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Roger Deakins' website shut down


David Calson

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I'm consistently amazed by how poorly behaved people can be on the Internet.

 

Tiny men behind powerful keyboards... you can see it here all the time... things said they would NEVER say to your face... and for good reason!

 

They forget... it's a small world 'after all'. :o

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This guy started arguing about the brand of tripod that Roger was using in a photo, the guy took great offense and started cussing Roger and a few other people out. The guy earlier admitted he was in therapy, go figure.

 

You'd figure Roger would just ban him, but perhaps the guy was also hounding him by email and Roger had enough of the whole idea of being accessible to the public.

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What a shame. :(

 

It's tough for a famous person to stay accessible on the net. Jannard used to be accessible via PM on reduser, but that only lasted about two months. Can you imagine if Spielberg had a forum? He would be overwhelmed and inundated with requests and pitches and god knows what else.

 

Maybe Roger could have just signed up a couple more moderators and let them handle the bad apples.

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I witnessed the posts, which were needless to say totally out of control and completely unprofessional.

 

The crazy person posted a photo of Roger operating a camera mounted on a Ronford Baker head, and asked him if it was an O'Connor head. Roger replied that the head was indeed a Ronford Baker, as he usually uses, and then this guy flipped out and claimed that the reply was rude. Apparently the guy was indeed hounding both the webmaster and Roger through email, making threats etc, so they decided to pull the plug (and I don't blame them...)

 

Obviously, you can't apply any logic to this. It's just really unfortunate that it had to ruin it for the rest of us. The professionals that take the time to contribute to forums such as this one are an amazing asset, and I'm sure myself along with a lot of others are very grateful for their time. I've learned a tremendous amount from online communities such as this, but unfortunately there are those select few who feel the need to screw it up.

 

For those more internet savvy than myself, are there any solutions that could keep that guy from coming back when (if) the website returns?

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I was very sorry to hear about the closing of Roger's site. I haven't visited the site for a while but I enjoyed

very much looking through his b&w stills. Of course it was a wonderful site for cinematography and I know

that he would accept e-mails and answer them according to his time restraints. I appreciate very much his

art and craft. I guess being famous attracts some of these types that lack integrity and respect for others

and their achievements in the arts.

Greg Gross

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This makes me very sad. And to think this news is how I find out that Roger Deakins has a website and forum.

 

I really hope he gives it another go. As someone said, a few more moderators could really police it for him, and I'm sure plenty would volunteer for the job.

 

There are plenty of forums across the internet that, by nature, attract more flamers/trolls than a cinematography forum. With a handful of moderators working for free, they do pretty well at banning and deleting offensive posts and users. Though, with that being his personal site, I can see how one bad guy could really frustrate his efforts.

 

Get the moderators to help out approving new sign-ups as well, and IP block for the bad guys, and I think he would do pretty well.

 

A big THANK YOU to all of the professionals (and amateurs), here and elsewhere, that give freely of their time to educate!

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As much as I hate (obscenity removed) making trouble, I think the decision to pull the plug entirely of such as wonderful site was a bit much IMHO. As it has been said, moderators and an IP address block would have sufficed.

 

I remember the infuriating Ms. Mundo _and a few others_ whom we collectively ran out of this fair forum. She didn't threat anyone, but she sure was rude and annoying. So there are ways to deal with this type of situation.

Edited by Tim Tyler
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As a student of cinematography, Roger Deakins' website was invaluable. I am extremely saddened by its closure; it was such a terrific learning resource for me.

 

The person in question had the handle 'kamerawhore' and was definitely volatile: this much was clear from his first post where he ranted for the full length of a webpage, about how despite his repeated efforts as a cinematographer people did not respect him, his talent, his hardwork, yada yada yada. He also noted that he was in therapy. Roger, being the kind fellow he is, posted responses to encourage this guy as did some other members. This attention gave kamerawhore the impetus to continuing posting, until it all came crashing down with the tripod fiasco.

 

I got the shock of my life when I logged on the website and discovered it was shut down. This is a truly sad development. I wrote the webmaster imploring Roger to bring it back and consider banning the IPs of such users. I respect Roger's decision, but when you're on the internet such crazies abound freely, and one must have tools to fight them.

 

Bottom line, the rest of us have to pay the price for the folly of one fool. I recommend more of you write to webmaster@rogerdeakins.com and express yourselves with clarity and humility.

Edited by Andrew Kassagi
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I read of one way to rather easily keep abusive people out of forums, when I researched one website which would attract some very eccentric individuals.

 

The moderator has adopted the tactic of charging a mininal one-time fee, I think it was five dollars, to start a new account.

 

So if someone was unpleasant, the moderator could block the account, and the unpleasant person would have to cough up another five dollars to start a new name. Few people are insane enough to keep doing that just to get one more insult in. The won't generally masquerade as someone else, because they are seeking the feeling of WINNING by intimidating others as themselves.

 

It's not ideal, but would make it a little more worth it, for someone really deeply knowedgeable like leading DP's.

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i can't believe it :(

since i discovered his great web i was visiting it once a day at list

 

i learned there so much! i would never even imagined i could actually talk to him and ask him question about cinematography.

 

it was the best master class i had!!

 

i am so angry about this guy if only i could put my hands on him :angry:

 

pleas mister deakins or his web master pleas bring back the site

 

i am shore we can find a way to stop this kind of people

 

maybe he can come to this form and we can give him spacial "roger deakins" forum (just an idea)

 

this is a very sad day to me, very sad day.

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Bottom line, the rest of us have to pay the price for the folly of one fool. I recommend more of you write to webmaster@rogerdeakins.com and express yourselves with clarity and humility.

I have already written the webmaster, thanking Mr. Deakins and the team for their contribution to the filmmaking community along with a plea to reconsider a total site shutdown and instead consider imposing stricter security measures. Hopefully if enough people show their support, they can be persuaded to return. However, I was able to read kamerawhore's posts and he immediately struck me as a deeply disturbed person, not just a rabid internet troll, who would be a likely candidate for exhibiting stalker-like behavior. I would totally understand if the experience has soured Mr. Deakins' taste for the entire idea of being publicly accessible via the internet.

 

But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

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This is really a pity! For me as a beginner in Cinematography Roger's Website has been a wonderful source of help and information. When I discovered his site first, I was so happy to be able to get my questions answered by a highly acclaimed cinematographer. This website was probably the best cinematography master class you can get for free and on the web!

I agree to what other guys have written above. I will write a mail to the webmaster as well and I hope others will do the same so that we hopefully can reach a conclusion that is helpful for everyone.

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and all of this over a camera head....It really makes you think how unstable some people can be...Maybe we should ban together and track the guy down and shove a set of sticks with a geared head up his arse.

 

I think it is a big loss to all of us here who would frequent the site and one that Roger enjoyed contributing to as well.

 

-Scott

Edited by Scott Pelzel
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