Repetitive?

[MagicallyDelicious]

This forum?

Yes.

Its started to bore me when i keep reading the same questions over and over again! Im prob a culprit of posting a repeated thread once or twice in the past but as ive been a member here for a while now it seems the same questions are getting asked every single day!

I might book myself a holiday then when i come back there might be something new!! :)

Rant over.

Can you tell im in a bad mood! haha

[Wazza]

I'm sure Pekka could join each of the same "Help, Wedding in 2 days", or "Shall I upgrade to 400D from 350D??" - Then each post could be 10,000 pages long individually. :p

I go through phases at this place. I generally have most fun when I share some of my photos, and get a positive response. I know what it feels like, as like probably 99% of the people here, when someone doesn't reply, doesn't feel so nice.

Even the holiday part may not work. I took a holiday a year ago, and decided to spend 2 weeks away from internet/potn/life. Ended up finding internet cafes within a few days, as I was so bored with the other life out there :p

[MagicallyDelicious]

I'm sure Pekka could join each of the same "Help, Wedding in 2 days", or "Shall I upgrade to 400D from 350D??" - Then each post could be 10,000 pages long individually. :p

I go through phases at this place. I generally have most fun when I share some of my photos, and get a positive response. I know what it feels like, as like probably 99% of the people here, when someone doesn't reply, doesn't feel so nice.

Even the holiday part may not work. I took a holiday a year ago, and decided to spend 2 weeks away from internet/potn/life. Ended up finding internet cafes within a few days, as I was so bored with the other life out there :p

OMG they really could be that long!! I think ive seen 'help which macro lens?'
EVERY day this week! I just wanna see new things!

OMG i did the same while i was away in ireland! managed to stay away from the cafe's for a while but after a week i did go in one! Not good is it!

ive wasted my whole day on here n now im in a bad mood coz ive not actually achieved anything! usually i learn so much from these forums but maybe today im not being a sponge or ive not eaten enough chocolate yet!! haha!

[MagicallyDelicious]

I sound like a blonde bimbo

OMG OMG

i shall stop saying that now!

[MagicallyDelicious]

im not even blonde! hahah!

[Wazza]

I see you've updated your sig as well sometime today.

Wasted a whole day? Isn't it just past lunchtime? You have another 12 hours to go.
1:41am here.. :o

[MagicallyDelicious]

I see you've updated your sig as well sometime today.

Wasted a whole day? Isn't it just past lunchtime? You have another 12 hours to go.
1:41am here.. :o

I just centered it and made it smaller! Nothing major! wish i had some new lenses to add to it! haha!

its nearly 3pm. going to pick my son up in a minute then ill just potter about for a while then it will be bed time. no doubt i will end up on ere here again!

gosh you should get some sleep.!

[Wazza]

Had to get some prints ordered online for some customers, and also made time to make a couple of threads in Nature/Animals section. ;)

[MagicallyDelicious]

Had to get some prints ordered online for some customers, and also made time to make a couple of threads in Nature/Animals section. ;)

I just saw one!

OOO i need to start selling some photographs; i just give them away! lol

[Wazza]

Selling is always the way to go. Get your name out there, and keep a positive attitude. I've been a bit fortunate through things I've come across. I haven't promoted myself much, but becomes difficult when working a full time job on odd hours (12:30-9pm), and then running around with a girlfriend.

So really, always offer shots at a price.. Never let down an opportunity.

[CyberDyneSystems]

It was one of my constant agitants for the first 10,000 or so posts.. ;)

We tried FAQs, we tried Sticky threads, we have tried assembling all kinds of answers to repeat questions in all kinds of fun and interesting ways (like -=TOP Ten Polls=- ) etc.. we have a good search engine..

It all goes ignored by the desperate newb that feels that they are the first to ask "what lens?"

There's even a sticky at the top of the lens forum that says -READ THIS BEFORE ASKING "WHAT LENS?" !!-
No one does :)

Anyway.. if you can, learn to not let it bug you now, you'll be better off.. otherwise you may be letting it bug you for another 9,000 posts or so :) :lol:

[Jon, The Elder]

Human nature. People want to have things done for them rather than expend REAL effort to get their own answers. They would probably want you to reach through the screen to change the settings for them if they could.
Thats why I have so little patience with those kind of threads. I would otherwise give them a precise but terse comment like 'RTFM'.

Kinda like ignoring a mosquito bite.

[ron chappel]

There are reasons the same questions keep popping up (again and again and again and .......)

a) Most users simply don't want to search through several years worth of incredibly messy static info .Really ,this is one of thew most frustrating things possible.
b) Everyone prefers talking to someone 'live'. Computers are horribly impersonal things.Anything that add a human touch is an improvement

Personally i think chat forums are the worst place on earth to try to search for info ! Why anyone would volentarilly choose to search old ,very untidy conversations for tidbits of truth is beyond me.If i had my way all old meaningless threads or posts would be deleted.End of story:evil: :evil: :evil:

Posting your own 'live' question ,while still not perfect, at least improves the odds immensly -mostly because you can steer the conversation as it happens

In the end ,forums are not really the best place for learning.
I tend to think the ideal solution to be a combination of well written articles with the forum working alongside (with few if any old threads kept)

[Jon, The Elder]

Well said Ron.

[cfcRebel]

Human nature. People want to have things done for them rather than expend REAL effort to get their own answers. They would probably want you to reach through the screen to change the settings for them if they could.
Thats why I have so little patience with those kind of threads. I would otherwise give them a precise but terse comment like 'RTFM'.

Kinda like ignoring a mosquito bite.This actually applies to this very same thread :). OP can simply choose to read other interesting things and ignore the "What macro lens?" threads rather than hoping other users to not post topics that have been previously covered. ;)

I don't know. I was taught to change my point of view first rather than relying on others to change theirs.

