Several threads closed before I could comment, so I guess I better make this fast, LOL. Three things. First, I've never had any problems with photos posted here, not even ones I might have found in poor taste. (Some of Frank P's come to mind.) As far as Richard, he & I have been exchanging PMs--something we should have done earlier. Due to the timing of his original thread, I was questioning if it was more about political advocacy than photography. After some frank discussion between us, I now believe that was NOT the case. It was an example of us talking past each other. I never had any problem with his photos--they are well done. Now that we've discussed it, I have NO objections to his original post either. I'm all for bringing it back. Make no mistake--no one is pressuring me, it's purely a matter of me getting more information and reconsidering. I think Richard is a great guy.
Second part. Many hard core activists groups encourage their members to get on any internet board they can, and pump out propaganda and advocacy crap. One of the more famous and ergregious examples that comes to mind were the "911 Truthers." Obnoxious people for the most part. Many other special interest groups are similar. Due to the timing of Richards' post I was suspecting it might be yet another example, but after hashing things out with him privately, I now think he's a sincere guy with no agenda. Just poor timing, perhaps. Why does this matter to me? Almost hourly we are bombarded by divisive people telling us half truths and demanding this or that, even when a majority of voters voted against in our DEMOCRACY. The news media has been consumed by crap, and it has invaded the internet to the point of almost making it useless at times. I enjoy my hobby forums and for me they are an escape from all the tiresome hysteria. More than that, something like photography is a way for us to bypass our deliberately polarizing politicians (both sides) and national media and interact directly with each other, as Richard & I did via PM. We both ended up learning something from each other--the forum worked! Our hobbies and interests are one of the FEW things left that can overcome the professional dividers out there (e.g. Trump, Hillary, Shawn Hannity, Rachel Madison--the list is LONG!) and maybe have a chance to really see each other as individuals instead of members of some contrived "evil" group.
Third part. I do sometimes think the moderators are a little quick on the trigger, but OTOH I have seen very good photography forums go down in flame wars. What we have here is a valuable, international resource, and I do appreciate it being protected. This is shaping up to be one of the worst years for U.S. politics as BOTH candidates are slimy & phony and BOTH are massively disliked by a majority of Americans. (Our country deserves better than these two!) Most of us are also being subjected to economic stress that there honestly seems to be no real fix for. Tensions and stresses are high. So in the end, I suppose a touch too much moderation is preferable over too little, at least during this period. While I am still requesting Richard's thread to be reinstated, I have basic support for the moderators here at this time.
Kent in SD
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Originally Posted by Two23
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