Speaking solely for myself — I've only described my experience with moderation, as practiced in the DPR Medium Format forum, in general terms; sparing readers from any gritty details. One reason for that is, I didn't want to see this thread degenerate into a he-said-she-said contest or debate. I would note, however, I said:
These things occurred behind the scenes, outside of public view, so it would not have been seen or have had any effect on others who enjoyed their experience. Any questions beyond that will have to be asked privately, as
I will not discuss any details publicly.
For most, I have no doubt participation was useful and pleasurable. For some, the environment behind the scenes was toxic. The experience was, as experiences often are, an individual one. Jim said he has
not felt welcome at getDPI. I doubt that has been the experience of most participants here. I and others were made to feel unwelcome by a couple of the moderators at DP Review's Medium Format forum. As I've said before, I'm sure that wasn't how most participants there felt.
The only post I made at DPR which I regret was a
thread I started with a link to a Hasselblad X2D 100C review. The woman who wrote the
review illustrated it with loads of sample pictures, including a large group of unedited sample images taken under a variety of lighting and contrast conditions. I found those particularly interesting and useful. The discussion which followed contained little regrding her experience with the camera or the images she produced. A large portion of the commentary, in my personal opinion, was a mean-spirited repetitive attack over her use of the word simplistic when she meant to say simple and a couple of phrases which could have been better worded. Moderator Doppler9000 said of her review: "It is almost physically painful to read."
Much of the commentary was
not what I saw as constructive criticism, but mocking and ridicule. I felt somewhat guilty for exposing her to it by posting a link to her review. I thought the rush to pile on was undeserved and frankly disgusting. Others saw it as just another good discussion. Just as eyewitnesses recall the same scene differently, participants and observers will have different reactions to the same environment or event. It appears that sometimes, one person's perception of toxicity can be another's idea of helpful discussion.
This ends any further public discussion by me of the moderation or environment which existed at the soon to be closed DP Review.
what was the topic again ?