Broad Norfolk Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I regard any 'sensitive' business related topic including pricing as 'commercial and in confidence'. If its in the public domain then it could be to competitors advantage and ultimately to the detriment of contributors. If there has to be threads on topics such as pricing then I would agree with a 'closed' section for active contributors only. Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreign Export Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I attended a business forum in which google presented and gave an insight into their view on the value or price of images( it wasn't a photography meeting) I'd be careful about what you publish on an open forum or anywhere on the internet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 This entire forum should be for contributors only. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jenkins Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 It makes perfect sense NOT to discuss/moan about prices here - at any level. It should have occurred to those of us who have before now. Maybe it's that creeping error it is so easy to make - the internet is a World Wide Web - with all sorts of public access levels.I, for one, will now never discuss or respond to these on here.Yes, it should be access members only - or a section should be. nj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABan Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 You all know you can have a private conversation on any topic using the Personal Messenger, do you not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 It may be mildly cathartic to have a rant about prices, but, honestly, unless you joined Alamy last week, or have been living in a cave, the state of the stock photography business really shouldn't come as such a big surprise. For those who fail to keep up with what's happening, Mafeking has been relieved and Archduke Ferdinand has come to a sticky end... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 When we had a similar difficulty on a writers' site we created a separate closed Facebook Group to discuss issues that we did not want in the public domain. It has gone from strength to strength and become a mutually supportive group (around 300 members) that shares ideas and experience with regard to freelance writing beyond the scope of the site on which we were all members. The new group is not moderated and by treating members as adults they surprisingly act like adults; when tensions develop the people concerned sort it out privately between themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jenkins Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I think you may be missing the point. I THINK the OP was talking in terms of us contributing photographers shooting 'own goals', or 'shooting ourselves in the foot' rather than Alamy locking threads. Every thread/post here is open to the public, it seems, and on that basis we need to be aware and act accordingly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAnders Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I also never understood why this forum was never available to contributors only. And I may add, open only to contributors with approved images, not simply registered ones. There could be a section on this forum for those that still don't have approved images and seeking advice about alamy. But that section would only be to that effect. Discussions about other issues would not be allowed. I also see it as an important thing to be able to discuss things openly, including the prices images are being given away lately, but that should be an internal question between contributors and alamy. It's because alamy doesn't know how to build and manage a community. They don't understand the need for different member levels (which is a form of reward for contribution), access permissions, nor how to control membership and membership culture. They believe they have made improvements by showing links to images, but fail to stop simple registration (top right of this forum) to enable people like me to be back in the forum without a link to my images. They believe the only control needed is to push the "lock thread" button, and fail to "manage" the community in away that provides space for all needs, both anonymously and by use of real names. The link to images is useless, especially for those of us with multiple accounts. Reputation does not depend on a red or green button (which is open to misuse), but on how members respond to each other, and by community managers "rewarding" the behavior they want to encourage, and discouraging behavior that harms the community. Alamy may be a reasonable agency, but they have no clue about managing communities. There are so many good contributors with valuable perspectives now absent from this forum (and transferred to the new invite-only site). The level of discussion has fallen to an all-time low (shallow subject matter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dov makabaw Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 When we had a similar difficulty on a writers' site we created a separate closed Facebook Group to discuss issues that we did not want in the public domain. It has gone from strength to strength and become a mutually supportive group (around 300 members) that shares ideas and experience with regard to freelance writing beyond the scope of the site on which we were all members. The new group is not moderated and by treating members as adults they surprisingly act like adults; when tensions develop the people concerned sort it out privately between themselves. I seem to remember that there already is a closed group for Alamy contributors. This group has virtually disappeared through lack of interest. Even in its hayday I felt it added nothing. dov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I also never understood why this forum was never available to contributors only. And I may add, open only to contributors with approved images, not simply registered ones. There could be a section on this forum for those that still don't have approved images and seeking advice about alamy. But that section would only be to that effect. Discussions about other issues would not be allowed. I also see it as an important thing to be able to discuss things openly, including the prices images are being given away lately, but that should be an internal question between contributors and alamy. It's because alamy doesn't know how to build and manage a community. They don't understand the need for different member levels (which is a form of reward for contribution), access permissions, nor how to control membership and membership culture. They believe they have made improvements by showing links to images, but fail to stop simple registration (top right of this forum) to enable people like me to be back in the forum without a link to my images. They believe the only control needed is to push the "lock thread" button, and fail to "manage" the community in away that provides space for all needs, both anonymously and by use of real names. The link to images is useless, especially for those of us with multiple accounts. Reputation does not depend on a red or green button (which is open to misuse), but on how members respond to each other, and by community managers "rewarding" the behavior they want to encourage, and discouraging behavior that harms the community. Alamy may be a reasonable agency, but they have no clue about managing communities. There are so many good contributors with valuable perspectives now absent from this forum (and transferred to the new invite-only site). The level of discussion has fallen to an all-time low (shallow subject matter). Ah, "managing communities". At the risk of seeming old-fashioned, I'm happy for the good people at Alamy to spend most of their time selling pix... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jenkins Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Damn, John Morrison, you beat me to it. "Alamy, specialists in managing groups and being chummy. and given this obligation on us we MAY or may not have enough time and resource to 'be a reasonable agency'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 We should be able to have discussions among contributors about matters that concern us without them being open to the public. With the lack of information provided about some sales, it is valuable to compare notes or get information from more experienced contributors and use that as an information reference for new members. It would benefit MS too because there'd be fewer enquiries about the sales that don't appear to fit the calculator or other schemes. I only joined this forum in April and have seen contributors openly talking about sales ever since. I can see the concerns expressed here and agree with them. I am surprised that these forums are not private. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Todd Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 There are so many good contributors with valuable perspectives now absent from this forum (and transferred to the new invite-only site). The level of discussion has fallen to an all-time low (shallow subject matter). And yet you felt the need to join the forum anonymously and join in the discussion? Maybe you didn't get invited to the other site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long journey Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I fail to see why this forum would be open to anyone but Alamy contributors. To give clients and the public access to some of the topics discussed is a crazy business practice. What exactly is the benefit of an open forum. The negatives is this forum can possibly damage Alamy's reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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