Thoughts on Improving the Photography Forums

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by ChiTownCity

I actually like the alphabetization. It helps keep it organized and makes finding certain city threads much easier, in my opinion...

i agree. and then the same cities don't clog the forum as much (NYC, Chicago, San Fran)

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[flar]

There's not really that many threads on those cities (except maybe Chicago).

The problem with the split as I see it is that it takes more clicks to get to both forums, in these days of quickly browsing forums, many people just click one of them and miss everything in the other.

[Okayyou]

Originally Posted by flar

There's not really that many threads on those cities (except maybe Chicago).

The problem with the split as I see it is that it takes more clicks to get to both forums, in these days of quickly browsing forums, many people just click one of them and miss everything in the other.

If we are trying to make browsing more effective I think combining the A-M and N-Z would be helpful. I think the continuously updated threads do more to clog the system than any city. Make a separate section for people that want to update their photo threads continuously. I find those threads more distracting than the occasional multiple threads on the same city. Due to their nature of constantly being updated they are always at the top. If people aren't interested in the subject matter the thread never really drops out of sight.

I know the forum has to have the found city photos for linking and terms of service with image sharing sites but that section is really dead. Oldest thread on the front page goes back to May 8th.

I know one thing I plan on doing to hopefully get some buzz in the photography section is to promote my sets on my facebook page whenever I start to do photothreads again. If we all did this that could possibly help generate some activity...

I wasn't following SSP on facebook until a few months ago and didn't realize they promote certain images and threads. I think this is a great way to attract more attention to the site. Along the same lines of the other ideas I've been bouncing around, I think featuring certain threads, again possibly on a map, could help generate interest.

I think the photo contests have seen increased participation, thanks again to Glowrock for organizing them. However, it looks like he is busy in real life and recently has had issues getting the theme and images posted in a regular manner. Maybe someone can step up to help, it might be a job that requires more than one person. Additionally, the getting to know your SSP photographers always seems to generate a lot of interest but the thread dies as we wait for responses from other forum members. Do people need to be badgered more for a response or maybe given a hard two week notice and then skipped until a new person is found. Again, I think this requires a dedicated individual to take charge and stick to deadlines. I'd be happy to assist but would be hit or miss when I am on the road.

To hit another point I brought up before, is there any way the site could make posting images easier? Quickpickr is a real POS as of late and usually misses 10% of the tagged images I search for. No way to determine what images it glossed over other than to heck and peck my flickr account which kind of defeats the purpose of using quickrpickr. Is it possible to have dynamic thread editing and previewing? Can anyone answer this? Who runs the coding aspect of the site? It seems like a lot of people are frustrated with the effort required to post yet no one knows who to turn to for help.

Sounds like there is interest in a critique thread. I will try to get something posted soon.

[LSyd]

i like the alphabetical division, although A-M seems to get a lot more action. it's not that difficult to check out both.

Originally Posted by Okayyou

I think the continuously updated threads do more to clog the system than any city. Make a separate section for people that want to update their photo threads continuously. I find those threads more distracting than the occasional multiple threads on the same city. Due to their nature of constantly being updated they are always at the top. If people aren't interested in the subject matter the thread never really drops out of sight.

this 100%

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[toyota74]

Im not sure about the critique thread,it will only be a matter of time before people lose interest.Random photos,photo tennis,chat and comps seem to be the most active threads here in this section at the moment and the rest of general photography seems lost.I would scrap" Found City Photos" and the "General Photography" and create one section for photography ....making it an A-Z and putting the comps,random photos etc into stickies at the top.Sometimes the General Photography section can go a day or two without a post and I think its best days are gone.

[fern]

As much as it pains me to say this SSP is dying a very slow death, all the above ideas are excellent but without a site admin who is interested and some decent mods none of them will work.Just look at the picture forum it's filled with 4 year old threads some muppet keeps bumping and then you have the post 3 pictures a day guys everyday.Rant over it's just sad to see the site I love going down hill like this.

[toyota74]

It will be interesting to see how long this thread will go on for and when a site admin will get in touch.The comp is also overunning a(wee) bit.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by fern

and then you have the post 3 pictures a day guys everyday.

There should be some way to discourage those. It is those types of threads that have killed the photoforum at SSC. I would hate for us to get to the point where we have the same 20 crappy threads on the first page every day like they have over there.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by toyota74

It will be interesting to see how long this thread will go on for and when a site admin will get in touch.The comp is also overunning a(wee) bit.

Overrunning? In what way? Should I do less of them? By all means, let me know. I haven't necessarily taken over all of the photography forums as mod, but I definitely want to make sure I can make the changes you guys feel would make things better over here.

I disagree with fern that SSP is dying a slow death, though. Sure, sometimes the general photography forums are a bit slow other than a few threads, but that's to be expected on occasion...

I do agree with Chef that something needs to be done concerning the post three photos a day in your thread situations... Let me think about that for a while and I'll see what I can come up with
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Aaron (Glowrock)

[mr.John]

Originally Posted by Chef

There should be some way to discourage those. It is those types of threads that have killed the photoforum at SSC. I would hate for us to get to the point where we have the same 20 crappy threads on the first page every day like they have over there.

I agree 100%,I've added photos to many of my threads but mostly to the original, in other words edit them, which doesn't bump the thread to the top of the page. On occasion I will add 75-100 photos only if it's on the same subject (theme) adding 4 or 5 photos is bullshit and disrespectful

[ChiTownCity]

Originally Posted by Chef

It is those types of threads that have killed the photoforum at SSC. I would hate for us to get to the point where we have the same 20 crappy threads on the first page every day like they have over there.

