We should be helping each other, not hurting each other

parkway said

Gothic Image ah. thank you. I thought the thread was looking a bit weird after I posted my contribution to it. it seems people have maybe not understood what I was saying or decided to put a negative spin on it. I was just saying really that life is tough these days for alot of people so the pressures of life can get in the way of things, for example, models having to charge money for shoots simply because they've got bills to pay and need to put food on the table etc, but if you go back in time to say the 70`s there was not such huge pressure on everybody as compared to today and things were a little easier. you may wish to argue that's not true or whatever argument you or anyone else wants to raise but honestly I thought this was a lighthearted contribution to the discussion and I'm surprised it appears to be taken as negative.

I get your attempt at lightheartedness….but I think you made a poor choice in mentioning the 70s.  For many of us on here who lived through that decade it was much worse than it today…. The Winter of Discontent, v high interest rates (17%) on mortgages, the three day week, the (first) Miners Strike, joblessness, race riots, hyper-stagflation et al made it a very uncool time.

Im not into fashion photography at all but I don’t think the OPs views are fantasyland in any way.

Allesandro B said

Russ Freeman said

Maybe we should just close the groups that cause problems, such as general chat, off-topic, etc. and just have the games, share a shoot, and single image critique, along with the member created.

Gerry is right that it was called groups rather than forums to try to change how people used them, but this sort of topic reappears periodically, so it's fair to say that the experiment failed.

As mentioned, IG doesn't have forums, and people say it's better than sliced bread, so perhaps just ditching them is the answer.

Personally, I favour getting rid of them as it would certainly reduce the burden on our lovely Admin and the community team.

threading is the answer, that way people just go down a rabbit hole that few people will follow them into and those that do can chat to their hearts content.

People would still read things they opposed and say, "PurplePort groups are negative." Obscuring people's views only makes them more difficult to see, not easier for those with opposing views to digest when they do see them.

Threading is not the answer, but I do like threaded discussions.

ANDY00 said

Russ Freeman said

Maybe we should just close the groups that cause problems, such as general chat, off-topic, etc. and just have the games, share a shoot, and single image critique, along with the member created.

Gerry is right that it was called groups rather than forums to try to change how people used them, but this sort of topic reappears periodically, so it's fair to say that the experiment failed.

As mentioned, IG doesn't have forums, and people say it's better than sliced bread, so perhaps just ditching them is the answer.

Personally, I favour getting rid of them as it would certainly reduce the burden on our lovely Admin and the community team.

Seems unfair to those that want conversation to be honest and those trolls that only want to kill conversation—what would they do then? They'd be lost 

They could create a group and invite people who think the same as they do so that there are no opposing views that might cause offence.

It might be unfair if we removed all groups as well as the ability for people to create groups, but having groups is a privilege, not a right. 

Carlos people are quick to read malice or negativity into purely innocent things that other people say. it's not kind and it's not helpful or productive. it puts people off contributing. it's toxic.

Edited by parkway

Russ Freeman said

Allesandro B said

Russ Freeman said

Maybe we should just close the groups that cause problems, such as general chat, off-topic, etc. and just have the games, share a shoot, and single image critique, along with the member created.

Gerry is right that it was called groups rather than forums to try to change how people used them, but this sort of topic reappears periodically, so it's fair to say that the experiment failed.

As mentioned, IG doesn't have forums, and people say it's better than sliced bread, so perhaps just ditching them is the answer.

Personally, I favour getting rid of them as it would certainly reduce the burden on our lovely Admin and the community team.

threading is the answer, that way people just go down a rabbit hole that few people will follow them into and those that do can chat to their hearts content.

People would still read things they opposed and say, "PurplePort groups are negative." Obscuring people's views only makes them more difficult to see, not easier for those with opposing views to digest when they do see them.

Threading is not the answer, but I do like threaded discussions.

ANDY00 said

Russ Freeman said

Maybe we should just close the groups that cause problems, such as general chat, off-topic, etc. and just have the games, share a shoot, and single image critique, along with the member created.

Gerry is right that it was called groups rather than forums to try to change how people used them, but this sort of topic reappears periodically, so it's fair to say that the experiment failed.

