Author Topic: Where have all the good OLD MEMBERS gone!? (Read 14036 times)

Leo · « **Reply #50 on:** March 15, 2016, 13:42 »

Leaf has some complex politics / social issues to mind as a moderator. I don't envy him.

I wonder, though, if a small change might make a big difference.

The voting system, small though it is, changes everything - adding a level of gamification to what could otherwise be a sincere conversation. It increases engagement, but also increases volatility. I noticed, for instance, the downvote is no longer available.

I think this would solve much (though I am not the one that has to live with these ideas!) but I will mention them:

VERIFIED badges (or some verified sign) should be available to people who are genuine real users.
Voting system should be shifted toward how positive, ingenuitive, or constructive a comment is. Not merely how "profound" or witty it is.

The aim is credibility. People are less likely to be obnoxious if it directly impacts their personal professional image. A fake persona, on the other hand, is practically a license for destructive or subversive behavior.

For many the forum is just a big game or entertainment. Some are using it constructively and its a professional necessity. I'm extremely interested in seeing this forum improve because it really can empower the right people for success, hence I comment this much.

cathyslife · « **Reply #51 on:** March 15, 2016, 15:20 »

You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

Leo · « **Reply #52 on:** March 15, 2016, 15:43 »

Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20

You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

^^

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #53 on:** March 15, 2016, 16:47 »

Quote from: Leo on March 15, 2016, 15:43

Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20
You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

^^

yes, cathy,
whether or not this forum has gone down the hole , one has to credit leaf for doing a good job.
as for lack of moderation, i need to say that i did in fact ask leaf why he does not moderate enough.
his answer was that unless someone goes over the edge, and only when someone who is insulted
emails him, he would prefer not to moderate too much.

sharpshot · « **Reply #54 on:** March 15, 2016, 18:12 »

I preferred it when there was no voting system at all.

Leo · « **Reply #55 on:** March 15, 2016, 18:25 »

Quote from: sharpshot on March 15, 2016, 18:12

I preferred it when there was no voting system at all.

+1! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

cathyslife · « **Reply #56 on:** March 15, 2016, 19:09 »

Quote from: sharpshot on March 15, 2016, 18:12

I preferred it when there was no voting system at all.

When there wasnt a voting system at all, there was still a voting system...the +1 method. People will still agree, disagree, post positives, post negatives, etc. That is what a forum is.

When Leaf overmoderates, people complain. When he undermoderates, people complain. It is what it is, as the saying goes.

cascoly · « **Reply #57 on:** March 16, 2016, 14:26 »

Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20

You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

all true, but what about newbies who don't know the forum's history? -- a forum needs to attract new blood for all the reasons given earlier as to why older members may not be as active.

I do appreciate less rather than more moderation, letting good speech overcome the bad

FlowerPower · « **Reply #58 on:** March 20, 2016, 13:06 »

Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20

You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

I think that's where the old members have gone. Same as the people who complain about the pay and agents all the time. You can always quit and do something else. You don't have to come here and complain about how bad micro is. Same as you don't have to come here for the forum if the people aren't to your liking. I miss the conversations about something else but money, sales, the latest place that's stealing from us. If I want to do something different for a living I will.

Mantis · « **Reply #59 on:** March 20, 2016, 13:40 »

Quote from: FlowerPower on March 20, 2016, 13:06

Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20
You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

I think that's where the old members have gone. Same as the people who complain about the pay and agents all the time. You can always quit and do something else. You don't have to come here and complain about how bad micro is. Same as you don't have to come here for the forum if the people aren't to your liking. I miss the conversations about something else but money, sales, the latest place that's stealing from us. If I want to do something different for a living I will.

I keep in touch with several "old timers" and they are still here under different names and do not participate any longer. The main reason was for speaking up against Fotolia and then getting kicked out. These are people who make their living at stock so they simply do not wish to take any risk. I was kicked out of FT and do not regret it, but I have toned down my dissatisfaction with agencies except for FT. They acted like little spoiled rotten babies - stick and stones - can break their bones but names hurt their puny little feelings more - when we were treated like production robots. Why wouldn't we speak up? Did FT think contributors wouldn't? And their game plan was to toss out any naysayers they deemed disposable.

