I'll take quality over quantity any day.Luckily attendance statistics don't have to count here because this site isn't ad-driven.
This is by far the best photo site I've found on the net, for reasons too many to mention.
I'll take quality over quantity any day.Luckily attendance statistics don't have to count here because this site isn't ad-driven.
This is by far the best photo site I've found on the net, for reasons too many to mention.
Folks, let's not forget the French LF forum, http://www.galerie-photo.info/forum/, and its parent site http://www.galerie-photo.com/. In some ways they're at a higher level than any of the anglophone sites I'm acquainted with.
Anyone here who reads French should visit them.
Cheers,
Dan
There is a higher level and quality to the posts here than in most other forums. It's quite nice, actually.Originally Posted by David A. Goldfarb
The biggest problem with APUG is that the moderators and "council members" (whoever the *** they are) account for a very significant percentage of all those posts. "blowing one's own trumpet" comes to mind... The moderation is so blatantly overzealous.
I've been critical of the moderation here in the past, but there's no doubt that they've done an outstanding job and generally are very hands off - in a very healthy way. I believe the success of this forum has a lot to do with sensible moderation.
I couldn't agree more with you, Don, in both of the statements. Well said!
Alexa is good for tracking or spotting trends. Google analytics is good for site specific benchmarking and goal analysis. Neither are good for raw numbers or ranking. Every ranking tool gets gamed, adjusted and ultimately becomes suspect. The only real way to tell how sites compare is if these sites compare actual log's or if all being compared use google analytic's tracking code or similar. With forums like APUG and LFF you can look at the no. online, the quantity of daily posts and the other public metrics.
I have to agree that the moderation on APUG is Nazi esq.
I've had LL bookmarked for years, but had no idea that they have a forum. Live and learn (for digital stuff I tend to inhabit Dpreview).
Wilhelm (Sarasota)
This raises an interesting distinction that deserves a little unpacking. I'll skip the emotional responses that "Naziesque" might normally trigger (unless you were referring to a German lawyer in the '30's, jdc!), and go to the real point of why a forum is worth patronizing.
Whether or not you agree with the principles on which a forum is operated, there has to be a degree of respect awarded to the constancy and consistency with which they are enforced, against all pressures to depart from them. My guess is that maintaining a reliable world in which to function, with known boundaries and the ability to enforce them, is largely more attractive to patrons of these forums than a democratic free-for-all would be. At the end of the day, you accept the trade-off between your own preferences and those of the people who can put something like this together for those of us who cannot!
Kirk's position in the "Threats=Bans" forum is about being impervious to pressure, and some pretty intimidating pressure at that. I don't know whether he was thinking of it at the time, but the similarity between his position and that of the ousted members of the Foto3 steering committee certainly occurred to me. That schism began when APUG would not lift the permanent ban on one of the committee members. The other two refused to try to coerce it or use the high visibility of the conference as a "hammer" to force APUG's owner to do it -- in spite of some pretty ugly pressure on them to do so, and finally an ultimatum that forced them out, for the sake of the principles involved.
The three agreed not to make that public for the sake of those planning to attend the conference. If the current situation weren't so similar (SO similar!), I wouldn't necessarily have ever had occasion to bring it up, even now. But I read the emails from those days (weeks, months!) when I want to remember how proud I was of Ted, and what the commitment to the defense of those principles cost him. (You bet, I have them all, and I keep them very, very safe.)
So... you join the club if you like the rules and can commit to living with them. As I read those numbers reported here, I think they reflect more about variables in the community and about the Internet than they do about how either of the forums is run. But this community certainly deserves to know that episodes like the one Kirk is managing involve a degree of madness, and that moderators work very hard to keep such madness from touching the forum's patrons. They should be appreciated for it, and thanked, as many here and on APUG have thanked them.
Sorry this is long, but I think it's important to remember that changing or suspending the rules would be soooooo much easier, and to respect and support those who do what's hard.
Bless you Amy...
Amy you are the best. Calumet, APUG and of course Ted, handled themselves very professionally with regard to Foto3, when they were involved and after they left. It is the consistency and fairness that sets these folks apart and it seems to have continued here on LFF.
FWIW I am proud of the work done by David and Ole in their roles as Mods on APUG. I also think the LFF Mods are good. The fact that both communities are very healthy is a testament to the jobs being done. My comment regarding the German lawyer was to placate the same sad half dozen who mis no oppertunity to dump on APUG -- I am also a moderator on APUG.
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