"Gear & Equipment Discussion" Forums need redesign

[marc_rochkind]

I've been away from photo.net for a long time, so I don't know to what extent this has already been discussed. Some obvious problems:

(1) Technology has shifted so that nearly all the new cameras (e.g., Nikon Z) are mirrorless. Yet, the equipment discussion seem to be in the DSLR and Film area rather than the Mirrorless area.

(2) The Mirrorless area seems to have been set up long ago, when mirrorless first began. There's no reason, for example, for Panasonic and Fuji to be the same forum.

I'd be happy to propose a new alignment of the Gear & Equipment forums if the forum operators are interested.

[samstevens]

49 minutes ago, marc_rochkind said:

I've been away from photo.net for a long time, so I don't know to what extent this has already been discussed.

Here are some recent threads in this forum that might be relevant …

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by samstevens

[PapaTango]

Lots of things have changed over the years.  We have seen the great photographic fora wage the battle of digital vs analog--existing community vs future purpose.

PN has not been a serious 'technology' player for quite some time.  With few exceptions (such as the Nikon boards) the minutia "thing in itself" of cameras has shifted to the practice of photography--and the images we make.  This is not a bad or negative thing, rather it is what makes PN what it is.

PN has taken the 'image first' social-society form for a long time.  Contests, Ratings, Critiques, Picks, and an arrangement of other tools for photographers to interact with each other's work.  It has had a core group of dedicated staff and volunteers to make the heart of it tick.  Remember Jeff, Josh, Leslie, and others?  Although tech was secondary--the conversations were rich as members sought to improve their equipment and technique.  Lotsa of engaged members yield lots of in-depth knowledge.

It is a new age.  Giants such as Digital Photography Review [DPR] are shutting down.  Who needs them, when one can watch a YouTube review?

No forum architect/administrator in their right mind attempts a mass restructuring of an existing forum's boards.  Members settle into comfort zones and create their own small worlds and communities within what may have been a technical talk board a decade before.  That's OK too, as it is part of the unique character each internet community shapes for itself.  I saw that a few minor tweaks made recently were met with much hullaballoo.  All of this may change radically one day--who knows what the future holds?

Perhaps a change of scenery is in order?

Edited March 27, 2023 by PapaTango
My cat suggested it

[conrad_hoffman]

Who needs dpreview? The idea that it's shutting down because it isn't needed isn't, IMO, true. It's shutting down at the whim of a very large owner that doesn't care about it. We need sites like PN that lean more towards imaging than technology, but I'm heavily into technology and "thing in itself" and detest Youtube anything. Huge waste of time and bandwidth for what you get. We still need good camera and lens review sites, plus discussion of same. How these sites can be profitable is beyond me and I've noticed that whenever anything actually makes money, it becomes less responsive to its users.

 

[PapaTango]

@conrad_hoffman I should have put the /s on that line! 🤠

I still lament the loss of a body of information that will never be reclaimed--the old L-Serv and UseNet groups.  Many of those people cannot share anymore...

[Wayne Melia]

My thought follows Papa Tango in that equipment/technical issue(s) should not be the focus of photo,net. Other sites offer this, but the strength of photo.net is, and should continue to be; imagery. Attempts to be all things to all people dilutes this strength. Other sites (flickr, smugmug, etc) offer image hosting, but image discussion tends to be limited to complimentary "gee, I like that". The nowords forum on PN inspires spaghetti-like connections that I have not found anywhere else. Play to this strength.