Got rid of the pinned topics, contribute your ideas next

[MrSMW]

It may just be my imagination Andrew, but when you post, there is more engagement.

You are the forum leader after all so as it should be.

However, when you go quiet, so does the forum.

As Kye suggests, more content from you is 100% the way to go. Providing you have the time of course!

Where’s the OM-1 ‘review’ for one thing?!

Maybe I am a bit olde schoole, but I am a fan of forums for info and a bit of chat over anything else that has come along since and sadly I have seen several die and in each case it was because the leader stopped leading.

Lead Andrew and they will follow…

[Andrew Reid]

14 hours ago, kye said:

Hi Andrew - some thoughts for your consideration..

A few observations.

Thanks for these @kye The most constructive advice, very helpful.

14 hours ago, kye said:

I think there are two types of topics now:
1) what should I buy / should I buy camera X? (purchase advice), and, 
2) wow - video is hard - now I have my camera WTF do I do with it? (accessories advice / technique / etc)

Maybe a buyer's guide, updated every year would satisfy (1) and then we could have more variety of other topic on the forum, as it does get a bit repetitive. With (2) being the bread and butter of any forum really, it is here to help people get the best out of their kit and talent.

14 hours ago, kye said:

The site is also a rare home to discussions that are more reminiscent of cinematography rather than technology (for example, discussions of c-mount lenses, classic cameras like early Pan models and BM models, etc).  Yes, there are more than a few people who can't see past the specifications, but many who prefer the image of a 2K Alexa with vintage primes over an 8K camera with a low-distortion zoom.

True and we can encourage this so that maybe all the info is in one place and easy to access at a glance and therefore easier to add to it?

On DPReview forums they are not having the same discussions about c-mount lenses and earlier digital cinema cameras, so that is quite a unique thing about this place. Maybe play on the strength of that. The problem with a sub-forum though is it tends to get orphaned and ignored, so it is about keeping it all very visible and all in one place together with the latest topics. So maybe the front page of the forum needs a big refresh to make it clear how much good stuff there is already on the forum.

And it could integrate with the good stuff on the blog a lot better too, so maybe new software is required on the server side.

14 hours ago, kye said:

Some suggestions.

I suggest a strategy of playing to your strengths and harnessing your interests.  What I mean by this is:

• Embrace the 'call it how you see it' approach, and just write more content.

I enjoyed doing the YouTube channel. The problem is it reduced visitors to the written side of the blog by as much as 60% and made zero income. Not been paid a single dollar of ad revenue from YouTube after a year of videos. So currently debating whether YouTube is viable or not long term for EOSHD.

14 hours ago, kye said:

• In terms of the forum, I suggest this:
• Collapse all the sub-forums into the main forum (we all know that sub-forums are where threads go to die) so just let the forum flow - it will keep it looking busy but not unmanageable and will focus all the attention on it.

Yeah as I say, sub-forums are deprived of oxygen somehow...

Unless you are presented with ONLY sub-forums.

So you HAVE to post in the categories.

DVXUser was like this.

The alternative would be to delete the anamorphic forum and move all those threads into the main one. Same with the others. This might make it harder to find specific threads, but also bring more attention to the successful ones in those areas of the site.

14 hours ago, kye said:

• The only sub-forum should be the one for hot-topics like the politics thread you recently created.  This will allow you to direct any discussions that get a little heated into that sub-forum and will 'cool off' those topics which is potentially required so that will work in your favour.

Yep that was the intention there.

14 hours ago, kye said:

Fundamentally, more people are doing video than ever before, but honesty and experience (without a vested interest) is rarer than ever, so there is more demand than ever before for your insights.  I suggest playing to your strengths and just up your output.

Hope that's useful 🙂

The call it as you see it goes for everyone on the forum too, I would be good to see a more critical eye and more cynicism especially when it comes to posting a high proportion of YouTube videos and external links, is this content really actually "call it as they see it" or really just fancy marketing in disguise?

