Monday, April 26, 2010

Banned! – Dpreview has spoken … *update*

Wow … that was quick :-)
I didn’t even get a chance to mention that I had returned to DPReview on a trial basis. I went on on Friday. This morning they noticed and tossed me.  A huge sub-thread created by me was removed over night, and so was I.
*Update* – This is a *selective* ban. I an not allowed to post into the Fuji Talk Forum, but all other forums are ok. Wow. This makes this even stranger, as the people in the FTF who do not like me were given the power to simply kick me out, despite the feelings of others. Wow again … what a goofy concept :-)
The moderators pounced at 7:05am UK time … that means I was the very first thing on their agenda.
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Congrats go to Greg Photo Sydney and Dave Lloyd. The former posted a most horrid thread, insulting most of the forum members because they are not in blind love with the HS10. The latter ostentatiously announced that he had used the complaint button for the first time in months, not long after I posted my response to Greg.

Of course, Dave only came back for the first time in a while a few weeks ago, to reshoot every shot he ever did with the S100fs again with the HS10. This time with even more blown highlights etc. (Update a long time later: he is still shooting and posting the same stuff. Wow.)

Now this ban is interesting, as there is no time limit specified. They do not call it a lifetime ban, but that’s what it is. So as far as I can tell, I won’t be back any more … and that’s probably a good thing. The forum got all riled up and everything and I even felt a bit guilty that Greg took such a beating … of course he earned every bit of it.

My apologies to my friends on the forum as I will not even be able to say goodbye.

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18 comments:

neos66 said...

:(

I feel sad about that.No words.
But you can welcome me into club, one of my posts there seems also to be deleted.

Anonymous said...

Hi Kim. Sorry that one of DPReview's kneejerk actions resulted in another unwarranted ban (far from their first). At least you're in good company with Thom Hogan, who appears to have voluntarily left DPReview in protest. It's quite puzzling (unfathomable really) that DPReview would tolerate the malicious instigations of GregPS cheered on by the cowardly Lloydy, but that willful blindness is quite expected by now.

Anyway, thanks for the HS-10 tests. I intended to return mine yesterday because it was such a poor performer at its wide end, worse than my F70. At the last minute I changed my mind because its lens is a telephoto freak of nature (or technology), making up for the HS-10's several other failings. I might have swapped it for Nikon's TC20E-III but they're still out of stock. The original alkalines just triggered the battery warning at 125 shots (just after taking the first two using the built-in flash) but I'll admit that I did a much greater amount of chimping and menu diving per shot than usual, as is typical with a new camera. From what others have posted there's a good chance that the HS-10 will get to at least 250 shots before the batteries need to be replaced. I hope this is one of the few Fujis that gets a firmware update. At least I won't have to worry about it preventing the use of non-Fuji batteries. :)

Andreas said...

Another sad day. And again, FTF tumbles into the abyss of ignorance and the reign of wannabes and fanboys.
I was so much looking forward to reading threads from you, Kevin, Jada and a couple of others, that focus on tech, technique and learning. Constructive discussions, civilized behaviour, and to-the-point analyses. Well, it was not to be.
I'll continue to be a regular reader of your blog.

Andreas (nightfly)

Unknown said...

HUGZ,
Sadly I have seen far worse things than what you banned for.
In the same thread in fact.
I wonder if any of them were banned?

Kim Letkeman said...

Neos ... that's always annoying, even disturbing. Smacks of censorship. But I presume that they have not deleted *you* ... so just tread lightly and all will be well.

Kim Letkeman said...

Neos66: I just saw your question in that thread ... of course your post would have probably been within the huge subthread that was started by my reply to Greg. My original post and all replies to me were deleted and I was deleted.

Kim Letkeman said...

Bill, thanks for the kind words. Since Greg's original post has remained, clearly they have decided that I am a lightning rod that needs removal. Censorship, one could call it ... but it makes Dave sad when I reply to his pets, and we can't have that.