That's why a handful left and went completely off the grid.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #60 on:** March 20, 2016, 14:08 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 20, 2016, 13:40

Quote from: FlowerPower on March 20, 2016, 13:06
Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20
You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

I think that's where the old members have gone. Same as the people who complain about the pay and agents all the time. You can always quit and do something else. You don't have to come here and complain about how bad micro is. Same as you don't have to come here for the forum if the people aren't to your liking. I miss the conversations about something else but money, sales, the latest place that's stealing from us. If I want to do something different for a living I will.

I keep in touch with several "old timers" and they are still here under different names and do not participate any longer. The main reason was for speaking up against Fotolia and then getting kicked out. These are people who make their living at stock so they simply do not wish to take any risk. I was kicked out of FT and do not regret it, but I have toned down my dissatisfaction with agencies except for FT. They acted like little spoiled rotten babies - stick and stones - can break their bones but names hurt their puny little feelings more - when we were treated like production robots. Why wouldn't we speak up? Did FT think contributors wouldn't? And their game plan was to toss out any naysayers they deemed disposable.

That's why a handful left and went completely off the grid.

all 3 of you made some fine points, yes.
the thing is many , new and old, forget the purpose of a forum. it is a place to openly discuss things,
not a fan club. i think someone else pointed out in another thread very well, ie. you don't have to
come here if you don't like the tone of the forum,
you also, don't have to keep complaining how unfair everything is... you can always delete
your port from the agencies which pisses you off.

the final point being, we may all agree to disagree, but that does not mean that
we are out to strangle or drive someone out of town with a pitch fork.
it's the topic we disagree , not the person, ...

Mantis · « **Reply #61 on:** March 20, 2016, 16:04 »

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on March 20, 2016, 14:08

Quote from: Mantis on March 20, 2016, 13:40
Quote from: FlowerPower on March 20, 2016, 13:06
Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20
You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

I think that's where the old members have gone. Same as the people who complain about the pay and agents all the time. You can always quit and do something else. You don't have to come here and complain about how bad micro is. Same as you don't have to come here for the forum if the people aren't to your liking. I miss the conversations about something else but money, sales, the latest place that's stealing from us. If I want to do something different for a living I will.

I keep in touch with several "old timers" and they are still here under different names and do not participate any longer. The main reason was for speaking up against Fotolia and then getting kicked out. These are people who make their living at stock so they simply do not wish to take any risk. I was kicked out of FT and do not regret it, but I have toned down my dissatisfaction with agencies except for FT. They acted like little spoiled rotten babies - stick and stones - can break their bones but names hurt their puny little feelings more - when we were treated like production robots. Why wouldn't we speak up? Did FT think contributors wouldn't? And their game plan was to toss out any naysayers they deemed disposable.

That's why a handful left and went completely off the grid.

all 3 of you made some fine points, yes.
the thing is many , new and old, forget the purpose of a forum. it is a place to openly discuss things,
not a fan club. i think someone else pointed out in another thread very well, ie. you don't have to
come here if you don't like the tone of the forum,
you also, don't have to keep complaining how unfair everything is... you can always delete
your port from the agencies which pisses you off.

the final point being, we may all agree to disagree, but that does not mean that
we are out to strangle or drive someone out of town with a pitch fork.
it's the topic we disagree , not the person, ...

I am sure there are several reasons for people leaving, etudiante_rapide. And I also agree that without differences of opinions, experiences, there would be no need for anything other than a woooyay forum. I personally have had some great experiences here and am humbled enough to have been helped several times, albeit privately. I think a flame-flanner here is people who are either new to MS, or want to join simply to stir the pot. When we "gang up"on someone it's usually because we have YEARS of experience in MS, how agencies have repeatedly found ways to dilute artists incentives to keep uploading, some caught simply ripping contributors off, some, like FT, who placed our content in a completely new business without our permission, etc. It's a constant uphill battle for 'many' of us just to maintain our average royalty benchmark. When someone comes in and says things like it is just your work, step it up, that's your problem....people get anxious to reply because they know that it's not simply their work; while there is some culpability for everyone, you cannot dispute how agencies have devalued our work and the sneaky ways in which they've done it. So the "gang up"comments that have been floated a few times recently are based on that variable in a large way.

