The Screenshots Category - Is it Worth It?

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Hello all.

There is always a risk associated with posting a controversial topic on the forum. Especially one that is against the daily operation of it. I’m aware of this, and hope that we can look past our differences in opinion to have a calm, educated discussion. I’m a little bit nervous to post this, but here goes.

Since March of this year, the #screenshots-and-videos category has graced the forum with its presence. Bustling with activity, it is a place for community members to display their photos for all to see. Although this presents opportunities for people to share their work, it has also paved the way for a new era of our esteemed forum. This category, in all its glory, has negatively affected the forum in many ways. Whether it be the decrease of photo quality, the increase of wannabe moderators, or the spreading issues of useless contributions, something should be done, and soon.

Although little insight has been provided as to why this category was created, my personal hypothesis is that is was a last-ditch effort to save the rapidly declining quality of posts. Although it may have been effective for a week or two, evidently this period of success did not last long.

Decreased Photo Quality:

Before this category was around, there were threads titled “Best IF Screenshots”. This was a thread for people to post their favorite photos, and to see others as well. This thread allowed for people to see different styles, quality, and types of photos all in one. Those who didn’t want to see these simply ignored the thread. This thread, full of activity and happy spirits, succeeded in its role to bring people together in the spirit of aviation, photography, and creativity. Since the release of this new category, photo quality has slowly gone down. It was simple to ignore the bad photos on an old thread. Simply, move on. The best photos received more likes, while photos of lesser quality were overlooked. This inspired many to improve their photos and develop a unique style that would captivate the audience.

The success of this thread is shown, with over 15,000 posts in the first and 10,000 in the second. Now, the overall quality of screenshots has gone down tremendously. People can post sub-par photos, and receive attention simply because they are breaking no rules. Photos that feature simple angles, or are overly edited beyond belief take over threads. I personally never pay too much attention to the category, as a result of the undeniable drop of quality.

So. Many. Topics.

It is becoming impossible to avoid! There are just so many topics being created. Yes, there may be a rule stopping people from posting multiple a day, but the sheer amount of people who feel the need to post one every day is just mind-boggling. Whenever I log on to the forum, I a greeted with 10 new screenshots topics, and in all of those, only 1 is worth viewing.

It has gotten to the point in which people post these… just to post. They feel that they will earn more forum respect by making as many topics as they can. This brings me to my next point.

Those who are continually active in the #screenshots-and-videos category receive the esteemed role of “regular”.

I will avoid naming names here, but there are quite a few TL3 who received this title solely on their participation in this category. There are regulars who have made more screenshots topics, than any combined! There are people with hundreds of replies in this category. How useful are these replies? They aren’t! Threads riddled with comments such as “nice photo” and “I like the photo” provide nothing to the conversation, and can simply be expressed by liking the post. Despite this, those who thrive on this unnecessary contributions are continually rewarded with the esteemed role of TL3.

Unnecessary Comments:

As I said previously, these topics are riddled with useless comments. Comments such as “I like these photos” and “Nice job” are encouraging but can be expressed with a like. Back in 2017, a moderator messaged me about these contributions, saying that they aren’t needed. What happened? Who knows…

Increase of wannabe mods

Yes, there are so many topics. Add an increasingly younger audience and kaboom you got wannabe moderators. These mods jump on the opportunity to tear down a new member who simply wants to share their shots.

I’ll quote an anonymous IFC member with this: “all this change really does is give unwelcoming members of the IFC the opportunity to post more templates replies to individuals as “they” do for help and support threads.”

So there we are. I’d love to hear your opinions on this. I’ve tried my best to avoid calling out individuals. I’m always open to respectful discussion, assuming the mods decide to allow it.

I may be speaking for the majority, or for the minority. I may be the only one who feels this way! I’d truly love to have a discussion if the moderators want to give us a chance to discuss this respectfully and calmly.

Thanks all! I hope you have a wonderful day/evening.

