Popular Post Betty LaRue Posted March 20 Popular Post Share Posted March 20 (edited) With Alamy’s closure today of the “good thing” “bad thing” threads, (which I’m fine with) I wanted to offer a few of my thoughts. I started my thread soon after Covid got a grip on the world. It was a dark & frightening time, when we were in isolation. My thread was a way for us to connect, and connect, we did. We shared small positive things, and large ones. Through these connections I learned many of your personalities, not just a name. For instance, I know Bryan is an avid gardener, I believe a vegan. He’s handy and attacks fixing whatever goes upside down in his life with gusto. If he fails, he's not a quitter, but attacks it again. He values saving money and saving the environment. I would value him as a neighbor. This is just an example, I’ve learned so much about so many. Who leads a more exciting life than Gen? 😁 Who leads a duller life than me? 😢 Edo’s thread offered people a place to vent, & perhaps an opportunity for helpful suggestions. Reading about the bad things gave us an opportunity to realize that maybe we weren’t as bad off as we thought, similar to the man who had no shoes meeting the man who had no feet. It was a place to get a bit of sympathy, which most humans need when down. So thanks to you all, you’ve made my dull life much richer. And the threads served their purpose. Betty Edited March 20 by Betty LaRue 4 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 I am happy you're not upset, Betty. I think that a lot of us will miss these threads. 4 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Before this thread gets shut down, I want to say that I agree with Betty about the value of those two thread. In the years that they were active, far more good came from them, then the occasional derailment. Honestly, perhaps my favorite part of checking in day to day. We are all people with lives beyond photography and I really enjoyed the sharing of the good, the bad, the beautiful and sometimes sad. I work alone, for the most part, and come here for the "water cooler" chat, as well as learning from each other. 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Alone, Micheal? I think ALONE is tattooed on my forehead. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecile Marion Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 All well put. Those threads were important to many of us during a time of even more isolation than the norm. "Water cooler" chat. I like that term! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvallee Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) I will miss these threads tremendously. They made me feel part of the Alamy community. I was always fascinated by the diversity of our lives, so different from each other. I loved the international side of it, the different personalities and cultures. I am not a particularly technical person and feel that I have no business commenting on other people's work, so I guess my participation is going to be limited now. It was good while it lasted. Thank you Betty and Edo for starting those threads. Edited March 21 by gvallee 3 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nacke Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 (edited) 17 hours ago, Betty LaRue said: With Alamy’s closure today of the “good thing” “bad thing” threads, (which I’m fine with) I wanted to offer a few of my thoughts. I started my thread soon after Covid got a grip on the world. It was a dark & frightening time, when we were in isolation. My thread was a way for us to connect, and connect, we did. We shared small positive things, and large ones. Through these connections I learned many of your personalities, not just a name. For instance, I know Bryan is an avid gardener, I believe a vegan. He’s handy and attacks fixing whatever goes upside down in his life with gusto. If he fails, he's not a quitter, but attacks it again. He values saving money and saving the environment. I would value him as a neighbor. This is just an example, I’ve learned so much about so many. Who leads a more exciting life than Gen? 😁 Who leads a duller life than me? 😢 Edo’s thread offered people a place to vent, & perhaps an opportunity for helpful suggestions. Reading about the bad things gave us an opportunity to realize that maybe we weren’t as bad off as we thought, similar to the man who had no shoe meeting the man who had no foot. It was a place to get a bit of sympathy, which most humans need when down. So thanks to you all, you’ve made my dull life much richer. And the threads served their purpose. Betty Well, ski season in the US NE is almost over, guess I will need to find another place next season to post about my weekends skiing...... Yea I did find the thread amusing and sorry to see it go. Chuck Edited March 21 by Chuck Nacke addition 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 1 hour ago, gvallee said: I will miss these threads tremendously. They made me feel part of the Alamy community. I was always fascinated by the diversity of ours lives, so different from each other. I loved the international side of it, the different personalities and cultures. I am not a particularly technical person and feel that I have no business commenting on other people's work, so I guess my participation is going to be limited now. It was good while it lasted. Thank you Betty and Edo for starting those threads. You are so welcome, Gen. When I got up each morning & poured my coffee, I checked to see if I’d sold anything. Then I checked those two threads. There will be two holes in my morning. Thank y’all for your nice responses. 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Completely agree. Thanks Edo and Betty G'night 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Robertson Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I wholeheartedly agree with everyone above. The most important thing in this world is human connection. I will miss these threads as well. I understand that this is a photography forum, but I also feel all places whether in cyberspace or not are human spaces and the greatest meaning in life comes from the connections that occur in those spaces. Thank you to Betty and Edo for sharing your threads and opening a space for others to share their stories. 