Why I'm not active anymore.

Recently I received a message from my friend Michael Linder asking why I no longer post here on PN. I occasionally comment but haven't posted a picture since the changeover. I thought I would post my reply to him so that you all can understand why I am not active here anymore. So here it is:

I'll still check in from time to time but really I've given up hope that things will meaningfully improve at least for people like me who believe in a communicative artistic community. Best regards, Jack

It's a shame that people are participating less when, with a little bit of creative thinking, from members & management, they could engage with one another at the same level as before.

i won't go into too much detail suffice to say that although the gallery isn't working very well, the forums are. use them for your dialogues.

Just a heads-up Glen. The exif data fields display correctly in Edge and Chrome. Not so much in Firefox--the dominant browser out here. This is what I see in FF:

A closeup crop:

No, sorry no closeup crop. The forum will not let me (others have reported this issue as well) two images to the same post. Says there is an error. Meh.

So this is the second image I alluded to:

I had to refresh the page twice in order to upload another image to the thread. Same silly message.

The fields in the exif record were blank of photo info--the unreadable text was simply what the field referred to. I have not yet tried in a working browser to make edits, but from my perspective this is way too much info.

What we need automatically included--or manually entered--is just the following:

• Make of camera
  
• Type of lens and camera settings (aperature & speed)
  
• Any accessories included (flash, filters, location)
  
• Others can chime in as well
  

But the whole exif record? TMI and a distraction. It becomes a nuisance to get rid of everything else when entering something shot with my old Argus C3. And in that line, what of the process I used to develop it--and the film I used?

Remember, we are photographers. These are the things that interest us. White balance? x&y resolution?

It's the little things--lots of them that are ever so frustrating.

Recently I received a message from my friend Michael Linder asking why I no longer post here on PN. I occasionally comment but haven't posted a picture since the changeover. I thought I would post my reply to him so that you all can understand why I am not active here anymore. So here it is:

 

Michael,

I stop by almost every day to see if anything has improved, at least to the point where I feel I can rejoin the site which I miss very much. But the problems and accompanying frustrations persist and as much as the tech team thrashes about and tries this and that, they seem to get no nearer to a functional and easy to use site. For me, navigation through this site is like trying to maneuver a destroyer through a mine field. It's as if the technicians who have designed this site have never taken a photograph in their life and are simply trying to

imagine

what people here might possibly want. They have created a true Frankenstein monster. Let me give you an example or two why I am no longer active.

 

As you know, I was a frequent (read

serial

) commenter in the past, often posting upward of 20 or more comments a day. I am a believer in an interactive community of photographers which I consider crucial in stimulating my own creative abilities. We effect and learn from one another and here we had the chance to speak directly to and exchange opinions with some of the best photographers on the scene. The photographers I was interested in are those whose work now shows up in the Favorite Photographers gallery. The first problem is the thumbnails posted there, which show only a portion of the picture and in the case of vertical images, only about half of the original image. This is an insulting way to display the work of photographers for what is shown often has little relationship to the actual image.

 

Leaving that aside, if I click on one of your images for example, the entire picture is shown. The problem comes when I hit the back arrow. After a long delay (8-15 seconds) the new screen opens. But now I find I've been taken clear out of my Favorite Photographers gallery and deposited in my Favorite Pictures gallery. Now I have to navigate back to my Favorite Photographers page and scroll down from the top to find where I left off after viewing the previous picture. This convoluted process definitely affects the time I'm willing to spend viewing the photos of the people I follow. This is only one of many complaints I could list but its a big reason why I'm no longer very active on PN. So many talented photographers have voted with their feet and left the site that there may no be much left to save. Management has certainly squandered any good will that existed prior to the changeover.

I'll still check in from time to time but really I've given up hope that things will meaningfully improve at least for people like me who believe in a communicative artistic community. Best regards, Jack

Jack; you are sorely missed, and wish you could find your way to reconnect with the community.

A suggestion that may or not work for you: instead of going to your favourite photographers, go to 'seeking critique' from the explore tab.