Smooth skies,
Will

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Completely agree with this statement. Since the category was created, the quality of posts and images have gone down massively.

There are the gems that are few and far between, but all they do is make me hope that the “best of pics thread” could come back some day rather than having to sort through the 30 other very low quality posts.

The category is closer to the IFFG/IF Reddit quality than it is to what we should expect from the regular commuters of the IFC (and not saying regular status group, but the people that frequent here).

I know the Screenshot Category was a “test”, but its a failed one in my opinion.

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I agree. There are a few people who know they are good at taking screenshots, and have begun using it as a method to farm Regular and likes. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain people who just enjoy sharing their screenshots. There are lots of fantastic edits in the category. And to those, I think they’re great. But it’s the ones that post in that category every day for likes.

I’m not pointing fingers at anyone in particular.

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I definitely have seen an increase in people posting mediocre shots in posts that have obviously been worked on for a while. Not to name names or anything, but some people write long and detailed posts, all for one not-so-good shot. I think people need to realize what this category is for: screenshots and videos. It’s not for beautifully created threads. If that’s what you like, fine, but don’t just make a good looking post and add a bad picture in as well because you need to.

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They believe that because they followed the guidelines of the category, they deserve likes.

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In what way has quality gone down? If a photo has the HUD, flag it and we will take care of it. Your best of IF screenshots was full of crazy unrealistic photoshops and random pictures of a plane crossing in front of them with the hud and tags on. If its a sub-par photo, don’t like it.

One of the goals of the category was to prevent a massive 15k thread where people blindly put their photos. People have used replays and taken cool screen shots and as long as they follow the rules whats the harm?

There are far more requirements to make regular than you or anyone is aware of.

How is this bad? What do you want people to reply with that fits your approval? It sounds like you want a photo gallery with no text at all. On a feature request yes these are not necessary. But whats the harm in telling someone you liked their photos.

You mean like what you said above? If someone is not following the rules, flag or let the user know about it.

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If the quality is bad, you can tell them what they can improve. I think the category is a huge success. It’s a place to share photos. Share videos. Share your passion

If nobody posts low quality photos there are not chances for good quality photos.

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All are completely valid points and I don’t disagree with it.

I think the biggest question comes down to is IF staff / the community fine with how things are now, with a low quality post with little thought being ok, or do we want community members to be able to stand out and really display some great work for this forum.

If the answer is the first, and things stay how they are, then thats fine - it’s the staff’s choice to do so.

If IFC really wants there to be quality posts on this forum, like what the threads were before, then its change to how things were with a single thread.

There’s a reason why a lot of the community is leaving, and a reason why many are choosing to only talk in Slacks and stay away from the IFC. It’s not just the creation of the S&V category, but every little step along the way continues to push a lot of people away.

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I do not want to provide links, but there are many topics with basic photos. Overall quality has gone down. I can’t provide examples because that would be considered offensive

Comments like I listed are just useless. The ability to like posts expresses that comment. Perhaps, questions about the route. Or questions about how they took the photo, or comments on specific photos.

Blanket statements provide absolutely nothing to the conversation.

That’s unfortunately not always the case. People feel the need to pile on to win someone’s approval.

Once again, I’m totally open to discussion. I’m simply providing my opinion!

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Please remember that the forum is here to do two main things [amongst others]:

1) Educate about Infinite Flight

2) Promote user to user interactions

The category is perfect for this. You can’t expect people to take stunning shots all the time, as many users don’t use the app religiously [shame, I know]. They simply want to share a moment of enjoyment via the medium of a simple photo.

That plays into both 1 and 2. Firstly, it’s sharing their experience; the main aim overall. Secondly, you can provide valuable and positive feedback. That’s how you increase quality.

I do appreciate the feedback, however the category is there to stay and will not be changing in its format anytime soon due to the delicate balance.

It is for the above reason this has been closed.

Thanks everyone!

33 Likes