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I rarely commented in the threads, but enjoyed reading them immensely. They will be missed. Jill 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) I didn't post often in the two deleted threads, but, yes, I think a bad thing happened in our lives today (or was it yesterday -- tomorrow in Australia?). 😢 That said, I've always thought that there should be a non-public "small talk" section of the forum where registered contributors could chat and get to know each other better. There would have to be rules, though -- e.g. no politics or religion. Edited March 21 by John Mitchell 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Ore Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I suggested an Alamy Social years ago, but there was no interest from Alamy. It would have to be unsearchable by non-members. Also, you'd need moderation because one person's obviously rational apolitical (to them) comment is another person's OMG, Commie/Fascist/Godless Heathen/Religious totalitarian, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Would you please all get back to work......🙃 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Yes, geophotos, I understand, but this morning it is feeling like a big loss to me. I have so enjoyed having friends all over the world. I just hope that we can continue to share a little of our lives along with our photos. You work way harder than I do, geophotos. I must improve. Paulette 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 1 minute ago, NYCat said: Yes, geophotos, I understand, but this morning it is feeling like a big loss to me. I have so enjoyed having friends all over the world. I just hope that we can continue to share a little of our lives along with our photos. You work way harder than I do, geophotos. I must improve. Paulette Geog was having a larf- see the upside-down smilie? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) 7 minutes ago, NYCat said: Yes, geophotos, I understand, but this morning it is feeling like a big loss to me. I have so enjoyed having friends all over the world. I just hope that we can continue to share a little of our lives along with our photos. You work way harder than I do, geophotos. I must improve. Paulette I was joking! I'm sure that we can continue to post personal stuff. We just need to self-control and clamp down on any politics. What one person thinks is a perfectly reasonable non-contentious viewpoint other people may find objectionable in the extreme. I can understand Alamy's stance and they did let those threads go on for years.....nostalgia, gardening, cooking, travel, health stories, all sorts of stuff. What gets published on here - and it does count as publication - soon appears in Google searches and if you have somebody expressing controversial/offensive views it really can damage the brand. An internet publisher ( even of a forum) is responsible for what is published on its site. And active moderation takes time and costs money. Edited March 21 by geogphotos 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 1 minute ago, geogphotos said: I was joking! I'm sure that we can continue to post personal stuff. We just need to self-control and clamp down on any politics. What one person thinks is a perfectly reasonable non-contentious viewpoint other people may find objectionable in the extreme. I can understand Alamy's stance and they did lets those threads go on for years..... What gets published on here - and it does count as publication - soon appears in Google searches and if you have somebody expressing controversial/offensive views in really can damage the brand. An internet publisher ( even of a forum) is responsible for what is published on its site. OK. I just got up. No coffee yet. I still need to work a bit more though. Not joking. Paulette 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 We could adopt a policy of reacting to anything controversial by calling it out and requiring deletion. Something like: 'Your comment is political and I strongly request that you reconsider and delete it.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 15 minutes ago, spacecadet said: Geog was having a larf- see the upside-down smilie? Hey! Stop that laughing in the forum. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 35 minutes ago, geogphotos said: We could adopt a policy of reacting to anything controversial by calling it out and requiring deletion. Something like: 'Your comment is political and I strongly request that you reconsider and delete it.' I did in the recent case. Not enough apparently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAROL SAUNDERS Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 I enjoyed reading the other threads though didn't contribute much.... My late father used to say try and avoid discussing religion/politics and I'm sure there were one or two other things😉 Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Another very sorry to see them go, I very much enjoyed chatting with my friends on the forum. It's a pity that it did get a bit out of hand, but I would have thought that deletion of the offending posts with a warning to the perpetrators would have been enough. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Bryan said: I would have thought that deletion of the offending posts with a warning to the perpetrators would have been enough. Yes but this would require the "monitoring resources" that appear to be unavailable. We're not worth it. I realise now that that comment is now probably enough to get this thread shut down.. But I won't walk on eggshells. Edited March 21 by spacecadet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 10 minutes ago, spacecadet said: Yes but this would require the "monitoring resources" that appear to be unavailable. We're not worth it. I realise now that that comment is now probably enough to get this thread shut down.. But I won't walk on eggshells. If you realise that then......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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