I am just one person in this forum and it is also a matter of getting as many people involved as possible who can put their knowledge and expertise on the table.

I think some users need to think harder before posting in 6 different threads all at once with opinions... and I don't mean this in a rude way, I know it's well intentioned, but I think much of the very frequent posting from 3 or 4 people tends to dominate the forum and it is mostly armchair observations, rather than hands on experience. This dilutes the actual hands-on knowledge side of the forum and buries a lot of interesting discoveries under endless streams of opinion soup. If we can grow the forum again so there is a bigger crowd, this wouldn't be as much as an issue.

[FHDcrew]

I’ll agree with @MrSMW 

I personally deeply miss your long-form written articles and reviews. I feel that is where you shine and I prefer it to the YouTube content (though I like the effort you put in!). Nowadays it’s either a politics article or a very occasional filmmaking-camera-related article. It’d be nice to see you back in action regarding articles. I recently re-read an old 1DC review of yours; I loved how thorough and well-thought out that review along with so many others are. While I just recently joined, I’ve been an avid viewer of both the forum and the site since 2017. And back then your articles were a major selling point. Lately up until now you have seemed less active. I know you went through some 2020 struggles and whatnot, but I think a key to the forum’s success is for you to do the following:

 

A: Be very active in the forum, creating topics and engaging with others. 
 

B: Crank out the high-quality articles and written reviews you are known for. I feel you do it better than do most YouTubers at making videos. 

[Emanuel]

Andrew, nice to see you got rid of all those annoying pinned topics... As said earlier in the former thread, seeking dynamics is nothing this community needs per se... Where do we find anything similar? ; )

Less is more at times and the cleanest layout the best.

Even though, Kye's suggestions are great as usual : ) I don't think to kill subforums might anyhow help... My 2 cents at least :- )

[Emanuel]

6 hours ago, FHDcrew said:

I’ll agree with @MrSMW 

I personally deeply miss your long-form written articles and reviews. I feel that is where you shine and I prefer it to the YouTube content (though I like the effort you put in!). Nowadays it’s either a politics article or a very occasional filmmaking-camera-related article. It’d be nice to see you back in action regarding articles. I recently re-read an old 1DC review of yours; I loved how thorough and well-thought out that review along with so many others are. While I just recently joined, I’ve been an avid viewer of both the forum and the site since 2017. And back then your articles were a major selling point. Lately up until now you have seemed less active. I know you went through some 2020 struggles and whatnot, but I think a key to the forum’s success is for you to do the following:

 

A: Be very active in the forum, creating topics and engaging with others. 
 

B: Crank out the high-quality articles and written reviews you are known for. I feel you do it better than do most YouTubers at making videos. 

I fully agree, Andrew's articles are the unrepeatable lead ingredient no one else is able to match, the secret sauce IMHO : P And where any youtubers struggle to compete, at least in independence/freedom, POV, knowledge, helpful information, really juicy-instructive quality content. What else can beat it? ;- )

[Andrew Reid]

40 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

Andrew, nice to see you got rid of all those annoying pinned topics... As said earlier in the former thread, seeking dynamics is nothing this community needs per se... Where do we find anything similar? ; )

Less is more at times and the cleanest layout the best.

Even though, Kye's suggestions are great as usual : ) I don't think to kill subforums might anyhow help... My 2 cents at least :- )

The sub forums are gone but the posts are not, they were moved into the main forum, as I'd like to start discussing raw shooting cameras, anamorphic lenses, right bang in the centre of the forum rather than tucked and hidden away in a sub-forum.

I think this will help the amount of activity in the main forum and the diversity of topics.

Anamorphic sub-forum had been around for entire history of this forum, but I always felt the topics didn't get as much attention as they deserved, so sometimes having a sub-forum on anamorphic lenses hinders the general chat about anamorphic lenses.

Now when you post about it in the main forum they stand out and everyone sees it regardless of whether they duck into the sub forums from time to time or not.

