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Thanks for your efforts to restore some life to the forum!
Although life isn't all about photography and there are enough periods one does not think about taking pictures, there's something I do not understand, however, because why do people become members of a photo forum and then do not participate at all, do not show any photos and do not comment on posts, etc. This remains strange in my opinion, because if I don't like bridge, why would I join a bridge club, right?

I've had enough on my mind in recent years - cardiac arrest, 2 open heart surgeries and since 2021 vocal cord cancer - that made photography not really my first priority in life, but I'm still bursting with ideas in the field of photography, and slowly getting back on track. A good reason to look for a small forum to pick up photography as a hobby again.

A forum can never run smoothly and offer something for everyone if most members only lurk and at most 10 to 15 members regularly make themselves heard, eventually new posts and comments will dry up and there will be nothing going on on such a forum (I've experienced this with three Dutch photo forums in the past 10 years) and more or less a reason to turn off the light by any admin or mod.

If 10 to 15 members all come up with 3 to 4 new themes or challenges that all members on this forum can participate in, then traffic will start flowing and automatically more members will post pictures and comments. Let's do it and not just talk about it, I see enough older and also more recent threads that I find interesting and I'm curious if all these members who previously contributed to the forum want to actively participate in this forum again in the near future.
 
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if all these members who previously contributed to the forum want to actively participate
The forum is pretty old and those who were once active have moved on.

I think the few who are currently here participate at the level that feels best for them.

Shot this morning from Rowena Crest (looking east up the Columbia River).
Looking east.jpg
 
My best photo of April?
This one.

54488698746_bfae22379b_b.jpg


Pentax K3 MkIII Monochrome / Tamron Adaptal 90mm f/2.5
 
The forum is pretty old and those who were once active have moved on.

I think the few who are currently here participate at the level that feels best for them.
That is hardly a basis for any right to exist for this forum, especially if the handful of members who now occasionally contribute are not even interested in breathing more life into this forum. It is also remarkable that owners/admins etc. do not make any effort to lift this forum to a higher level, if that will is not there then I wonder what their further intention is, it seems to me that you can better turn off the light, then you also have no further costs for domain name, hosting etc. From the looks of it, it seems to me that I better move on and look for a forum where there are actually more active members.
 
That is hardly a basis for any right to exist for this forum, especially if the handful of members who now occasionally contribute are not even interested in breathing more life into this forum. It is also remarkable that owners/admins etc. do not make any effort to lift this forum to a higher level, if that will is not there then I wonder what their further intention is, it seems to me that you can better turn off the light, then you also have no further costs for domain name, hosting etc. From the looks of it, it seems to me that I better move on and look for a forum where there are actually more active members.

"hardly any basis for any right to exist for this forum"

Why does a forum need thousands of members posting every minute to exist. There is nothing wrong with a small forum, with a small but passionate user base. Perhaps the "life" of this forum is in it's laid back and easy going nature without the overhanging oppression of "further intentions."

"Lift this forum to a higher level" - "higher" is completely subjective. I am a member of a few large photography forums - yet I post here more as they are so busy it is way too easy to miss what other nice people are doing. When I click new posts and there are hundreds - it is overwhelming and a burden. Here, there are just a few new posts a day and that is so much nicer to peruse and appreciate. I would value one person's reply here more than a hundred people just going through the motions saying "nice pic" or liking the post elsewhere. One reply with actual intent is worth more than a thousand without. Bigger isn't always better.

You complaining, then deleting your posts is pretty telling. Are you only happy with your photography if it garners replies and activity? One of the nice things about this forums is it seems people are secure enough in what they do, they don't need the fuzzy security blanket of interaction to validate their efforts. Hopefully you will find a forum that you like, but in my opinion there isn't a thing wrong with this one.
 
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It is also remarkable that owners/admins etc. do not make any effort to lift this forum
This forum was started by Hamish Gill some 15 years ago as a place where folks who wanted more than the 35mmc blog provided. 35mmc provides a daily article (or 2) along with the ability to post comments on the article to which the author is encouraged to respond. Hamish passed the stewardship of this forum on and Peter is doing a great job of taking care of us. If you have ever moderated a forum you know how much work it can be.
I wonder what their further intention is,
I believe that Hamish intended for RPF to exist alongside of 35mmc as more of a discussion forum. Many here seem to never have been there. While the current level of activity here varies, I suspect that if/when it falls to nothing, it will go away.
it seems to me that I better move on
This place is what it is. I don't think anyone minds that you want it to be more but if it isn't enough for you maybe another site would work better. Another forum which is very active is: https://www.dpreview.com/ and yet with more than 75 sub-forums, people still complain that it is too gear focused and not focused enough on photography. There are many places to get a photography fix. Maybe you'd be happier on one of the reddit subs?

In any case, hope you find what you're looking for. I'm not sure why you deleted your initial post in this thread.
 
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