Notice Some big changes coming to TP

Marcel

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Marcel
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When we started TP back in 2005 or so, we were just a few mates who had met on other forums.
As time went on, we grew and grew. We outgrew our hosting at every step, ending on a dedicated server and even having to keep upgrading that.
We also introduced advertising to pay for it, and a Limited Company to manage it, but stayed in our own full time jobs.
As the years have gone by and many members have come and gone, social media gave the forums a bit of a battering.

Software changes, visual upgrades, new fancy stuff and our very own app and we're still here though!
Loyal members through and through (y)

Brian and Matt stood down a couple of years ago, leaving me as sole director of Slack Media.

When we started, I was a house husband who could give a lot of my time to the forums.
Sadly that's no longer the case. I just cannot give the time, energy and enthusiasm required to oversee the forums any more.
The moderators have all done an absolutely brilliant job in moderating the forum but it's not fair to expect them to continue to do this while I can't manage anywhere near the level of enthusiasm and time they put in to the forums. Words can't express how grateful I am for their help over the years. Without the mods there would be no forum.

Add in my own mental health issues that have never gone away means I've had some hard thinking to do, and have made the difficult decision to step away from Talk Photography.

What does this mean for the forum?
Well. I have a timeline in mind with certain actions I don't need to bore you all with, but the key details are :

Immediately : The TP app will be withdrawn from the App Store(s) this week, and will cease to function by 30/04.
Immediately : No new advertising requests, current advertisers may continue.
Immediately : Remove Facebook / Social Media Integration with the forums
By 30/04 : Old content will be deleted. (The criteria is yet unknown, but it will be the really old and useless stuff filling up the forums)
By 30/04 : Old member records to be deleted. (Again, unsure on exact criteria)
By 30/04 : All remaining members to be contacted via email and informed of what's going to happen.


The longer term timeline will depend on a discussion I'm having with the moderation team in private. Then, one of two things will happen :

First Option
The forums will be handed over to the new owner.

If this is successful, the forums will certainly be going back to its roots as a hobbyist community, as we used to be. I will stay as just a member, or mod/admin with a purely informal technical advisory role.


Second Option
I announce that the discussions fell short and I will set a close date for the forums

The forums will close and all data deleted.
Please note I will give at least 3 months notice for this option.

If you have any queries please add them in here, and I'll answer as best I can. Common questions will get added to this post as an edit.
If you are worried about your personal data, I can assure you it is safe and will not be sold. This has been my underwritten promise since day one.

As a further note, I will make a proper post at a later date but I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every single member, past and present, of Talk Photography. Banned or not.
You are what has made this community what it is. You are the heart of Talk Photography.
You have all shown TP some absolutely fantastic support over the years, and even myself personally.
I have made loads of friends on here and experienced many, many happy memories. The love, support, and encouragement you all showed me during my personal '365' all those years ago was overwhelming and I'll never forget it.
I'd best stop now or I'm gonna cry!!



**UPDATE**

I'd like to announce that discussions have been successful and TP will be continuing as is, with someone new at the helm.
More details soon, but I want to reassure you all that TP is not going anywhere and will stay as it is...infact you might not even notice the switch :p

 
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Thanks you Marcel and all the mod/admin team for you're efforts, I have really enjoyed my time on this forum and hope a positive result can be obtained for the future.
 
Thanks for all that you have done Marcel, and thanks to all the mods as well. I just hope that the forum continues in some form.
 
All I can say is thankyou for providing this platform. I don't do twitter or facebook and I have some virtual friends here who have helped my photography enormously. Wouldn't have happened without TP.

The mod team has always been tough and fair here which is what I think has made it a success (and 16 years as an online community has to be hailed as a success surely!). Would be very sad to see it go, but I can't imagine the amount of work required to keep the forums in the professional state they've been kept in. Having run online communities before, I appreciate how much work it takes. 3 years burned me out!

o7
 
Seems like a smart game plan. Amazing that you've kept it alive this long. Just the fact that you've sent 53,610 messages (as of this minute) is very impressive.
-BD
 
I've been here for 11 years, right from the start of my photography journey and the forums have played a massive part in my development as a photographer. I really hope that someone can find the time and resources to keep the forums alive.

A massive thank you has to go to yourself and the mods team for the efforts to keep this place ticking over perfectly. I'll be sad to see it go.
 
Firstly, thanks, to you and the team. (y) I wish you well in your new adventures.

Secondly, I really hope the forums continue. It's one of the first places I look up in the mornings, I will miss it. My photography has come along too and the forums and the helpers here have contributed to that.

I've made some good friends as well, some personally and 1 or 2 will be besties for life, that's priceless and thanks again to this place.

Dale.
 
Seems like a smart game plan. Amazing that you've kept it alive this long. Just the fact that you've sent 53,610 messages (as of this minute) is very impressive.
-BD (Headshots NYC)
I think you will find that Marcel has been around the clock a few times :)
 
I'm glad you have reached the right decision to look after yourself.

Wishing you good luck and thank you for everything you have done for us all on TP.
 
You forgot a bit.......

