Suggestion for new fora here on reduser

[Martin Weiss]

I would like to propose the following new sections to be established here on reduser:

Stock answers
A couple of questions get asked over and over again, but the answers get buried by time. Having a dedicated section for FAQ type answers would make navigation easier. When a FAQ gets asked in the future, one could simply refer to the stock answer section and close the thread.
There should be one sticky that acts as an index to all stock answers.
When redusers write a good answer or find a good older one, they should be encouraged to repost it in the stock answer section. Posts that don't add anything should be removed.

Marketplace Whitelist
The marketplace is an important part of the reduser community. Yet just one rotten apple can do a lot of harm. The whitelist section would be an area where redusers could post positive comments about sellers and buyers. This would make it easier to judge a seller's/buyer's trustworthiness; and would also be a place to give credit to sellers who go out of their way to help a buyer. It would add a layer of trust and strengthen the community spirit.


(And "Jobs / Equipment For Hire" might get a better name along the lines of "Marketplace".)

 

[Luc Bouvrette]

Both ideas are excellent. On the verge of purchasing myself, I'm always searching this place for answers from batteries to dovetails. Centralizing everything would be fantastic, a one stop shop for anything technical.

The marketplace is a great idea, could it also become a place for third-party products hands-on reviews by redusers, whether software or hardware?

 

[Martin Weiss]

Great idea, Luc, to have a section "3rd party RED tools", with one sticky acting as directory. There are so many good (and some not so good) suppliers of useful gear for RED, and I don't know of a centralized place to find them. This might be the place.

 

[Stefan Antonescu]

Good idea, Martin. I'm all in for the Whitelist - every big board has one...

However, I'm sorry but I don't really understand how the Stock Answer Section would work. Would that be a mini-board in itself with other subsections to reflect the reduser structure (cameras, workflow, etc) ? How would that be organized ?

On big boards, there's always a sticky - that acts like an index - which points to other useful threads in that same section. Even if thoses threads get buried, they can easily be found with the "Sticky Index Thread".

 

[Andy White]

A stock answers section would be great - there's so much repetition at the moment with new forum members going over the same ground (ie Epic/Scarlet full sensor output via HDSDI to an external recorder has been asked ad nauseum recently).

As an extension to the stock answers section - why not have an Epic 101, Scarlet 101 & Workflow 101 section?

This could be official RED info - only Mods and RED allowed to post/update in them. These would be 'de-facto' threads that give the full info that's available 'at the moment' (all is subject to change - LOL)... whilst this may be a digest of some stuff from the manuals, it would cut down on a lot of noise, as generally, it seems people don't really research much before posting.

These 101 sections, in addition to the stock answers section, 'should' greatly reduce the amount of overall noise on the forum at the moment (although it is getting better).

On the Marketplace whitelist - in principle I agree and it sounds like a great idea... but people's opinions and experiences of sellers and buyers do seem to differ greatly.

 

[Martin Weiss]

Stefan. Let me try to explain;

Stock Answers as I imagine it would be another forum on reduser, with no subfora (either under "RED digital cinema" or "Everything else"). Whenever someone posts a great reply/explanation, this could be copied into the Stock Answer section. Say you read a good reply to why off-the-shelves SSD are not working on RED cameras. Hop over to the Stock Answer section. If there is already a question on this subject, add the answer to it. Otherwise start a new thread with a fitting title.

Over time this would become a valuable resource.

Next time someone asks about "why can I not use this $2 1TB USB stick on my Scarlet" you can simply link to that thread and ask a moderator to close it.


Andy. I agree - experiences do differ. A solution might be that if you had a bad experience, you could just add your name (without leaving a negative feedback; as that would give legal problems), and contact other people who posted on the whitelist with the same seller/buyer, and see if they also had bad experiences. If you find out that it was not a singular experience, but that you have indeed caught a bad apple; you could send this information to one of the admins, so they can consider taking actions against that person.

 

[PatrickFaith]

As a red newb, it would be nice if senior member's can update the "stock answer" threads (and only sr members) ... I've noticed some thread answers (even the sticky ones) "age" fairly quickly (i.e. good answer 6 months ago become invalid as patches occur/etc...).

 

[Andy White]

Martin. It's the reverse for me me in terms of experience - a seller I've bought a few items from and I have no problems with springs to mind - yet other users seem to have bad experiences.

It would be good to implement a Whitelist - looks like you're making work for yourself

Maybe a ratings system could be used - with the rating based on user feedback/votes? That way, you'd get A Grade sellers or buyers right through to E grade.

Anyway, just ideas... I'm jealous as our US cousins are having Turkey and stuffing... and we Brits have to wait for Xmas before the Turkeys arrive... bah humbug! LOL

 

[Nick Gardner]

How about Reduser pro? Or Platnum? Charge $25 for a years subscription. It would be all Red related discussion with out all of the photography 101 stuff so you wouldn't have to wade through 800 posts about what an f stop is or have every other post when you search lenses turn up a crop factor discussion? Anyone? Red user low noise? Say anyone could read it, but you'd have to be a member to post. Just a thought.

Nick

 

[Andy White]

How about Reduser pro? Or Platnum? Charge $25 for a years subscription. It would be all Red related discussion with out all of the photography 101 stuff so you wouldn't have to wade through 800 posts about what an f stop is or have every other post when you search lenses turn up a crop factor discussion? Anyone? Red user low noise? Say anyone could read it, but you'd have to be a member to post. Just a thought.

Nick

Not a bad idea - I'd go for this. Red User Plus?

Side note - been a member here for a year now and I've never felt the need to start a thread... but so much noise at the moment that we have threads popping up left right and centre on the most mundane topics. Is there any way to have a setting for a new user to have a minimum amount of posts before being able to start a thread?

 

[Luc Bouvrette]

I'd definitely go for a pro level and be willing to pay for it (25$/year is pretty reasonable). Some forums I visit are multi-leveled and it makes a big difference as far as trust and confidentiality are concerned (showing ongoing projects, organizing meetings, exchanging files etc). Maybe this could attract some RED gurus that would otherwise be put off by thread "pollution"? Or having special online events in collaboration with Reducation?

Just brainstorming here.