The Istockphoto Forum

[Cogent Marketing]

I was hoping for a more general discussion at to why the forum has seen less activity this past year.Talking about individual Admins,who no doubt will not be able to defend themselves, is pretty crass .
For the record I've had a few site mails from Lobo these past four years..Very direct and to the point but always cival and polite.No problem with the guy what so ever.
Sorry you had your account closed though !

Dear Shank_ali
In response to your comment, a few points. Pretty Crass. I agree, it is pretty crass when an ISP customer posts a polite and reasonable comment on the iStockphoto forum legitimately about an important issue which is then locked immediately by an Admin (Lobotomy) without an explanation because 'they' do not agree with the content. Content that is not defamatory, not rude, not abusive and not inflammatory, simply a question about some banal typically fuzzy Istock search/best match/Content issue.

Civil and polite. You are joking. Seriously. Site mails are not seen by folks like you their only seen by the recipient. Civil and polite are not how I would describe them - I saw them.

I'm glad you like Lobo. Really, we all are. Genuine.

Clearly you don't have the bandwidth to see the damage that he and other like him are doing to ISP which is both surprising and a little disturbing, for you.

I checked out your folio on ISP, an exclusive since 2007 with only 7300 d/l'ds? I would have thought people like you in your 'fragile' position within the stock market might be a little more concerned why customers are moving away from your only source of exposure rather than being an obvious apologist for individuals like Lobo.

Perhaps you should take the advice and counsel of one of the first respondents to your thread, 'take a break and/also put a sock in it'

Oh, and finally, you don't have the luxury or the authority on a democratic forum such as this to determine how people respond to your posted comments -

(Just out of interest you don't have a pseudonym as Lobo in another place do you?)

Just that I'm recognizing some similar characteristics.....

[luissantos84]

(Just out of interest you don't have a pseudonym as Lobo in another place do you?)

busted...

[Cogent Marketing]

(Just out of interest you don't have a pseudonym as Lobo in another place do you?)

busted...

Clearly is....... or busy locking threads elsewhere.....

[Cogent Marketing]

CORRECTION NOTICE

Actually, I really like the fact that Lobo is still employed by the hapless Canadians - simply means more and more people migrate away from ISP daily and place their business elsewhere. My only regret is that I and my company have downloaded over 1,600 imaged from ISP until five months ago, images that now I see are available mostly elsewhere. Well as David Cameron said only yesterday 'you live and learn'. Happy days.

It's actually 1,040 downloads not 1,600 from iStock. Got confused with another RF site. Apologies.

Cogent Marketing

[ShadySue]

(Just out of interest you don't have a pseudonym as Lobo in another place do you?)

Oh no, Shankie and I, and some others here, are in the happy Land of the Lobotomised.

[lisafx]

Cogent - I am really sorry to hear about your (and your team member's) experience in the ISP forums.   Hope you are finding what you need at the other sites you are going to now.   I will never understand why Istock is so indifferent to its buyers' concerns. 

Shank - I realize that you didn't start this thread as a place for buyers to air issues, but frankly, I think Congent Marketing has answered your original question quite handily.  The liberal use of the ban hammer is a big reason that the ISP forums are so quiet.  Considering you yourself have been banned, doesn't that make sense to you?

[pancaketom]

IS had to lower overall commissions (they were told to do so). I consider dropping commissions screwing - Shank considers it prudent business. In any case, a few others agree with me and that combined with a long series of site problems raised some understandable ire and questions which IS mostly ignored for a while before they started banning people and locking threads. Some of the thread locks and bans are probably reasonable and were done reasonably. Others were not. People didn't like that and went elsewhere.

[caspixel]

The community on istock is a gold mine and they just give it away to the competition.

That is because American companies, in their rapacious greed, don't care about community. They are only interested in maximizing profits. They don't see the faces behind the money, they only see the faces *on* the money. And the more Benjamin Franklins they see, the better.

[wiser]

Locking a thread is a moderator's function and sometimes it need to be done.

I don't post there much anymore, either as a contrib or a buyer (both functions with little participation) because my issue with the IS forums is in one word Lobo. He simply cannot lock the thread without a snarky remark, lame joke or downright rudeness. He is like a six-year-old who must get in the last snotty word and then sticks his fingers in his ears and shouts la, la, la, I can't hear you. Most other moderators simply lock threads with an explanation showing decorum and professionalism, Lobo not so much. It just makes my blood boil when he is outright rude in the guise of being funny. Perhaps that is a sign of his insecurity.

All that is left in the IS forums are the wooyayers and the lypse-iacs. Makes for a boring one-sided forum.

[traveler1116]

The community on istock is a gold mine and they just give it away to the competition.

That is because American companies, in their rapacious greed, don't care about community. They are only interested in maximizing profits. They don't see the faces behind the money, they only see the faces *on* the money. And the more Benjamin Franklins they see, the better.

IStock is in Canada.