[PannySVHS]

A few pinned threads might still be a good idea imo, like the legendary lenses thread, 5d3 raw and such. The core ideas of the current spirit of the forum and its owner. Not more than 7 i'd say, like 7 wonders of the world.:)

[Andrew Reid]

If I pinned 7 threads would you and Webrunner comment on every single one 10 times a day?

At this rate going to need a flood control not sticky posts!

[PannySVHS]

No, I wouldn't.

[webrunner5]

9 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

If I pinned 7 threads would you and Webrunner comment on every single one 10 times a day?

At this rate going to need a flood control not sticky posts!

Well, I guess that means time for me to move on. If it wasn't for us two there would be 5 posts a week. This forum is on its death bed. Has been for several months.

[projectwoofer]

22 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

much of the very frequent posting from 3 or 4 people tends to dominate the forum and it is mostly armchair observations, rather than hands on experience. This dilutes the actual hands-on knowledge side of the forum and buries a lot of interesting discoveries under endless streams of opinion soup.

In case anyone missed it.

Over and out.

[kye]

 

On 8/15/2022 at 5:48 PM, Andrew Reid said:

Thanks for these @kye The most constructive advice, very helpful.

Maybe a buyer's guide, updated every year would satisfy (1) and then we could have more variety of other topic on the forum, as it does get a bit repetitive. With (2) being the bread and butter of any forum really, it is here to help people get the best out of their kit and talent.

True and we can encourage this so that maybe all the info is in one place and easy to access at a glance and therefore easier to add to it?

On DPReview forums they are not having the same discussions about c-mount lenses and earlier digital cinema cameras, so that is quite a unique thing about this place. Maybe play on the strength of that. The problem with a sub-forum though is it tends to get orphaned and ignored, so it is about keeping it all very visible and all in one place together with the latest topics. So maybe the front page of the forum needs a big refresh to make it clear how much good stuff there is already on the forum.

And it could integrate with the good stuff on the blog a lot better too, so maybe new software is required on the server side.

I enjoyed doing the YouTube channel. The problem is it reduced visitors to the written side of the blog by as much as 60% and made zero income. Not been paid a single dollar of ad revenue from YouTube after a year of videos. So currently debating whether YouTube is viable or not long term for EOSHD.

Yeah as I say, sub-forums are deprived of oxygen somehow...

Unless you are presented with ONLY sub-forums.

So you HAVE to post in the categories.

DVXUser was like this.

The alternative would be to delete the anamorphic forum and move all those threads into the main one. Same with the others. This might make it harder to find specific threads, but also bring more attention to the successful ones in those areas of the site.

Yep that was the intention there.

The call it as you see it goes for everyone on the forum too, I would be good to see a more critical eye and more cynicism especially when it comes to posting a high proportion of YouTube videos and external links, is this content really actually "call it as they see it" or really just fancy marketing in disguise?

I am just one person in this forum and it is also a matter of getting as many people involved as possible who can put their knowledge and expertise on the table.

I think some users need to think harder before posting in 6 different threads all at once with opinions... and I don't mean this in a rude way, I know it's well intentioned, but I think much of the very frequent posting from 3 or 4 people tends to dominate the forum and it is mostly armchair observations, rather than hands on experience. This dilutes the actual hands-on knowledge side of the forum and buries a lot of interesting discoveries under endless streams of opinion soup. If we can grow the forum again so there is a bigger crowd, this wouldn't be as much as an issue.

Some further thoughts..

I have a very forum-centric view of the site, but that's perhaps something to consider in your overall design - how to get people on the forums to the relevant content on the rest of the site.

I've already suggested making a new thread for each article you post, and perhaps that could be extended to the idea of guides and resources - a pinned post that links to each major item or area of the site that might be of interest to someone. This would turn the main page into a list of pinned posts linking to specific useful resources as well as select threads, and then below that would be the latest discussions.  The social media research I did in years past talked about providing a small percentage of your own commercial content in amongst free resources, kind of like a freemium approach to content. The site doesn't have banner ads, so the tolerance of users to paid resources should be reasonable, especially as it's "in-house" content.

