Feedback Suggestions To Improve Forum Participation

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grebeman said:
with all due respect I don't really see the need for a poll,

No, of course not Barrie, polls are very far from ideal by any means, but I suppose I was thinking about the best way of establishing that more than two people don't care for pictures of cats ... and that anything needed to be done about that
 
Wow. I wake up after working late and find this.
Since, by far, I am the heaviest poster of Cat photos it would follow that I am seen as part of if not the entire problem.
Working nights and sleeping days does tend to limit my options for subjects, esp when I have to spend time at the hospital before and after work.
Perhaps a PM to me might have helped.
As things stand I will no longer post "Cat Snaps" here.
Problem "Solved"
 
No, of course not Barrie, polls are very far from ideal by any means, but I suppose I was thinking about the best way of establishing that more than two people don't care for pictures of cats ... and that anything needed to be done about that

Paul, I don't mind being in a minority of two, and I'm not worried about proving it one way or another :D, and as far as I'm concerned something has been done. As I've said privately to BB I was not aware of how many cat threads there are, so they can be avoided provided they are sensibly titled.

Barrie

PS, Lili, posting to one thread suitably titled is no problem, I'm sure that there are plenty of people who appreciate them, and we still have freedom of choice.
 
No, of course not Barrie, polls are very far from ideal by any means, but I suppose I was thinking about the best way of establishing that more than two people don't care for pictures of cats ... and that anything needed to be done about that

I must admit that I go through periods where I enjoy a cat fix and when I do I know to go directly to the Requisite Kitty thread. I think we best stick with the legacy of Barrie's initial suggestion and keep the folders neat and tidy. All cats are herded into one spot and street photography another, etc.

So no polls please, as I do not wish to narrow the focus of people's shots. If you shot cats then put them in the folder where they will be appreciated. Also, Paul, if we put an embargo on cats, then I fear the precedent this will set....next folks will be voting out my dear cows and horses....;)

So far I see the takeaways as:
1. post photos in the right place,
2. provide C+C on photos whenever and wherever you can
3. love one another...

Love this place and hope that the main takeaways are observed in our up-and-coming Monthly challenge. (shameless plug) ;)
 
Wow. I wake up after working late and find this.
Since, by far, I am the heaviest poster of Cat photos it would follow that I am seen as part of if not the entire problem.
Working nights and sleeping days does tend to limit my options for subjects, esp when I have to spend time at the hospital before and after work.
Perhaps a PM to me might have helped.
As things stand I will no longer post "Cat Snaps" here.
Problem "Solved"

I know the feeling Colette. I just got up myself - it's almost 6am and I'm caffeine-less and there's al lot here to take in.

You keep shooting just as you have. We have a space for Kitty snaps just as we do sunsets, cows, dogs and men playing the harmonica. Not sure why cats were isolated here...but I know if cows were the subject I'd feel a little tender personally :blush:

Don't let no one mess with your mojo....;)
 
Wow. I wake up after working late and find this.
Since, by far, I am the heaviest poster of Cat photos it would follow that I am seen as part of if not the entire problem.
Working nights and sleeping days does tend to limit my options for subjects, esp when I have to spend time at the hospital before and after work.
Perhaps a PM to me might have helped.
As things stand I will no longer post "Cat Snaps" here.
Problem "Solved"

Lili, you are not a problem neither are any of your photographs. You are always welcome to post your photographs here. We accept all manner of photographs - be they cats, or moths, or whatever, as long as they meet the Sites Rules. Please don't take this mention of cats personally or to heart. We've got plenty of bird photos here, too.:2thumbs:

P.S. I'm sorry that I didn't see Mark's post first.
 
I really am not interested in emabargoes on cat pictures.
I'm a supporter of cat pictures.
I think cat pictures are lovely, especially Lili's cat pictures.

The only reason I suggested a poll was to see how many people really objected to cat pictures.

and this is all getting out of hand.
 
I really am not interested in emabargoes on cat pictures.
I'm a supporter of cat pictures.
I think cat pictures are lovely, especially Lili's cat pictures.

The only reason I suggested a poll was to see how many people really objected to cat pictures.

and this is all getting out of hand.
Mate my aunty used to have a saying called "Shaking the sillies out" - shaking your body vigorously to work out the tension. I think she made me employ this after a few too many red cordials :blush:

I think this might be SC's collective "shaking the sillies out" for 2011 - what a year!! Paul I think we're all a little tender but we'll all feel better for it once this thread has reached it's natural equilibrium....then we'll all be ready for the next round of red cordials ::drinks:
 
I'm a supporter of cat pictures.

Paul, hopefully we're still cyber friends :D:D:D

and this is all getting out of hand.