I must admit to liking the HS10. It's flawed in many ways, the most obvious of which is the lack of dynamic range ... burn, baby, burn. But otherwise, it's rather a hoot. Too bad I can't stuff it into a pocket.

Kim Letkeman said...

Lili ... thanks for the sentiments. That thread started as a travesty and continued in the same vein. I really thought I held the line, but apparently I made Dave very sad. DPReview swiftly rectified that situation :-)

Kim Letkeman said...

Andreas ... thanks for the support and the kind words. I'd love to rattle off a bunch of names in addition to Kevin and Jada, who are of course the best bird photographers active at this time ... but I would be sure to leave out some great people so I must resist that urge.

Anonymous said...

As you said DPR's actions are a form of censorship. Perhaps all who are posting their sentiments here should also hit the complaint button on Mister Greg's rotten, arrogant, silly, evil, pre-meditated thread. I've decided that's what I'm going to do. But it takes more than one person to complain. Would appreciate any others who choose to join me.

Good grief....the man (questionable at that) called everyone who wasn't in love with the HS-10 an assassin. That's sicko. Can't understand why DPR didn't take action on that. Maybe they didn't catch that?

Kim, what can I say...

One thing is for certain; DPR was sucking wind after you left. If not for the HS-10, it would still be dead. Once the thrill dies down, it's back to the dead zone again. DPR would have been wiser in keeping you on board.

Jada

Kim Letkeman said...

Jada, as always I appreciate your friendship and support. The forum experience was intense, yet brief :-)

I really don't know if they did me a favor yet, but the odds are that they did. This does not at all excuse the fast banning while leaving the original nasty gram up there. Kind of speaks volumes on what kind of forum they want. An infrequent poster who is always arrogant and mean and who likes to run away and hide white the shit storm brews seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

C'est la vie I suppose ...

Unknown said...

Hi Kim. Look at it from this perspective - 500 years ago you would have been burned on the stick by the same people. Nowadays - just banned from a forum. Not a bad deal if you ask me :) Keep up the good work, many of us appreciate it!
Thanks!
Valentin (aka georgievv)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Adam-T said...

Never understood the logic of DPR`s so called moderation, they let an obviously trolling thread full of Bile (from Greg Prescilla queen of the desert) continue and then cut your post and a bunch of replies and ban you .. I get the feeling of a case of too many staff and too few braincells at work somewhere .

Unknown said...

It worked! I've been banned! Now Llaydy Boy can copy and paste this comment as further fuel in his personal crusade to snitch, lie and mislead newbies and DPR Admins alike!

Cigars, anyone?

Kim Letkeman said...

Valentin: Thanks. It's the arbitrariness that is annoying, the ban itself is not a big deal.

Gus: That harsh :-) Thanks for the support. I suppose I could have just sneaked around for a few months, but Greg's nasty post needed the response. Interestingly, only when people started complaining directly about DPReview did the whole thread suddenly vanish. Truly Orwellian.

Adam: I can't fathom their selectivity. I am only banned from FTF, other forums are fine. Which means that they have effectively handed control of the asylum to the inmates. How strange.

r: I figured you would be banned ... especially once you stepped up the pointed comments. Ah well ... we can probably all use the break. I was only in for two days and the exposure to certain people was already giving me a rash :-) Cheers to you and yours.

Unknown said...

I am a rather new lurker in the FTF and admit that I don't know much about your history or the history of the FTF. In the past, I used to frequent the Panasonic forums quite a bit. In any case, I recently bought and F70EXR, based on your results and the excellent advice you have given. I have read many of your blog posts and have accumulated a wealth of information from you. You have definitely helped me take much better pictures with my F70. I have now been checking frequently to see what you have to say about the HS10 for a possible future purchase. I've had a Panasonic FZ7 since it came out and it seems fine for what I like to do, but I may have more fun with the HS10. I'm still waiting on the funds and better competency to justify buying a DSLR, but just know you are influencing and teaching a relatively new person in photography. I appreciate it. Your presence on the forums will be missed.

Kim Letkeman said...

Thanks very much Steven, I appreciate the kind words.