BANNED!! from DPReview.com forums!
photo credit: Daquella manera
Hmmm….not sure what’s going on here.
Went to log on to www.dpreview.com forums area just now and got a response saying I’d been banned. I try and log on a couple of times a week and as those of you who read this blog who also post there know - I rarely post outside the ProTalk forum, where I try to give positive and constructive advice on the business aspects of photography.
In fact, all my posts have been removed - so thats about a year and a half’s worth of good solid advice gone into the ether. I certainly never called anyone out and most of the time I tried to help the fledgling pro who needed advice on licensing etc.
In fact, that’s exactly why this site got set up. I posted the same advice so many times on that forum (and others) that I thought it needed to be somewhere people could use as a reference point. Somewhere it could be found or bookmarked given there’s no “stickies” over on DP Review.
So why did I get banned?
I didn’t even know I was ’till I tried to log in. Nobody had emailed me a reason. Nothing received at all.
I’ve emailed them to ask why. However I’m not expecting any more than a stock response. I expect I’ve fallen foul of one of the rules. The one about promoting a “commercial” website (I had this site’s URL in my signature). I did wonder about this but thought that anyone thinking I was posting there to sell advice to people either hadn’t looked very closely at this site, or didn’t understand how Adsense revenue works.
Let’s take a look at that.
I set this site up in August 2007. I’d had the domain since 06 but only got going in 07. My aim was to try and lay down advice that it took me ages to learn, to help people avoid common pitfalls, and to comment on the ever changing photography industry.
Some facts:
But more importantly.
I don’t do camera reviews. I’m not in direct competition with DP Review because its unmoderated forums without FAQ or sticky-posts are hardly a good reference point for info on the business side. Which is why this site is here. They have no “business forum”.
And if anyone was in any doubt, this site is definitely not here to make me money. That’s laughable. The small change I get from ad-clicks doesn’t even pay the hosting bill each month!
So there we are. This banning was not, I’m sure, malicious. I simply broke a forum rule in their eyes.
I can’t now give advice on DPReview - not as PP anyway. Perhaps they’ve blocked my IP in which case I’m a bit knackered. Several hundred threads I participated in with good advice will now read rather disjointed. I apologise for that.
If any of my readers (there’s at least 5 of you and my mum OK!) would care to mention this so the ProTalk forum knows I have not intentionally abandoned them then please be my guest.
I’m reminded of the way that the old (as was) RG forums went once a few Pro’s had been asked to leave. All the real working Pro’s packed up and left. The forum never recovered. The ProTalk forum is always on the edge of losing its purpose as it is - if us true professionals are removed for purely wanting to help others and fill a gap in their provision then so be it. Their choice.
Sorry.
PP
UPDATE 8th May:
Thanks to Caliber for posting this thread over on DPReview:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1014&message=27843534
I suspect like Richard points out that it was the hyperlink answer to the “licensing” question that irked somebody somewhere. On many of my posts I sat and typed a load of words basically replicating what I have here and often added a link to the post here that answers or informed some answers to the poster’s particular question. I expect I’d done a few posts that day and felt that particular question could be answered by a link to the posts on licensing types.
Easy mistake.
Like I say above, this is not a commercial site, my ramblings are free based on my experience in this industry and will continue to be so.
Cheers all for your support.
PP
What was your name under which you used to post on dpreview forums? I always recognized you by your website at the bottom of your post.
A note for support and sympathy.
Best regards,
I can see your posts. You may have been unblocked.
Welcome to the club, I got banned a while back for asking for help on a nude shoot, no image, just a question on placing lighting. But it happened that people did not like my question, and a religious debate happened, which I did not take part in. Turns out since I started the post I got banned. (along with the two others who were bickering to each other). Go figure. (to make a short long story short, I created a new email on my server and reregistered under a new name). And yes the forums are dumbing down alot. Don’t know how many more “is my lens sharp” comments can I take.
Thanks for the support everyone!
Caliber, I posted there as “ProPhotographer” and signed posts like I do on the blog as “PP”.
DPReview, I still can’t log in (I’ve just tried) still says i’m banned. BTW, the email I was given when I tried to log-in ‘abuse@dpreview.com’ has not replied to my nicely worded message asking why? Still no communication from them.
J.F, perhaps we should start a club… ;) :)
Regards all
PP
I think that you should start your own forum up. I’m sure it’ll take off pretty quickly. Try phpBB.
Absolutely disgraceful that you have been banned. One of the only other people I know who gave solid, impartial advice, and refused to get drawn into heated debates.
How stupid of dpreview - sorry, amazon - to remove exactly the sort of poster that makes the site worthwhile.
I’m now thinking about whether I should do any more posting on dpreview. I will still read, when it suits me, and it may be of benefit, but why would I continue to help.
Oh well, just think of the extra time you’ll have to do other things :-)
Jon
Thanks again for the nice words everyone (including those posting on the DPR thread too!)
I’m not bitter about this. It’s just a shame I can’t reply to any posts for help.
But I am still able to read there of course so I will be picking up any queries and trying to answer them here. The search facility here is very good and I also try to categorise everything too.
I have a long list of stuff I want to post about; I’m in busy season now commercially so I’ll try and get another post up in the next few days (quite probably Part 5 of assignment pricing which will deal with re-use or extra usage).
Got some good tips on Alamy CTR and keywording coming too so stay tuned!
PP
In lieu of this incident, I will remove them from my bookmarks permanently. I hate behaviour like this from reputed websites. You have my full support.
bye bye dpreview.
Hey PP,
I got banned yesterday as well. Their loss! Must have been something I said… or a few things! :-)
Jon
Sorry to hear that Jon,
Perhaps we need a range of t-shirts….. sort of:
“I used to post on DP Review to help people out and all I got was this lousy ban”.. :)
PP
Bizarrely, a few days later I got back on again. Now I know that this was around the time that they were shifting their server, etc, but that’s a long time.
I’m still taking the line that I browse and not post too much!
Best
J
Definitely the best policy Jon :) !!
PP