Quality of info on the internet is steadily getting worse!

[arthurking83]

Another nail in the coffin for quality info/data/review/summary .. on the internet.

Using the current trajectory of the volume of dross easily found on the interwebs .. I'd say that in a matter of months .. maybe a year or so .. just about every written piece on the internet is more likely to be rubbish than useful.

A few days back I found an article proclaiming that DSLRs are on life support or something like that.
Always interested to hear an another opinion I opened said article to have a read.

Lots of words, the same ol same ol commentary .. could have been written by the same person thousands of times ago .. basically no new insight or ideas in the article(up to the point that I stopped reading)

Then I got to this:

With this technology, we’re afforded more advanced face/eye detection capability and a cavalcade of exposure tools, like Zebra and Focus Peaking. My favorite feature, however, is the totally customizable layout on the bodies themselves. If I want to adjust the aperture with my thumb and the shutter with my index finger, it’s only a custom menu setting away. As a person who likes things just so, the mirrorless experience has been an intuitive one, and something that feels more empowering than the often passive experience that comes with cell phone tech upgrades.

It was important for me to come to understand that these tools are not the signs of automation as is usually the case with advancing technology, but are instead great strides toward helping the tools reach the proficiency of the artisans and craftsmen who have been handling them all along. Mirrorless is giving us more control, not less.

At this point I realised that the person banging out on the keypad(most likely a phone or tablet type device*) here .. really knows nothing of cameras!
I underlined the specific line in this persons article because in the article it says that this person owns a photographic shop of some sort in the US.
(sorry can't recall, neither the guys name, nor the name of the shop).
The point with the underlined section is that .. well .. WHAT 'THA!!!

The other two examples of more/better user control noted in the article was Zebras and Focus peaking(which DSLRs don't have) .. but why bring up the ability to control aperture and or shutter with the thumb or index finger as an empowering control feature that DSLRs don't have!

And that's the way I read the article .. the guy is waffling on about how much more control the mirrorless camera gives him, using the example of the main and sub command dials ability to be switched.
Obviously the focus peaking and zebra functions do .. but DSLRs have had the ability to switch dial commands since ... almost forever .. prior to DSLR era anyhow .. ie. back into the SLR era.

And this guy apparently owns a photographic store!
Has he never used a DSLR before .. or was he just to dumbfounded to actually delve into it's actual features.

Anyhow .. I replied to highlight the point that the author doesn't know enough about cameras to have been allowed to post such a article, and my reply got deleted(moderated) .. seems some folks are totally immune to both scrutiny and reality.

Now, there's quite a lot of rubbish posted to the net by the petabytes .. can't help but think that all that storage and bandwidth gone to waste. But this is usually different in that the vast majority of this garbage is just the average unknown jane or joe .. looking for the 15mins of fame that Andy Warhol promised them!

But this article popped up in a semi respected website, where one would assume some degree of knowledge or insight on behalf of the author.
So when I read it(up to that point) .. I knew then that .. the quality of the internet(content) is most definitely on it's downward slope, and seems to be speeding up.
Not long now before it's going to be so hard to sift through the drivel to find actually useful info.

The problem is ... us!
Us as in myself, yourselves .. etc. Us the reader.
We don't comment enough to highlight the inaccuracies and misinformation we're bombarded with.
None of the other comments to the article highlighted my point. Some weren't flattering, mainly questioning why we needed another article explaining what has already been said thousands of times over and again.
So it seems the actual issue is that there is some etiquette that doesn't allow an author to face any scrutiny .. lest that scrutiny be deleted.

Anyhow .. rant over for the day .. curious if others read some tidbit of drivel somewhere, and either just move on, or 'do something about it'.

[ameerat42]

Hmm! - So you mean it's gone from NOTHING useful to LOTS of carp?

Hey, haven't you brushed up on the nuances of "progress"? - Anything new, or re-hashed after a brief interval, is
progress.

[arthurking83]

....

