in recent years we've seen the landscape change radically in that regard. We've moved from an industry where the newbies might have been new to the emerging field of digital forensics but still had years of computing experience under their belts, to one where some recent recruits seem not only inexperienced (which is to be expected) but also wholly unsuitable for a role which requires not just technical expertise but also maturity, professionalism and integrity.
This is it.
For many people the FF web site is the forums, though of course there is loads more here, as listed in the excellent monthly newsletter.
I believe in the open sharing of knowledge and information and that forums are better open rather than vetted. However the ability to post anonymously causes issues here and on most other open forums. Solutions to this are time-consuming and as Jamie has touched on, if running the forum is not beneficial to him/ his time then I'd question keeping it going, especially if others no longer find it as useful as it used to be, which appears to be the case.
And finally…I'd like to send my thanks to Jamie for all his work here over the years. Jamie's been an exceptionally reasonable and level-handed moderator which has made the place as popular as it is. Cheers!
In an open community such as this, I think the this quality issue tends to be heavily influenced by the least experienced end of the spectrum and in recent years we've seen the landscape change radically in that regard. We've moved from an industry where the newbies might have been new to the emerging field of digital forensics but still had years of computing experience under their belts, to one where some recent recruits seem not only inexperienced (which is to be expected) but also wholly unsuitable for a role which requires not just technical expertise but also maturity, professionalism and integrity.
Sounds a lot like te development of the internet 😉
Anyways, you run one hell of a site, period. Thank you for that. It is striking that after so many years, I have yet to discover a forum where there is so much knowledge and willingness to share.
As for the rest I welcome critisism, but abhor complaining. In my opinion, quality cannot prevail without respectful critisism. Having said that, this *is* a community effort, so just complaining & not doing anything will bring no good to anyone.
- Roland
It never ceases to amaze me that when I look in Google for so many questions - FF quite often accounts for not only the top result, but also a significant portion of the page ! It is this obvious success as a repository of information that draws everyone to FF be they experienced or newb, and I have to echo lucpel's comments regarding the breadth of the field - an expert in one area can be quite devoid of knowledge in another ! We are self regulating to a certain extent, and perhaps should remember that if you ask a question you may appear a fool for five minutes, but it sure as hell beats being ignorant for the rest of your life 😉 ! We've all been there and, some of us still go there regularly - with a "Doh" moment !
Sometimes it's the "silly" questions that elucidate the most interesting answers !
Jamie, to reiterate what others have said - thank you - I've learnt a huge amount through FF and I've made many good friends ! Wow, 12 years, and you look so young too ! -P
Si
Thanks Jamie this forum provides an invaluable service to the DF community and, IMHO, is all the better for being open and with light touch moderation.
I guess the comment regarding monetisation was tongue-in-cheek, but I think you'd be surprised at how many members would be prepared to voluntarily contribute towards the upkeep of the forum if you offered a subscriber option. I already subscribe to a couple of other forums on this basis and would be more than happy to contribute to FF in the same way.
I use this site quite a bit, and agree it is an invaluable resource. However, I will NEVER post a question in the course of my research on any topic, because when I did, I was flamed for asking the question in the first place. Did my research, and this site is one place I go to seek direction if someone may have run accross a situation.
However, I for now will simply lurk. I think the site is absolutely awesome, but I am sorry I had to mention the negative. Henceforth my lack of contribution.
Thanks again for a great site.
Hello,
I looked over your posts (there are 15 of them) and don't see one where you are flamed. Which one are you talking about?
What was the question and what was the response?
Was the question you asked easily found on Google?
Sorry you felt flamed, hope you post more often and offer your insight into issues.
I use this site quite a bit, and agree it is an invaluable resource. However, I will NEVER post a question in the course of my research on any topic, because when I did, I was flamed for asking the question in the first place. Did my research, and this site is one place I go to seek direction if someone may have run accross a situation.
However, I for now will simply lurk. I think the site is absolutely awesome, but I am sorry I had to mention the negative. Henceforth my lack of contribution.
Thanks again for a great site.
Lorem doleas nocent. Suscipe nostri Apologetico. Vis dimitte nobis?
Interdum molesta eodem, repetita identidem.
Memento quod adepto ingerere.
mrgreen
I use this site quite a bit, and agree it is an invaluable resource. However, I will NEVER post a question in the course of my research on any topic, because when I did, I was flamed for asking the question in the first place. Did my research, and this site is one place I go to seek direction if someone may have run accross a situation.
However, I for now will simply lurk. I think the site is absolutely awesome, but I am sorry I had to mention the negative. Henceforth my lack of contribution.
Thanks again for a great site.
Age quod agis Jhup.
Lorem doleas nocent. Suscipe nostri Apologetico. Vis dimitte nobis?
Interdum molesta eodem, repetita identidem.
Memento quod adepto ingerere.
mrgreen
I use this site quite a bit, and agree it is an invaluable resource. However, I will NEVER post a question in the course of my research on any topic, because when I did, I was flamed for asking the question in the first place. Did my research, and this site is one place I go to seek direction if someone may have run accross a situation.
However, I for now will simply lurk. I think the site is absolutely awesome, but I am sorry I had to mention the negative. Henceforth my lack of contribution.
Thanks again for a great site.
Thanks Jamie this forum provides an invaluable service to the DF community and, IMHO, is all the better for being open and with light touch moderation.
Thank you for those kind words.
I guess the comment regarding monetisation was tongue-in-cheek, but I think you'd be surprised at how many members would be prepared to voluntarily contribute towards the upkeep of the forum if you offered a subscriber option. I already subscribe to a couple of other forums on this basis and would be more than happy to contribute to FF in the same way.
Partly tongue-in-cheek. While I'm not going to rule anything out, I can't at this moment envisage a situation where I'd want us to move to a subscription basis. I say that for a number of reasons but primarily because it just feels as though it runs counter to the community ethos of the site (that's not to say that there's anything wrong with a subscription model or that it wouldn't work, only that on balance it's not something which sits comfortably with me at this point in time).
Instead I think any potential commercialization has to be based on bringing something new to the market, or probably more accurately acting as a channel for a new product or service on a partnership basis. I've tried to build those sorts of partnerships in the past but haven't been successful (so far) in sustaining anything over the longer term.
Jamie
I tried several community supported forums. They all failed.
On the other hand, communities where vendors provided support through their advertising, and the community was "free", were successful. (All my boards were phpBB & vB based).
