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Merg Ross
30-Nov-2008, 21:36
As a frequenter of this forum for a fair number of years, I am curious about the disappearance of former contributors, some of whom gave the site a spark. Have they been banned, become disenchanted, or perhaps have more pressing issues at the moment? Any thoughts?

Bill_1856
30-Nov-2008, 21:52
Have you checked on other forums to see if they're posting there? APUG, Photonet/ Large Format, I think there is a Yahoo forum which has rec in the title (Richard Knopple(sp) was very knowledgible there when I had access to it several years ago)?
Of course, all the smart ones have probably gone digital.

erie patsellis
30-Nov-2008, 22:09
Richard frequents rec.photo.darkroom quite a bit still. Usenet still has it's believers (myself included)

Turner Reich
30-Nov-2008, 22:14
Any people in particular?

Merg Ross
30-Nov-2008, 22:15
Bill, thanks. My query was to question their abscence from this forum, not their whereabouts.

I do not understand why you suggest that "all the smart ones have probably gone digital". What am I to infer from this comment?

David A. Goldfarb
30-Nov-2008, 22:20
Could just be the normal forum fatigue. I know I've been active on some forums for a while and then moved on. I think this is pretty common.

A few probably got lost as the forum shifted from the original Greenspun forums to photo.net and then back to an independent forum.

Merg Ross
30-Nov-2008, 22:22
Any people in particular?

Yes.

However,it was good to hear from a new member last week, Ansel's grandson.

roteague
30-Nov-2008, 22:43
As a frequenter of this forum for a fair number of years, I am curious about the disappearance of former contributors, some of whom gave the site a spark. Have they been banned, become disenchanted, or perhaps have more pressing issues at the moment? Any thoughts?

Many reasons. People get tired of forums, especially, if their content doesn't change much in character (no one likes being on a forum where there is constant bickering and fighting). Other times, the forums personality itself changes; a forum's personality changes based upon the people that own or moderate them (like this one that has gotten more pro-digital over the years). Sometimes, the change isn't enough, sometimes it is too much. The key is not to take it too personally.

Often times, it's people's own priority that changes. Find a forum that works for you personally, like LF Forum, APUG, my own forum TraditionalPhotographer.NET, Acutance.net, ChooseFilm, or many others, and just enjoy the ride.

Scott Rosenberg
30-Nov-2008, 23:06
Hi Merg,

Wonderful seeing you pop up on the forum. I'm not sure who you were asking after in particular, but in my case (not to make presumptions) I've been quite busy with traveling and haven't been online much recently. This nice 5-day holiday weekend spent at home has given me some idle time.

I hope all is well by you and the rest of the LF.info community!

-Scott

Merg Ross
30-Nov-2008, 23:20
Hi Scott,

Great to hear from you, and with the perfect reason for not checking in frequently; busy with travel, and I assume, photography! Terrific! Have you been back to Vancouver Island?

Best,
Merg

Scott Rosenberg
30-Nov-2008, 23:29
Hi Scott,

Great to hear from you, and with the perfect reason for not checking in frequently; busy with travel, and I assume, photography! Terrific! Have you been back to Vancouver Island?

Best,
Merg

Nope... not yet. We considered shooting up to Victoria this weekend in fact, but in the end decided to just stay put and recharge the batteries for a change. It was actually quite nice NOT being on the road for a change!

Have a wonderful holiday!

-Scott

Bill_1856
1-Dec-2008, 00:39
Bill, thanks. My query was to question their abscence from this forum, not their whereabouts.

I do not understand why you suggest that "all the smart ones have probably gone digital". What am I to infer from this comment?

Hi Merg,
My thought of checking other forums was to see if they're just gome from this forum or not around LF at all any more.
Maybe I should have said "all the wealthy ones..." (tongue implanted firmly in cheek, just to pull your chain a little).

Walter Calahan
1-Dec-2008, 06:19
Round up the usual suspects. Grin.

Merg Ross
1-Dec-2008, 08:56
Hi Merg,
My thought of checking other forums was to see if they're just gome from this forum or not around LF at all any more.
Maybe I should have said "all the wealthy ones..." (tongue implanted firmly in cheek, just to pull your chain a little).

Hi Bill,
Good point, some of the sane ones have probably left LF.

