ukphotographer wrote:
...perhaps it's just the noise level thats been reduced?
Yes, some major noise producers are no longer a factor. Traffic goes down when folks aren't saying the same thing over and over ad nauseam.
Part of the reason was that most interesting/controversial topics thrived in the lighting forum was when there was feedback involved. There are quite a bit of lurkers on this forum which tend to come out when hot topics are on the field, but since feedback/participation isn't strong, posters are drifting elsewhere.
One of the reasons why I was here on this forum was to listen to statistics and educate myself about flash duration, light modifiers, tips and tricks that others were doing, and cool DIY projects. However, the main reason was that a lighting manufacturer was here on the forums to talk about his products and juxtapose his products to the competition. Sometimes his statements were off base in which people called him on that, but the raw data and fundamental knowledge of lighting was what kept bringing me back.
Dialogue/feedback for the FM forums
Pictures and reviews on the POTN forums.
I visit here maybe once a week since Paul was removed, I used visit more than once most days. Yes, he was often pushing boundaries, but he kept things interesting.
I think another factor is that more of us are out shooting now that spring and summer weather is upon us, so we're spending at least a little less time cruising the forums.
It seems to me this forum used to be more about "Lighting and Studio Techniques" rather than just about buying equipment. And I agree there also were more DIY threads, which interested me. Seems to have changed.
ukphotographer wrote:
so perhaps it's just the noise level thats been reduced?
Agreed. Sadly, some of the noise pushed many solid forum members away.
To those saying that this forum has suffered because of PCB being booted, I strongly disagree. His posts didn't bring a whole lot more than advertisments, bias, and controversy/bickering. A lighting forum can thrive without PCB or any other CEOs of companies. POTN has always had a thriving lighting forum, and the only CEO I've seen post on there is Mark Astmann, and that's happened all of 5 or 6 times.
Diavolo wrote:
Since this light forum is pretty much dead where the hell are people discussing lighting now?
What lighting question do you have that need answering.on the forum?
RustyBug wrote:
Repeatedly calling the physics of light gobbledygook probably hasn't helped much either.
I have refrained from responding when this has been mentioned in the past, but since it keeps coming up, I feel that a correction is in order.
Nobody has called the physics of light gobbledygook. They have called misinterpretations of what others have written gobbledygook. This happened when the posts with the misinterpretations of what was written or the nature of light has muddled the issue instead of clarifying it.
If traffic is down because wrong information is not getting posted, that's a good thing.
If traffic is down because there's not a post of 50 pictures that have been posted 200 times over the last four years, that's an excellent thing.
dmacmillan wrote:
If traffic is down because there's not a post of 50 pictures that have been posted 200 times over the last four years, that's an excellent thing.
A few of my observations, not that I have been any major contributor to this arena, but I do add my 2 cents when I feel I can help.
1. PCB was making me insane. Any thread that may have promise quickly degraded as soon as he posted to it. I do not deny he has knowledge that may be worth knowing but his rough edges and pitbull tenacity made me wonder when he had time to run a business.
In fact, his posts have so turned me off on his products I am now conflicted, Einstein and PLM seem brilliant but "that man" drives me nuts and makes me not want to support him.
Yes, I realize I may be cutting off my nose in spite of my face, however, I am not in need of lighting as I have several Photogenic units and may be buying hotlights for product shots.
2. There are some people who whenever a subject comes up then dumps a 10,000 word essay in the thread with a few pics. Again, may be helpful but canned posts are annoying to regulars.
Maybe the thing to do here is what I have seen on other forums, make sticky posts at the very top that cover recurring subject matter. If a subject get started that has been covered in the sticky area then a respondent could simply post a friendly note and link to the sticky article for reference.
- Paul could submit lengthy articles about differing lighting technologies, measurement of WS, electrical engineering type things. It will stay there and not need to be revisited weekly in a new thread.
- Others could post articles on specific portrait lighting techniques including setup shots, etc; 3/4, full, butterfly, Hollywood.
- Those who have created nifty DIY articles could be placed in a top of the forum sticky area. I make my own sandbags and created a PDF and gallery for those who want to make their own, it could be posted there.
