The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

How Can We Help GetDPI Stay Alive

Pemihan

Well-known member
just to say, I'm only an architect, not a photographer, but I do think one should perhaps be very careful changing the visual and functioning setup here. Perhaps young ones will think it looks old fashioned, I don't know. But seeing all over homepages changes from well-functioning pages with clear layout which is fast to overlook, has a nice presence often, tells what it has to tell, unfortunately changes to something fancy smartness-minded, where you don't get the clear overlook at once, can't find things quick, where smart look is rather disturbing for the mind - perhaps thought as drawing needed attention, but turns out to be annoying in practice - I will just say, be careful, and rather be conservative than "innovative", if innovation has the contrary effect, of what intended.
This site has a very clear look, clear over-look, a nice visual modest approach, modest pleasing colors which all together calm the eye and the mind..not that changes can't take place, but be careful with "revolution", design-wise..
:rolleyes:
I'll second what dj may wrote: Good advice. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
 

f8orbust

Active member
Looking forward, I too hate the selling-disguised-as-help posts. They add absolutely nothing to the community of broadly like-minded people willing to help each other. In fact, they take away IMHO. I think the forum would be a better place if we discouraged phrases like 'contact your dealer' and all its variants ('reach out to your dealer' being the one I personally hate the most) in response to a plea for help. In the event of a problem most folks here would contact their dealer if they had one (we're not stupid). They post because they don't, or because their dealer is useless. Again, the non-US audience can only look on in amazement at the service provided by companies like CI and DT. In the rest of the world, more likely than not you'll simply be dealing with a one-man-band, who simply doesn't have the resources / knowledge / inclination to deal with complex technical issues on the spot.

Jim

Sincere thanks to Jack, Guy, Bob, and anyone else who has devoted so much to this forum over the years.

Also sincere thanks to Olaf for stepping in to take over the reins. We had a scary couple of days there, but things are definitely looking up.

Plenty have conveyed my same feelings far more eloquently than I ever could in the above comments, so I will leave it at that.

On the subject of funding, perhaps I might be so bold as to make a suggestion.

In the past, commercial enterprises supported this forum through banner adverts. Those swiftly disappeared with the current crisis, and that loss of revenue seems to have been the trigger for what has transpired.

In these difficult times - difficult times for the forum, difficult times for those who have spent years running it, and difficult times for many of the forums' members - commercial enterprises continue to use this place heavily to promote their businesses - by both directly attempting to encourage regular forum members to buy from them at every opportunity that presents itself; and also with signatures that include details of, and links to, their businesses. In addition, those commercial businesses also denigrate regular forum members who deign to provide friendly advice to their fellow photographers.

All this, whilst having - no doubt for very sound business reasons - withdrawn their sponsorship of the site.

Perhaps now would be a good time to reconsider whether such promotion should be allowed gratis?

Possibly there could be a category of membership for commercial businesses, with those accounts subject to a monthly fee in exchange for the considerable promotion they gain from the site, or perhaps even a fee based on the number of links they post, or clickthroughs they get, to their own sites?
 
Last edited:

olafphoto

Administrator
Staff member
Looking forward, I too hate the selling-disguised-as-help posts. They add absolutely nothing to the community of broadly like-minded people willing to help each other. In fact, they take away IMHO. I think the forum would be a better place if we discouraged phrases like 'contact your dealer' and all its variants ('reach out to your dealer' being the one I personally hate the most) in response to a plea for help. In the event of a problem most folks here would contact their dealer if they had one (we're not stupid). They post because they don't, or because their dealer is useless. Again, the non-US audience can only look on in amazement at the service provided by companies like CI and DT. In the rest of the world, more likely than not you'll simply be dealing with a one-man-band, who simply doesn't have the resources / knowledge / inclination to deal with complex technical issues on the spot.

Jim
Gerald and Jim

This is certainly something we will take into account going forward. Thank you for your input.
 

rmueller

Well-known member
Hi,

just now see this thread. While I do have a full-time job and won't be able to support this forum with time and admin work, I'd like to support this forum financially to keep it going. Thanks so much Jack and Bob for running and maintaining this forum all those years. I came here first time >12 years ago before getting into MF digital and do enjoy the atmosphere and spirit of people on this forum.

