A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

A plea to use this sub forum properly. Common guys, I don’t believe tagging every post with SPC was the intent of qualifying any and every post to be in this sub forum. But that is what is already taking place:

I have a lighting question, but I am a SPC
I have an audio question, but I am a SPC
I have a camera question, but I am a SPC
I have a media question, but I am a SPC

Instead of asking a question and then qualifying it with SPC could you please ask yourself if SPC is relative to the thread?

Why do I bother to bring it up? Because I love this forum. I am also busy. This forum is now over 30,000 strong. The more members the better the knowledge base. It also means more posts and more difficulty in navigating and sorting through what is pertinent to each one of us. At least for me, I don’t have time to read every new post that is made here. I am a member and a working pro, food and shelter come first.
I know “hanging out” in a particular section becomes comfortable and easy. You kind of get to know the guys and learn who has the most valuable input. I am guilty too. But this section has the potential (happening already) to become a bucket for everything.

I am not complaining about what you’re doing, I am commenting on how you’re doing it. I want to read your posts but I don’t want to have to check a mini version of DVINFO to do it.

I believe you’re missing out on knowledgeable answers by sticking to the guys that are the most active here. The audio section is a great example. There are guys hanging out in the audio section that are incredibly knowledgeable about that complex topic. They will bend over backwards to help you. All you have to do is post a question in the AUDIO section. They are there and ready to share their knowledge.

Please help members navigate DVINFO buy filtering your posts into the appropriate forum.

Steve

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Steven,
I agree. Regardless of whether one is an SPC or a crew of 10 certain questions need to be re-directed to the proper spot of DVi. I've watched this forum grow from a few specifics to what it is today and all someone needs to do is place the question in the correct area and the answer(s) are there in no time.
Just because I'm a single person crew doesn't meant that every question I ask needs to be in that sub-forum,
the other thing that can slow down answers and get very confusing is placing a question in 2 or more sub-forums. If it's an audio question then it should go there regardless of the type of camera one is using and needing to hook up to. (just an example).
I'm with Steven, the bigger DVi get the better it is. More talent, more knowledge faster answers but it only works if the questions asked are asked in the correct place.
Just my $.04 worth (adjusted for economy)

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Don,

Well, let's say if you have a question about audio on a specific camera, (like I did with a Nikon D800), so which forum would you recommend that that question go to? The audio forum, or the Nikon video forum.

In the audio forum, there may not be as many folks using the D800 who would be able to answer camera specific question, then say someone who has experience with the D800 in the Nikon video forums.

Sometimes I feel that certain posts should be able to be added to two or more forums because of this gray area, and a better chance of getting a reasonable answer.

Jonathan

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Reading. Thinking. Watching. Learning...

more to follow,

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Hey Jonathan,
I guess I gotta go with Chris (thinking, watching learning) on that question. I guess the DSLRs call for something a bit different since it's so different than any other camera.
The only reason I mentioned what I did was because over the years I've seen people post the same quetion in 2 or even 3 different spots and frankly after you've responded to the question in 1 sub-forum, it gets a bit old repeating the same answer even using cut and paste. Also then you've got answers coming at you from 2 or more places when the question is the same no matter where it's placed. Plus in most cases cameras don't care what wireless system you use (just as an example) UNLESS it's a specific question like, "I'm using the Panasony XF2209Z camera and am confused as to what I should be setting the audio menu to for a Sennheiser G55 receiver." Get what I mean? Now having said that, Yep, the DSLRs are different and might call for a different approach but I think what I would do is post in the audio section and make sure that the thread title reads something like "need help with audio settings on Nikon D800".
Maybe I'm wrong. :-0

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Thanks Don. Stay dry and warm today. A year ago it was 80 in our fine city!

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Don has good input as usual....

Johnathan,
We all struggle with the gray areas. And I am far from a rule book thumper, in fact I generally hate rule books. This forum also has a lot of unwritten rules people learn from experience. One of those is posting the same question in two or more places will end up getting you ignored by the veterans. Everyone is not as nice as Don and it makes people understandably mad when someone is fishing for answers all over the place.

My own experience has also taught me that many guys with in depth knowledge of a particular area tend to monitor those sections on a regular basis. Ever ready to help out, they may not find you in another sub group or even care to help if your in the wrong place.

I don't even know if this is acceptable but a couple of times when I found current threads running on the same topic in two places I did not repeat my post. I posted a link to the other thread and said "you can also find info on this here".