[pancaketom]

The community on istock is a gold mine and they just give it away to the competition.

That is because American companies, in their rapacious greed, don't care about community. They are only interested in maximizing profits. They don't see the faces behind the money, they only see the faces *on* the money. And the more Benjamin Franklins they see, the better.

IStock is in Canada.

Which is in America - North America. Along w/ the USA and Mexico as is often pointed out to people that assume the USA = America.

edited to include:  Then again, H&F and Getty, which are really the source of much of the misery and problems are from the USA as far as I know.

[traveler1116]

Which is in America - North America. Along w/ the USA and Mexico as is often pointed out to people that assume the USA = America.

edited to include:  Then again, H&F and Getty, which are really the source of much of the misery and problems are from the USA as far as I know.

You forgot South America.

[pancaketom]

Which is in America - North America. Along w/ the USA and Mexico as is often pointed out to people that assume the USA = America.

edited to include:  Then again, H&F and Getty, which are really the source of much of the misery and problems are from the USA as far as I know.

You forgot South America.

Actually I just left them out because I couldn't be sure of all the countries off the top of my head. I'm not sure they'd really want to be associated with this mess anyway.

[caspixel]

Then again, H&F and Getty, which are really the source of much of the misery and problems are from the USA as far as I know.

Is the correct answer.

And if someone knows of another way to say an "American" company as in a company that operates in the United States of America, I'm happy to listen. But I've never heard of anyone saying a "USAan" company.

[Shank_ali]

Cogent - I am really sorry to hear about your (and your team member's) experience in the ISP forums.   Hope you are finding what you need at the other sites you are going to now.   I will never understand why Istock is so indifferent to its buyers' concerns. 

Shank - I realize that you didn't start this thread as a place for buyers to air issues, but frankly, I think Congent Marketing has answered your original question quite handily.  The liberal use of the ban hammer is a big reason that the ISP forums are so quiet.  Considering you yourself have been banned, doesn't that make sense to you?

Seems Cogent is still smarting from having his account closed on Istockphoto.A series of events led to that account being closed and if many people from the company had access to it why allow them to post on the forum? .Buy and use the content.
Where is the logic is posting inflamatory remarks on a companys forum (quote) ripping the P### out of Lobo) and directing them at a well respected admin of that company.It's like DUH.

[pancaketom]

Cogent - I am really sorry to hear about your (and your team member's) experience in the ISP forums.   Hope you are finding what you need at the other sites you are going to now.   I will never understand why Istock is so indifferent to its buyers' concerns. 

Shank - I realize that you didn't start this thread as a place for buyers to air issues, but frankly, I think Congent Marketing has answered your original question quite handily.  The liberal use of the ban hammer is a big reason that the ISP forums are so quiet.  Considering you yourself have been banned, doesn't that make sense to you?

Seems Cogent is still smarting from having his account closed on Istockphoto.A series of events led to that account being closed and if many people from the company had access to it why allow them to post on the forum? .Buy and use the content.
Where is the logic is posting inflamatory remarks on a companys forum (quote) ripping the P### out of Lobo) and directing them at a well respected admin of that company.It's like DUH.

Earth to Shank, Earth to Shank, come back to reality.

I am guessing in the words of John J. R. "They drew first blood"

[bunhill]

And if someone knows of another way to say an "American" company as in a company that operates in the United States of America, I'm happy to listen. But I've never heard of anyone saying a "USAan" company.

a US company <-?

Reduced contributor forum traffic likely accounts for much of the comparative Alexa etc changes which people have reported. Not that I entirely believe in Alexa. Traffic for its own sake is costly and time consuming. In that context there probably is a good case for much of the social jibber jabber moving off site. I did not get the changes at first but now I can see the point of keeping it quite formal and low key TBH. A free for all forum would make the place seem less serious as it matures as a brand.

[Cogent Marketing]

Cogent - I am really sorry to hear about your (and your team member's) experience in the ISP forums.   Hope you are finding what you need at the other sites you are going to now.   I will never understand why Istock is so indifferent to its buyers' concerns. 

Shank - I realize that you didn't start this thread as a place for buyers to air issues, but frankly, I think Congent Marketing has answered your original question quite handily.  The liberal use of the ban hammer is a big reason that the ISP forums are so quiet.  Considering you yourself have been banned, doesn't that make sense to you?

Seems Cogent is still smarting from having his account closed on Istockphoto.A series of events led to that account being closed and if many people from the company had access to it why allow them to post on the forum? .Buy and use the content.
Where is the logic is posting inflammatory remarks on a company's forum (quote) ripping the P### out of Lobo) and directing them at a well respected admin of that company.It's like DUH.

Dear Shank_ali

Evidently you have not even read my original post. It really would better enable you to respond 'accurately' to postings if you actually read them first! Take a deep breath and read them again.

It might help (you) if I list chronologically the facts, as I/we see them.

THE FACTS

Cogent Marketing's account with iStockphoto is not closed - simply the ability the ability to post of the websites forum.

