The Art of Comunication and OPF

I was having a discussion with a friend earlier about the internet and posting on boards like OPF. We talked about how fun it is to meet people that you've met at the "water cooler". I know that the internet has totally changed the way we live and communicate. I met my husband of 11 years because of a bulletin board that no longer exists on the forerunner to the Internet.

Another topic of conversation in my world today was from my Travel Agent who emailed me about an upgrade on some future travel that I missed out on because I was emailed instead of being called by telephone. We chatted about the rules of conversation and communication on the boards - she has one that I was quite active on at one time and now rarely post there.

But what did come up was how boards - just like this - change and evolve. OPF has certainly evolved into more than just a place for the guys to chat about the size of their lenses. We've learned a lot by being here and it really is all of our responsibility to keep conversations going, responding to those who take time to post as well as to make others feel welcome here, and not letting threads go unanswered.

We're a community that thrives on active participation. We have a responsibility to acknowledge those who take time for us by responding to those who answer our questions. We have a responsibility to those who come to visit to go over to their threads and welcome them. Even if we don't have the technical knowledge to enter the conversation of a technical thread, do we have the repsonsibility to say "Wow - I looked and I liked it - thanks for the post" or "Nope - not my cup of tea - but - thanks for sharing".

So what are you going to do here at OPF to keep us on track, welcome others and stimulate the conversation?

Me? Um....um....um.....


Well, I have little to contribute but I gratefully acknowledge the time, expertise, and encouragement I've so generously received.

"a place for the guys to chat about the size of their lenses" LOL

I haven´t been very active the last couple of months (winter = not much photo and 10-12 hour workdays), but spring is coming soon, meaning less work and more photo, and more time for OPF.

I´m really gonna try and give c&c on photos, that has been my weakest point on OPF.

Thx for the kick in the proverbial ;-)

Thanks for all the comments. Your thoughts are helpful in reminding everyone that we all need each other to make the party work. This is a place for hanging out, having fun, learning, getting out of a bind, sharing insights and nurturing. Your question might be more important than you ever imagined. The depth of knowledge here is quire impressive.

We love to see high quality photographs or images that need help. Either way it stimulates an idea of what is thrilling in great work and perhaps how better to get there.

For sure we love our fancy cameras, but I could care less how you get light to write it's message. We love images from 19th century lenses, modern coated optics to a coke glass or anything in between. What matters is the mind behind the camera and what you want out of this.

We'd be most happy if people can get enough here to want to give back and assist everyone's progress.