Is F295.org dead?

winger · Jan 3, 2015

I heard back from Tom this morning - he says he's planning to put the forum back in action for registrations later this month. He's had to get some stuff in place for anti-spam and he said they had been getting hundreds of registrations per day and what was in place before wasn't catching it all. He was having to do it manually and I can attest that it's a royal pain to go through that many manually. Anyway, I believe f295 is planning some stuff in the Pittsburgh area as well as getting the site active again so all I can suggest now is to check in occasionally. If I see that it's back in full swing, I'll post here.
Meanwhile, don't forget there are forums here for pinhole and for alternative stuff!

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 3, 2015

Well that's good news. If anything this thread has encouraged me to take out and dust off my two ZeroImage pinhole cameras. I've got the 6x9 multi-format and the 4x5 that I have not gotten enough use lately...

FM2N · Jan 3, 2015

Talked with Tom P and have been told that the site was having a lot of trouble with spammers to the tune of hundreds a day. Exceeding the server database load.
He then was forced to manually check each one. As you can imagine that process would take longer then hours in the day. He is in the process of getting new software online to hopefully help with this problem going forward and also hopes to have the registration up again very soon.

FM2N · Jan 3, 2015

Sorry for the repeat of info.

removedacct1 · Jan 3, 2015

Thank you both for taking the time and trouble to contact Tom and prompt a response! I am very excited by the idea that I might finally have an opportunity to participate in this specialized community forum. (not that there's anything wrong with the pinhole section here on APUG!)

FM2N · Jan 3, 2015

Sure. Great group of people. You should try to make the symposium in late May this year. Always a good time.

removedacct1 · Jan 3, 2015

FM2N said:
Sure. Great group of people. You should try to make the symposium in late May this year. Always a good time.

Oh?! Tell me more!

FM2N · Jan 3, 2015

It is run by Tom P. the founder of F295 and goes for about 4-6 days in Pittsburgh. The first night which is usually a thursday is a big meet and greet and usually a key note speaker, Sally Mann was the speaker just a year or 2 ago.
Also it is a great opportunity to show off your work, so there are tables set up to put out your best photos. Friday is a full day of lectures which are usually filed with great info. There are also classes that can be taken during the symposium and a few walk arounds. A blind print exchange is one of the highlights of the symposium.
I am sure that once the site is back up and running the info will be there for you to register and see what this years symposium is about.

removedacct1 · Jan 3, 2015

FM2N said:
It is run by Tom P. the founder of F295 and goes for about 4-6 days in Pittsburgh. The first night which is usually a thursday is a big meet and greet and usually a key note speaker, Sally Mann was the speaker just a year or 2 ago.
Also it is a great opportunity to show off your work, so there are tables set up to put out your best photos. Friday is a full day of lectures which are usually filed with great info. There are also classes that can be taken during the symposium and a few walk arounds. A blind print exchange is one of the highlights of the symposium.
I am sure that once the site is back up and running the info will be there for you to register and see what this years symposium is about.

Thanks, I will watch for that

bergytone · Jan 3, 2015

Winger, can you ask Tom if we will have to start over with registration when the site is open, or will my pending registration and account approval go through?

bvy · Jan 3, 2015

paulbarden said:
Oh?! Tell me more!

Has something been announced? I wasn't sure if it was yearly or every other year or as funds and interest allow...

winger · Jan 4, 2015

I don't see anything on the blog about a 2015 symposium and I think they're every other year because they take a ton of time to put together. But f295 has a location for workshops other than the symposium, I believe, and Tom said there's some stuff coming.

I've been to 3 symposia (?) so far and they are SOOOOO worth it.

Bergytone - I have no idea if you'll need to re-register. My guess is yes, but try logging in with your original info first once it's back up and running. I don't know if he kept the old stuff in queue once he turned registrations off. If it just goes through, you may get an email.

