Phil Askey Clamping Down On Brand Bashing in DPReview Forums

[David Kilpatrick]

dPreview is the most trade-monitored forum in the world - I am sure more agencies are paid to provide dPreview synopsis extracts from the forum, than any other site. I know at least two individuals who have been employed just to monitor and provide reports, mainly from dPreview (as far as I know one still is, the individual hired by Sony Europe no longer has the job, but someone else may have).

No wonder they want to clean it up, as it must be embarrassing them. No-one monitors this site so you're safe, Don

David

[Javelin]

Should have happened years ago. figures though it took the canon top of the line forum to come apart at the seams first. Wonder if Phil got a phone call?

[bfitzgerald]

No shocks on this one.

Being honest, things just get a bit too heavy over on dp, and I know from my own experiences! However, not managed to get a ban.
My most recent personal blast was from some disgruntled Olympus user who was trolling around the Sony SLR forum, and he got very frustrated! It becomes a pointless mission with some debates. He was convinced that 6mp was delivering better IQ than 35mm film. But when I put my shots up..after taking out both one day..he didn't like it..and having lost the argument, decided to use some pretty appaling personal remarks..one of which suggested I was poverty striken!

I had another dig off a different Oly user, who said my photos were "terrible"..I refrain from making negative remarks about people's work, simply because it is not constructive, and the last sign of angry poster desperation. An invited c&c is just fine. I see much of the trouble on dp from Canikon users in mud throwing missions, and Olympus users trying to promote 4/3 and declare how superior the system is, not all are like this...but they are touchy..

Nice..

Since that point, I have come to the conclusion that dpreview forums are mostly a complete waste of time, I only went there to brush up on my touch typing skills, Mavis Beacon was boring. I am pleased to report that I am now not bad at all with the typing thing!

There are better places to make sensible and logical posts, this appears to be one of them, and AMW is not bad either. There is more focus on real photographic areas, rather than rant like personal kill missions which have no point to them.

The odd decent post happens in dp, but it is few and far between, and it also takes up to much of my time, which could be spent doing more productive things. So I have no interest in making return visits to dp, simply "grown out of it"
Not that I mind a debate, but we are not going to change the world with an internet forum, nor nudge camera manufaturers in line with our way of thinking.

[Greg Beetham]

Yep I agree Barry,
from memory there is too much time wasted over there in trying to see if there is some point to some humongous thread, only to find that in the end it's the same old stuff, ego driven grandstanding and playing the man and not the ball.....again, although I must admit there are quite a few worthwhile posters, just the same.

There was a great post once (on the Pro DSLR Forum) about the guy who bought a new drill, who went out and bored some holes in things, results were only so so, he was just getting used to the new drill and only had a small collection of drill bits, and then he ran across the professional driller with his two pro drills and the backup prosumer drill and a huge assortment of drill bits...etc. .....hilarious post it was, but I could never find it again, even though I searched, it would have come in handy as a link to refer too....on occasion.
Greg

[Javelin]

Makita called them and Phil had to delete the thread (j/k)

[bakubo]

There was a great post once (on the Pro DSLR Forum) about the guy who bought a new drill, who went out and bored some holes in things, results were only so so, he was just getting used to the new drill and only had a small collection of drill bits, and then he ran across the professional driller with his two pro drills and the backup prosumer drill and a huge assortment of drill bits...etc. .....hilarious post it was, but I could never find it again, even though I searched, it would have come in handy as a link to refer too....on occasion.

Maybe this explains it:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=21844254

[bfitzgerald]

Dp have been ripping posts out for some time, though lately it has got a lot more noticable.
I remember one thread, got some posts deleted, because someone made information available about sony, and Dp had missed it. Rather than "thanks", they just deleted posts. Pretty strange sort of journalism in my view. Nobody objects to offensive posts being removed, but they have gone too far IMO.
I lost a lot of respect for dp after that.

Plus Phil killed any links to cameralabs, complaining that the owner of that site was hooting around or something, if that is true or not, no idea. Seems rather petty being honest.

I give Michael Reichmann one thing, I didn't agree with his camera does matter stance (well not really), but at least he had the guts to leave it up there, and take the flak..though it was non personal all the way. Phil seems very touchy these days. And being honest, fair credit for his setting up a site like dp and it doing as well as it did. But after the amazon buy-out, I think he would have been far better off finding a new project, rather than hanging around. Time to move on, not hang around at the party when the lights have gone out..

I could go on, and pick on the reviews..but that is easy! Dp seem unable to critique Canon very well, even compacts..."good lens" (with the usual smeared corners on the compacts) well I pointed that one out a few times, though they amazingly never banned me. Also lacking are any useful areas to potential buyers, AF performance, metering gets little attention, studio tests for high ISO...etc etc. I find the format rather tired and stale being honest. Appreciate it isnt easy to do reviews, but waaaay too much pixel peeping stuff..and not enough real hands on.