Hello to you all,

Im am now since 5years a member of LG and uploaded very frequently pictures, until maybe 1-2 years ago. I really liked Lg at the beginning, as I could learn something from others. I also met some very good lighting friends on here. However , sadly this site changed. As mentioned by others the diversity has reduced quite a lot, and were the most stuff is right now is not what interests me. I am sick of seeing broken LEDs or cycling HIDs. I am also sick of blurry night fotos.

I find it frustrating that these things seem to get more attention then clear photos with a technical description, wich is what I have tried to bring in the last post of myself. I know my first ones were bad in that wise (no description i.e.), however i had to learn it doesn't´t make any difference.  Furthermore often enough the comments I get or see are from people how only show us that they can read the description above, or who are repeating something that they read somewhere and more then often is only partially right.

Also a hand of members seems to really like to spam this site. I thought that maybe that would be stopped at one point however it gets more and more. Right now I get here more things i consider as spamming and just generating of attention, comments and post counts the on Facebook ore other social media platforms with lamp related communities.

The only reason i am still here is because of maybe a dozen members who really give effort into their uploads, who really have technical knowledge on that I can be build, member who want to give quality and not quantity. But right now im seeing how I am moving conversations more and more away from this site into private calls or other lamp groups were quality seem to matter. That made me clear that LG is moving more and more away from me...

Hi Alex,

I'm sorry you feel this way, and I don't think anyone wants to see you leave. This site, like any other, means different things to different people; to me, as a retired person who in the current climate is home all day, it's a place to hang out, chat with friends and share a common interest. Yes, it's about lighting, and I enjoy seeing other members' collections as well as showing my own. I'm not the best of photographers (which would have annoyed the hell out of my late father, who was a keen amateur), nor is my technical knowledge anywhere near the level of some, but I do my best.

As to what you term spamming, I'm not sure what you mean by that. The term is like many other things in that it is highly subjective. What you consider spam others may not, and as site administrators, we have to try and keep on an even keel and not let things get too out of hand. Sadly we don't always succeed.  I agree some people do tend to get carried away with off topic comments, and I'm as guilty as anyone of that. However, I have a firm belief that in the current climate, where everyone is suffering to one extent or another with the after-effects of the Covid situation, we need a certain amount of humour, indeed complete silliness from time to time. Hence the running gag we have with Tim (wide-lite 1000) about SOX and socks; it's just a bit of fun to try and keep people's  spirits up.

I hope you don't leave, Alex. But remember not everyone expects the same from the site as you do; hopefully if you don't find what you need or want here, you will somewhere.

Take care,

Ria 

I agree with you, Alex, the quality of contributions here has taken a turn for the worse in the past few years. There are many reasons for that. Maybe this is caused by the arrival of many young inexperienced lighting enthusiasts who see LG as a "chat" annex to Facebook. Maybe this is also caused by the departure of many older experienced members who, ironically, went to Facebook to focus more on quality... Whatever the causes, I think this place would benefit greatly from a minimum requirement in post/image quality, but this is unlikely to be enforced. So, it is what it is and we have to deal with it or simply leave.

That being said, there still are many excellent contributions here, although they are a bit more difficult to find in the increasingly louder ambient noise of boring stuff and teen chats. I think you shouldn't worry too much though. Just ignore what you don't like and focus only on the quality contributions. Take this place for what it is, just a lighting gallery with low minimum standards. So, don't expect to be validated with your quality posts, you'll get only a few reactions, but know that they'll be valuable ones. That's why you should be continuing posting quality images and descriptions... do that for the few who really appreciate it, not for the many who are here only for the light fun, to indulge in their obsessions, or to seek attention.

I don't want to sound harsh or rude here, but the main problem with people who want to leave this place and make it so publicly, is primarily because they don't feel validated and valued by the overall community here. They shouldn't seek validation in the first place, that's the main issue at hand. When it comes to hobby and passion, the art should be done for the sake of it only, and not for the number of likes or comments. So please, don't leave and continue posting nice pictures and detailed descriptions. They certainly are valued here and you shouldn't need anybody to tell you that or to make you feel good about it

In response, Max, I feel I should say something. You say the site has poor minimum standards; personally I think that's a bit harsh, but as I said in my previous post, things are subjective. If the site were to be purely a very high quality technical discussion site, which (tell me if I'm wrong) I get the impression you and Alex feel it should be, I believe we would lose more than we would gain. Whatever you think of many of the younger people coming on to the site, we need them. They will mature, they will grow up, if you like. We just need to give them time.

Right now the world is in a dark place, from which it may well take quite some time to recover. Don't be too harsh on those who seek a little light relief. I for one enjoy both yours and Alex's contributions enormously, and would hate to see them go.

I agree that some of the street light pictures in particular do suffer from poor quality, but what should the minimum quality be, and who decides..? Everything is subjective, photo quality included, to a certain extent. To me, one American cobrahead looks much like another, but they mean something to many people, and I would love to see their quality improve. But please don't complain too loudly at the people who post them, encourage them to improve; point out what they could do better, that's all any of us can really do.

Take care.

Ria 

I’d rather have a “low quality” post than nothing at all.
I would say more, but it’s probably in both my and your best interest if I left it unsaid, as it would involve harsh language, rudeness, and a bit of elitism. 
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, Alex. 
Keep your photos here; you have some interesting lights. 

Hello Alex,

my english is too bad for a detailed answer.
Just try to take an extract from this website for yourself.
Completely individual just for your requirements.
Personally, I only read topics that interest me.
I call this filtration. This is how i do it.

Greetings from Hamburg

Olav

Well, we are always open to suggestions.  Also remember you are free to report photos that you believe are not up to minimum standards, though keep in mind this should be based on an objective criteria (blurry, not lighting related, duplicate, etc.) and not simply because it's commonplace or not interesting.  We won't always remove them, and no we don't want to receive excessive reports, but if we never receive any reports we won't know about your concern.  In addition, if others have observed moderation practices on other groups you feel have been successful, please share.

There are two forces in conflict that prevent major change, however.  Most members seem to be in agreement that quality ought to be a top priority.  At the same time, no member ever wants to admit that their photos don't meet that standard.  People complain that the gallery is full of junk, but would they want their own photos edited, deleted, or re-categorized?  Not a chance.

Sure, we can and do at times take steps to deal with photos we feel are non-compliant, but in those situations people want to be notified, have a chance to weigh in, be given justification for our action, etc.  This is understandable, but realistically we can't spend an hour dealing with every poor quality photo.

There are some technical solutions that can help, the upload limit was supposed to be one of them.  A while back I proposed and implemented requiring at least basic specifications to be filled in, but people complained and others filled in dummy characters to work around it, so we ended up rescinding the requirement.

When it comes down to it, we can enforce high standards, or give you all freedom to share whatever you want, but it's a balance.  The more of one, the less of the other.  I can only be sure of one thing, whatever is done or not done, the moderators will be to blame  .  That's why I have team instead of dealing with it all myself.