DWThomas · Jan 4, 2015

FWIW: their Facebook page talks of a half day event at B&H in NYC on January 18th, as well as a symposium in Pittsburgh May 28-31. The Facebook F295 Group appears to be public, so you may be able to see (but not comment) without being actually ensnared in F-B.

You now know everything I know ...

(I have, with some trepidation, a Facebook account. As such, I have learned more than I needed to know about several of my twenty-something relatives! :alien: )

scheimfluger_77 · Jan 4, 2015

fyi... I just checked in on a thread I started yesterday at f295 and earlj, one of the mega producers there, relayed info from Tom confirming the problem has indeed been spamming. It also sounds like he is actively engaged in addressing that problem, and working on plans for this year's symposium as well as long term future "presence" of f295. So perhaps a little patience is in order.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 4, 2015

Ok. But I think we should get a fourth account of what's going on just to be sure...

fotch · Jan 4, 2015

momus said:
Not everyone uses facebook. Any website that required me to sign in w/ that, which I refuse to have, can live w/o me. There are so many problems w/ security and privacy w/ that site. I don't understand why anyone would sign up for it.

Don't you have to sign in with APUG also? You can also sign in at facebook with an alias.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 4, 2015

fotch said:
Don't you have to sign in with APUG also? You can also sign in at facebook with an alias.

Not quite the same. I've joined and quit Facebook about 4-5 times each time quitting on either some new "feature" they announce or discovery in the media of how they harvest or use your info and data which makes very uncomfortable. I don't think we have that to such extent here. I keep re-activating because of something j want to see or read and not miss out!

NedL · Feb 6, 2015

Hi Everyone,

I think the new registration for the f295 forums is up and running.

To register for the forums, there is a one-time nominal "registration fee", I think $10. This is the way f295 forum registration worked a few years back and it seems like a pretty good way to dissuade spammers and robots.

I think you will see a banner at the top of the page which links to the new registration process.

Those of you who have had trouble over the past year or so might give it another try now.

pdeeh · Feb 6, 2015

Hmm it also seems a pretty good way to dissuade people from joining casually ... $10 isn't "nominal" ... $0.01 is nominal

removedacct1 · Feb 6, 2015

I saw that a few days ago and decided not to pay the fee. *shrug*

Sirius Glass · Feb 6, 2015

I just checked it and it is up.

Join? I do not think so.

Sirius Glass · Feb 6, 2015

email list? I will give it a try and see what it is like.

nsurit · Feb 6, 2015

$10. Have you been to a movie lately? I've subscribed for a few years and attended the symposium a couple of years ago. It was well worth the price of attending and getting there from Texas. Hope to be able to attend this years event. If we want organizations such as this to be around in the future, we need to support them today. It is a little like voting where you basically are saying you believe in someone's views and support what they are up to. Voting with your wallet is a way to support an organization that is promoting in large part what is promoted by APUG.

removedacct1 · Feb 6, 2015

nsurit said:
$10. Have you been to a movie lately? I've subscribed for a few years and attended the symposium a couple of years ago. It was well worth the price of attending and getting there from Texas. Hope to be able to attend this years event. If we want organizations such as this to be around in the future, we need to support them today. It is a little like voting where you basically are saying you believe in someone's views and support what they are up to. Voting with your wallet is a way to support an organization that is promoting in large part what is promoted by APUG.

The only reason I am hesitating to pay for a subscription is because I signed up for the f295 group twice in the past three years, was given an account to log in to, but the site owner never activated my account! All attempts to email or tweet any of the site management was met with a deafening silence. If a group like that is going to ignore willing and enthusiastic participants (namely me) to that extent, why should I expect any better response after handing over my ten dollars?? $10 is a token sum - I agree. I can barely buy two rolls of HP5 for that. I honestly worry whether I would get an activated account even after paying for membership. Now, if anyone can persuade me that my concerns are unfounded, I'm certainly willing to be persuaded.

Sirius Glass · Feb 6, 2015

The last pin hole photograph I took was in 2007. Not real likely to happen again. I would rather buy Ralph's or PE's books.

Is F295.org dead?

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