And some threads take on a life of there own and go all over the place, that's OK with me, but that is me. My opinion is more about where the first post begins. So we can all find what we are looking for. This forum is so big now without basic organization it would be like walking into a library without a dewy decimal system! Opps, I did it again, I referenced something before the digital age. At least I'm sure Don will know what that is. Put it this way. Believe it or not some of us could find information before the word analog was known to anyone but engineers.

Thank God for DV info and it's 30,000 data sources!

Steve

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Hey Guys & Chris Hurd,

Please take my post lightly and with a grain of salt. I would re-word it if I could. Yes there is some truth to it but it is not my place to rain on anyone’s parade. As I said I am not a rule book guy. So don’t consider it a complaint that requires change. Consider it food for thought. My point is still the same. I believe you, and others will not receive the full benefit of this forum by labeling everything SPC. But each to their own.

I enjoy the “community” here as much as the educational benefit. The community part is often the comments that are off the grid and fun. I have been bantering with Don Bloom in a hundred posts. I wish I had his talent for always providing worthwhile input and making me laugh at the same time!

Peace,

Steve

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

One thing I like about this sub-forum is that it provides context for the questions asked. I can't count how many times somebody has asked for information on the "best camera" or "best mic" and I've responded with a question about the application. Over here, we know that the solution should be small, light, economical, and simple enough for one person to operate. We're more likely to be talking about an interview than a feature film production.

When somebody asks about a mic here, I'm more likely to recommend a lav and/or on-camera mic. In the main audio forum, audio purists hate on-camera mics (for very good reasons), but in the context of an SPC, on-camera might very well be the best solution. I can recommend the VideoMic Pro without somebody saying that a Schoeps is way better - which it is, on paper or with a budget and crew.

But if one wanted to dig into the detailed specs and test results for the VMP or to ask about similar competitive products, then the audio forum would be the place to ask.

So maybe that's how this should work. People ask "how?" and "what?" for SPC here. Once answered, if they want more detailed information or "which?", the equipment-based sub-forums are the place to go.

A two-dimensional forum would be really cool. Group by equipment or by application or by both. That way, such an on-camera mic thread would be visible in both the SPC and audio areas and the visitor could filter as needed. (As the gears in Chris' head turn...) :)

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Please also consider that some people (me) are new to the forums and are not 100% certain of the best place to post a question. So these people (me) look through the list and try to make our best guess as to where to post. Thankfully, people usually answer, or link us to a previous post that answers our question.

A good example was my recent post about opinions regarding a potential upcoming camcorder purchase. I am considering several brands so I can't post in the brand forums. So after further reading I chose the SPC forum because it does tell the readers a little about my situation and maybe even my budget.

I must admit I have been in other forums where the first response to a post was someone telling me I should have posted it somewhere else. It does not make one feel very welcome. And I don't mean to insinuate that this is the case here.

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Hi Paul

Don't let it bug you too much ... As you most probably have already read I recognised that you were a solo shooter but a word to the wise would be ..spell it out to "qualify" yourself in a particular forum ... Instead of saying "I don't know which new camera to buy" rather just say " I'm a solo shooter and need some help deciding what camera to get etc etc" That way your post stays in the SPC forum as it is meant to... you obviously wanted something (like I need cos I'm a solo shooter) that can look after itself so posting in a brand forum might mean people will say "get this camera and shoot in full manual" and you know us solo guys can't run multiple cameras all in manual.

I've had posts moved from the wedding forum to lighting simply cos my question was about lighting and I simply forgot to start with "At wedding speeches ......." I did want reponses from wedding guys not general lighting guys so I really did need in in the wedding forum.

To make your life a lot easier you often need to tell members why you have posted in the SPC forum instead of say, the Canon forum.

Chris

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

That's my fault. The idea behind it is to encourage our wedding & event shooters to use the entire forum, not just the one W/EV board. In other words, it shouldn't matter who you are or what you do -- all of DVi is open to everybody. I'd like to see the wedding & event folks posting everywhere, not just in the one forum.

Re: A plea to use this sub forum properly.
 

Thanks Chris

I actually post and read everywhere ..I was purely making a point that when posting you need to justify the reason you have posted in a speciality forum ... If you say "I am looking for a new camera" then yes, that shouldn't be in SPC but in maybe open DV ... if there is a special reason to post in SPC like "I need a camera that I can use solo" then it's probably justified there.

Then again we don't complain if you move topics to a more appropriate forum either...the more feedback one gets the better!!

Chris