Seems very slow in here
 

Hey Guys

I am a member or a number of forums and as much as i like this one and its ease of use it does seem a tad stale in here. There is almost no new discussions and the only area which does seem to get refreshed is the gallery. I notice there is a good number of people joining and saying hello but none of these really seem to post anything other than the odd photo and then disappear again. Is there more we can do in here to encourage more new members and then keep them as i think this forum does have a lot to offer.

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I couldn't agree more. For a long time I've been very surprised how many newbies come along and don't get involved with submitting images or commenting on them. Also the amount of people who vote in the competition, or compete, is at an all time low with only 12 people voting last time.

This topic has been brought up before and unfortunately no really strong ideas came up. The only answer seems to be that those who do post try to liven things up and hence encourage others to join in by example. I am as guilty as anyone at not joining in some of the stuff like the competition with no excuse apart from laziness and a lack of inspiration.

Need to have a think about this question. Wonder what other forums offer that WPF dose not? Could we copy some ideas?
One thing that bothers me is we have just about managed to keep "Fancy a go" running with a few members taking part. If so few joins in what we have or try to do then why should a new member hang around? Ok, got that off my chest.

If you have a section where people can link to their site / blog and then invite discussion etc that might help a bit - lots of people will post often just to get traffic to their site which is quite acceptable and rarely spammy.

Is there an 'off topic' area? That can keep people busy too. Been in a fair few forums on differing subjects, and have seen that work. There was even one I saw where in the 'off topic' bit there was ONE politics thread and ONE religion thread. Kick it off and let everyone get on with it! Call it 'The Dark Room'!!!

Geddit?

I'll shut up now.:D

There is an off topic area. "Over Exposed" bottom of home page.
I don't have a site but sounds like a good idea if people want to link to there site.

The problem with new members joining and then not contributing is something that happens in every forum on the web. As for how to make this forum more active, that is a very good question... One thing that I've noticed is how little activity there is in the equipment section, which in other photographic forums is often the busiest section. I'm not sure why this sects is inactive but I think it would help if there was more going other. I also think that sometimes responses to "what camera shall I buy?" or "which lens is best?" threads can be an issue. If someone asks the question it is because they want to hear opinions, not just so some can tell them that it doesn't matter! I'd also love to see some reviews being written by the members, some lens reviews with sample images would be cool (I will try and get some done in the next few weeks).

This discussing has been discussed before a while ago.

I have been a member of this forum for a number of years. But sometimes find it a little stale! at times.

The way the photo of the week runs now is based on popularity rather than moderator opinion, this goes against new unpopular members.

Personally I like reading from the forums, but there is little activity so find myself having to go elsewhere to get my fix.

Think its a good idea to have a website section, where people can showcase their work.

Also think its a good idea to have a review section or/and a section to post links to good deals you have found on the web or in shops.

Hey Guys, there seems to be a clear issue with new members coming in, joining and then not getting involved. The first question is why do people join a photography site and its simple. They wish to get information and be inspired. There are many very knowledgeable people here who could really help newbie's.

Secondly I still don't get why there is not a poll for the photo of the week. Being bold I will say that the recent few months have seen some pretty dull photos win and I cant get why. Dare I agree that it seems to be based on popularity than the actual skill. Some of the best technical shots on here have not even been commented on or looked at as they too quickly go to the back of the pile when more come in. Surely a poll each week for the 10 best shots is the way to go. Its crystal clear then as to what is doing well as you can follow the progress of the voting.

Thirdly, why not do the reviews like the idea suggested above. I am always looking elsewhere for reviews on equipment but I would rather stay in one place for it. This could be a great retainer for visitor traffic and they would remember where they found the reviews and if the moderators were clever they could link to reviews elsewhere until we have a few. I am sure this could be reciprocated.

Fourth, I think that we have an ideas thread that's open all of the time so that more of this feedback can be generated more regularly.

Come on guys, what do you think?? Add your thoughts to this thread.

I just thought, can we partner up with a camera shop to offer a discount to members here in return for special offers and reviews and info etc. Perhaps a camerashop corner in the topics???

I take on board the comments about POTW and do agree that it seems that the new system is more about popularity of the poster (and how much they comment as there is a lot of reciprocal commenting). The problem with us mods choosing is that it does take up time and as we often have different opinions to each other there is often a fair bit of discussion needed. We will discuss it again and may go back to the old way. I don't like the idea of a poll as this would make even more work while not solving the original issues.

