- Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:53 am
#69083
First, welcome back to the forum, Nick2009, and thank you for many years of great posts. I've called your name out here before as one of the reasons to keep coming back to this site!
I don't know about Berta's situation. You've been here a long time and know there's always been a tension on this site between shots that are "too good to be amateur" and real amateurs. While the site was overrun with what was clearly studio shots a few years ago (same staged backgrounds, etc.) there seems to be less of that these days. Frankly, if you're an actual pro with multiple models on the payroll, there's better money elsewhere. As for vote manipulation, I'm a bit surprised that there's a mafia selling up and downvotes (again, the money isn't THAT much) but the technology is pretty straight forward and it's human nature to game anything with a number - especially when money is involved - so I don't find it unbelievable at all. There is a place for a photographer that has legitimately multiple models doing it for fun, but hopefully everyone agrees that a pro shooter with multiple models on the payroll is a foul.
As for old Voyeurweb, there was good and bad of the pre-2012 era, but the "vibe" is definitely different now. This generation pretty much won't interact with models or viewers, has a terrible grasp of statistics (a contri that's voted on for one day can't be compared to a contri up for 30, rankings swing wildly - though that may be due to fewer viewers voting, etc.), and has demonstrated apathy that people are gaming the system. Stolen pics from other sites with watermarks cropped are allowed (stealing votes and comments from actual posters) and the site doesn't act. Rude commenters and repeat picture fakers are never banned. (You remember the days of looking cross-eyed at Igor and being banned.) That you were unable to get the attention of the admins shows that they have no grasp of your years of contributions here. I agree it's become a mess.