a good source of information from people I can trust. Growltiger, for example, was active in both forums and has been a font of IT technical assistance these past few years. That's why I find critical mass to be as important as friendliness.
What's kind of funny, for me at least, is that the footer links with the other sites were added more so to be picked up by Google while our members here have mostly ignored them up till now. With an influx of new visitors here checking out the site, including the footer links, all of a sudden folks are realizing "Hey, you know, Kevin is a bit of geek!".
For anybody wondering about them, I'll try to be brief. I've been online a long time (like, a really long time), going back to running a large BBS back in the days of dial-up in the 80's. Over the years I've had a bunch of interests and have been involved in several projects but the the sci-fi/genre site has been usually where I call 'home' online. At some point I scaled everything back and dropped out of everything/everywhere except for a few things that I consolidated into what is now named "Alien Soup". The full back-story of that site alone would be a long conversation in itself. Back in 2018 I was fortunate to be able to add Cameraderie to my project list and, really, it's been a great mental relief because it allows me to work on code. Fast forward a few years and we're in a pandemic. So to keep me busy mentally during the winter of 2020 I did "Tiki Lounge" aimed at fans of US tiki pop culture, mid-century modern design, and that time period in general. For the winter of 2021 I'm keeping busy mentally by working on "WLT80's" aimed at fans of the best decade
Well, not fleeing.
It seems that many are fleeing Vertical Scope.
)
Yeah, you'd think after a few episodes they'd figure out that it was unsafe to wear a red shirt in a landing party...I’ll go a step further and say my favorite Star Trek series was not the original or TNG, but DS9, where there was an actual story arc and the characters actually learned from their mistakes.
DS9 was my favorite as well! I've watched that series several times...in fact, it may be about time for me to start it over.Haha, I like SciFi, but I’m not a big Trekkie or anything. I’ll go a step further and say my favorite Star Trek series was not the original or TNG, but DS9, where there was an actual story arc and the characters actually learned from their mistakes.
In regard to this or that forum, I’ve yet to post an image in either since the VS bomb was dropped. I’m not a photographer for a living, but I am learning something with a bag of popcorn in my lap.
