Re: Forum content vs. stated purpose

Brian Blankenship <brian@bngraphics.com> · Sun, 29 Jun 2003 03:30:17 -0400

Norman, most everyone here is a creative individual working to some degree 
in the photographic world, but are mostly a community of artists... and in 
any community you are going to have some idle chitchat. We like to have fun 
here, we are all friendly with the rare exception as all lists have, and we 
do occasionally get some "work" done... My question is that if you wanted 
to "discuss technical and conceptual matters at a reasonably intelligent 
level" why didn't you strike up a conversation? I'm sure we would all have 
appreciated it, I mean we certainly would not have bitten your head off or 
anything.

Perhaps there is a bit too much idle conversation here but when you are 
sitting with a group of friends do you just wispier to the one you want to 
talk to at that moment, or do you speak to the group?

At 02:14 AM 6/29/2003, you wrote:
A...photo-imaging education and professional practice discussion list

A major goal of this network is to serve as a communications link for 
photo educators, and interested others, dedicated  to discussion of 
photography and imaging including aesthetics, processes, history, digital 
imaging, instructional strategies, criticism, equipment and techniques, 
especially, but not exclusively, as these apply in an  educational setting.
This is the subtitle and the stated goals of this forum. If these are in 
fact the goals then IMHO something is amiss. (Perhaps the goals of this 
forum have changed?)

I joined some months back based on the statement above and have been 
reading the digests daily. I am a photographer and educator with a good 
bit of experience (20+ yrs) who was hoping to find a forum to discuss 
technical and conceptual matters at a reasonably intelligent level. 
Instead I've found, with a few very notable exceptions, messages 
containing gossip, mindless responses to honest if simple questions, 
misleading tech advice (understandable on any list), utterly off-topic 
postings, and so on. [note the content of the last few days]

I am hoping this is not a reflection of what are clearly some very 
professional and well intentioned posters but perhaps more an odd 
conflation of people and interests over the past months.

I am not trying to insult anyone here so please don't take offense - but I 
am looking for a forum that is for "photo-imaging education and 
professional practice".

The way things stand I fear you are losing talented and helpful members 
who might add much to the discussion. I truly hope others find this forum 
helpful - I honestly can't say that I have.

Norman
--
Norman Jackson Ford -
Visiting Lecturer,
School of Design,
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
&
Higher Diploma in Multimedia,
the Art School, HK Arts Centre

PhD (ABD)
Dept. of Comparative Literature (and Cultural Studies),
University of Hong Kong

Brian Blankenship

www.bngraphics.com  