Great Commenters (Blog Notes)

Whew—I've been reading a few medium format digital reviews here and there, and I just waded through the whole comment thread for one of them. Let's just say I came back here thanking my lucky stars for all the great commenters on TOP, who add to every post instead of dragging it through muck pointlessly and persistently.

Grateful for all y'all.

Mike the Mod.

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Comments

[Andy Holman]

Amen!

[01af]

Running a nice blog is a good thing but drawing brilliant comments on a regular basis is an aptitude in its own right.

[Daniel]

Some firmly believe that when you really have nothing to say... say it LOUDER, Repeat it often and insult anyone who does not agree.

[Dan Khong]

You are most welcome, Mike.

But then, as our Great Moderator, you would have weeded out those boring, troublesome, evil-hearted, brainless, mindless, political, and walking radios so that the others will benefit and enrich one another the way "iron sharpens iron", no?

We enjoy being in TOP.

[Adrian (malloch]

Word.

[robert e]

All due credit to the official thread-starter for setting the tone, leading by example, and giving us substance to chew on. Thanks, Mike.

[Rick Popham]

It's one of the reasons I keep coming back, for sure!

[Ben Rosengart]

I'm only an occasional commenter these days, but I'd like to say that I'm also grateful for my fellow commenters, and for you, Mike.

[Michael J. Perini]

This IS a special place, because you have done the work to make it special. That's why it attracts a wonderfully diverse group who make thoughtful and informative comments that are fun and often educational to read.

PS You're not supposed to be reading all those partisan opinions about MF. We are looking forward to what YOU think, most of us already know what lots of other people think. Just Sayin' ....; -)

[Martin D]

You make it happen, Mike, you make it happen. Your writing is quiet and open-minded, and that invites quiet and open-minded comments.

[SteveW]

Grateful for you too.

And for the commenter's here too.

[Malcolm Leader]

The goal (it seems) of most commenters is to provoke, not promote. Can't understand this. Isn't education the ultimate goal?

[Bear.]

Ming Thein wrote some interesting blogs on medium format a few years back, the most interesting of which was IMHO under the heading "That medium format ‘look’: what is it?" I found his ideas about the way angles of view differ for different focal lengths at wide angles especially interesting. Worth a read if that sort of thing is of interest.

[Luke]

Imaging-resource took a sudden turn for the worse when they added the forums. The boss decided that the forum weenies should dictate the content of the site, and the types of tests. It was a disaster.

TOP is still (almost) the only site for which I allow ads, and enjoy reading the comments. Thank you, Mike.

[Benjamin Marks]

I think the character of the site is down the chief bottle-washer, Mike. :bthumb: That's you, pal. I have also come to the conclusion that having a moderator is necessary for civil discourse on the Internet. Don't know why, but the Internet seems to fulfill a lot of needs, including the need to make _ad hominem_ attacks. Perhaps it is just another example of it being harder to build something than destroy it.

By way of example, Vermont towns have governed themselves for over 200 years. Pretty direct democracy. But even we have a moderator at our town meetings to remind us in the heat of the moment that we are neighbors at the end of the day.

Finally, to mis-quote Pogo: we have met our friends and they are us. It's nice to have civil discourse about a topic near and dear to all our hearts.

As Stan Lee used to say (with little explanation): Excelsior!

[Tex Andrews]

Yes, your blog is like a fresh, cold spring just off the trail on a long, arduous, uphill hike on a hot and humid day.

And I'm serious about letting you use my 645Z for a bit, if we can coordinate it. I'll know my museum's shoot list/schedule after Wednesday afternoon.

[Stephen Scharf]

You could also go back and read the Fuji GFX50S review I wrote for...TOP.

[Sylvain G.]

I think the difference is that your blog isn't a forum.

Every discussion is framed very clearly in two ways :
1- the general tone of your site. Not saying everybody will agree with you, but everybody will value at least a mindset of inclusiveness and kindness. This is an implicit moderation. You truly are (don't blush) a generous guy in the way you write, you listen, you share.
2- people comments on a topic per topic base. So there's no such thing as an explosion of "free" topics, or explosion of "original posters" who, over time, build a reputation or attract aversion or attack others...

It's not one or the other. It's the combination. A winning formula.

Virtue in great values.

[Henning Wulff]

You bring out the best in us, Mike! :-)

- or at least not the worst.

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

Yes, you are blessed with a great number of great commenters for sure, I'm not even sure I know of anything equivalent.

[Kodachromeguy]

"dragging it through muck pointlessly and persistently." Hmmm, sounds like you were reading the comments from the infamous "experts" on Dpreview.

[Not THAT Ross Cameron]

For those who want illumination, it seems Moderation is required. For some reason forums get competitive and people want to dominate the discussion.
Got a classic example on free to air TV down under. On the ABC (Australia’s BBC equivalent), there has been a talk shown called Q&A on for a decade or so. Generally topical, often attended by politicians. The moderator is key to making it work - pulling politicians up on double-speak, managing the ebb & flow etc.
One of the commercial TV channels attempted a rival show. It quickly descended into farce with everyone attempting to talk over one another and yelling at each other.

[Steve Rosenblum]

As stated above, it is because of you, Mike. Your posts and your moderation attracts and repels the right folks.

[James]

Hi Mike, As I have stated here before, the comments often take the post to another level. At the very least, they enhance.
Since deciding I need a lighter weight kit than my big Nikon stuff, I have learned a lot about Fuji and micro4/3rds here. Still undecided.