I was a very early member of uhh and what happened in the beginning was that there were a few snarky people and the others were constantly complaining about photography related threads were being hijacked by people tossing in political and religious comments so the "Chit Chat" section was started so those who wanted to discuss issues other than photography. That didn't stop the problem but Admin made a few threats and actually kicked a few people out of uhh, some of whom returned under another name, but a little later when "Chit Chat" got to be too nasty for the mildly people with nasty attitudes "The Attic" was opened so those who really want to be nasty would have a place to do their thing. In the meantime, those who regularly post images in the Photo Gallery were able to appeal to Admin to outlaw any kind of criticism or negative comments about the photos there unless the person who posted them specifically asked for criticism. Further complaints led to the opening of the specialty sections we now have like "Macro," "Photo Analysis," "For Your Consideration," and all the other sections that relate to photography and all of that was an attempt to push out those people who cannot keep a civil tongue in their mouth. It hasn't worked but it may be better than it might have been.

The man who started the forum admitted that he had only just bought a camera within a year prior to deciding to open uhh and was therefore not really in a position to moderate the subject of photography but rather was a marketing specialist and that the forum was definitely set up as a for-profit venture. Of course, as it is with many other attempts at marketing, the fees charged advertisers are based upon how many people will see an advertisement so the larger the number of members, the higher the income from advertisers which is why you haven't seen an opportunity to "quit" uhh. It's kinda like being a lifer and admin has every reason to not intervene in argumentative stuff and in fact, does almost nothing to encourage civility and in fact, may very well profit more when there is a good deal of upheaval and conflict among the members - as in, "a little controversy never hurt anyone but it attracts a lot of attention" and it may even be good for business because it attracts even those who only want to be nasty. Others take it upon themselves to make sure everyone knows how smart and informed they are and hence go around correcting everyone in what they think and say.

I am a long time photographer. I was the organizer for the Long Island Photography meetup for 10 years with over 250 members.
I am not new to photography. The one thing that often surprises me, is how rude, nasty and mean some of the people...mostly men...are on this site. I tend to picture an old man, in his underwear, alone, lonely and posting negative comments.

Some people feel they have to criticize, insult, make rude remarks, make fun of, etc, when people post something. They do this even if they aren't even interested in the topic.

This is not always a friendly site. There are people that are very helpful, but the rude ones take away from that.

"Whatever you do, don't look in your manual or visit the Nikon site."
"I've always wondered how the human can be so naïve, such that their brain thinks $174.99 is far less expensive than $175. "
"I think too many sellers on UHH have an inflated opinion of what their old, unwanted equipment is worth."

I would like to request in 2018, that those people hold back on their negative comments.
If you don't have something nice to say, don't post anything.

There are newbies here, to both photography and to the use of the computer. Yes, it is easy to say, *just google it* but there is a way to say it without being mean about it. That might not be the first thing someone thinks about when they are trying to get some information.

We all share a love of photography, lets be kind to one another, be helpful, or don't help at all.

Wishing all a Healthy & Happy Holiday.

I am not making an attempt to be the thought or grammar police here with what I'm about to say but I'd like to address the importance of good, clear communication with correctly spelled words. There are a ton of total newbies come on here trying to learn and if they are hit with a bunch of regular English terms that have already been hijacked for photography use it's often already confusing enough and if we then misspell those terms to the point that they cannot even be looked up the way we offer them, it only creates mass confusion in the mind of a person who does not know what someone is trying to say. It is not only confusing but it can be so discouraging as to leave a total beginner with the idea that they'll never understand this whole thing and cause them to want to give up. Often, while it would be nice and beneficial for everyone, many folks who are just beginning have no idea where to start when it comes to reading the multitude of books out there on the subjects of photography and cameras and even though they may not be inclined toward self-directed study, it's about as confusing as any subject I can think of and there really isn't any way to know what's the best starting place when you know nothing. Many turn to places like this to try to get a feel for where their interests lie so brief, terse, unclear, unexplanatory comments that are full of misspelled words can do a lot of harm and the thing is that you have to know what those words mean in order for what a person says to make sense. It's little different from anything else and is why we were hammered in school to get it right - so we could be understood and not do more harm and cause more confusion than we fix. We need to take our time and write in complete and clear sentences with the words spelled correctly in order to effectively communicate. Otherwise, the world would often be better off if we just remained quiet.

So this is Christmas! Perhaps we could return to the topic of little peace, kindness, and civility.

I may consider Ron to be a 'crusty old bugger', and I am most definitely on his ignore list, but I strongly believe that he adds a lot of value to the forum, even if his style irritates some people. I can't recall him being really mean to people as some others are. Abrupt? Certainly, but downright insulting I do not recall.

So I wish Season's Greetings to Ron, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!