Immediately : The TP app will be withdrawn from the App Store(s) this week, and will cease to function by 30/04.
Immediately : No new advertising requests, current advertisers may continue.
Immediately : Remove Facebook / Social Media Integration with the forums
Immediately : Close hot topics
Immediately : No more political or religious discussions.
 
Hope you all find an agreement. If not I'm sure there are others who would be interested in keeping the forum going. It's one that really needs to continue. Too many good people here to close it. On a personal note, a huge thanks to all who've made it what it is. I spend many an enjoyable hour here and some of my friends outside of this forum were met on it.
 
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Well I’ve certainly enjoyed my time on here and I’m grateful for all the team’s efforts.
Hopefully the forum can continue in a similar form.
 
And yes of course if there is any help we could offer do let us know.... I'd love to keep this forum going.
 
Cheers for the years! I hope someone can take it on, but I can imagine that it'll be a huge responsibility - Best of luck to you Sir
 
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It would be such a shame it's been such a great help in many ways learning as we go and it would be dearly missed thanks for everything marcel and take care
 
Firstly, a great big thankyou to Marcel, the mods and all the members I've interacted with over the years. I've been a member since the start of my own photography journey and I've found TP an invaluable resource from the start, really helping my development from complete novice to knowing my way around my kit pretty well and in terms of critique, my personal development as a photographer and picking the brains of much more knowledgeable members when getting into different areas of photography. The wealth of knowledge here is incredible. I couldn't find anything like it elsewhere when I started out and doubt I could now.

I work in IT, so have some appreciation of the amount of work that must be involved in keeping the cogs of a site like this turning - it's no mean feat! However, if this is taking its toll then your own personal health and wellbeing has to come first.

Here's hoping that you can come to an agreement to keep the site up and running
 
Like others have already said thank you for all of your effort keeping the forum running for so long. I can’t imagine how much work goes into running a forum of this size.

I’ve only been a member for 9 years but the forum has helped me so much over that time. It will be a shame to see it come to an end so fingers crossed you can find someone to carry it on, but it won’t be the same without you. Whilst social media may have added some competition I still feel there is a place for forums. I’m not a big fan of social media groups, you just don’t get the same feel as forums.

Good luck with the future and make sure you do whatever is important for you.
 
Thanks for your efforts over the years.

As someone who's tied to the house a lot I'll miss this place if it goes.

Best wishes for you and the team no matter what.
 
Just to echo what others have said, many thanks for all you have done for this community and if there is anything at all that I can do then please let me know. It must be one of the best run and best supported forums on the web today and it would be such a shame if it did not continue.
 
:wideyed::sorry:
 
Hi, I hope, TP will continue (somehow). This is the best forum I ever participated in ! Friendliness, enthusiasm and fun!

Thank you all !!!
 
Happy to stick a hand in my pocket as well if there's a method to donate to help keep things paid for.
Amen to all the above, if money talks then I would be happy to pay a sub to have TP continue.
Marcel always said from the the outset, the forum would be free for all.
But if the forum passes to new owners, who knows what the future holds, in that respect??

Immediately : The TP app will be withdrawn from the App Store(s) this week, and will cease to function by 30/04.
Immediately : No new advertising requests, current advertisers may continue.
Immediately : Remove Facebook / Social Media Integration with the forums
Immediately : Close hot topics
Immediately : No more political or religious discussions.
The top 3 are a given, the last two is in the hands of any new owners.
 
Thank you for keeping the forum going for so long. I spend a lot of my time on the forum and have learnt a lot over the years from all the help members. I hope it all works out and the forum remains open.

Thank you again to all that have kept the forum going for so long.
 
First things first - your health and your own wellbeing should be put above anything else without exception.

Over the years this has been a great forum - and so much better than facebook groups or anything else similar out there. There's a lot of knowledge here - both in what's been posted - and the people that participate. Granted the average age of members is likely to be about 102 - but that doesn't stop them posting.

Option 1 sounds good.

Option 2 wouldn't be welcome.

If Option 1 doesn't work out - could there be an option 1b? To find out if anyone within the community has the skills needed to keep it going? There may be people with the right knowledge and contacts to keep it going if your chosen option doesn't work out? It would be more than a shame to lose such a good resource - and to make so many OAP's homeless!
 
Marcel always said from the the outset, the forum would be free for all.
But if the forum passes to new owners, who knows what the future holds, in that respect??


The top 3 are a given, the last two is in the hands of any new owners.
That begs the question who are the prospective new owners? Can anyone put their hand up to be the new owner?
 
What everyone else has said.

I find the thieving of user interaction from forums such as this by entities like F***B*** to be very sad. It's not good for the internet, it is good for the shareholders of F***B***.

However this forum is lively and a great resource. Would be a huge loss.

Is the issue Hot Topics, tech, lack of mod volunteers, the work the 'owner' has, or whatever? I'm sure that there is enough resource in the members of the forum to resolve.
 
Thanks for all your effort, greatly appreciated by all I'm sure.

Take care there :)
 
Bugger. I doubt whether I'd have made the step into the world of professional photography if it hadn't been for this place.

Having said that your (@Marcel's) mental health should come way before any inane witterings that most of us make on here.
 
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