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Time for a new forum (yes, that again)

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Tony Beach

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Lately I've been thinking about some of the arguments that rage on and on in this forum, and I've come to the conclusion that a divorce would be in order. If users of lower end DSLRs and higher end DSLRs were thrown together in the Canon or Nikon forums, they would also have a lot of unnecessary dissension in those forums. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea for DPR to start an A900/A850/A700 Forum and have the rest of Sony's DSLRs in this forum -- after all, this forum has really become the A55/A33 Forum, and this will remain that way for the foreseeable future since there is no A700 or 35FF DSLR update in sight.

For the last year or so I thought it didn't make sense to isolate a handful of users into some backwater forum. However, DPR has a number of forums that have almost no activity and should either be eliminated or consolidated, so this should make room for a forum that may in fact not be nearly as moribund as are for instance the Konica Minolta Talk, Fuji SLR Talk, or Kodak SLR Talk forums.

It's just a guess on my part, but I suspect that isolating A900, A850, and A700 users would actually increase the volume of posts about those cameras and refine lens and technical discussions within that forum to a greater degree than what I'm currently seeing right now in this more diverse forum. Indeed, I don't think this forum is very diverse, but rather its domination by the consumer level DSLRs has crowded out the higher end DSLR discussions.

I expect someone is going to call me an elitist for suggesting this and framing it the way I have, but I'm not. Everyone is welcome to participate in every forum at this website, regardless of whether they have an item covered there or even if they never intend to have an item covered there. This happens all the time in the Nikon forums I participate in, and it often leads to lively and interesting discussions with many diverse opinions weighing in (often from unexpected contributors). All I'm saying is that good fences make good neighbors, and that we would be better off just being friends instead of being married into one cobbled together forum.
 
I like the idea! :) Don't know if or when it will happen. But still a good idea!
--
Glenn

I'm kinda partial to video, but I'm hangin!
 
Since almost every 2-3 years, there are new and discontinued cameras so why not DPR create a Sony P&S, Sony NEX, Sony SLT and Sony DSLR. In this way, DPR doesn't need to create a new forum or update a forum.
Tony Beach said:
Lately I've been thinking about some of the arguments that rage on and on in this forum, and I've come to the conclusion that a divorce would be in order. If users of lower end DSLRs and higher end DSLRs were thrown together in the Canon or Nikon forums, they would also have a lot of unnecessary dissension in those forums. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea for DPR to start an A900/A850/A700 Forum and have the rest of Sony's DSLRs in this forum -- after all, this forum has really become the A55/A33 Forum, and this will remain that way for the foreseeable future since there is no A700 or 35FF DSLR update in sight.

For the last year or so I thought it didn't make sense to isolate a handful of users into some backwater forum. However, DPR has a number of forums that have almost no activity and should either be eliminated or consolidated, so this should make room for a forum that may in fact not be nearly as moribund as are for instance the Konica Minolta Talk, Fuji SLR Talk, or Kodak SLR Talk forums.

It's just a guess on my part, but I suspect that isolating A900, A850, and A700 users would actually increase the volume of posts about those cameras and refine lens and technical discussions within that forum to a greater degree than what I'm currently seeing right now in this more diverse forum. Indeed, I don't think this forum is very diverse, but rather its domination by the consumer level DSLRs has crowded out the higher end DSLR discussions.

I expect someone is going to call me an elitist for suggesting this and framing it the way I have, but I'm not. Everyone is welcome to participate in every forum at this website, regardless of whether they have an item covered there or even if they never intend to have an item covered there. This happens all the time in the Nikon forums I participate in, and it often leads to lively and interesting discussions with many diverse opinions weighing in (often from unexpected contributors). All I'm saying is that good fences make good neighbors, and that we would be better of just being friends instead of being married into one cobbled together forum.
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nbercasio said:
Since almost every 2-3 years, there are new and discontinued cameras so why not DPR create a Sony P&S, Sony NEX, Sony SLT and Sony DSLR. In this way, DPR doesn't need to create a new forum or update a forum.
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Effectively, DPR has moved close to what you are suggesting, and that decision is being made haphazardly because it is being largely driven by the volume of posts rather than by a systematic method of classifying the categories. What I'm proposing is that DPR be more systematic in their approach, and that there's a good reason to differentiate higher level DSLRs for lower level DSLRs.

