# So can we somehow maintain this community even on the Adobe forums?



## PhilBurton (Feb 19, 2018)

Assuming the worst (and you will never be disappointed) and that we lose this forum, is there any way that we can maintain the community spirit and ethose of this forum on the Adobe forums?

I was thinking that my signature on the Adobe forums could identify me as a former member of the Lightroom Queen's Lightroom forum.

Comnments?  Alternatives?

Phil Burton

PS:  I should point out that on various other forums, my "handle" is not my name, but something else.  It is a measure of trust in this forum that I self-identify, instead of cloaking my identity behind a pseudonym.

Phil


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## Ian.B (Feb 19, 2018)

I had the same thoughts Phil
Someone could start another Lr forum and invite members from this forum
Victoria might consider selling her forum; or membership list
If someone wanted to go the whole hog; they could open a digital editing forum and include sections for other editing and file organising programs . I'm still waiting for Victoria's On1 forum  

Somehow; I feel some of the gurus are looking forward to a long break --- being heavily evolved in a well run forum like this is can take   a lot of effort and time, something   often forgotten when we ask the same or similar questions they have already answered a few dozen times. However, it can also be very rewarding.


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## clee01l (Feb 19, 2018)

Ian.B said:


> I feel some of the gurus are looking forward to a long break


At least for me, I was blindsided by the decision to close. The Gurus as a group got a 24 hour headstart over the rest of you to absorb the concept.  If a guru needs a break,  there are enough of us that you can simply stop responding to new topics.   I did this when my home got flooded by Harvey and a little later when my wife died.

I'm sure Victoria has her reasons and I expect they are personal and have nothing to do LR or Adobe.
IIRC, Ian Farlow initially ran this forum and incurred time and hosting issues needing to bow out. Victoria had server space and the forum then fit well with her business.


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## Denis Pagé (Feb 19, 2018)

You recall correctly Cletus. Ian Farlow started it.


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## happycranker (Feb 20, 2018)

I really think that if this forum survives that it must be independent from Adobe. That is why people visit this forum, because in general they do not get satisfaction from the Adobe forum or from support enquires. Maybe some proposals to Victoria regarding servers and admin, may help with a better outcome?


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## PhilBurton (Feb 20, 2018)

happycranker said:


> I really think that if this forum survives that it must be independent from Adobe.



That would be ideal.  However, if we are _forced _to rely on the Adobe forum, let's say the user-to-user forum, is there anything we can do to influence the overall tone with the same spirit of mutual help and respect, that we have here?

Phil


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## tspear (Feb 20, 2018)

Phil,

I have only once seen a forum go from the abrasive, and poor quality user forum like Adobe to something much better.
For it to occur, it took a dedicated group of moderators that implemented a strict set TOS. After months of effort; it started to take hold. 

Tim


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## PhilBurton (Feb 20, 2018)

tspear said:


> Phil,
> 
> I have only once seen a forum go from the abrasive, and poor quality user forum like Adobe to something much better.
> For it to occur, it took a dedicated group of moderators that implemented a strict set TOS. After months of effort; it started to take hold.
> ...


Tim,

This group of moderators.  Did they have the support of the forum owner?

Phil


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## tspear (Feb 20, 2018)

@PhilBurton 

Yes, from the perspective that the organization backed up the moderators. It was a non-profit owners group, so the president of the group backup up the moderators; and held steady on the course. Even with all the bitching and moaning.

Tim


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 20, 2018)

I love that you guys are so keen to keep this community together and the community spirit alive. I have come up with a potential solution, but I'm scheduled to chat with the community manager at Adobe later today, so you'll have to wait until after that to find out more I'm afraid.


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## ST-EOS (Feb 20, 2018)

Victoria Bampton said:


> I love that you guys are so keen to keep this community together and the community spirit alive. I have come up with a potential solution, but I'm scheduled to chat with the community manager at Adobe later today, so you'll have to wait until after that to find out more I'm afraid.



I shall look forward to hearing more of this potential solution Victoria.


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## LRList001 (Feb 20, 2018)

Ian.B said:


> Victoria might consider selling her forum; or membership list



In the EU there is a new data protection act (GDPR) which comes into full force in a couple of months (1st May - it is already law but isn't being fully enforced).  GDPR requires clear and unambiguous opt-in for personal data use (and requires specification of clearly defined limits on how that data can/will be used), email addresses will be considered personal data, so it might be difficult to sell the membership list to another organisation.  Legal advice is likely to be required.  Possibly starting a thread where existing members can submit a suitable 'stay in' response would be enough?  I don't know, I'm not a legal expert.


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## Hal P Anderson (Feb 20, 2018)

Surely, though, this forum could send e-mail messages to all its members saying, "Come join us at our new home: "www.<whatever>'.


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 20, 2018)

LRList001 said:


> so it might be difficult to sell the membership list to another organisation.  Legal advice is likely to be required.



To be honest, even without legal issues, I wouldn't want to "hand you off" to someone else, unless it was someone I knew and trusted.


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## rhynetc (Feb 20, 2018)

A ray of hope ...