In terms of the "what should I buy" questions, a guide would be useful to answer the most basic questions (especially for those who don't want to register or are too afraid to post) but when people do post their question it often generates interesting debate about pros and cons of various factors.  I view the forums as a panel discussion where we're all on stage on the panel with there being an unknown number of lurkers who read the threads but don't post.  Even if the OP never comes back after asking their question, the replies are likely still of some value to the people reading, and are always up-to-date on the latest models around.  Maybe the site stats provide you with a different insight, but that's how I think about it.
It's worth mentioning that whenever ML comes up in a discussion I go looking for an update to the current state of affairs and almost always end up re-reading your ML guide (despite it being quite dated now) just because there's no other way to find a simple overview of which models can do what resolutions and with what limitations.  I'm sure this is only one example of how a guide can be really useful to lots of people.

In terms of trying to highlight the stuff that's already around, like the c-mount lenses, to a certain extent google is already doing that - the people who are looking for it will find it - but those who don't know that "C-mount + OG BMPCC = cinematic!!" but would be interested in it might benefit from a guide on the subject.  Certainly, this is an area where there is so much BS out there and a good overview from you might be really helpful.  

An idea, and probably a really bad one, is instead of structuring the forums in some 'normal' way (like cameras, lenses, etc and potentially then by manufacturer or system) is to structure it in some other way.  Woodworking forums probably don't have forums for hammers and nails and measuring tapes, I'd imagine they have forums for the types of projects.  Why do camera forums have to organise themselves around the tools?  Forums around narrative projects, videography and unscripted materials, etc might be a way that's more "mature"?  Told you - bad idea.

I note you've ditched all the sub-forums, good move.  The ultimate design might be something different, but in the short-term see how this goes and see if the new design emerges from the content.  I think there are a lot of very favourable business-models for video creation related sites for the future, the challenge is to find one.  For that, keeping things flexible is a good move.  Looking at other places and seeing what's working for them and (if it seems like it might fit) trying it yourself is a good way to learn and adapt.

YT isn't likely to drive people from your channel to the site, and is unlikely to make you any money in the short or medium term either.  In the longer term you'd need to work out some kind of sponsorship or revenue model that wouldn't mind your levels of "honesty", which isn't a large pool of potential organisations.  Not sure how much you'd enjoy flogging merch either 🙂 
My advice to you is the same advice I've given myself about starting YT:
 1) make it as easy as possible to shoot and upload a video, and,
 2) only do it for the enjoyment of doing it, not for some kind of reward down the track
That's why I haven't started a channel.

I take a slightly different view of people embedding videos in the forum - I think it adds to the forum.  Here's how it works for me...  I have a shortcut for the forum main page, and I have one for YT (several actually).  When I want to watch YT I will go to YT and watch.  When I want to talk about cameras and film-making I come here.  If I'm here and I'm in a thread about camera X or technique Y and there's a video about it, I can watch the video and if there's something useful in it then I've learned something, and I got that benefit by coming to these forums.  If it was a video I've already seen then I have a reference point for what people are talking about, if it's from a YT channel I know then cool, if not then maybe I subscribe to them while I'm there but I then come back to the forums.  It kind of defeats the point if I was to keep browsing YT and forget about the forums, because - in a way - that video was part of a conversation that I was in the middle of and if I come back later I'll have forgotten what was in the video so would have lost the context.  Maybe your stats are showing that people are leaving threads to go to YT and never coming back, but for me that video adds to the experience of the forums.
This is perhaps an aside, but I remember a discussion about how the internet was disrupting traditional print media.  The summary was that print media provided three things, creation of content, curation of content, and distribution of content.  People were saying that the internet was killing magazines because the audience could just go directly to the people writing the articles (blogs at that time) and the internet did the distribution.  True, but what they missed was the curation - the internet is huge and mostly filled with brightly-coloured-excrement.  This was what gave rise to the big meta-blogs who just linked to external articles hosted elsewhere and provided just enough original content that they kept people hitting their site first.  The main value those blogs provided was curation.  This is really the function of third-party content like links on the forums - the forum curated the content and that's why people keep coming back.  Sure, maybe someone could come onto the forums and then "discover" Matti and McKinnon etc and never come back, but I'm not sure they're the people we really want around are they?  Besides, a thoughtful post from almost any of the familiar faces around here contains experience and knowledge that would take literally years to gain if someone was to just watch YT videos, so there's kind of no real threat in that regard.

