We should be helping each other, not hurting each other

Huw said

"using the forum to populate their 'Who I Don’t Want to Work With' lists?" 

Very useful.

I have a very small number of models that I would avoid on a list of my own, even though some are excellent models.

I know a few models who will note misogynous or crude comments and have a list.

There are so many great people on here that there's no need to work with arseholes....

I get that people don’t want to work with nasty individuals—that’s just common sense. But what I don’t understand is why people would scan forums looking for comments to ban others without considering other factors, like the context of the conversation, the person’s reputation as a creative, their work standards, etc. No, just ban them because they talked on a forum. Hmm. The difficulty with forums is that it’s hard to convey feelings through text. A joke can look like anger, and sometimes anger could look like a joke. I often struggle to tell if someone is being serious or sarcastic myself.

Many phrases can mean multiple things without facial expressions. 'Oh, great' can be a positive comment, a negative one, or sarcastic. If you were looking at someone when they said it, you’d know, but in a forum or text, you have to guess from the context. 'You’re really something' is the same. In a textual environment, I personally find it difficult to gauge if someone is being friendly, nasty, or sarcastic sometimes.

Edited by ANDY00

Gerry99111 Maybe it's time to get rid of forums and stick to castings and share a shoot groups.

ANDY00 I completely agree with text being misread. I already got one comment wrong on here. It sounded like a put down, but was corrected afterwards. I don't know most people on here on a personal level,so I won't always read a comment correctly.

MaristarOxley said

Gerry99111 Maybe it's time to get rid of forums and stick to castings and share a shoot groups.

Forums seem to be of considerable interest to some people, so I think it would be wrong to deprive those people of their entertainment. 

Personally, my participation in the forums has waned. I no longer have any interest in much of what is said. So I usually scroll past or hide threads.  

As for comments about aggression/stroppiness in the forums, my take on it is that if someone is trying to make out that they're better/bigger/more important than us mere mortals, it's likely that others will try to take them down a peg or two. Also, there are a few contributors whose first waking thoughts each day seem to be 'who can I argue with' or 'whose throat can I ram my opinions down' or 'how many words can I type today'.  

Just my take on it.   

Helping people gives me a sense of wellbeing. Earlier in the year someone was looking for advice and because she was local called in for a cuppa and we discussed the subject and she bought a laptop suitable for editing as a result. Too many people here are seeing other members as competition rather than fellow photographers, models etc. I have very strong friendships with a few people I have met on PP. Treat people with kindness and respect and they will do the same for you.

MaristarOxley it's great to live in fantasy land but the harsh reality is we're not living in 1978. so there's alot of pressure on everyone these days in all walks of life. a free ride is not the standard mode of transport. so to make things easier we all have to time travel back to 1978 where everything is chill and it's all good :D

parkway said

MaristarOxley it's great to live in fantasy land but the harsh reality is we're not living in 1978. so there's alot of pressure on everyone these days in all walks of life. a free ride is not the standard mode of transport. so to make things easier we all have to time travel back to 1978 where everything is chill and it's all good :D

Now, see, this seems harsh and uncalled for. Is there really a need for a response like this? For one thing, internet forums didn’t exist in 1978, and neither did PurplePort. The World Wide Web was only invented in 1989.

And is it fantasy for the OP to want collaborative, accepting conversation on a community forum? Up until now, all responses have seemed pretty positive to me

parkway said

MaristarOxley it's great to live in fantasy land but the harsh reality is we're not living in 1978. so there's alot of pressure on everyone these days in all walks of life. a free ride is not the standard mode of transport. so to make things easier we all have to time travel back to 1978 where everything is chill and it's all good :D

"a free ride is not the standard mode of transport" is a great line and one I haven't heard before.

Good example of how the forums can help one write lists.  ;)

ClickMore 📷 that's a lovely story and that's the sort of thing that we should aspire to.

parkway said

MaristarOxley it's great to live in fantasy land but the harsh reality is we're not living in 1978. so there's alot of pressure on everyone these days in all walks of life. a free ride is not the standard mode of transport. so to make things easier we all have to time travel back to 1978 where everything is chill and it's all good :D

1978 - The Winter of Discontent, not sure it was that chill! (chilly may be)

Edited by Allesandro B

Huw said

Good example of how the forums can help one write lists.  ;)

Point taken. I'm not fully on board, but I'm gaining a clearer understanding :-)

ANDY00 it's progress that it took up until page 3 to get negative input from someone.

I'm at a loss as to the meaning of the comment. The 70s were different, but we as humans are still the same.

MaristarOxley said

ANDY00 it's progress that it took up until page 3 to get negative input from someone.

I'm at a loss as to the meaning of the comment. The 70s were different, but we as humans are still the same.

True, as i said most comments were encouraging to be honest.

I believe the key difference lies in whether a comment contributes meaningfully to the discussion—whether positively or negatively. If it adds to the narrative, it becomes valuable. However, if a comment neither enhances nor moves the conversation forward, then why waste the effort?

For example, those who chime in merely to boost the ego of someone who posted a negative response are adding nothing of substance to the conversation at all imho

Edited by ANDY00

MaristarOxley said

ANDY00 it's progress that it took up until page 3 to get negative input from someone.

I'm at a loss as to the meaning of the comment. The 70s were different, but we as humans are still the same.

I'm certainly confused as to its relevance?