Are the "Challenges" really good for this website?

GodSpeaks · Dec 19, 2009

They should be moved to the challenges gallery forum where they belong.

For those who want to see them, that is where they can be found, and for those of us who are not interested we just avoid that forum.

ANYBODY LISTENING???

--

The greatest of mankind's criminals are those who delude themselves into thinking they have done 'the right thing.'

Rayna Butler

Steen Bay · Dec 19, 2009

bill hansen said:
I've just checked the top of my DPreview screen - ads, but no Challenges. I closed DPR, went to Amazon, came back to DPR - no link to Challenges at the top of the screen (but different ads). Closed the browser, opened it again, went to DPR, and still no Challenges or link to Challenges at top of screen. Yes - ads, different ads. But no Challenge images, no link to Challenges.

I've tried this with IE 8, and now I've tried it once with Firefox - same results.

Bill

Lee Jay said: "They're on the top of every forum page.."

GodSpeaks · Dec 19, 2009

WilsonEPhillips said:
That said, I do not care for the flash banner of the Challenges above every forum, but they did our plea and gave us a button to turn it off.

The problem is that it does not turn off , it simply closes to consume less screen real estate, but continues to fetch and consume bandwidth.

It needs to do both, or better yet, when you click on the little arrow, it should actually UNLOAD and stay unloaded for the duration of the session. That way it would not only cease to consume bandwidth, it would also cease to consume screen real estate.

--

The greatest of mankind's criminals are those who delude themselves into thinking they have done 'the right thing.'

Rayna Butler

DigitalMaven · Dec 19, 2009

Thus they are inherently "Good".

--
When a hammer is your only tool, all problems begin to look like nails.

Lee Jay · Dec 19, 2009

bill hansen said:
I've just checked the top of my DPreview screen - ads, but no Challenges. I closed DPR, went to Amazon, came back to DPR - no link to Challenges at the top of the screen (but different ads). Closed the browser, opened it again, went to DPR, and still no Challenges or link to Challenges at top of screen. Yes - ads, different ads. But no Challenge images, no link to Challenges.

I've tried this with IE 8, and now I've tried it once with Firefox - same results.

Click here, and tell me if you see a challenge banner between the Open Talk header and the the "new thread" etc. line:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1018

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)

ChrisBrewster · Dec 19, 2009

I've gotten some benefit (at least enjoying many shots) from almost all the challenges and want them to continue. The only loser was one called "edited" (Canon 500D/1000D) meaning altered. If you want to alter reality this much, photography is the wrong medium. Get a set of paints.

Phil Askey · Dec 20, 2009

ljfinger said:
CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

hbx2004 · Dec 20, 2009

ljfinger said:
...

For me, photography is about telling stories, and remembering moments, both in a heavily-contextual and in an aesthetically pleasing way. Single images without a story or context do little for me. I look at each one for a fraction of a second and move on.

Agree...

I'm sure, there are many good, nice, etc. photos there. But for me, they have no "background"... it's like seeing bunch of random slides... like watching movie without sound... wasting time.

As ljfinger said: IMO, for most of us, it's about "remembering moments", our moments. In this case, photo is enough.. because we know the story behind.. we know how it was, we know why photo was taken. For photos from others , story must be told.

Saying that, I've blocked downloading Challenges images in my browser, so it doesn't distract me at all.

Greetings,
Bogdan

Steen Bay · Dec 20, 2009

Phil Askey said:
ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things. (Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

gazunder · Dec 20, 2009

Steen Bay said:
Phil Askey said:

ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

Click to expand...

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things.

I think that's right. If DPR ws a subscription service in some ways it would be more 'free', in terms of freedom to post what we like, but membership would be much smaller so the whole character of the place would change. In a sense the ad-supported nature makes it what it is. And since we keep on coming back to it, the 'what it is' must be popular.

Steen Bay said:
(Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

Merry christmas to you, too, my shiny little bauble.

Steen Bay · Dec 20, 2009

gazunder said:
Steen Bay said:

Phil Askey said:

ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

Click to expand...

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things.

Click to expand...

I think that's right. If DPR ws a subscription service in some ways it would be more 'free', in terms of freedom to post what we like, but membership would be much smaller so the whole character of the place would change. In a sense the ad-supported nature makes it what it is. And since we keep on coming back to it, the 'what it is' must be popular.

Yes, back and back, and back..

gazunder said:
gazunder said:

(Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

Click to expand...

Merry christmas to you, too, my shiny little bauble.

Hope you'll get yourself a nice new lense. ;-)

Rriley · Dec 20, 2009

gazunder said:
Joseph S Wisniewski said:

low_light said:

I'm sick and tired of the "eye candy" photoshoped images bloating DPreview
at the top pages. Sorry Phil, but I simply can live without the fluff. The
reviews and information are what's important. The ads are what ya have to
do, but please spare us the rolling over highly edited "Challenge" photos.

Click to expand...

Why is it that the people most likely to launch a rant like this are the ones who contribute essentially nothing to this site?

