May I suggest that posters who have outside commercial interests (like magazines for example) be asked to limit there contributions to photography related topics?
It seems obvious that one poster in particular posts questions that are inflammatory in nature so as to generate a lot of free publicity for himself.
Another poster with a similar interest does not act in the same way. I think this is a better example of balanced use of the forum.
I always find this type of suggestion interesting, I own and run several different chat systems devoted to other subject matters, and I can tell you, if you don't give people a place to vent, rant and bitch, you will have them venting, ranting and bitching in the regular threads on a forum, There is no way around it, fortunately this forum allows you to ignore that or any other part of the system you choose to ignore, it is called self restraint, if you don't like the conversations in the lounge, then don't read them, put that particular portion of the system on ignore, it is really pretty simple.
I have to say, for the most part, this is one of the least controversial chat systems I have ever been involved with, every once in a while, things go south, but really this is a well run system with pretty even keeled moderators that do a good job...I have no problem with the lounge, or for that matter any other section of this website, because I know for a fact, I have a choice to read or not read what I don't want to.
As far as the lounge revealing who to do business with or who not to, that is funny, a persons political feelings has nothing to do with the quality of product they put out, if most of us heard the stories or ramblings of most companies in this as well as other countries, we would never buy anything...political leanings have nothing to do with product quality..
Just remember you have the choice, to read or not read, and you have the choice to ignore certain posters, exercise your choices and you will be surprised...
Just my .02
Dave
Right there is the essense of why I disagree with The Lounge. From its inception this forum was supposed to not be a chat room. It was intended to be a resource about LF photography in the form of an information archive. Thus the admonition to search existing threads before posting what might be a duplicative question. The Lounge institutionalizes the transgression of cluttering up an archive with extraneous material.Originally Posted by Dave Parker
By the way, I am not talking about Dave Parker. He makes a great product, that I use on both my cameras, and is a really decent guy.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
... and these are NOTHING compared to what has become of the RangeFinderForum!
Yes it is and I, too, feel the moderators do a great job here!
People are only human (well, most people are anyway and some more than the others, but you get the point
The expertise level of participants ranges from top experts to total or almost total beginners (at least in LF terms) and without some sort of social interaction it would be very hard or even impossible to make most people comfortable enough to ask questions and thus demonstrate what they don't know. The Lounge serves that purpose very well, IMHO, while being constrained to its own area and thus does not clutter anything.
Even in a totally academic environment such as the one you envision, there has to be at least one water cooler somewhere, doesn't it?
I think Don's original point is that routine lounge posts about politics from people who virtually do not participate otherwise are basically spammers.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
Yup, that's it.
The Lounge is a good place for off-topic discussion that spills over from the other forums. It shouldn't be a back door for trolls and spammers.
I think it would also be wise to put a time limit on Lounge threads so they aren't archived long term.
I endorse that too.
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