1. this expands your 'choices' beyond photographers you have already chosen as interesting by defining/choosing them as favourites

2. from this view; thumbnails have a 'view in new window' option which lets you view the photo, make comments if so desired, and then close the window to go back to whence you came

3. this may or not work for you, but hoping that it will possibly steer you to at least try, and maybe find a way to make things work. It's never going to be the way it was; get over it; BUT : this is a two way street; you, as everybody else, are going to have to adapt, and learn to use a different interface to accomplish what you want. I dearly wish that you can manage to find a way. You were a pillar of the community both for your unique vision, and your comments which encouraged so many.

4.Both your images and your comments on images of others encouraged and inspired many to look/see differently.

5. I speak (well, write) from personal experience, but with confidence that my perspective is shared by many.

Just a heads-up Glen. The exif data fields display correctly in Edge and Chrome. Not so much in Firefox--the dominant browser out here. This is what I see in FF:

 

[ATTACH=full]1210020[/ATTACH]

A closeup crop:

 

No, sorry no closeup crop. The forum will not let me (others have reported this issue as well) two images to the same post. Says there is an error. Meh.

Got it, thank you. Out of curiosity I checked our google analytics just to see how many people are accessing our site using Firefox vs other browsers....and according to that 11% of our users use Firefox. I think the bulk of the testing is done in Chrome and Safari before they release. I will pass along to the fellas so they can make adjustments for those Firefox users. Chrome = 45%, Safari = 30%, Firefox = 11%, IE = 4%, Edge = 3%. then a bunch of different mobile browsers making up balance.

Glenn, Jack''s original message to me (the OP) hit like the proverbial ton of bricks. I was one of many Jack followed, and the interchanges varied. Some were totally straightforward photographic statements concerning the usual - composition, perspective, detail, etc. But the more interesting ones were interpretive, philosophical, even whimsical.

When you, your staff, and the execs at NameMedia discuss the loss of long term members, hopefully it won't be just in quantitative terms. PN can't afford to lose others who have made real contributions to the site over the long haul. To me, losing Jack is tragic.

Got it, thank you. Out of curiosity I checked our google analytics just to see how many people are accessing our site using Firefox vs other browsers....and according to that 11% of our users use Firefox. I think the bulk of the testing is done in Chrome and Safari before they release. I will pass along to the fellas so they can make adjustments for those Firefox users. Chrome = 45%, Safari = 30%, Firefox = 11%, IE = 4%, Edge = 3%. then a bunch of different mobile browsers making up balance.

I concur with Michael's #12 comment above, but what I found fascinating are the usage statistics above. My usage involves just Safari on my iPad, with several constant glitches involving date/time display and some funky menu jumps; but here's the surprise. On my desktop (a decent Dell running Win10) I use Edge and have not had any of the software, hardware, browser, etc. issues that've been reported here since the roll-out of Ver2. Now I temper that strange news with my continued disappointment with the functionality of Ver2, but it would be interesting to know if any other Edge users have had any difficulties. I'm just surprised that there are so few Edge users, it's not a bad browser platform.

Mike

Some updates coming soon wanted to share in this thread and will announce once launched:

1.) favorites view updated in the member center which will no longer have the square cropped photos - thumbnails will be true to portrait and landscape orientations, this will also include the release of the modal so when clicking on a photo you will still be in member center - when? - released today Wednesday 9/27.

2.) Timeline seen here: Photo.net - Where Photographers Inspire Each Other (must be logged in to see the mock up) is implemented - early next week, which is our version of activity feed/notifications on photos you interacted with as well as your photos others interacted with and then....

3.) Our new masonry format is released (currently being polished up) see example here: Editors' Pick | Photo.net - Where Photographers Inspire Each Other - be sure to click on a photo as the modal as it is new format as well. You can provide feedback here (as it relates to masonry and new modal) on this whether you just want to vote or write your thoughts - feedback is welcome.

These 3 things coming together are big steps forward for our community on the gallery side.