I couldn't agree more. I can't comment on Lili's cat pictures, having not seen them, but I'm sure Paul is right, and I'll defend her right to post them as long as I'm a member here.

Barrie
 
I must admit that I go through periods where I enjoy a cat fix and when I do I know to go directly to the Requisite Kitty thread. I think we best stick with the legacy of Barrie's initial suggestion and keep the folders neat and tidy. All cats are herded into one spot and street photography another, etc.

So no polls please, as I do not wish to narrow the focus of people's shots. If you shot cats then put them in the folder where they will be appreciated. Also, Paul, if we put an embargo on cats, then I fear the precedent this will set....next folks will be voting out my dear cows and horses....;)

So far I see the takeaways as:
1. post photos in the right place,
2. provide C+C on photos whenever and wherever you can
3. love one another...

Love this place and hope that the main takeaways are observed in our up-and-coming Monthly challenge. (shameless plug) ;)

Maybe this bit of sense was all that was needed.
 
Lili please don't stop taking and posting images that have a cat in them. Your images are portraits that happen to be of a cat, not snaps of a kitty looking cute. They have plenty of photographic merit and deserve to be seen.
 
Why am I supposed to care if people shoot cat photos, put them in "The Cat" folder, if that makes people happy. I am not that fond of cats even though we have one,(prefer the dogs) but totally understand people who love and photograph them.
I do not get it let people shoot what they want, do we need individual folders for everything, one for sunset photos and one for sunrise. This just seems silly, when one talks about inclusiveness on one hand and puts down a subject matter on the other.
As to the point of people dropping off, there are some many reasons, that it would take forever to list. The number one is more thank likely, our time involvement and interests change over time, there are number of forums that I used to participate in that I rarely go to anymore, usually because I am busy or the subject is not that interesting anymore, nothing to do with the forums themselves. On the other hand there are a few forums that have just become to combative at times, especially in the wine and car forums, but even those ebb and flow. No forum is going to be perfect for everybody, you enjoy what you like and ignore what you don't.
 
Good grief!!!! I'll hold my tongue and not reply to certain comments made on this thread.

However, why does anyone care whether there are too many (or alternatively too few) cat photos? I personally don't like cats (apologies to cat lovers and cats), I'm allergic to cats (apologies to cats), and I don't find much interest in cat photos (apologies to folks who take photos of cats). However, if I don't want to see photos of cats, I simply avoid clicking on any threads that say anything about a cat. If I open a thread, and alas, there's a cat photo there, I gloss over the cat photo and move on. Occasionally, I will see a cat photo that may peek my interest, and I'll click on "thanks" and/or write a comment regarding the photo. Ultimately, I can filter out material that I am not interested in with my eyes and fingers. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure these things out. I would love to see more naked bunny photos, but I am not complaining that there aren't any in this forum!! ;)

If anyone has any particular subject matter that they like to see more, then they should start a thread, and encourage people to post more photos on that particular subject matter. Obviously, if I am the only one that likes photos of European swallows while everyone else in the forum likes African swallows, then I get a little disappointed. But can or should I say, "you African swallow lovers should start posting European swallow photos"? Heck no. What gives me the right to say that this forum has too many African swallow photos? What gives me the right to say that African swallow lovers can only post one African swallow photo per month? Next thing we get would be African swallow lovers complaining that there aren't enough African swallow photos in the forum.

Onto the next item of discussion regarding cliques and ignoring others. People ignore threads or comments that they don't find interesting or to their liking (i.e. cat photos for me). BUT, more often than not, some threads/comments get missed (NOT ignored) simply because they get bumped down the "ALL" link by the time the bulk of folks log onto the forum. I'm sure I've written this before in the past, but if someone in India (my apologies to the folks in India) starts a new thread, there's a very good chance that by the time I am awake, the person's thread may have already been bumped down the list to the point that I may miss it. I could go around searching for every new thread and comment posted since I was last on the forum, but it takes LOTS of time. Unfortunately, most people in this forum have to work for a living and many aren't as lucky as me to be able to surf the internet while I'm at work. So invariably, human beings will use their time in a manner that would be most pleasing and productive to themselves. Cat lovers will post more photos of cats and dog lovers will post photos of dogs (apologies to cats and dogs and their lovers). Personally, I gravitate towards street photos and candids. Consequently, I like posts from folks like Ray, Don (aka Streetshooter), Sparth and some others (my apologies to Ray, Don, Sparth). Another example is my most recent gear facination with the Nikon V1. So I try to get Retow to post more photos and I search out his posts/comments, because he's the only one that I know in this forum with the V1 (or J1). Would that make Retow and I a clique? I think not (apologies to Retow).