Cheers and stay safe folks,
Ralf
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Guess who. LOL

If you don't know who I am, Jack and I started GetDPI with Bob joining later. Anyway I've been missing for quite awhile and I apologize for that. In all truth as a working Pro photographer I just got burned out spending so much time here and it was nothing really intentional. I've gone through quite a few health issues with my wife and myself so that was a huge time suck. We are doing fine but also I think more than anything some interest in photography was lacking some as Bob ,Jack and Guy lost interest and got tired of running this place. Bob bought my share awhile ago and we all have remained friends and such but especially for Jack and Bob running this place has been more work than we wanted to deal with as Bob and Jack really did all of the technical stuff. I wish the new folks well and enjoy it as it is a great place. The one thing that made this place for me was doing the workshops. It meant the world to me but I had to stay home and be the guy around here. So that took its toll on me. But I have great memories . Meet some great folks and made friends for life. Please everyone stay safe and healthy. I'm being very careful as I can not get this virus. Keep GetDPI going. Bless all
 
Last edited:

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I have been very, very worried for a while just seeing the headlines "Getdpi closing down" :scry:

I understand that solutions are being discussed. Good. This is my home on the internet. Being a single father and working around the clock, I don't have resources to contribute much, neither time nor money, but I'll contribute what I can when I can... whatever helps. When I joined here, right from the beginning I think, just after Guy deleted that legendary thread on the alternative forum over at FM, I wasn't sure what to expect. Thanks to Jack, Guy, Bob and everybody else who have contributed in all kinds of ways here, this has become the best photo/camera forum on the internet, at least in the western world. Even if you can find some of the worst (best?) gearheads known to humanity on this forum, a mobile phone or an Instamatic is accepted too. It's about camera gear, any camera gear, and great photos.

This place is the best place anywhere on the internet for photo related things, period! I hope it prevails. Thank you again, all of you.
 

Pemihan

Well-known member
Looking forward, I too hate the selling-disguised-as-help posts. They add absolutely nothing to the community of broadly like-minded people willing to help each other. In fact, they take away IMHO. I think the forum would be a better place if we discouraged phrases like 'contact your dealer' and all its variants ('reach out to your dealer' being the one I personally hate the most) in response to a plea for help. In the event of a problem most folks here would contact their dealer if they had one (we're not stupid). They post because they don't, or because their dealer is useless. Again, the non-US audience can only look on in amazement at the service provided by companies like CI and DT. In the rest of the world, more likely than not you'll simply be dealing with a one-man-band, who simply doesn't have the resources / knowledge / inclination to deal with complex technical issues on the spot.

Jim
I agree with the "contact your dealer / reach out to your dealer" phrases but apart from that the guys from the two US dealers add a lot to the forum at least IMO. To ban them would be a shame.

I also agree with you about the service CI and DT in the US provides. The rest of the world totally falls apart in comparison!

Peter
 

f8orbust

Active member
To ban them would be a shame...
I agree 100% - hence my use of the word discourage.

There's a time and place for everything, and sometimes such a response will be warranted, but more often than not it's just frustrating to see people ask for help with a relatively simple question ('how do I access this function') only to be met with contact your dealer / reach out to your dealer / work with a dealer ... ad nauseam. It's an internet forum ... we're supposed to help each other, right ? (Rhetorical question).
 

darr

Well-known member
I agree 100% - hence my use of the word discourage.

There's a time and place for everything, and sometimes such a response will be warranted, but more often than not it's just frustrating to see people ask for help with a relatively simple question ('how do I access this function') only to be met with contact your dealer / reach out to your dealer / work with a dealer ... ad nauseam. It's an internet forum ... we're supposed to help each other, right ? (Rhetorical question).
In one of the recent replies by a dealer, I found myself getting a little frustrated and feeling it was a robocall of sorts. I simply wanted to read all responses to the OP’s question and the dealer’s response was a waste of time unless you were in the market for buying what he was selling. I am looking forward to a new approach to stop the constant trolling for sales from members. Not all dealers do this, but one in particular trolls like a robocaller IMO.
 

olafphoto

Administrator
Staff member
Guess who. LOL

If you don't know who I am, Jack and I started GetDPI with Bob joining later. Anyway I've been missing for quite awhile and I apologize for that. In all truth as a working Pro photographer I just got burned out spending so much time here and it was nothing really intentional. I've gone through quite a few health issues with my wife and myself so that was a huge time suck. We are doing fine but also I think more than anything some interest in photography was lacking some as Bob ,Jack and Guy lost interest and got tired of running this place. Bob bought my share awhile ago and we all have remained friends and such but especially for Jack and Bob running this place has been more work than we wanted to deal with as Bob and Jack really did all of the technical stuff. I wish the new folks well and enjoy it as it is a great place. The one thing that made this place for me was doing the workshops. It meant the world to me but I had to stay home and be the guy around here. So that took its toll on me. But I have great memories . Meet some great folks and made friends for life. Please everyone stay safe and healthy. I'm being very careful as I can not get this virus. Keep GetDPI going. Bless all
Thank you Guy for sharing your story. It is nice to e-meet you. There is no need to apologize. We all have our own lives and sometimes we face serious challenges. I am a kidney transplant recipient myself and I know what it means to deal with health challenges. Stay well and strong.
 

Pemihan

Well-known member
I agree 100% - hence my use of the word discourage.

