Welcome to the Forums


THIS IS REQUIRED READING FOR ALL FORUM MEMBERS
We will post a questionnaire on it later. The Title Fairy will consider your score before acting.


Canon Digital Photography Forums is a community for photographers, both hobbyists and professionals. Please take time to read this document through to get a feel for what the forums are like, how to start your life among us and how to make the best out of your time here. We are often referred as "POTN" (Photography-On-The.Net). It's easier to say fast three times than "CDPF". If you have difficulties pronouncing POTN convincingly in dinner table discussions just say "poutine".


Foreword

My words "Feel free to discuss..." started the first post on Canon Digital Photography Forums. At that time, 27th of March 2001, digital cameras were in the slow process of maturing from merely technical curiosities to real expressive photographic tools, cameras that anyone could afford. Discussion forums with knowledge of both the digital tools and the art of photography simply didn't exist, the cameras were treated more like computers. I felt we needed a place to talk about Canon digital camera systems and especially about using them in real photography, how to get it done out there. I also wanted to get away from bad vibes and competitive bashing mentality to something more cosy, intelligent and on topic. I had gained some visibility with my Canon G1 gallery so people joined the new forum eagerly. I decided to make the forums moderated from day one, to get rid of spam, bad apples and sour grapes.

The community has grown very large but I am very happy to see we have been able to maintain that helpful and relaxed mood POTN is famous for. And we do strive to keep it going. For this we should thank our excellent staff of moderators who are always there, and our large base of resident members who gently guide newbies to the community and into the finer art of shooting ducks.

POTN founder Pekka Saarinen

The POTN Culture

When you start your journey with us you will notice a strange combination of relaxed mood and serious dedication to photography. You will learn why ducks are important, you'll get to know "man panties" and that POTN is spelled out "poutine" (greasy, but good). You will also notice how people who know a lot share their experience and talent without hesitation. This culture has been developed and refined over years, combining witty humor and having fun is what our members value most: the POTN mood is unique and enjoyable.

POTN has members from all countries, both professionals and amateurs, male and female, diverse ethnic backgrounds. Please respect this diversity and do not push your views down other people's throats - discussion, fun, knowledge, sharing and caring is what we value most.

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Then, let's get on to some practical issues:

Registering to POTN

You must register as a user if you want to

• view attachments
• create new threads
• reply to posts
• use search
• see hidden content like the Glamour & Nude forum

Registering is free.

When you register you will receive an email which you must read and act upon before your account is fully activated. That mail is from webmaster@photography-on-the.net or nobody@main.photography-on-the.net and often you will find it in your spam folder. Make sure that the email address you give is active, the mailbox is not full and you can access it.

Note that multiple registrations are not allowed. If you for some reason registered more than once, PM moderators about it. If and when we detect multiple identities all those accounts will be banned.

Think carefully in choosing a user name which describes you best. Do not use email address as username. Use only western alphabet and numbers.

Lost your password?
You can have the forum software send you a new pass if the old one is lost. Make sure you write down what email you used when registering because that is the mail address to which POTN will send instructions how to create your new password.

Posting

POTN uses the English language. We all can't speak perfect English (even those who are native English speakers), but with each try we all get more fluent with it. It's not a spelling contest. Firefox browser has a good English spell checker if you feel you need one.We write using western alphabet.


Take care where you post

Canon Digital Photography Forums is divided into several subforums.

Take the time to read the forum descriptions on the front page so that you know what is where. Pay close attention to the larger divisions:

• 'Equipment Talk' section' - means gear talk
• 'Sharing Knowhow' section - share photographic knowledge, POTN community and pro discussion
• 'Photo Sharing' section - places you post photos for others to enjoy
• 'Marketplace' section - selling, buying, services, market discussions
• 'Forum Feedback' section - things related to POTN forum software and server

When you post, you should take time to post in the correct forum as this will give you the widest and most interested audience for that particular subject. Note that share forums are only for sharing photos and discussing those photos, not technique or gear talk.

Think before you post

Think of POTN as public plaza where everyone can hear what you say and everyone can reply to you. A place where you meet regulars every day and all the strangers know you too even if you don't know all of them yet. Remember:

• do not post when you are angry or under the influence (seriously!).
• respect members (especially newbies) by giving full answers, "do a search" or "rtfm" is banned here.
• personal attacks or harassment are not tolerated at all.
• political and religious discussions are not allowed.
• you must own copyright to all photos you post, or have permission from the author
• image posting rules are important for making POTN more readable to all

Search first! When you think of posting a new question, do a search first to see if that has been already discussed.