Last item (for now) before I go do some work. I extend my sincere appreciation to the admins and mods in this forum - past and present (and future). Y'all have done a great job encouraging people's participations and welcoming them to the forum. BB has nearly 9000 posts since July 2010. No one has gone more out of her way than BB to respond to not only every thread but also to almost every post that I come across!! And I'll say that again, "every post"!! The 9000 posts are non-inclusive of the number of "thanks" that she has also given. In my eyes, it's an anomaly whenever BB is not a participant in a thread.

Peace out and Happy New Year to everyone!

ps: By naked bunnies, I meant the Playboy kind, not rabbits. My apologies to rabbits.
 
That people stop ignoring a large number of the participants and also take constructive criticism when people offer such suggestions. Encourage diversity in posting and maybe limit the cat pictures going up because it really does make this place look devoted to lolkitties, rather than to people with a passion for photography. I've seen it before and such postings end up taking over sites.

And there are lord knows how many places on the internet for kitty pics.

1) I don't want your criticism of my pictures. I've been on forums where members feel they must offer up their advice on every photo posted, even in the W/NW forums. It destroyed the forum. If someone asks for a critique, offer it. Otherwise, assume they did not post to get your critique.

2) No need to limit cat pictures- that boils down to censorship. If you want to see a larger percentage of non-cat pictures, post them. I post pictures of my Kid. Next, you'll want that ended as well. Been on other forums where members complained about pictures of people's kids being posted.

3) great Kitty pictures posted here, and pictures of Kids, and Street Shots, and others.

Most of us have been doing photography for a very long time. Almost 50 years for me.

This forum was set up as a place to relax, enjoy photography, and not worry about posting a Kitty picture or picture of our kids. It is not for everyone, it is a place for me.
 
Lili please don't stop taking and posting images that have a cat in them. Your images are portraits that happen to be of a cat, not snaps of a kitty looking cute. They have plenty of photographic merit and deserve to be seen.

See, this might be backing up what I'm saying that forum members are widely ignored, except for a few, while some are rallied around. Again, I would offer that the forum should have wider acceptance and tolerance for a variety of users and encourage postings from everyone, even if you don't like me. Unfortunately, in my case, I offered, from the beginning, the suggestion that users here should be more welcoming and interactive with a wider group. This was met with resistance and more suggestions for me to leave (which already took place, incidentally), rather than reevaluating things (instead of escalating them) and trying it out to welcome a wider spectrum of users and styles here.

It's not too much to ask for, to try to be more open and welcoming to more users, is it? What's the worst that could happen? The forum will get better and interactive and will grow? It almost seems like the users here are resisting that very possibility.
 
1) I don't want your criticism of my pictures. I've been on forums where members feel they must offer up their advice on every photo posted, even in the W/NW forums. It destroyed the forum. If someone asks for a critique, offer it. Otherwise, assume they did not post to get your critique.

2) No need to limit cat pictures- that boils down to censorship. If you want to see a larger percentage of non-cat pictures, post them. I post pictures of my Kid. Next, you'll want that ended as well. Been on other forums where members complained about pictures of people's kids being posted.

3) great Kitty pictures posted here, and pictures of Kids, and Street Shots, and others.

Most of us have been doing photography for a very long time. Almost 50 years for me.

This forum was set up as a place to relax, enjoy photography, and not worry about posting a Kitty picture or picture of our kids. It is not for everyone, it is a place for me.

Why are you adding things that I didn't say?

And your age and time photographing doesn't have bearing here, unless it's you sidestepping that you look down on people younger than you.

Again, it's not hard to open the forum up and welcome more people, rather than shutting them out, is it? Is preserving this clique that important?
 
That people stop ignoring a large number of the participants and also take constructive criticism when people offer such suggestions. Encourage diversity in posting and maybe limit the cat pictures going up because it really does make this place look devoted to lolkitties, rather than to people with a passion for photography. I've seen it before and such postings end up taking over sites.

And there are lord knows how many places on the internet for kitty pics.

As with all photography forums, there are more people who want to receive comments than there are people who want to make comments. Seems to be human nature. Also, like other forums, the people who take the time to leave comments on other people's photography are the ones who are unlikely to be "ignored". That's why I gave our new member Phoenix as an example. From another forum, I know that he consistently takes the time to leave thoughtful replies to others' pictures. That others would do the same for him is not cliquish, it's expected.

I can tell you that neither Streetshooter nor Olli wanted to restrict any type of photography on this site, cat or otherwise.

Lastly, not everyone wants criticism, and there is no reason to expect that everyone should.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
 
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