As for models being discontinued, even discontinued Sony models (such as the A700) will have a home in a forum somewhere under my proposal, just as they already do now.
 
the A700 into it's own forum with the A850/900?

I could see having a seperate FF forum if there was enough volume but why would those guys want to be stuck with a bunch of sour old ASP-C A700 owners whose camera was discontinued over a year ago?

Just let people coexist - who want to be on a forum with 50 other people?
--
tom power
 
tompower53 said:
the A700 into it's own forum with the A850/900?
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Yes.
tompower53 said:
I could see having a separate FF forum if there was enough volume but why would those guys want to be stuck with a bunch of sour old ASP-C A700 owners whose camera was discontinued over a year ago?
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Actually, the history of the high end Nikon forum here at DPR illustrates a number of points relevant to this discussion. Initially it was a forum that included all of Nikon's higher end cameras, and that continued until the D3 and D300 came out, and then in DPR's haphazard fashion they booted the D200 and D100 cameras out of that forum and put them together with the D300 in their own forum. To this day there are discontinued DX cameras included in the D3-D1/D700 Forum, so this is a sort of template for what I'm proposing here and addresses all of your objections about discontinued cameras and cameras with different formats being in the same forum. The important thing is that the cameras would appeal to a similar group of users and have similar user interfaces. Indeed, since I also propose disbanding a couple of older Konica forums, they could bring those cameras into the Sony forums since they all use the same lenses and share a common heritage.
tompower53 said:
Just let people coexist -
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Well, I don't think they are really coexisting. That's my point.
tompower53 said:
who want to be on a forum with 50 other people?
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I can turn that around and ask who wants to be in a forum with 200 other people who have no interest in your camera? BTW, many forums here at DPR are driven by perhaps twenty participants, so it's more about the quality of the contributors (take that for what it's worth) than it is about the quantity of contributors.
 
... in the form of the Konica Minolta SLR Talk forum. I suggested a while ago that it might be the best place to discuss Sony hardware with Minolta DNA. Yes, that is a forum for hardware that is no longer currently in production, but discussions regarding the A100/200/700/850/900 would seem quite at home there to me.

I know...it could informally be regarded as the "Minolta-inspired SLR with left-hand power switch" Talk forum! :)
 
Bad idea, for now. Perhaps in a year or two.
 
Though I can see where you are coming from, I don't see it as a viable solution.

First, you would be condemning the vast majority of the A700/850/900 owners to he!! when they don't deserve it.

Second, what would you do with anything new with a model number of 7-, 8- or 9-? I seriously doubt that Sony will ever make another body that can satisfy the vocal posters in that group.

TF
 
Having recently joined this forum when I learned of the SLT cameras it feels quite messy to me. There seems to be a lot of people who've been using larger DSLR cameras and are posting images and comments about them. Then there are newcomers such as myself who are only here because Sony has introduced new technology, features, size, weight, and pricing that has drawn me in. I, like many others, am coming up from a bridge, and bypassing the micro four-thirds.

I have no interest in comments or images from the other technology cameras and find myself wasting time opening threads only to find the content is not related to the new technology.

I would really like to see a new SLT forum.
--
John
 
Couldn't agree with you more!

And if you would, take the two posters above yours with you. Please.
jdonalds said:
Having recently joined this forum when I learned of the SLT cameras it feels quite messy to me. There seems to be a lot of people who've been using larger DSLR cameras and are posting images and comments about them. Then there are newcomers such as myself who are only here because Sony has introduced new technology, features, size, weight, and pricing that has drawn me in. I, like many others, am coming up from a bridge, and bypassing the micro four-thirds.

I have no interest in comments or images from the other technology cameras and find myself wasting time opening threads only to find the content is not related to the new technology.

I would really like to see a new SLT forum.
--
John
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mike_2008 said:
Bad idea, for now. Perhaps in a year or two.
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Why do you think it's a bad idea? I spent some time laying out my reasoning and presumably you spent some time reading that before replying (at least I would hope so), so you could take a little extra time to actually lay out your reasoning.

Here's a quick question for you. Do you think having two forums instead of one forum would increase or decrease your participation?
 
It is probably not the case, but I have a feeling there is some jealously involved. One cannot deny the volume of discussion that the SLT cameras generate and perhaps some are a bit jealous since their camera gets a bit under-snowed. but this is not a reason for a divorce. More worrying is the lack of A850/A900 posts. If volume of post is too low then the forum will die

Additionally I don't see the point of dividing the forum into an SLT and DSLR forum. The level photography is a good divider not the tool, off course using the same mount is pivotal.
 