[runninmann]

Of course, there is also the repetition within threads, as well. This often occurs on page 2 or 3 of a thread, long after the original question has been answered and the discussion has moved on to relevant issues, related to the original post, but beyond the basic answer. Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone posts the exact same answer that has been provided in reply #1. This has led me to wonder if all/most/many/ few posters read the entire thread before posting or only the original post (I think I know the answer:) ). Ummm, might make an interesting poll topic. Of course, it's probably already been done, but I'm too lazy to search.:lol:

[CyberDyneSystems]

This actually applies to this very same thread :).....


In more ways than one!

How many of these threads complaining about how repetitive threads are have we seen? :lol:

And how many times have I pointed out how many threads like this one there are ?? ??? :lol:

How many times has Ron made the rest of us whiners look like buttheads with his calm casual approach towards these things? ;)

[MagicallyDelicious]

hey i admitted to being a repitiver - if thats a word!

this thread has really made me chuckle n cheer me up for the day!

I love the 'what lens' quote! i dont know why it makes me chuckle! im simple i guess!

[RuggerJoe]

It's the same on every forum I've been on.

[MagicallyDelicious]

It's the same on every forum I've been on.


i know! i was in such a bad mood this morning and needed something different :0

hhee

[Mark_Cohran]

It's the same on every forum I've been on.

So true. It's the nature of the beast for the reasons that Ron elucidated earlier. I find it amusing, though, rather than frustrating. Still, you can still glean a few nuggets of knowledge here and there, especially when new problems crop up.

Mark

[gjl711]

Confession of a nOOb:
Looking over most of your post counts and doing some quick math, I can see that there is a wealth of experience in this thread. I believe Ron hit many things dead on, forums are poor places for accurate info, many users are lazy and don’t want to search, and computers are impersonal, but:

“Posting your own 'live' question ,while still not perfect, at least improves the odds immensly -mostly because you can steer the conversation as it happens”

And more importantly builds a sense of community. We all here share at least two things in common, we all love photography, and we all have Canon equipment. Given that we do not all have access to, nor time to join real user groups who might meet once weekly or monthly, we substitute the web. I believe many ask not so much because they want information, but want to become a member of this photog community.

Secondly, and my nOOb-ness is showing, it takes some time to learn the ropes. When I first discovered this forum, I was debugging a ERR99 problem. My Canon was new to me and was not behaving as I expected. I searched and filtering through those left me more confused than before so I posted my first post and asked the community at large for info. Many responses were benign, some helpful, and others asking me to read the manual. The interesting thing is that no one got it right. I finally experimented and answered my own question but I did gain information from the posts and I looked at the problem with a different perspective with each post. More importantly, I am still here and reading this forum daily why, because it’s fun and I enjoy the community and share thoughts and exchange ideas about photography and Canon equipment.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Lots of err99 threads.. do a search..

KIDDING! :lol:

[Wazza]

I've renamed mine to Error 99.5 (version 1.5)
After repetitive issues. :p

[Coco-Puffs]

im getting tired of noobs who cant use the "search" or google first too.

[Jon, The Elder]

Well...we could eliminate the whole problem by having a mandatory six week course prior to buying a DSLR and have a stringent exam showing knowledge of all aspects of Photography PRIOR to joining any forum.
License each camera and have a yearly proficiency exam.

[Wazza]

Yeah I flunked my exam several times, so decided to buy a fake certificate in photography competency on e-Bay

[Az2Africa]

Search ? You can search ? :) Maybe the stickies should use RED lettering to get attention. God knows I have ask questions without searching, but I'm special.;) At least we all feel our problems are unique. The great thing here is that everyone is helpful and PATIENT.

[Lightstream]

i know! i was in such a bad mood this morning and needed something different :0

hhee


If you can - travel! Even if it's nearby but somewhere new.

Bring the camera, you might find something nice to shoot.

[saravrose]

I think we should live and let live.. we know those threads, we see them we know what the question and answer is before we read the title.. and not everybody newbie to the site understands and or knows how to use the sticky's and search function.. but, I sure as heck did. Spent hours reading threads that were sometimes years old. I just answer the same old questions if I feel like it. Skip it when I don't and remind myself regularly that everybody has to start at the same place in photography and at POTN..

sari

[ron chappel]

Hmmm
I find it mildly amusing that some are complimenting me on my 'calm casual approch'. And i though i WAS whineing ,lol


That's two compliments in one day.Something's wrong! :D:D:D

[Claire]

I don't mind similar threads unless you have the exact same question on the same page!

Oh, and when I got here I had NO clue there was a search feature. Heck it took me months to find out. It's not very obvious layoutwise in my opinion.

Stickies? Who reads 'em?? :p
I've read a few, but not many. The 'Talk About Photography" forum has so many I totally ignore them. Too many for me to bother with them.

[MagicallyDelicious]

If you can - travel! Even if it's nearby but somewhere new.

Bring the camera, you might find something nice to shoot.

such a good idea. i went to the beach today! and now im inspired! :)

[Lightstream]

such a good idea. i went to the beach today! and now im inspired! :)

Cool :) Photography's not like other jobs in which you can just keep plowing on even though you're not feeling creative that day.. glad you found your inspiration again!

[TheSteveMadden]

Maybe we could have a mandatory checkbox on new threads where the poster HAS to acknowledge (or lie about it) that they have searched for the answer before posting. :)

This could only apply to Equipment Talk forums...

[MagicallyDelicious]

Cool :) Photography's not like other jobs in which you can just keep plowing on even though you're not feeling creative that day.. glad you found your inspiration again!


oh god me too. I went to college last night developed a film n then printed up 3 photo's from it and found my love of film again! :)