Yv
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To all the birding community on TP from the Admin and Staff.
We have noticed lately an increased level of bickering, digging and general unpleasantness in this section of the forum. This is a huge shame, as there are many incredibly skilled and talented photographers in this section and behaviour that wouldn't be out of place in a school playground is not only detrimental to the forum, but it makes you ALL look bad too, regardless of which side of the fence your hide is positioned.
So, with that in mind we are taking the unusual step of issuing some 'guidelines' [for want of a better word]
1 - You all have your favoured ways of photographing birds, both wild and captive varieties and different aims to that photography. When posting pictures, a detailed explanation of what you did, why and the outcome you wanted will not only help stop the arguments over the 'whys and where fors' that we are currently seeing too regularly, but will also help people offer more specific critique. This explanation can include the type of location, some specifics about the bird [captive, fed, wild but used to humans, absolutely wild, etc], the habitat, was it a 'planned' shoot, or one of those 'right time right place' moments, or even part of a an 'experience' day, and so on.
2 - If you are doing something that could realistically be considered an ongoing project [for example, the same bird(S), or specific and similar birds, a specific hide location, etc] where you know it is going to result in lots of threads, then think about having a single project thread with ongoing updates, both images and written information about the projects progression. This saves flooding the section with daily new threads which in turn push others down [and off the radar], provide valuable information for those learning about bird photography and may even act as a beneficial 'diary' for yourself too. It will also mean you don't have to keep retyping the information as per the first guideline.
3 - Birds is birds - the birding community wanted a separate section for our feathered friends, so ALL bird photos may be posted here, wild or captive. If you follow point number 1, it should be clear from the outset what that birds 'life' status is. If it is a captive bird and you would prefer to post in the general 'Zoo' section, you are welcome to do so, but there is no obligation.
4 - This applies across the forum, but seems to have been forgotten a little here in birds, so is really a reminder. If you don't like a post, use the RTM button, if the staff don't like it, it will be dealt with. If nothing seems to have been done, you can safely assume that we thought it acceptable and move on. It may well be that we actually did something behind the scenes, but one way or the other, there is no need for you to worry about it any further, relax on it and carry on as if it hadn't happened. Do not start an argument or make posts that are some kind of 'in' joke between yourselves, whilst it might be perfectly innocent banter, consider how it looks to those that aren't in on it. If there are people with whom you totally disagree and cannot get on with, fine, that's life, but instead of constantly being in a state of disagreement with them either use the ignore function, or simply don't read their posts. It really is that simple.
We have noticed lately an increased level of bickering, digging and general unpleasantness in this section of the forum. This is a huge shame, as there are many incredibly skilled and talented photographers in this section and behaviour that wouldn't be out of place in a school playground is not only detrimental to the forum, but it makes you ALL look bad too, regardless of which side of the fence your hide is positioned.
So, with that in mind we are taking the unusual step of issuing some 'guidelines' [for want of a better word]
1 - You all have your favoured ways of photographing birds, both wild and captive varieties and different aims to that photography. When posting pictures, a detailed explanation of what you did, why and the outcome you wanted will not only help stop the arguments over the 'whys and where fors' that we are currently seeing too regularly, but will also help people offer more specific critique. This explanation can include the type of location, some specifics about the bird [captive, fed, wild but used to humans, absolutely wild, etc], the habitat, was it a 'planned' shoot, or one of those 'right time right place' moments, or even part of a an 'experience' day, and so on.
2 - If you are doing something that could realistically be considered an ongoing project [for example, the same bird(S), or specific and similar birds, a specific hide location, etc] where you know it is going to result in lots of threads, then think about having a single project thread with ongoing updates, both images and written information about the projects progression. This saves flooding the section with daily new threads which in turn push others down [and off the radar], provide valuable information for those learning about bird photography and may even act as a beneficial 'diary' for yourself too. It will also mean you don't have to keep retyping the information as per the first guideline.
3 - Birds is birds - the birding community wanted a separate section for our feathered friends, so ALL bird photos may be posted here, wild or captive. If you follow point number 1, it should be clear from the outset what that birds 'life' status is. If it is a captive bird and you would prefer to post in the general 'Zoo' section, you are welcome to do so, but there is no obligation.
4 - This applies across the forum, but seems to have been forgotten a little here in birds, so is really a reminder. If you don't like a post, use the RTM button, if the staff don't like it, it will be dealt with. If nothing seems to have been done, you can safely assume that we thought it acceptable and move on. It may well be that we actually did something behind the scenes, but one way or the other, there is no need for you to worry about it any further, relax on it and carry on as if it hadn't happened. Do not start an argument or make posts that are some kind of 'in' joke between yourselves, whilst it might be perfectly innocent banter, consider how it looks to those that aren't in on it. If there are people with whom you totally disagree and cannot get on with, fine, that's life, but instead of constantly being in a state of disagreement with them either use the ignore function, or simply don't read their posts. It really is that simple.
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