Don't split forum. I'm interested of reading posts from AXX users along with other Alpha DSLR users.

--
Make photos that will be interesting to check after many years.
http://stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com
 
Tony Beach said:
mike_2008 said:
Bad idea, for now. Perhaps in a year or two.
Click to expand...
Why do you think it's a bad idea? I spent some time laying out my reasoning and presumably you spent some time reading that before replying (at least I would hope so), so you could take a little extra time to actually lay out your reasoning.

Here's a quick question for you. Do you think having two forums instead of one forum would increase or decrease your participation?
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At the end of the day I'm sure you're convinced why you think it's a good idea as I'm convinced it's a bad idea. Discussing won't change my mind, and I don't really want to change yours.
 
OldClicker said:
Though I can see where you are coming from, I don't see it as a viable solution.

First, you would be condemning the vast majority of the A700/850/900 owners to he!! when they don't deserve it.
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I've increasingly started to see participating in a forum dominated by people using cameras other than mine as a sort of hell.
OldClicker said:
Second, what would you do with anything new with a model number of 7-, 8- or 9-?.
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Presumably, those cameras would go into the new forum I'm proposing.
OldClicker said:
I seriously doubt that Sony will ever make another body that can satisfy the vocal posters in that group.
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You see, this is what I'm talking about. There is a schism going on in this forum between one group that is satisfied with what they have and what Sony is delivering, and another group that is satisfied with what they have but unsatisfied with what Sony has been delivering. There's nothing wrong with either of those groups, but when you throw them into a single forum they tend to end up going at each other's throats. I suppose it's easy enough to blame Sony, or to defend them for that matter; but given what I've seen with other brand's forums here at DPR, such schisms are not unique to Sony.
 
mike_2008 said:
Tony Beach said:
mike_2008 said:
Bad idea, for now. Perhaps in a year or two.
Click to expand...
Why do you think it's a bad idea? I spent some time laying out my reasoning and presumably you spent some time reading that before replying (at least I would hope so), so you could take a little extra time to actually lay out your reasoning.

Here's a quick question for you. Do you think having two forums instead of one forum would increase or decrease your participation?
Click to expand...
At the end of the day I'm sure you're convinced why you think it's a good idea as I'm convinced it's a bad idea. Discussing won't change my mind, and I don't really want to change yours.
Click to expand...
That is not a thoughtful reply and not conducive to an enlightening discussion.

Also, you pointedly didn't answer my simple question.
 
Tony Beach said:
mike_2008 said:
Tony Beach said:
mike_2008 said:
Bad idea, for now. Perhaps in a year or two.
Click to expand...
Why do you think it's a bad idea? I spent some time laying out my reasoning and presumably you spent some time reading that before replying (at least I would hope so), so you could take a little extra time to actually lay out your reasoning.

Here's a quick question for you. Do you think having two forums instead of one forum would increase or decrease your participation?
Click to expand...
At the end of the day I'm sure you're convinced why you think it's a good idea as I'm convinced it's a bad idea. Discussing won't change my mind, and I don't really want to change yours.
Click to expand...
That is not a thoughtful reply and not conducive to an enlightening discussion.

Also, you pointedly didn't answer my simple question.
Click to expand...
Don't you think having a discussion between two people of completely fixed but opposing ideas is a waste of time? I do. It doesn't matter to me why you arrive at your conclusion, I think you are wrong. It shouldn't matter to you why I arrived at a different conclusion, the point is I am fixed on it. The only reason for having a discussion would be if one or either of us is flexible in our opinion, or if we are trying to swing other people to our point of view. I wouldn't like to do either of those.
 
stan_pustylnik said:
Don't split forum. I'm interested of reading posts from AXX users along with other Alpha DSLR users.
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As I wrote in my OP, there is nothing stopping you from reading those posts. It would merely be a matter of opening up that forum. Likewise, nothing stops users of lower end DSLRs from reading and participating in my proposed A900/A850/A700 forum. I see this as a win-win in part because it would reduce the amount of wading through posts about topics you or I may not be interested in because those posts have vague titles and are posted in a forum that covers an overly broad number of topics.
 
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