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

jng

Well-known member
I would be heartbroken to see GetDPI go and would be happy to make a no strings attached donation if that can buy some time for Jack and Bob to decide whether there's a way to pass the torch or sunset the site. I'm not sure how long they're willing to hang in for, but if they let people know how much $$ would be needed to keep the lights on say, through the end of the year, that could be used as a target for a Gofundme campaign.

I'm sure I'm not alone wondering what local businesses and organizations will be around when we're finally released from COVID lockup. If there's a way for those of us who have benefited from Jack and Bob's (and Guy's) hard work all these years to take this off their hands and keep the community going, that would be one silver lining of this very dark cloud.

John
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
This is the only site I regularly visit and would miss it dearly. I have no technical skills, but I would certainly be willing to contribute in whatever way I can.
 

ropo54

Well-known member
Subscriptions for now, which can phase out once the advertisers come back.

We likely need more information on how many members there are and how much each subscription might run.

Good luck!
 

Oren Grad

Active member
Bob -

Thanks for weighing in, and for all that you and Jack (and Guy) have done to sustain this site.

First off it is NOT all about the money. What would please us greatly is if we found a few folks who could take over the technical portions of maintaining the site and administering it.

What does that mean?
Someone who has a reasonable working knowledge of PHP and SQL, a bit of html, and even more importantly vBulletin.
Over at the Large Format Photography Forum, we have one moderator who specializes in looking after server and vBulletin "under the hood" issues, as well as one person not otherwise involved in the Forum who donates our hosting and very occasionally needs to be involved in solving server-side issues.

Happily, we don't need to call on these folks often, but when it's needed, it's really needed, and often urgently.

vBulletin is complicated, creaky and somewhat obscurely documented, but if one is not afraid of complex software it's not that hard to learn enough about its controls to be able to manage routine Forum business as a moderator. A bit of familiarity with html helps but is not strictly necessary. It's really the server and vBulletin installation and "database hygiene" issues that require specialized expertise, and that will be the most difficult piece of the puzzle to find on a volunteer basis. So I think the most important task right now would be networking up a storm to see if such a person or people can be found.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
.....but I also feel like putting content behind a required or restrictive “pay wall” might also kill the site due to there being other “free” community options.
I agree. I would prefer to have access open to all with a request (but not a requirement) to financially support the forum via membership and perhaps recognition for those who contribute at higher levels as "sustaining members". Many of the organizations, forums etc that I participate in, am a member of and contribute to have this type of arrangement.

I know we all want to do this in such a way that the open and engaging character of the GetDPI community is not diminished.

Gary
 
Last edited:

scho

Well-known member
This is the only site I regularly visit and would miss it dearly. I have no technical skills, but I would certainly be willing to contribute in whatever way I can.
Exactly my feelings as well. I would be open to subscription or other means of financial support also.
 

B L

Well-known member
At this moment,we have 7980 registered members, if we all (or most of us)paid lets say 10 pounds to help this valueable photo treasury running and pay for Uncle Jack and Uncle Bob.
 

dwood

Well-known member
I'm so in on the financial support side. This forum is a gem in many ways...unique, I'd say.
 
M

mjr

Guest
Well that's pretty sad to hear, now more than ever it is apparent how much we all need community, this site has been a highlight for many years for me.

It's clear from Bob's post above that it's far less about financial constraints than it is about the effort needed to keep the site running, it needs fresh people with the skills and time required. I have zero IT skills, no idea what the acronyms even mean! I have little to offer besides time if it's required but I'd be happy to offer that if there was something I could do.

Ultimately, as Bob says, we need people with the required IT skills to maintain and support the site, without those then I'm afraid this excellent resource will fade. I appreciate all the effort that has gone in to building it what it is now, from the backend to all the members who provide the content.

Mat
 

pegelli

Well-known member
Well that's pretty sad to hear, now more than ever it is apparent how much we all need community, this site has been a highlight for many years for me.

It's clear from Bob's post above that it's far less about financial constraints than it is about the effort needed to keep the site running, it needs fresh people with the skills and time required. I have zero IT skills, no idea what the acronyms even mean! I have little to offer besides time if it's required but I'd be happy to offer that if there was something I could do.

Ultimately, as Bob says, we need people with the required IT skills to maintain and support the site, without those then I'm afraid this excellent resource will fade. I appreciate all the effort that has gone in to building it what it is now, from the backend to all the members who provide the content.

Mat
+1

What I would suggest is that the people with the right IT skills (not me unfortunately) and the drive, time and energy to keep the site going contact Jack/Bob and discuss if continueing the site with their additional effort is a possibility and if yes join the team to do so.

In case after that there is a need for people's "non-technical time" (e.g. help with moderation or administartion within the forum application) or money come back here and seek that support from the members. But without one or two people with the right skills stepping up to the plate quickly I think we will have to accept the site closing on June 1.

It will be a sad day for many if the site closes, but let's also not forget to thank Guy, Jack, Bob and maybe others for running this site for many years and provide us all with so much fun and also thank a lot of members for posting inspiring photo's and providing helpful technical advice.

All good things come to an end and I hope the end of GetDPI is still far off, but if it ends let's not forget it was a very, very good thing.
 

dj may

Well-known member
I am a proponent of the open source concept, which is why I provide instruction and workshops free of charge. I also used open source software to build my website and I use open source software for spreadsheets, documents, etc.

Therefore, I am willing to support the next iteration of this forum in whatever manner that I am able.

