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We feature a Photography Discussion Forum and Pacific Northwest Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other photographers, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more!
I post a lot of blogs, the information is useful and helps the search ranking for the website.
However, I realize that the regulars are often just looking for new posts from other members. So to help you find that, I've modified the "What's New" on the home page. It's now select categories only, and called "Active Topics"
Bill, I added the "What's New" to the front page a couple weeks ago, after a visitor to my Gardening Website said she had no idea how to find current discussions.
What's new now is that in this forum I've fine tuned which topics it displays, removing any topics that are news and blog related. Basically, the goal is to feature member created content.
I haven't done that at RRF, since we don't have many blog posts there.
I don't know if I am a typical member, but I am primarily interested in photos, comments, and topics posted by other members. I used to scroll down the "table of contents" (or whatever the proper internet term) is to find and respond to their postings. I now use the What's New section, which is far easier and quicker. I guess I was just a couple weeks behind the non-Covid curve in discovering it. Thanks for your efforts and good work.
Other thoughts on how I use the forum. Not meant as complaints, just food for your thought if/when you contemplate further revisions.
I seldom check out RSS feeds unless a title jumps out at me from the column on the far right of the "table of contents" that lists new titles.
If I am contemplating the purchase of a piece of equipment, I may seek info on it in the appropriate forum.
I shoot in .jpeg and use minimal post processing, so I don't check out threads on those related forums.
I don't know if I am a typical member, but I am primarily interested in photos, comments, and topics posted by other members. I used to scroll down the "table of contents" (or whatever the proper internet term) is to find and respond to their postings. I now use the What's New section, which is far easier and quicker. I guess I was just a couple weeks behind the non-Covid curve in discovering it. Thanks for your efforts and good work.
Other thoughts on how I use the forum. Not meant as complaints, just food for your thought if/when you contemplate further revisions.
I seldom check out RSS feeds unless a title jumps out at me from the column on the far right of the "table of contents" that lists new titles.
If I am contemplating the purchase of a piece of equipment, I may seek info on it in the appropriate forum.
I shoot in .jpeg and use minimal post processing, so I don't check out threads on those related forums.
"I now use the What's New section"
That's the way the vast majority of regular members use the forum. In fact, that's how it's designed to be used, so much so that there wasn't even an "active topics" on the home page. However, one of my garden forums members complained about not being able to find current discussions, so I realized I had to change that.
"I am primarily interested in photos, comments, and topics posted by other members... I seldom check out RSS feeds..." Then from now on, start here: (Click "Home" at the top of the page, or simply go to the main URL and bookmark that)
PNWPhotos.com - Pacific Northwest Photography Forum
pnwphotos.com
"Active Topics", found on the front page, will give you exactly the kind of posts you're looking for. I've now tuned it to ignore most of the RSS feeds.
"What's New" still shows the RSS feeds. Why? To give people a chance to find them. As you say, occasionally a title will catch your interest.
Why have them at all? Well, they generate a lot of traffic. Looking over "What's new", many of the recent ones have 30 or so views. Not a huge amount but they add up. Most importantly, they also help our search rankings. People search for certain terms, as you said, maybe you're researching a camera. They find an RSS feed about it, read that, and then check out the forum.
If the forum was very active, I might reduce them, or at lest prune them even more severely than I already do. But I also like to have some new content on a regular basis, and they fill the gap when we don't get new photos or discussions from the regulars.
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