There's a time and place for everything, and sometimes such a response will be warranted, but more often than not it's just frustrating to see people ask for help with a relatively simple question ('how do I access this function') only to be met with contact your dealer / reach out to your dealer / work with a dealer ... ad nauseam. It's an internet forum ... we're supposed to help each other, right ? (Rhetorical question).
I hear you. I think we're on the same page :)
 

PeterA

Well-known member
Great work Jack/Bob/Guy and congratulations Olaf and thank you for helping keep this wonderful place alive. I look forward to the improvements mentioned and will look into becoming a subscriber of your magazine and/or paying directly in here to help.

Regards
Pete
 

olafphoto

Administrator
Staff member
Great work Jack/Bob/Guy and congratulations Olaf and thank you for helping keep this wonderful place alive. I look forward to the improvements mentioned and will look into becoming a subscriber of your magazine and/or paying directly in here to help.

Regards
Pete
Thank you so much Pete for your support. It means a lot.
 

Abstraction

Well-known member
In one of the recent replies by a dealer, I found myself getting a little frustrated and feeling it was a robocall of sorts. I simply wanted to read all responses to the OP’s question and the dealer’s response was a waste of time unless you were in the market for buying what he was selling. I am looking forward to a new approach to stop the constant trolling for sales from members. Not all dealers do this, but one in particular trolls like a robocaller IMO.
I find myself grinding my teeth when a dealer instead of answering the question he worms his sales pitch in, like, why don't you give us a call, we have a number of solutions, blah blah blah. To me, that's just sleazy.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I find myself grinding my teeth when a dealer instead of answering the question he worms his sales pitch in, like, why don't you give us a call, we have a number of solutions, blah blah blah. To me, that's just sleazy.
In any internet forum, there are posters who present repetitive points of view. If they annoy you, there is the wonderful Ignore function. I usually reserve it for those who attack the person and not the equipment, but some brand boosters cross the line for me and I can choose to no longer hear their spiel. I find a sales pitch from someone who is actually helpful less annoying than incessant "brand X is using 3 year old sensor technology, so their equipment is vastly inferior and their users are stupid." Or the even more frequent "Company X must do (thing I want them to do) to survive." Go to any computer forum for the pure refined substance.

Even better, one can periodically dip into the ignore pool and see if one's decision needs review. I very seldom find that I chose incorrectly, so for me, the system works well.

YMMV,

Matt
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
I agree with the "contact your dealer / reach out to your dealer" phrases but apart from that the guys from the two US dealers add a lot to the forum at least IMO. To ban them would be a shame.

I also agree with you about the service CI and DT in the US provides. The rest of the world totally falls apart in comparison!

Peter
I'm not sure anyone was suggesting commercial enterprises should be banned from the forum - certainly I wasn't, and apologies if that was how it was interpreted.

I was simply suggesting that if an individual or company wants to respond to a post with a sales pitch (easily identifiable by the inclusion of a URL - either in the post itself, or in the signature), then perhaps it was an area that could be considered for monetization for the benefit of keeping the forum up and running (and rewarding in some small measure those who are involved in doing so).

Whilst it can be infuriating to have to wade through multiple posts in a thread from a dealer who is pitching a (sometimes a totally inappropriate) 'solution' to the OP's problem; see yet another "you should perhaps reconsider making your purchase privately because FUD FUD FUD FUD..." response; have to read more spammy "rather than reach out for help to your fellow photographers, sign up for one of the paid courses we run", if there was some charge for the inclusion of the URL - or perhaps even easier to monitor, charge per click-through - at least if we know there is a direct financial benefit to the forum from having to wade through these posts, and it would be a lot more palatable to have to do so.

I could be wrong, but I would also imagine that there may well be quite significant SEO benefits for a commercial enterprise to have literally hundreds of links to their site from a high quality forum such as this one.

It would be remiss of me to close off without acknowledging that in many instances, the advice that is given by dealers can be of value - both to the original poster and other forum members - and I am not questioning the sincere and honest intent behind the posts to provide genuine help. But where that help is directly linked to an attempt to generate revenue for a company, it seems to me perfectly logical that the forum should benefit financially.

Kind regards,


Gerald.
 

Abstraction

Well-known member
In any internet forum, there are posters who present repetitive points of view. If they annoy you, there is the wonderful Ignore function. I usually reserve it for those who attack the person and not the equipment, but some brand boosters cross the line for me and I can choose to no longer hear their spiel. I find a sales pitch from someone who is actually helpful less annoying than incessant "brand X is using 3 year old sensor technology, so their equipment is vastly inferior and their users are stupid." Or the even more frequent "Company X must do (thing I want them to do) to survive." Go to any computer forum for the pure refined substance.

Even better, one can periodically dip into the ignore pool and see if one's decision needs review. I very seldom find that I chose incorrectly, so for me, the system works well.

YMMV,

Matt
Sure, there's always that, but wouldn't an anti-sleaze policy serve everyone well?
 

pegelli

Well-known member
I don't find it hard to ignore certain posts and don't use the ignore function on the forum.

I think this describes my philosophy in that:



Also in the past several dealers were site sponsors, so I think they did contribute to the site financially.
 
Top