If you have review then please do post them up in the review section. I'd love it if we had threads started with a review that then others add to with more info and sample photos. I like the lens sample archive that I have seen elsewhere and would like our reiews section to have a similar feel to it.

I totally agree about the photo of the week, a poll sounds a good way of deciding. Some other good ideas there too.

I do like this forum, but seems to be a pretty stagnant place, so find myself going elsewhere.

The quantity of the photos uploaded is high and generally snapshots. So when great photos do get uploaded they quickly get lost in the mass.

The poll would make less work. You post 10 pictures and everyone votes. Thats it. Please see this link for something similar where i visit once in a blue moon: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/vie...highlight=poll

My question is why are the mods choosing, surely thats up to the members.....?

Also why dont you organise a poll to see where people found the site as that will make for a better understanding of the visitor journeys and where else they are coming from other than just a google search.

I think a bit more interaction is key.

Honestly a poll would make more work... How are you proposing that the top ten should be selected? If it is based on number of comments then we would have the same think that it was the most popular members always making the short list. I am concerned that if we use this sort of system it will be even harder for new members to stand a chance of winning. Popular members are more likely to have its of comments and thus make the short list and then are likely to get more votes. If it is down to the mods to select a short list then we would need at either agree it before posting or each select a few to put up. We are discussing this to see if we can find a more suitable solution.

A thought and not saying its a good one as more popular members would still likely get more support. Would it be possible to have a sort of star system for each photo posted that agreed to it. So you could give a photo say 1 - 5 stars. Then have a poll of the top 10 or 5 whatever each week. That would not depend on comments, need not even know who gave the stars. The Mods would just have to poll the most stared photos.

Agree the present comment system dose not work too well partly because only a few members comment. Therefore I for one tend to comment more often on people who comment back. Get the idea I am not the only one. Some times every thing has been said so have nothing to add in a comment.

The idea of a rating system has come up before but I think there are quite a few issues with it. I have no idea how easy it would be to set up, but it could be looked at. However such a system will still favour popular members as people might rate an image higher if they like the member who took it. It would also be very discouraging to people to get low ratings, especially for new members. If anyone can think of a system that doesn't weight it towards established members (which think both the current system and a rating system do) it would be good.

Please define 'a snapshot'. Have seen this term several times and wondered if it was being used (elsewhere - not in this post!) derogatorily.

'going elsewhere' ..... would that be allowed to say where? :rolleyes:

Agree With your comments.
Thought may not be possible to set up. For new or old members who did not want there photos rated a tick box, "Ok to rate this photo". No tick no rate option.
Out of the box idea, would need thinking about and again may not be possible to set up. A blind photo competition. Only the Mods can see who entered the photo. Ok, may be able to guess that's an X, Y, or Z photo from the style but its just a thought. Then have a poll after that the names could be put in for all to see.

Everyone defines their art differently. To me a snap shot is a photo that has been constructed with little thought. Just see something nice point the camera and click!

Not meant to be a derogatory term as sometimes the photos are pleasant, but often the image could be improved with a little more thought.

Going elsewhere.....well most of the Info I need comes from either Flickr, dps, or photo.net. Flickr has specialist groups which are great and dps and photo.net have excellent business forums.

Thanks for clearing that up for me about the 'snapshots' as I have read some things that infer 'Granny took this' .... I am a Granny so no offense meant :)

Interesting about Flickr as I joined several months ago after folks on here mentioning it but never got round to exploring it or putting anything up. Must make a note of that on my 'to do' list. ;)

BTW - has anyone else mentioned to you that the eye that blinks in your avatar is scary :eek::D

On Flickr, click on groups, then search for what you are interested in, eg "landscape" and it will find groups under that interest. Then you just join the ones you like.

OK - thanks for taking the time to direct me. :) Much appreciated.

Can i just point out that we should have a WPF Instagram page posting the photos of the week and others should permission be ok. Instagram is now the biggest photosharing site in the world and its only going to get better.

I wouldn't go anywhere near Instagram as it is now owned by Facebook - those lovely people who think it's ok to release info into the public domain about it's members without consulting them. Just think what they would do with your images.

Steve, don't worry they can't do much. The media scaremounger people into thinking that the likes of Facebook are harvesting all of this data where as in reality all they do is track your journey through their site and a few other small bits.

Instagram is brilliant and you can simply follow those whos work you like and they can follow you. Its great. Its a shame there isnt a version online as it would be ideal.