When an agency like FT does what they did, acts like they act, keep their current management when moved to Adobe, people simply do not want to risk their livelihood any longer, so they leave or go underground. And I don't blame them one iota.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #62 on:** March 20, 2016, 16:34 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 20, 2016, 13:40

Quote from: FlowerPower on March 20, 2016, 13:06
Quote from: cathyslife on March 15, 2016, 15:20
You could always start your own forum and implement your own rules.

I have been coming here for 10+ years. I ignore the trolls, pontificators and blowhards, and use (and appreciate) the honest, intelligent information given by those who know their stuff. I am pretty sure everyone here knows the difference.

The great thing about any forum is that you don't have to participate. You can go somewhere else or start your own if it isn't doing what you think it should. I think Leaf does a great job.

I think that's where the old members have gone. Same as the people who complain about the pay and agents all the time. You can always quit and do something else. You don't have to come here and complain about how bad micro is. Same as you don't have to come here for the forum if the people aren't to your liking. I miss the conversations about something else but money, sales, the latest place that's stealing from us. If I want to do something different for a living I will.

I keep in touch with several "old timers" and they are still here under different names and do not participate any longer. The main reason was for speaking up against Fotolia and then getting kicked out. These are people who make their living at stock so they simply do not wish to take any risk. I was kicked out of FT and do not regret it, but I have toned down my dissatisfaction with agencies except for FT. They acted like little spoiled rotten babies - stick and stones - can break their bones but names hurt their puny little feelings more - when we were treated like production robots. Why wouldn't we speak up? Did FT think contributors wouldn't? And their game plan was to toss out any naysayers they deemed disposable.

That's why a handful left and went completely off the grid.

The people who were kicked off FT are justified and were treated wit no respect. Could be that's why so many went anonymous. Nothing wrong with speaking out against that and the way some agencies treat us or cheat us. When it's something besides a day to day dissatisfaction with the whole business.

You and E-R make many other valid and good reasonable points. Especially that we might disagree but it's the points not the person, with a couple minor exceptions where everything that person said was of little or no value. But he left because we were such twats and not up to his high standards of RM professional photos. He was also kicked off the IS and SS forum. Seems to be a personal trend.

I have no expectations of growth for artists while the Microstock market continues with gains, profits and makes more off our backs. I have the personal power to stay or leave, I don't need to be reminded all day long how bad it has become in the last five years.

KB · « **Reply #63 on:** March 20, 2016, 17:33 »

Quote from: YadaYadaYada on March 20, 2016, 16:34

The people who were kicked off FT are justified and were treated wit no respect. Could be that's why so many went anonymous.

I'm not that old a member, and I'm definitely not a good one, but I see that my first post was about 7.5 years ago ... complaining about FT.

And, yeah, that's absolutely why I was anonymous (and remain so, though I don't have anything bad to say about FT any longer, I sure do about Getty).

marthamarks · « **Reply #64 on:** March 20, 2016, 23:15 »

Quote from: stockastic on March 15, 2016, 11:31

Quote from: rimglow on March 13, 2016, 12:54
I'm 67. Is that old?

Yes.

I'm 64.

Correct answer: No.

I'm 69, about to turn 70 in 4 months. And I still love to get outside and photograph wild critters and places. Hope that love never, ever dies.

So, no… 64 and 67 are most definitely not old!!

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: Where have all the good OLD MEMBERS gone!? (Read 14036 times)

Leo

cathyslife

Leo

etudiante_rapide

sharpshot

Leo

cathyslife

cascoly

FlowerPower

Mantis

etudiante_rapide

Mantis

YadaYadaYada

KB

marthamarks

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