POTN - Behind the scene

[sblais]

Hi,

I've been jumping here and there on this forum for several months now and I certainly enjoy it! To be honest, I've looked at other (free) forums - not that there is anything wrong with this one - to see what was available. So I did some forum "shopping" and couldn't quite get myself to browse other forums very often. One loads way too slow (I have to wait almost 20-30 seconds everytime I click on a link or refresh), others are just empty of active members (other than the moderators), etc. This one seems to have it all!

A few questions that I found were left unanswered are the following:
- What exactly is POTN and how did it start (a little bit of history)?
- It's a Canon digital photography forum. What is the relationship between Canon and this forum?
- What kind of server is behind such a forum? What is involved in terms of hardware, software, etc? (I can understand if this question remains unanswered if there are issues about security, competition, etc).

While browsing, I found partial answers to some of these questions. I was wondering if it would be possible to put together something to show the "behind the scene" of POTN?

[Ronald S. Jr.]

POTN stands for Photography on the Net (www.photography-on-the.net)

Canon does not endorse or fund this forum. It's privately run by a single person, Pekka Saarinen of Finland. He has a host of moderators to help him, though.

Not sure about hardware for the server, but vbulletin software is used.



Just some quick and gritty answers to your questions.

[Belmondo]

- What exactly is POTN and how did it start (a little bit of history)?The only person really authorized to give a conprehensive history of POTN would be Pekka Saarinen, its founder, owner, and administrator. It would appear he got together with a couple of his friends back in March, 2001, and went online then. He was shooting a G1 in those days, and prosumer/consumer DSLRs were just beginning to appear. The D30 had been introduced at the end of 2000, and was just starting to show up in the hands of users. It was followed by the D60 in 2002, and the 10D in 2003. That's when things really started to get active here. The growth in membership has risen sharply in the last couple years since DSLRs reached a price point under $1,000US. In 2001, digital photograpers were largely serious hobbyists and professionals. That has changed dramatically in the last couple years as reflected by the increase in membership.
- It's a Canon digital photography forum. What is the relationship between Canon and this forum?None. I'm sure Canon monitors the forum, but nobody 'official' really participates on a regular basis.
- What kind of server is behind such a forum? What is involved in terms of hardware, software, etc? (I can understand if this question remains unanswered if there are issues about security, competition, etc).Questions for Pekka. I don't know enough about it to even attempt an answer.

While browsing, I found partial answers to some of these questions. I was wondering if it would be possible to put together something to show the "behind the scene" of POTN?That might be a fun thing to do someday. It would be particularly interesting to hear the comments of those who were here very early on. They've seen a lot of changes in digital photography in general, and the forum in particular.

[sblais]

Thanks Ronald :) Those are the answers that I was able to find here and there... :) I was wondering if it was possible to get a bit more details on them... Why Mr. Saarinen started the forum (I guess only him can answer that ;)) - because I'm sure it must be quite an investment to start and mostly to maintain such a forum! Why did he decide to make this a Canon-based forum (vs a general photography forum)? Any other details he/or anyone else would like to share?

[sblais]

Thanks for the extra info Tom! That's more what I'm looking for :)

Sorry Ronald if this wasn't quite clear in my original post :oops:

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Thanks Ronald :) Those are the answers that I was able to find here and there... :) I was wondering if it was possible to get a bit more details on them... Why Mr. Saarinen started the forum (I guess only him can answer that ;)) - because I'm sure it must be quite an investment to start and mostly to maintain such a forum! Why did he decide to make this a Canon-based forum (vs a general photography forum)? Any other details he/or anyone else would like to share?

Don't really know how much the server system costs, but it averages between $3-4k a year to keep this forum up and running. That's why donations are so important!

[Pekka]

Basically, I created the forum so that digital camera hobbyists and pros could form a community dedicated to Canon brand, and where discussions were about actual photography (using the gear and getting most of it) more than gear worship. I was also very annoyed about lack of civil talk in dpreview, in a way you can thank dpreview for giving an inspiration to creating this forum :)

I have talked with Canon about this forum and they like it and many Canon employees visit it regularly, but there is no "relationship" between the two.

I'm not going to details how the server system is currently set up. I have become more and more careful about that kind of info because we are targeted 24/7 by hackers, the less they know the better. But I can say this: what a responsive site does need is deep knowhow how to set it up, maintain it, secure it, monitor it and adjust it. It is a constant learning process for me and I think of ways to improve it all the time.

[sblais]

Why thank you for the info Mr. Saarinen :) and most of all, thank you for the forum!

[Double Negative]

Pekka, if it's anything to do with Unix feel free to contact me any time for help.

[Chris]

Thanks Pekka for addressing the need for civility on a forum. I really enjoy this friendly environment where people can share and meet and buy and sell and generally just have a great time with this wonderful hobby. I think I'll go make a donation now

[EOSAddict]

Pekka,

Sounds like you've half written the itnro for the Book :)