I knew you were pulling chains and still have a camera that shoots film!

jim kitchen
1-Dec-2008, 11:27
Dear Merg,

Taking a moment, and trying not to be so bold as to include myself in the group of missing individuals, but I am still around, just busy building a natural gas pipeline and writing a few operational gas programs for the pipeline company's computer in Northern British Columbia, Canada...

Sixteen-hour days seem to be the norm for me presently. :)

I will have a few images once I return to normalcy. I trust everyone is doing well?

jim k

Merg Ross
1-Dec-2008, 16:55
Dear Merg,

Taking a moment, and trying not to be so bold as to include myself in the group of missing individuals, but I am still around, just busy building a natural gas pipeline and writing a few operational gas programs for the pipeline company's computer in Northern British Columbia, Canada...

Sixteen-hour days seem to be the norm for me presently. :)

I will have a few images once I return to normalcy. I trust everyone is doing well?

jim k

Hi Jim,

Glad to hear that you are well (and keeping busy)!

I hope you will share your images from Northern BC when you return. Your previous work has been a pleasure to view!

Take care,
Merg

John Voss
1-Dec-2008, 17:15
I was looking through some PM's that go back as long as I've been a member of apug (2004), and nearly every one of the early corespondents has moved on. There are some, who like Jorge G, have simply left photography altogether, and others who have found more comfortable niches on other sites. As David said, it seems pretty typical of a lot of folks to spend some time on a forum and then move on.

I met the woman who is now my wife of six years on a photo site to which neither of us have posted for years. Now THAT's a nifty thing in itself! ;)

Kevin M Bourque
1-Dec-2008, 18:00
I won't lay claim to contributing any spark, but I've been a member longer than most. Burnout is probably a good diagnosis...I still read here from time to time but I'm not so motivated to post.

So, what kind of (film, camera, developer, lens) should I buy? I've heard pyro will make good pictures all by itself. Where can I get some of that bokeh stuff? You can only get involved in these discussions so many times. I think I've (mostly) satisfied my curiosity about participating in discussion forums.

BrianShaw
1-Dec-2008, 20:36
There are some, who like...

I miss some of the missing folks, but honestly... there are some that I don't miss at all. :o

h2oman
2-Dec-2008, 13:51
Robert's message reminds me of something I read recently by a very witty man. He had been a faculty member at a university, and wrote a piece about how faculty meetings are very poorly attended overall, but at his school they were always packed. Why? Because there were two faculty members who would always show up and trade barbs with each other, and everyone else wanted to see the show!

I guess I'm like those folks - I like to read the bickering, as long as it remains fairly (but not necessarily completely) civil! It is a good source of entertainment while I eat my lunch...:D

Nigel Smith
4-Dec-2008, 03:30
I met the woman who is now my wife of six years on a photo site to which neither of us have posted for years. Now THAT's a nifty thing in itself! ;)

John,

Hi to Susan (hope I got that right). I was just reviewing a zip file (comments included) of my 1st 100 odd posts to that site the other day. Reading over the comments showed how good that sites feedback was IMO. it also highlighted my monitor must have been terrible back then... I'm ashamed I posted some if it! :)

Cheers, Nige

Ralph Barker
4-Dec-2008, 08:58
As a frequenter of this forum for a fair number of years, I am curious about the disappearance of former contributors, some of whom gave the site a spark. Have they been banned, become disenchanted, or perhaps have more pressing issues at the moment? Any thoughts?

We ban very few real contributors, and then only due to repeated violations of the guidelines and their refusal to "play by the rules" that everyone accepts when registering here. Those guidelines, and their enforcement, have remained pretty consistent over the years, although the new software has enabled better application of the guidelines.

Individual member objectives and priorities change over time, I think. And, the "personality" of a forum tends to vary somewhat over time based on the membership at any given point in time, even if the administration remains consistent. How an individual member responds to those changes (or the underlying consistency) is a matter of their own choosing.

Merg Ross
4-Dec-2008, 09:24
Ralph, thank you. From your respone, and those of other members, my question has been answered. Best of all, I see new names pop up now and then, and have also noticed a few from the past just lurking. I did not intend to imply that the forum was in any way deteriorating. It has a lot to offer.