New to Sony - Your content will need to be approved by a moderator

[jpalik]

I have been a professional photographer for more than 50 years. I was a dedicated Canon user for the last 20+ years and finally decided to make the switch to Sony with the introduction of the a7 mark iii. I have a number of questions about the camera's configuration and core functions I hope to get answered in this forum. The first is I notice that the banner says "Your content will need to be approved by a moderator". How long does this delay in getting a question answered continue or is it indefinite.

To me forums are my primary source for solving problems. The Lightroom and Photoshop forums are so well monitored I can usually solve a problem within minutes. Constant moderator review could be a bottleneck.

I look forward to your answer.

Jim

[Chrissie]

Jim,

to my understanding, this is a community of volunteers. There is no such thing as a guaranteed response time that I'm aware of.

That said, this approval process seems to be for first-posters only, to avoid spamming issues. Once you are approved by the moderator, which may take a day or two, at least in my case it did, you are free to post with immediate effect. How long it then takes to get an answer, depends if somebody has both expertise, time and interest to help out. You should not expect the service level and professionality of a paid service. Just give it a try.

I could imagine that over time, if you not only ask questions but also contribute actively, then response times might improve ... 

[jpalik]

Thanks Chrissie,

I think I came off a expecting too much. I understand volunteer sites and I always take answers with informed caution, even with the Lightroom and Photoshop forums. I look forward to participating in the site. Unfortunately as a "New to Sony" member, most of my posts in the near future will be questions about the camera settings and functionality. Once I am proficient with it, hopefully I will be able to participate on both sides.

Hopefully this was the way to answer your reply. I did not see a direct reply link in your answer.

Good answer :-)

[Chrissie]

Well Jim,

to be honest, my answer was not without self-interest.

Since you introduced yourself as being a "professional photographer", I figured that you could eventually turn out to become a valuable contributor to this forum, if only someone helps you avoid any initial disappointment.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Just let these questions come in. Personally, I have quite a long time frame before evaluating the "balance sheet", so to speak.

So, a big welcome from me.

 

P.S.: I like the phrase "informed caution".

Edited October 15, 2018 by Chrissie

[SAF Admin]

23 hours ago, jpalik said:

Constant moderator review could be a bottleneck.

Indeed. But we review only the first post of new members to make sure that we don't get flooded by spammers...

Now that your first post is reviewed and approved no more delays will come...

Welcome to the forum!

Andreas

[OpenWater]

JPalik, Take a look at Mark Galer's feed on YouTube. He has some excellent information on settings, etc. (FWIW, I, too, am a bit perplexed by the Forum approval rules.)

[SAF Admin]

Just now, OpenWater said:

I, too, am a bit perplexed by the Forum approval rules

I understand that well.

But the alternative would be lots of spammers flooding the forum.

Thus the first post of each member must be approved by us.

Believe me, you wouldn't want it the other way

Welcome to the forum!

Andreas

[petrochemist]

I spend far too much time on multiple photographic forums, so have gone though the new member routine quite a few times.

As it happens I only joined this one today, and the post approval happened within half an hour. Very quick! Forums usually have a moderator available to approve first posts in less than 24 hours (moderators have lives too!)

A few forums are much more involved than this one, sometimes taking so long that I'd forgotten what aspect of that particular forum had caught my eye...

Here I was allowed to type my first post straight away solving that issue.

[OpenWater]

On 1/8/2019 at 12:26 PM, SAF Admin said:

I understand that well.

But the alternative would be lots of spammers flooding the forum.

Thus the first post of each member must be approved by us.

Believe me, you wouldn't want it the other way

Welcome to the forum!

Andreas

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for your work.