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## Jimmsp (Feb 20, 2018)

Victoria Bampton said:


> I love that you guys are so keen to keep this community together and the community spirit alive. I have come up with a potential solution, but I'm scheduled to chat with the community manager at Adobe later today, so you'll have to wait until after that to find out more I'm afraid.



As said above - a ray of hope.  If there is anything we can do to help you with Adobe, let us know. At the moment, I don't know what that might be other than a support-letter writing campaign.


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## PhilBurton (Feb 20, 2018)

Victoria Bampton said:


> I love that you guys are so keen to keep this community together and the community spirit alive. I have come up with a potential solution, but I'm scheduled to chat with the community manager at Adobe later today, so you'll have to wait until after that to find out more I'm afraid.


Victoria,

Considering the differences in time zone between the UK and California, I imagine that you might already have had that conversation.  I hope that community manager appreciates what a "gift" this community is, if Adobe somehow could support this forum so that it could continue "under new management."  Going further, this community could serve as a model for similar communities of interest for Photoshop, Illustrator, and the rest of the Creative Cloud products.

Phil


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 20, 2018)

PhilBurton said:


> Victoria,
> Considering the differences in time zone between the UK and California, I imagine that you might already have had that conversation.  I hope that community manager appreciates what a "gift" this community is, if Adobe somehow could support this forum so that it could continue "under new management."  Going further, this community could serve as a model for similar communities of interest for Photoshop, Illustrator, and the rest of the Creative Cloud products.


I have, and it was a very useful conversation. It has clarified some things, and raised a few more questions for me to debate. In answer to your question, Adobe would be very willing to welcome you on their hosted forums, but they won't be taking over this one. I need some time to consider their recommendations, and consult further with our team of Guru's before making any further public announcements.


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## PhilBurton (Feb 20, 2018)

Victoria Bampton said:


> I have, and it was a very useful conversation. It has clarified some things, and raised a few more questions for me to debate. In answer to your question, Adobe would be very willing to welcome you on their hosted forums, but they won't be taking over this one. I need some time to consider their recommendations, and consult further with our team of Guru's before making any further public announcements.


Of course Adobe would "welcome us."  When I do go onto the Adobe forums, I recognize many members of this forum.  But that requires nothing special from Adobe.  Is Adobe willing to do anything beyond cost-free lip service?


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## Victoria Bampton (Feb 20, 2018)

PhilBurton said:


> Of course Adobe would "welcome us."  When I do go onto the Adobe forums, I recognize many members of this forum.  But that requires nothing special from Adobe.  Is Adobe willing to do anything beyond cost-free lip service?


No, this is a user community. It's not up to Adobe to do anything "special".


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## Jimmsp (Feb 20, 2018)

Victoria Bampton said:


> No, this is a user community. It's not up to Adobe to do anything "special".



Well, having run a marketing dept for a market leading company - we always listened to our customers, and we tried to do things that we thought were in their best interest (and ours) and were cost effective.
I think Adobe/LR marketing should be thinking about doing something different than they are currently doing. And if that means finding a way to assist you in keeping this forum alive, then that would be a good decision on their part.


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## tspear (Feb 21, 2018)

Jimmsp said:


> Well, having run a marketing dept for a market leading company - we always listened to our customers, and we tried to do things that we thought were in their best interest (and ours) and were cost effective.
> I think Adobe/LR marketing should be thinking about doing something different than they are currently doing. And if that means finding a way to assist you in keeping this forum alive, then that would be a good decision on their part.



Based on the current naming issues, and other wonderful rollouts Adobe has completed this past year; do you really think they have a viable marking department?

Tim (sorry, could not resist)


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## Jimmsp (Feb 21, 2018)

tspear said:


> Based on the current naming issues, and other wonderful rollouts Adobe has completed this past year; do you really think they have a viable marking department?
> 
> Tim (sorry, could not resist)



I know -- I can always hope.


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## PhilBurton (Feb 21, 2018)

tspear said:


> Based on the current naming issues, and other wonderful rollouts Adobe has completed this past year; do you really think they have a viable marking department?
> 
> Tim (sorry, could not resist)


Tim,

You
(1) could not resist
(2) have made a cogent observation.


tspear said:


> Based on the current naming issues, and other wonderful rollouts Adobe has completed this past year; do you really think they have a viable marking department?
> 
> Tim (sorry, could not resist)


Tim,

I think you already know the answer to your question.

Phil


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## LouieSherwin (Feb 21, 2018)

If there is a consortium put together to take over these forums I will certainly be glad to continue participating. 

In the mean time I have shifted my attention over to The Luminous Landscape Forums. It encompasses a much larger range of photographic topics besides Lighroom but is very similar to the feel of here and much lower volume than Adobe's U2U forums. There is now a nominal annual subscription fee if you want to post. At first I balked at that but realized that full access to all the information was well worth it.

-louie


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## Denis Pagé (Feb 21, 2018)

And The Luminous Landscape Forums is a great ressource for only 1$/month!. I stayed there because it is much less expensive than having to buy some of their content as before as everything become free for subscribers. Videos for example...


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## mcasan (Feb 21, 2018)

Another good resource:  Photography-on-the.net Digital Photography Forums


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