It might be worth considering who your target audience really is and questioning if they really do follow a link to another website (even one of your most hated competitors) and never come back.  It doesn't seem likely to me.

In terms of people posting without hands-on experience, it's difficult to moderate and with more and more cameras on the market the user-base is spread even thinner.  I don't think that's going to change.  The more that the content of the site is about how to make films vs a specific camera model, the more that people can comment from experience.  I suspect the days of a camera being released and a dozen forum members buying it are likely over.  The way you structured the site pushed people to talk about cameras and not much else, maybe an alternate strategy would mean there's more hands-on experience behind most posts?  Once you get past the sensor size, form-factor, and exposure triangle, there isn't much difference between a smartphone, a Komodo, and an FP, so we can all chime in merrily at that point.

[Andrew Reid]

4 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

If it wasn't for us two there would be 5 posts a week. This forum is on its death bed. Has been for several months.

OK lord saviour off you go, leave me to die with my ship captain. I am not worthy of your help and the 3 spam posts in a row under every topic. I will sail on into the iceberg come what may (rather than read any more of it). Or maybe jump off the ship myself if the going gets really tough (and you decide to keep posting). I am sure there will be a huge mutiny now we have reached the end of your reign as forum leader. As for many decades people have been coming to EOSHD not to learn about the cameras they spend $1000s on but to hear from Webrunner5 about windows movie maker.

By the way...

It isn't "on its death bed" at all. In fact if you stop posting it will be very much on the rise again as there will be less spam under every single piece of content on half the entire site. It's not like I didn't try to hint about it again and again so you would hopefully after several years stop posting in every thread with lame duck opinions that are barely even on topic.

I know you are well meaning. But it is trashing the place.

Time's up.

[Andrew Reid]

19 minutes ago, kye said:

It might be worth considering who your target audience really is and questioning if they really do follow a link to another website (even one of your most hated competitors) and never come back.  It doesn't seem likely to me.

I don't believe that, but at same time not willing to provide a publicity platform for my most hated click weasel competitors, or some guy who wants to flog his LUTs in every post.

19 minutes ago, kye said:

In terms of people posting without hands-on experience, it's difficult to moderate and with more and more cameras on the market the user-base is spread even thinner.  I don't think that's going to change.

It isn't too difficult to moderate, the way it works is I have a light touch for about 5 years with someone like webrunner5 and let him speak, then if I find he is STILL flooding the forum worth worthless chit chat after that long amount of time has elapsed I find I have had enough of reading it and say time's up, last orders please, out you go.

19 minutes ago, kye said:

The way you structured the site pushed people to talk about cameras and not much else

EOSHD is a site about cameras and shooting with cameras.

I don't see why it should be structured differently.

At end of the day this is not about me.

The forum is the user generated part of the site.

It is up to users to ask what THEY can do that's interesting for the forum, not point at the moderator and tell him how he should run the community.

19 minutes ago, kye said:

Once you get past the sensor size, form-factor, and exposure triangle, there isn't much difference between a smartphone, a Komodo, and an FP, so we can all chime in merrily at that point.

Sounds like a recipe for nonsense to me that does.

[PannySVHS]

Well. Cheek in tongue comments above.

Don is my friend. I like his comments a big deal. He was not over eagerly providing more posts than anyone else does. There are many examples of various forum friends focussing on their mantras.