As mentioned, IG doesn't have forums, and people say it's better than sliced bread, so perhaps just ditching them is the answer.

Personally, I favour getting rid of them as it would certainly reduce the burden on our lovely Admin and the community team.

Seems unfair to those that want conversation to be honest and those trolls that only want to kill conversation—what would they do then? They'd be lost 

They could create a group and invite people who think the same as they do so that there are no opposing views that might cause offence.

It might be unfair if we removed all groups as well as the ability for people to create groups, but having groups is a privilege, not a right. 

Well, it's your sandbox, so to speak, but I, for one, like conversation. Everything in the world right now seems to be about less conversation, but I believe that if nobody talks on a site, it will inevitably die. Conversation is something this site offers that Instagram does not. It's a place where people with the same interests come together and have the option to discuss topics of interest. If they can no longer do that here, will they move to X (Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram? I wouldn’t open a Facebook account for it, but some people enjoy discussions. 

But at the same time, I can understand that dealing with issues arising from the discussion could be both annoying and time-consuming.

Edited by ANDY00

ANDY00 if its toxic conversation it needs to die. im sure you would love Facebook. why don't you try it, the world's your oyster.

ANDY00 , maybe I wasn't clear, as it seems that you think I have suggested closing ALL groups when I didn't say that.

I suggested closing the groups that seem to cause the most trouble, such as this group, and leaving the groups such as games, share a shoot, image critique, and member-created groups alone.

Surely, you would just create a new group called Andy's General Chat, and invite everyone you wanted to chat with to it? Which would hopefully result in more conversation not less.

parkway said

ANDY00 if its toxic conversation it needs to die. im sure you would love Facebook. why don't you try it, the world's your oyster.

whats toxic ? are you telling me to leave ?

12 years ago... https://purpleport.com/articles/35/the-purpleport-guide-to-etiquette-in-the-groups

Russ Freeman said

ANDY00 , maybe I wasn't clear, as it seems that you think I have suggested closing ALL groups when I didn't say that.

I suggested closing the groups that seem to cause the most trouble, such as this group, and leaving the groups such as games, share a shoot, image critique, and member-created groups alone.

Surely, you would just create a new group called Andy's General Chat, and invite everyone you wanted to chat with to it? Which would hopefully result in more conversation not less.

As I said, Russ, it’s your sandbox. I’m really not sure how that would look or work, but you obviously know more about this stuff than I do—I just use the site; I didn’t design it.

And if I remember correctly, around 12 years ago, there were mass bannings at that time or thereabouts due to forums - sorry groups

Edited by ANDY00

Only paid members can make group's and I'm sure that will make a few people very happy.

That's not aimed at the website in anyway, just read it from some members themselves in the past that they wish for such a thing.

Edited by Lenswonder

Russ Freeman russ I think that's a great idea. members can have their own chat rooms so to speak, and invite whoever they like. nice!

parkway said

Russ Freeman russ I think that's a great idea. members can have their own chat rooms so to speak, and invite whoever they like. nice!

They can do that now 

ANDY00 well make a chat room for yourself then and then you can chat all day long :)

ANDY00 said

Russ Freeman said

ANDY00 , maybe I wasn't clear, as it seems that you think I have suggested closing ALL groups when I didn't say that.

I suggested closing the groups that seem to cause the most trouble, such as this group, and leaving the groups such as games, share a shoot, image critique, and member-created groups alone.

Surely, you would just create a new group called Andy's General Chat, and invite everyone you wanted to chat with to it? Which would hopefully result in more conversation not less.

As I said, Russ, it’s your sandbox. I’m really not sure how that would look or work, but you obviously know more about this stuff than I do—I just use the site; I didn’t design it.

And if I remember correctly, around 12 years ago, there were mass bannings at that time or thereabouts due to forums - sorry groups

Edited by ANDY00

Click the heading "groups", and from the grey cog, select "Create a whole new group".

If you want to join find a group, click the button "Find&Join". There are around 650 member-created groups. The oldest is 12+ years old.

Edited by Russ Freeman