@Mandolin Girl:
Actually bots can still access (as long as they're configured for https access, which ant modern one would be)

What it does is make it very hard for someone to "listen in" on the data being transferred between your PC & the site's server (they can still see "data", but would have to be able to decrypt it to tell what it was - that's the part that is very difficult to do (and why its needed for stuff like buying stuff where private info like credit-card numbers are transferred)). Being that most forums are public-access, all you need to do is just see/read what's posted the normal way.

@ thelightingman - Can you give me an example of who has posted "perfect pictures" who end up having their photos deleted for no reason..?

Don't forget that people are entitled to delete their own uploads for whatever reason they choose, a deletion doesn't always mean an admin has done it, indeed it's rarely done by us without discussion amongst the team first - we almost always try and remedy any problems with a member before a decision to remove a picture is taken.

I don't know why I typed that message, honestly. I was tired and didn't think of how to construct my comment. I deleted it.

That's ok, thanks for the explanation 

No problem. 

I certainly do not think photos should be deleted if the quality is not the best, lets not forget we also have the Replace File Button where members can replace the photo if they wish and keep all the info and comments etc.

When i first joined in 2011as utterly as insane as this sounds, the only camera i had that i could use to take photos was my laptop web camera! I remember at the time the quality of my pictures to me seemed good, but over time and after i got my first iPhone, i could tell that the quality of all of my webcam photos were very poor as the good quality pictures i was then getting off the iPhone camera made the webcam pics look terrible! But nobody used to complain. However a few years later i had started deleting them and re uploading them (because in those days we did not have the Replace file button) and i was sad to lose the Comments etc. I cannot remember if it was my or someone else's suggestion for the replace file button but it came and it was a god send. I was able to spend time digging through my collection back in 2014-15 and re taking every thing i could and replacing the files.

Some people like myself are not familiar with photography, and use our iPhones for pictures. Some people may not be able to afford a flash camera or even iPhone. So until this issue arose, some people might not have even realised their pictures were poor. some will have.

I understand we have lost a fair few veteran members over this issue, and i have put forward for an Administrator Role. If i get to become one,  sorting this fall out before anything else is my first port of call as although it doesn't involve me, i would love to try and get said members back here.

If anyone here wishes to talk to me regarding this issue, please message me. It can be in confidence if you wish

i have a crappy camera, but no money to spend on a 4k camera (which i am trying to get) and the camera i have currently is not 4k at all like it says it is. what should i do? i can't buy right now because i don't have a job yet and my mom does not have enough money to spend on a high quality camera. the one i have was nearly 40 bucks, and it does not perform good at all.

Honestly , I use a Nikon Coolpix A300 . It doesn't like to focus very well in low light but it has a 8X optical zoom/ 16X Dynamic fine zoom (don't really know exactly what that means !)  and is 20.1 megapixels . They're not really expensive and work fine for my needs and fits in my pocket .

@General street Lights:
Yep, can't expect much from a $40 camera, but it should do 'ok'
Getting a tripod for it should help get better pic's too. (check your local thrift-stores, should be able to pick one up cheap there. )

Compact point and shoot style digital cameras sell for pretty cheaply on the used market now. The demand for them isn't very high since most people that used to use them now use their cell phones instead. You can probably get something with around 10-20MP resolution for around $10-40 used. If it dosen't come with a memory card, you can get a basic 16gb or 32gb card for around 10 bucks now.

I personally wouldn't buy one of them new though, for the price of them new, you might be able to get a older DSLR used with a 50mm F1.8 prime which will blow it away in terms of low light performance.

Low light is usually an issue with those. If you use a tripod you can probably get decent low light shots from them, particularly if you manually expose.

Unfortunately for handheld low light shooting, you want something with a large sensor, a large aperture lens, which both cost much more compared to a compact digital camera. Some phone cameras have really impressed me with their low light performance though.   

I'm frankly quite afraid to speak out honestly, but I agree with what other members have been saying. I've loved this site ever since I joined in Grade 7, but lately there's been so much hypocrisy and power tripping going on around here when it comes to how things "should look" or "should be done". While I haven't been affected on the level like CreeRSW207 has, I've sure felt the overall cold atmosphere here put me off since my return. I've decided earlier this year to make a point of being active on this site and posting my full collection to my gallery for archival purposes and others enjoyment... but honestly what's the point? I'm better off making my own site where I can actually describe things in my descriptive, almost story-like ways, without fear of criticism, deletion, lost knowledge, or convoluted DMs nitpicking how I format my posts/gallery. I try and do what makes sense when it comes to what I post, and what's currently being enforced does not make sense whatsoever. I have lots to say, but I feel like I'm walking on eggshells just mentioning some of the things above. I definitely don't feel I can actually be open and honest here as I'm sure the ban hammer is being swung around.

I want people to actually enjoy seeing what I post and what I do, but I haven't been feeling that for the past while.

... same! and in fact i had a ISB Sola Basic street light photo in my gallery before a certain someone deleted it.

Please don't be afraid to speak out, opinions are most welcome. Please PM me if you wish to discuss any issues etc.
Danny

@General street Lights:
Yep, can't expect much from a $40 camera, but it should do 'ok'
Getting a tripod for it should help get better pic's too. (check your local thrift-stores, should be able to pick one up cheap there. )

it actually does not have a place to install a tripod