I call my own name with my own posting obsessions. At the same time I do recognize my specific contributions as well. We all were best meaning for this forum. Now that it takes on an exiting momentum again, we won´t worry no more but be happy to see this place grow and florish even more.

[Andrew Reid]

Just now, PannySVHS said:

Well. Cheek in tongue comments above.

Don is my friend. I like his comments a big deal. He was not over eagerly providing more posts than anyone else does. There are many examples of various forum friends focussing on their mantras.

I call my own name with my own posting obsessions. At the same time I do recognize my specific contributions as well. We all were best meaning for this forum. Now that it takes on an exiting momentum again, we won´t worry no more but be happy to see this place grow and florish even more.

I am THIS close to ending the forum and bringing the focus back onto the blog.

So either the place improves and gets it act together, or I leave and the forum ends. This week.

[FHDcrew]

24 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

I am THIS close to ending the forum and bringing the focus back onto the blog.

So either the place improves and gets it act together, or I leave and the forum ends. This week.

Please don’t end the forum.

[FHDcrew]

It’s so unique

[newfoundmass]

One of my favorite things this forum has done is the video contest from a few years back. It was nice to SEE what people were capable of, even when using cheap cameras. So much of this forum is people talking about specs.

[herein2020]

@Andrew Reid I have been a member of many forums over the years and really hope this one doesn't end, IMO it is the last place on the Internet where someone can still go to have deep technical discussions about all things video production related. So, I do hope you make the decision to keep the forum running, and my contribution to what I think will help it do so is below:

