louie_powell1 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I have no issue at all with discussions of workshops. In fact, this is a good place to get some information from others who may have been in workshops with the same instructor, same school, etc. Actually, if posters have the discipline to include a WTB, FS, or FA, code in the subject, I wouldn't complain about commercial postings either. The LF world is fairly small, and we need to band together to share information. Including some commercial content in that information isn't bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_schroeder Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I agree with Louie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_hopson Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 I strongly agree that announcements and information about Large Format workshops, free or not is of value to many LF forum visitors. I would not like to see items for sale posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_crider4 Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 If the LF forum was an entity unto itself I would be open to all commerical usage by members who contribute such as Bob Salomon does. (I would prefer the membership gets first choice) I would limit ads tho. Since it is a part of photonet, there are classifieds where everying including workshops can be announced, and should be for all to see. Speaking as to workshops, many of the photo magazines carry ads for the same. It's not hard to find a workshop if your interested. Usually they are planned quite a bit of time ahead. Again if we were a self entity, a charge for posters would help defray cost. As to free workshops, I believe they have done more good for LF users than annoyed some who prefer not to read them. I doubt anyone looses sleep over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_scott Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 On a side note, I'd like to see the digital threads kept to a minimum. We get too many scanner questions, etc., which really falls under digital imaging, not photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychophoto Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Commercial or not, workshops are about educational opportunities, whereas threads selling stuff are just about selling stuff with no other purpose. That's how I differentiate between what is appropriate and what is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triblett_lungre_thurd Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 whatever dave, workshops are the real waste of time and money, expatially to some of us with no need fer fellowship or whate'er the hell it is you get outta 'em. cornsidering you can get a book to teach you the same. gear and supplies is where the real learning happens. m'luh! and yer a doody-head, infinity... me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_chinn Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 It seems to me the vast majority of posts have nothing to do with technique or aesthetics, but with equipment and materials. I think if you look through posts you will find a large percentage deal with someone plugging a favorite camera when someone asks for advice on a purchase, favorite or preferred lenses, tripods, film etc. Photonet should welcome announcements by workshop organizers, and manufacturers. If someone is introducing a new LF product it should be mentioned here. No need to get into pricing or a sales pitch, just the announcement, some info and a link to more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mottershead Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 There is a classifieds section for advertisements by photo.net members, and this section is currently used without charge also by dealers. But the Terms of Use state that forums aren't to be used for classified ads or for commercially-oriented postings. There are many things about the forums that are basically left to the forums to decide for themselves, through the moderators, and as was pointed out, the different forums don't have consistent policies on everything. However, the non-commercialism policy is not one of the things that is left "up" to the forum participants or moderators. Only one forum has specifically been granted permission for classified ads by non-dealers: namely the Leica Forum. This is because classified ads had been the norm on that forum for several years when it moved here last June, there being no classifieds section on LUSENET. We would not be very open to making a similar exception for other forums. So that is the policy. Of course, the key issue is: what is a commercial posting? If an employee of a company is a regular participant in a forum, and happens to mention some relevant product or service of his company in the course of a thread, I wouldn't consider that commercial. The test is: is it a post which a person not associated with the company might have made? A lot of the postings in any forum amount to recommendations of particular products and services in relation to particular problems. If somebody posts a question asking, what workshops are available on landscape photography in Newark, N.J?, it is fine for somebody to chime in: my company is offering one starting next week and there are still slots open. Because that is information that any participant following the forum might have provided, if he had known it. But it isn't fine for that person to come into a forum to start a thread announcing: "Slots still open in the such-and-such workshop!!!" Of course, people can circumvent this policy by creating a shill account to ask the question, and then posting the ad they intended to post, in the form of a "helpful" answer. We wouldn't take kindly to that, if we thought it was happening. (I should add that Per's free workshops, being free, are not commercial, and are totally fine.) Also, if a regular participant provides a pointer to his web site where he happens to have prints for sale, or is promoting his services as a professional photographer: that is slightly commercial, but I'm OK with it, within reason. Basically, (1) we don't want advertising to be mixed in with the forum content; it should be in visually separate areas, and (2) if ads do appear on the site, we want them to be paid for, since advertising is one of the few sources of revenue available to us. The open posting policy of the site is not a back door for commercial companies to post ads for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
severi_salminen Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 I vote against making this YALF (Yet Another Leica Forum). I don't think it is necessary to combine a discussion forum and equipment trading channel - there are other places for selling and buying equipment. Let's keep this what it is. Non-free workshop announcements can be allowed but if they become a problem this issue can be brought back. I also have no problem, if we stick totally to the "No Commerce Guideline" with no exceptions at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 so it sound slike lets just keep the status quo? Which sounds just fine. The occasional reference to a workshop here and there, the occasional... ( :-) ) reference to Linhof by Bob, Per's free workshops etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted August 5, 2003 Share Posted August 5, 2003 Maybe we could arrange a ban on any future threads about which side of the GG a fresnel goes on... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now