? The photo forums on SSC are doing just fine. They're also a completely different type of section than the ones that are on SSP. Their Urban Showcase section, which is the self taken photo section, is also different than from the setup on SSP but is also doing really good.

not to copy SSC but adding a new section for people that want to regularly update their threads in a similar manner could work.

[ChiTownCity]

Originally Posted by mr.John

I agree 100%,I've added photos to many of my threads but mostly to the original, in other words edit them, which doesn't bump the thread to the top of the page. On occasion I will add 75-100 photos only if it's on the same subject (theme) adding 4 or 5 photos is bullshit and disrespectful

Looks like I'll be taking a look through your threads again soon .

I do have a question: Does anyone have a problem with people bumping 2-3 year old threads? Personally I don't because I know there's a lot of good threads that people may have completely missed on the first go round. I know it can get as little sloppy if a mob of people, or a just one random person, just started bumping threads out of no where. But then again, not checking the second page is a habit that should be stopped...

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by fern

As much as it pains me to say this SSP is dying a very slow death, all the above ideas are excellent but without a site admin who is interested and some decent mods none of them will work.Just look at the picture forum it's filled with 4 year old threads some muppet keeps bumping and then you have the post 3 pictures a day guys everyday.Rant over it's just sad to see the site I love going down hill like this.

agreed. time to drown sorrows. but yeah, we don't need 8 threads of Argentinian cities continuously updated with random low quality cell phone photos.



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[JManc]

Originally Posted by Chef

There should be some way to discourage those. It is those types of threads that have killed the photoforum at SSC. I would hate for us to get to the point where we have the same 20 crappy threads on the first page every day like they have over there.

agreed. i hate those as well. once a phot thread is created, you shouldn't be bombarding it with more pictures phishing more comments and attention.

[Okayyou]

Originally Posted by fern

As much as it pains me to say this SSP is dying a very slow death, all the above ideas are excellent but without a site admin who is interested and some decent mods none of them will work.Just look at the picture forum it's filled with 4 year old threads some muppet keeps bumping and then you have the post 3 pictures a day guys everyday.Rant over it's just sad to see the site I love going down hill like this.

It appears that there is genuine interest in improving this section of the site but changes can't be made unless the site admins decide to do so. Any idea if they have seen this thread? If not can a mod PM them and maybe we can get a 'we will look into this' or 'things are fine the way they are' response. In the least it would be nice to restructure the the forum so the constantly updated threads are put in a separate place.

As far as other wild ideas, I know the site is text based but how slick would it be if the photography section had thumbnail links in a grid ala http://500px.com/popular Each user could select a thumbnail for their thread and the thumbs would move up and down lust like the current links do now.

Something like that might generate more interest and might not require that much coding.

But I agree, if the photo forum stays in its current form I think it will continue to shed users.

[JManc]

I'm one of the admins and probably the one most passionate about photography but i don't think we should make a bunch of changes without at least seeking input from those who frequent this section on a regular basis...hence this thread. the last time an admin made unilateral sweeping changes to the forum, it ended up in chaos.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by JManc

agreed. i hate those as well. once a phot thread is created, you shouldn't be bombarding it with more pictures phishing more comments and attention.

As far as I can tell the only downside to getting rid of serial threads is that Bedhead's London: Truth and Reconciliation is a masterpiece of a photothread. I enjoy Minato Ku's threads as well, but other than that most aren't worth looking at. Maybe there should be a (long) minimum time limit before you can post new photos in your thread, that wouldn't interfere with the good ones.

[Bedhead]

Thanks, mate! I'm happy to change my approach to fit in with any new format.

Agree that we don't want to go down the ssc route, but let's not get too depressed - the quality of the photos is still arguably better than ever. There will always be the occasional over-enthusiastic newbie, but there are still loads of high quality threads posted in the last month alone.

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by LSyd

agreed. time to drown sorrows. but yeah, we don't need 8 threads of Argentinian cities continuously updated with random low quality cell phone photos.



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I don't know how many forumers who appreciate the photography forums have noticed today that the Argentinian threads in both A-M and N-Z have been constantly bumped to the top of each forum by the creator of those threads. The Buenos Aires thread has several posts like this today http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...5&postcount=73 with no photos. It appears this person is hell bent on having their threads at the top of each forum. I believe this behaviour jeopardizes the integrity of the photo forums. We need to come up with a plan for people who want to update threads several times a day or week.

[Okayyou]

Originally Posted by Chef

As far as I can tell the only downside to getting rid of serial threads is that Bedhead's London: Truth and Reconciliation is a masterpiece of a photothread. I enjoy Minato Ku's threads as well, but other than that most aren't worth looking at. Maybe there should be a (long) minimum time limit before you can post new photos in your thread, that wouldn't interfere with the good ones.

Time limit is a good idea, or just put all the continuously updated threads in their own section.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8489/8...9ab58ea0_b.jpg

I don't know how many forumers who appreciate the photography forums have noticed today that the Argentinian threads in both A-M and N-Z have been constantly bumped to the top of each forum by the creator of those threads. The Buenos Aires thread has several posts like this today http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...5&postcount=73 with no photos. It appears this person is hell bent on having their threads at the top of each forum. I believe this behaviour jeopardizes the integrity of the photo forums. We need to come up with a plan for people who want to update threads several times a day or week.

I hadn't been clicking on the links but did notice the threads are annoyingly updated multiple times per day with one of two photos per post. The text bumps are worse. His Cordoba thread seems to be using other people's photos without credit or links.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=202090&page=4