I get the sense that the idea is to focus on medium format. I am not familiar with the other fora, however, medium format is a congenial place, with a few obvious exceptions.
 

f8orbust

Active member
Other photo forums aren't folding due to C-19, so maybe owners simply want out - whatever, I thank them deeply for keeping it going for so long - I couldn't have done it, so I take my hat off to you all. For anyone taking up the reins ... maybe it can be hosted for free some place (with the caveat that there will be a ton of ads). Alternatively a subscription model, with donations, crowdfunding etc could work in the short term so that old farts like me can continue to enjoy the site, and I'll happily contribute to GetDPI to keep it going. But this isn't a long term answer, especially since GetDPI has little original content beyond the members' posts. In 2020, if you didn't already know GetDPI, would you pay to join ... a forum? Its USP over other similar sites used to be medium format. If you owned a MF kit, it was the #1 place to get info; if you didn't it was a great place to lust after gear. Sadly, but understandably, that focus has waned over the years. That said, these are difficult times in general - even PhotoPXL, with all the resources Kevin Raber can throw at it, looks like its flat-lined in terms of members, and Luminous-Landscape - with its 'dollar a month' subscription model, was devoid of advertisers long before C-19 appeared. Once it had them all, so it would appear that MR's son isn't quite the businessman MR was, and his decision to take the site in the direction of 'photography as art' rather than MR's tried and trusted 'gear, exotic gear, and even more exotic gear' seems to have backfired somewhat. Though to be fair, it was MR who introduced the subscription model, so even that formula was probably due for an overhaul. Still works for DPReview mind you, but then of course that site's now owned by Amazon. Now there's an idea ...

Jim
 
Last edited:

pegelli

Well-known member
I get the sense that the idea is to focus on medium format.
-1

I think there's plenty activity and very good photos in several "FF" fora, film forum, Fuji forum and M4/3 forum to expand the scope to beyond medium format only.
 

PeterA

Well-known member
I'm away for a few days and disaster strikes - my worst on line photo nightmare!

The site is too important and valuable to close.

I haven't got the words to thank Bob and Jack enough for keeping this wonderful place alive and fully understand that they have run out of energy/time in such bad times.

Perhaps a longer term solution is for the back end stuff to be outsourced to a company.

As for the money side I'm sure there would be enough members willing to band together and cover the costs.

Count me in for financial support - and I would be happy to help keep the site going into the future.

Pete
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
I'm in for a reasonable amount of money per year, while it will be a hard life without getdpi...so it, the shut down, must..please...not happen
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Agree with all of the comments above. It is obvious we have a passionate group of volunteers here, including me

So, who is going to step up and take the lead on a "Plan to Save GetDPI"?:)
 

fotoism

Member
Let me say a few words while I still have the opportunity to.

I am a very "junior" member here in terms of posting activities, but nonetheless I learned a tremendous lot from all other active members over the years. Words cannot express my dismay when I learned of GetDPI's impending closing. As mentioned by others this is a most civilized photo forum on the internet and it fostered a real sense of community, unlike some other forums where bashing and arrogant behavior is the daily norm, including their individual moderators.

Thank you Bob, Jack, Guy, and others involved with this forum. Thank you members for sharing your artistic talent and knowledge. Let's hope someone with the proper skill steps up to take over the helm and keep this community alive.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
As Bob said, it isn't just about money, though more could solve it. The site costs are not that significant — about $2000 to $2500 annually to host and maintain. The real issue is the background labor and attention required on a daily basis -- and Bob and I are tired of doing it gratis. It requires somebody(s) with forum software prowess to approve and vet new members and approve posts daily from new members until they hit 10 or so -- which is how we keep spammers to a minimum, and yet you see the ones that still make it through even with that. Then it requires somebody with web skills to manage all the site software updates and patches, and then manage malware or hack attacks that can come almost any time day or night. In short, it takes somebody being on deck pretty much 24-7. So that’s the real issue for us: we're tired of doing it and there simply isn’t enough money to outsource those tech parts…

We would be totally open to handing it over to a consortium of folks that want to take all of that on to keep GetDPI alive. We've had a few basic offers to take it over, but they would move the site to a subscription/ad model or merge it with their own existing site -- in the hopes of getting all of our members active on their forum, so they can reap the ad and subscription revenue. In short, it would become all the things we never wanted the site to be...

We love the members -- you've made GetDPI truly a unique community. But we don't see a clear path for us to gracefully depart and keep the flavor the same...
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
As Bob said, it isn't just about money, though more could solve it. The site costs are not that significant — about $2000 to $2500 annually to host and maintain. The real issue is the background labor and attention required on a daily basis -- and Bob and I are tired of doing it gratis. It requires somebody(s) with forum software prowess to approve and vet new members and approve posts daily from new members until they hit 10 or so -- which is how we keep spammers to a minimum, and yet you see the ones that still make it through even with that. Then it requires somebody with web skills to manage all the site software updates and patches, and then manage malware or hack attacks that can come almost any time day or night. In short, it takes somebody being on deck pretty much 24-7. So that’s the real issue for us: we're tired of doing it and there simply isn’t enough money to outsource those tech parts…

We would be totally open to handing it over to a consortium of folks that want to take all of that on to keep GetDPI alive. We've had a few basic offers to take it over, but they would move the site to a subscription/ad model or merge it with their own existing site -- in the hopes of getting all of our members active on their forum, so they can reap the ad and subscription revenue. In short, it would become all the things we never wanted the site to be...

We love the members -- you've made GetDPI truly a unique community. But we don't see a clear path for us to gracefully depart and keep the flavor the same...
Jack/Bob/Guy Thank you for supporting the forum for as long as you have . You have made it clear what is required for the forum to continue .
Roger
 
Top