Click to expand...

This site is a commercial venture, not a co-operative community. No-one is under any obligation to contribute. We come, we play, we increase hit counts, we generate advertising revenue for Amazon. We all have equal rights to be commercially exploited.

gazunder said:

Every winter, you poke your head out of the cave and grumble about something. Last winter, you ranted about blogs. This winter, it's challenges.

Click to expand...

Grumpy misanthropes have rights too.

as many rights as
http://www.dpreview.com/members/?User=hfiuifiehmiu
or do they have to hide like
http://www.dpreview.com/members/?User=heiwixilhwii
and argue against them selves for the fun of it
http://www.dpreview.com/members/?User=heixixiyhlid
or will they come back as
http://www.dpreview.com/members/?User=heigieimhwik
and harass people as
http://www.dpreview.com/members/?User=heigidiwheii

all these people are you Mr Newman
is the phone ringing ?

--
ʎǝlıɹ

plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɟo doʇ uo ǝɹɐ ǝʍ 'ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ uı

Simon Joinson · Dec 20, 2009

DigitalMaven said:
Thus they are inherently "Good".

--
When a hammer is your only tool, all problems begin to look like nails.

We should try in future to develop less popular features that reduce traffic ;-)
SJ
--
Simon Joinson, dpreview.com

dave61 · Dec 20, 2009

Good grief -- photos on a photo site -- they're a lot more relevant than this stupid thread.

bill hansen · Dec 20, 2009

.....but they weren't present yesterday when I wrote my last post to this thread.

So - okay, they're there - at least they're there sometimes. I have to admit that my eyes are pretty selective when I visit DPR. I never "see" the ads for Challenges, so they could be present lots of times and they'd escape my attention.

Is it possible that other people could develop this sort of selective inattention, if the banner for Challenges bothers them? Would that be a good thing, or a bad thing?

Life is just so complicated! (smiling)

Bill

JulesJ · Dec 20, 2009

I agree, there are too many Eye Candy, fluffy, HDR images which are just the way an amateur tries to turn a mediocre shot into a better one, but ...

The Challenges are a good thing on this forum. They actually encourage people to post pictures which is what photography is all about. Whe this forum started people used to embed a lot more images in the general posts and different threads but this number has drastically declined as posters are more interested in talkign about the pros and cons of different cameras rather than just getting out there and taking shots.
So yes, the Challenges are a good thing.
jules

--

When you lose a number of things, why is it always the last one that is most difficult to find?

tex · Dec 20, 2009

can't you just ignore them if you don't like them? they're actually much better than i ever thought they'd be---quite a few excellent images in there.

most of us would have trouble winning one---not only because their structure favors images with the broadest appeal, which tends to select out images that are a little more esoteric, really subtle, quiet or whatever (though not always!), but otherwise really good---but also because the general quality of so many is pretty high, at least viewed on the web.

can't see how the challenges are deleterious to the site....

gazunder · Dec 20, 2009

Steen Bay said:
gazunder said:

Steen Bay said:

Phil Askey said:

ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

Click to expand...

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things.

Click to expand...

I think that's right. If DPR ws a subscription service in some ways it would be more 'free', in terms of freedom to post what we like, but membership would be much smaller so the whole character of the place would change. In a sense the ad-supported nature makes it what it is. And since we keep on coming back to it, the 'what it is' must be popular.

Click to expand...

Yes, back and back, and back..

Steen Bay said:

Steen Bay said:

(Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

Click to expand...

Merry christmas to you, too, my shiny little bauble.

Click to expand...

Hope you'll get yourself a nice new lense. ;-)

Oh Steeny-pie, it sounds like you've been drinking from the cup of Rriley. I'm so disappointed. I guess it's all over. I hope it all goes well for you

Lee Jay · Dec 20, 2009

Steen Bay said:
Phil Askey said:

ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

Click to expand...

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things. (Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

Correct, and I think it's really not moral to both use the site and block the ads. That was my point.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)

Rriley · Dec 20, 2009

ljfinger said:
Steen Bay said:

Phil Askey said:

ljfinger said:

CathyChapman said:

No one forces you to come to this website... it is free.

Click to expand...

It's not free, it's ad-supported.

Click to expand...

This is SUCH a stupid argument, I see it once in a while (less frequently these days, people are starting feel the reality of economics)... Just for one moment think "ad-supported (supported by large corporations), what's the alternative?"... Ah yes, so YOU want us to start charging a subscription?

--
Phil Askey
Editor, dpreview.com

Click to expand...

I think ljfinger's comment was meant as a support to the way DPR is running things. (Time to find the Christmas spirits! ;-))

Click to expand...

Correct, and I think it's really not moral to both use the site and block the ads. That was my point.

this doesnt come cheap, but i find myself in agreement with this
--
ʎǝlıɹ

plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɟo doʇ uo ǝɹɐ ǝʍ 'ɐılɐɹʇsnɐ uı

Are the "Challenges" really good for this website?

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