• Remove the Edit Post time limit - This is my only technical complaint with this forum, no other forum I have ever been a member of has this. I know awhile back you had a problem with spammers editing some posts after posting, but I am not sure this was the right answer. Maybe you could do like some forums, after a member has reached a certain level of posts then the limit is removed or at least raised to 24hrs. Many times I will find a typo in my post or want to write some more after reading it and there is no way to edit it. So either I just skip it (usually) or write it in a follow up post (looks like I am overposting to me).
• Cater to Photography as Well - I know this forum is micro-focused on video production, but these days many of us myself included is a hybrid shooter. I rarely post anything photography related here simply because it caters so heavily towards video. The reality is though, most of the cameras we talk about on here also have great photography features. I think you would attract new members if you also started covering more depth in the photography area. Maybe not you personally but making the forum more attractive for photographers somehow. I think Fred Miranda is the last really deep photography site out there. Also, it is so much more work to produce a good video that you know will immediately get picked to pieces by other forum members 🤣 vs taking a good photography image and talking about the technicals behind it. Members love showing their work, having a gallery where we could post photography as well would definitely increase the forum's appeal in my opinion. That gallery could also let members vote on their photo pick of the week or something like that.
• Sub Forums - I know you just got rid of them and this will probably be an unpopular recommendation here, but when I look at every successful forum that I have contributed to (Fred Miranda, AutelPilots, CanonRumors, DodgeDurango.net), they all have one thing in common; they force you to pick a sub forum. I know many subforums is where things go to die, but that's because most forums have too many sub forums. A few big parent forums would organize things better than many sub forums. For Example, parent forums could be (Photography Talk, Video Talk, Drone Talk, Gear Reviews, Classifieds, Editing / How To, Show and Tell). Those are just examples. AutelPilots is very well laid out and has a lot of interaction in the subforums mainly because new posts in the sub forums are surfaced in the latest threads section helping everyone find new posts regardless of subforum.
• Advertising - I know you need revenue, and I know everyone dislikes ads, but I would rather the site have ads then get removed. I am not sure how ads work, maybe you could be selective with who can advertise on your site, but I know the site has to generate revenue as well. Most of the forums if not all of the ones that I listed have ads and the members still come.
• Classifieds - I don't know if your classifieds section currently charges to post something for sale, but I know Fred Miranda's site does. Its a very nominal fee ($5 I think) but its still better than nothing. Obviously that comes with its own headaches (scammers never sleep), but I would trust buying or selling to a well known member here than eBay any day. If you already charge for classifieds then you can ignore this suggestion.
• Educational - This forum has vast breadth and depth of knowledge when it comes to video and probably photography as well. But very few educational posts are made, probably because YouTube already has literally everything you could ever want to know. But I think an educational section here would be very helpful. The problem with YouTube is most of the time the viewers ask follow up questions that don't get answered in the comments. I am a member of AutelPilots and my instructional posts get more interaction than any other posts that I make there.  People always want to learn something new, and I feel like at the moment this isn't the site people go to to do that.
• Gear Review - I think every member here watches gear review videos. We all know most of the YT reviewers are heavily biased and most of them don't actually use the equipment to make a living; but, there are a few very good ones that I do watch. MonkeyPixels, Gerald Undone, and a few others I do value their opinions. Since it would not be cost effective and redundant for you to try to match the "professional" gear reviewers on YT, maybe you could curate instead....find the one single best review that you consider the most thorough and accurate and post that one video here, where members can discuss it in greater depth; also where you can provide your own deep insight into what you thought of the review and the gear being reviewed.
• Social Media - We all hate it but we all use it in some way, I use it just as an alternate gallery posting location to show my past video and photography work and also because my clients typically go there to reshare their content from my social media to theirs. I know you hate it as well, but I think you could use it to your advantage without it becoming and bottomless endless waste of time. On my website I use software so that everytime I post a blog post on my website it automatically posts on all of the social media platforms as well. Maybe something like that would reach more people and attract new members.
• Other Forums - I am pretty sure you have already done this, but I think a review of other top forums might also give you more ideas on what it takes to get members these days. The most successful forums that I see are usually the ones where members turn to when they need help or want to learn something from someone else that will most likely have an answer (i.e. DodgeDurango.net is the biggest forum for Dodge Durango owners and where nearly everyone goes when they want an answer to their specific problem). AutelPilots is very specific for Autel Drones and they get tons of new members every time a drone is released by people trying to learn everything they can about Autel drones.  Learning and education IMO are the biggest and best performing categories on YT and rank the highest on Google searches but I don't feel like this site currently caters to that category.
• Show and Tell - I mentioned a photography gallery previously, but maybe a video one as well. I always hesitate to post my content here because it could be considered spamming or self promotion, but if you had a section where members could post their work and answer any questions other members had about how it was created, the gear that was used, the technicals behind it, how it was edited, etc...that would be great. Obviously you would need to keep spammers out, so maybe the gallery sections could be read only until a member reached a certain posting level (similar to Fred Miranda). 
• Pinned Posts - I don't think they are a bad thing, I do think they shouldn't be more than 3 or 5. This is where subforums would help as well. Great information can get buried in this forum, pinning 3 or 5 posts of what you consider the top post or most relevant information at the time in the sub forums could be conversation starters, could be instructions for newcomers, could just be very useful information that might answer a question for new users visiting the subforum.
• Metatags - Not sure if members here would use them, but metatags really help with searching posts. It can be hard to find information on any forum, but if you allowed for a metatag field (just like metataging photos), it could make searches easier if members used them. Instead of having to type them, they could be easily clickable right before you post.

Here is where I could rant about the current state of things where no one wants to read more than 180 characters, everyone is just using their cell phones so things are in a state of decline, people don't want to read, or type anymore and just want a YT video that spoon feeds them, etc. etc, but its all been said before. Those are definitely all uphill challenges and they won't get any easier but here's to hoping this site can overcome them. As other sites fold up or go under, maybe that in the end would be a good thing for this site as those members look elsewhere for an outlet.

I think at the end of the day this site has currently narrowed down its focus to a very small niche of users (video content producers endlessly pursuing the absolute best image quality possible by all means necessary) which is a turn off to new members who might just want to know what that exposure triangle thingy is, or the short answer to how to get started in Davinci Resolve.

Maybe your intent is to keep members like that off of this forum, but I think if you want to grow the forum you have to somehow find a way to balance what the general population is looking for with what the absolute purists are looking for as well.