If you seek information how Canon cameras and lenses differ from and compare to other brands, please do not start yet another "Canon vs. Nikon" thread. Instead, read the posts, find the information - then ask specific questions if needed. This is Canon forum after all and we have millions of posts covering all aspects of Canon. This goes for "Canon vs. Nikon", "Mac vs. PC", "Sigma vs. Tamron" etc., too.

When you post, the title of the post is what gets right people in and with a good title you increase your chances of getting replies. Title should be specific and describe the content of the post. Just posting "a question", "help!" or "anyone?" will not get as much as attention and helpful replies as "Lansdcape DoF question", "How to paint white lenses black?" or "Need an assistant in Sydney".

Rules

We do have rules. One of the most important is image posting rules in photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=51022. Signature rules are also important, signature size is limited for readability reasons.

Main rules can be read in photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=50442. Read it through. If you behave like you would normally behave with friends, strangers, family and elderly you'll be fine. Respect others!

REPORT IT!

You seldom see any spam in POTN. To fight it we rely on our members, you, to always report (by clicking ) any post that is either:

• spam
• rule violation (too many photos, rude, racist, politics, religious, hate, personal attack and so on).
• in a wrong forum
• you want your post removed
• you see in title spelling errors that matter

Marketing ANYTHING using forums' PM or email system will be considered as spam, and that activity will end very fast into permanent ban for the offending member. Please report those as well.

By reporting you help keeping POTN spam free and flowing well. When you report a post, all mods will see it immediately in their own moderator area, and it will be handled ASAP. Moving posts may not happen if mods do not feel it needs to be moved. Reporting a post is also a quick way to bring some urgent matter to moderator attention.

Thank you for reporting posts!

Spam
Posts deemed as being spam (unsolicited advertisements for products or services) will be deleted immediately. Users that post spam will be banned immediately.

Subscribing to threads

Subscribing to threads can be done in User CP. We recommend that you do not use emailed subscriptions because of the vast amount of data POTN gets every day, this saves our resources. Select "no email notification" in photography-on-the.net/forum/...do=editoptions and your subscribed posts will then appear in photography-on-the.net/forum/subscription.php . If you wish to subscribe to threads manually do so by setting "do not subscribe" in User CP options and then using Thread tools.

Searching

We have a very fast search tool. Use it as much as you like! Put all keywords exactly as they should be, in whole. The engine does not have wildcards. So if you seek info on dog photos, try

dog photo
photographing dogs
dogs photo
dogs photos

and so on. Try searching titles first and then posts. If you see a recent thread which has just what you wanted to discuss continue that discussion instead of starting a new one.

Also, check out stickies on each forum. Master Sticky list is available on 'Forum Talk' forum. It is a good way to start, a vast array of information gathered by members.

Common problems

Where did my post go?

If moderators finds your post in the wrong area they will move it to correct one. If you misplace your own posts you see a list of them through your post subscription page.

If your post is deleted this was done for a reason. Think back and you'll know the reason why the post was removed. Sometimes mods move controversial thread to storage before the actual decision of removing or locking is done.

I get an error page when I try to post or reply!

Glamour & Nude, Marketplace and some other areas may have restricted access. Read the stickies on those forums and you'll see how it works.

If you get an error page when reading a thread you have already been to, it is most likely that that thread has been removed from public view.

If there are database errors admin is instantly notified.

The Staff

The Moderator is your friend

Please respect and obey our moderators. They are volunteer workers, active members of POTN, who help maintain POTN. If they ask you to do something or else comment on your behavior just learn from the experience and simply comply. Remember: if you start a fight with a mod, you will always lose. If you are polite and respect the voluntary work mods are doing, you will be treated well even if you blunder. Mods are there to help you.

..but when you are bad the moderator is your jury

Most serious offenders will be banned from the forums, forever or for a specific length of time. Moderators discuss ban decisions together, banning is not done on a whim. Complaints are put to the bottom of bottom drawer. Don't let things come to that, read the rules and oh, behave!

Admins

Pekka, Cyberdynesystems, tommykjensen, and Belmondo are admins. They have absolute power on everything.

Donations

Servers cost money, POTN is free for all

If you feel POTN Forums and great and should go on and on and on and you have some extra dough in your pocket feel free to donate some for server & bandwith costs. See this thread for more info: photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=57667

Have fun with POTN!
The Staff