Access to ISP is open to all five of the people that I work with as all five of us needed access to download images etc. I do not restrict any of my colleagues access as frankly I trust them implicitly not to abuse that access. They have never let me down, not even in this instance. They have a right to stand up to bulliess and misogynistic behavior should they come across it. They would not accept that from customers let alone a supplier (that what ISP was by the way).

The series of events (as you refer to) was one single post that was not defamatory, not rude, not abusive and not inflammatory, simply a question about some banal typically fuzzy Istock search/best match/Content issue.

Up to that point, as clearly stated five months ago, we were simply downloading the content and using it. We have elected not to do so since that time.

I hope that makes our position clear.

Interestingly you completely ignore (most conveniently) the other comments directed specifically at you and your attitude to our original post.. I'll repeat it (just in case you missed it)

Clearly you don't have the bandwidth to see the damage that he and other like him are doing to ISP which is both surprising and a little disturbing, for you.

I checked out your folio on ISP, an exclusive since 2007 with only 7300 d/l'ds? I would have thought people like you in your 'fragile' position within the stock market might be a little more concerned why customers are moving away from your only source of exposure rather than being an obvious apologist for individuals like Lobo.

I completely understand why you might wish and prefer to 'skip over' comments that expose the incredulity of your position but I think others might notice that, your reputation on this site appears a little dodgy according to others that may know you better, I don't think your necessarily supporting your position by simply ignoring points made by others - you really don't want to be referred to as a bigot as well!

Equally I don't believe it helps or supports your argument by defending 'blindly' admins such as the aforementioned Lobo - you really must accept that others (not like yourself) such as customers (now there's a word) may have a different perspective to yours. Naturally you can of course argue your point with them but simply dismissing their points but is that not a little short sighted as their option is to  simply go elsewhere - which we did - case in point.

Who do you think wins and who loses in that situation? (I think that's where you come in).

You're an exclusive ISP contributor. Your no doubt feeling the pinch. Where on your horizon does it look like getting better?

Oh it isn't is it? - It's just going to get worse and worse and worse and worse.......

Carry on my friend, put your little head a little deeper in the sand and dream on about how things 'used to be' at ISP and how much better those days were. Smart people have moved on and instigated definitive actions to protect their businesses and quality of life but maybe your more dinosaur by nature.

Have a great day.

[fotografer]

Dear Shank_ali

Evidently you have not even read my original post. It really would better enable you to respond 'accurately' to postings if you actually read them first! Take a deep breath and read them again.

It might help (you) if I list chronologically the facts, as I/we see them.

*snip*

Carry on my friend, put your little head a little deeper in the sand and dream on about how things 'used to be' at ISP and how much better those days were. Smart people have moved on and instigated definitive actions to protect their businesses and quality of life but maybe your more dinosaur by nature.

Have a great day.

Great reply but you are wasting your time on Shank.  He only ever hears what he wants to hear and ignores everything else.

[lagereek]

Canadians always strikes me as having an American complex and I bet most of the wooyayers are in fact Canadians.

[Red Dove]

After a while it becomes a chore trying to find any tidbits of cheer or usefulness amongst the soup of negativity on the forum - which is why I skim through these days at IS and elsewhere (including here) Also, the same names gobbing off with a comment on EVERY SINGLE THREAD is tiresome.

PS. If anyone knows how to block that muppet-brained poodle-loving twerp over at SS, I'd be grateful

[RapidEye]

After a while it becomes a chore trying to find any tidbits of cheer or usefulness amongst the soup of negativity on the forum - which is why I skim through these days at IS and elsewhere (including here) 

Soup of negativity sums it up. It's a real shame, but whose fault is it?

[SNP]

Canadians always strikes me as having an American complex and I bet most of the wooyayers are in fact Canadians.

what does this even mean Christian? once again, for someone who claims to have so much worldly photography experience, this comment from you is a huge generalization. as Canada is probably the most diverse (as in multicultural) country in the world...one of the things most proud about our country is that we celebrate that diversity rather than requiring assimilation like 'melting pot' nations. painting Canadians with your broad brush just makes you look as ignorant as the blind wooyayers you referred to.

why don't you spend some time in countries before dismissively categorizing them?

[thesentinel]

Ah but all Swedes are divorced alcoholic depressives with diabetes and blonde hair. Well at least that's the way it seems in Wallender, so it must be true.

[Shank_ali]

Cogent- " my account has been banned from ISP" =Had his posting privileges removed.Glad that's sorted out  .Had a good day at work and picking up the grandson(9 months) later as he's staying the night.So my day should be perfect...

What your previous posts on this thread have highlighted to me and is indicative of the web today is thus:People write what they like when posting on the internet,especially on forums and blogs.If most showed the same respect and decency they would to a neighbour or friend when having a normal  conversation it would make life a lot easier for people reading said posts.
Try to be accountable for what you type to a stranger ....
Hope you have a nice day also.