Hey, haven't you brushed up on the nuances of "progress"? - Anything new, or re-hashed after a brief interval, is
progress.

Doh! ... of course .. keep forgetting.

BTW! .. (on the topic of forgetting) .. I'll post up a cool new trick I just remembered I tried a little while back, on how to use a cheap simple nifty fifty(50/1.8) reversed onto your camera as a pseudo macro lens!

[landyvlad]

Bad information has always been out there.. it's just more accessible now.

[Cage]

With this technology, we’re afforded more advanced face/eye detection capability and a cavalcade of exposure tools, like Zebra and Focus Peaking.

The author is a total tosser.

Pentax have had Focus Peaking for yonks and even Nikon have added it to the D850.

And I totally agree that there is a plethora of mis-information on the 'net , some of it posted intentionally in an effort to part you from your hard earned readies but most of it comes from ill informed morons who get their jollies from seeing their name in print.

[swifty]

The ease of self-publishing on the web is a double edged sword.

But getting down to the nitty gritty, there should be a clear distinction between opinion and facts. From your summary it appears the author has a poor understanding of facts, particularly of equipment he's attempting to criticize which resulted in a skewed opinion.
Had the author just said I prefer mirrorless because he finds it easier to do x, y, z then there wouldn't be any issues.

But unfortunately I find a lot of these types of articles tend to have some agenda and they're not going to let facts get in their way, hence the deletion of your fact-pointing-out.

[William W]

The ease of self-publishing on the web is a double edged sword.

In more ways than one is the ease of self publishing "a double edged sword".

There are deep pocketed folk who, with right and moreover, the law on their side, who get twisted by what is sometimes published; when this happens it is a big shock and a very sharp sword.

WW

[arthurking83]

......
Had the author just said I prefer mirrorless because he finds it easier to do x, y, z then there wouldn't be any issues.

.....

This!

Which was kind of my point.
Had the title had some reference to the author having a bias or preference .. I'd have had no problem.
Had the author taken a little bit of time to do some research to find out if this model or that manufacturer has the features already implemented .. I'd have had no issue with that either.

The compounding problem was that the author was also a photographic equipment retailer(somewhere in the US) only added to my already heightened sense of incredulity at what I'm reading there!

Then, when I point out the authors error .. my reply gets 'moderated' .. ie deleted!

Hence the thread title .. it seems that folks are more interested in reading opinions rather than facts!

[blkmcs]

"Quality of info on the internet is steadily getting worse!" Oh no it isn't!
The article in question is just an opinion piece and does not purport to be a breakdown of the advantages of one system over another nor of their respective technical capabilities.
Perhaps it is the quality of internet users comprehension that that is steadily getting worse.
For those who have not read the article, don't bother, it is rubbish.

Mike

[swifty]

I haven’t read the article, and didn’t intend to so I’m just going on what’s paraphrased. But now I’m intrigued at reading or at least skimming it for the sake of context.

Another thought. Being a retailer, are they pushing for sales spiffs? Maybe a visit to said store’s website can we see sales drive aligning with the article’s opinion? But since I haven’t read the article maybe I should hold that thought.

[arthurking83]

.....
The article in question is just an opinion piece and does not purport to be a breakdown of the advantages of one system over another nor of their respective technical capabilities.

Opinion based articles aren't a bad thing.
We all have opinions(and tastes, and preferences), so to read/hear/watch someones opinions of a thing is fine by me.

But it's the inclusion of inaccurate info into the mix, where it then blurs the line between being opinion based item or attempting to be a technical, more analytical piece that irritates me.

..... Perhaps it is the quality of internet users comprehension that that is steadily getting worse. ..... Mike

In my case, probably right! .. but 'how low can one go' when they've already reached the lowest base to begin with.

As is so often the case, the main issue now with info on the internets is that there seems to be a priority on getting the info out ASAP, without due processes for accuracy of the data.
As already said, self publishing is the main culprit, and this appears to then have follow on issues of who's proof reading the article(s)?

Been watching and reading lots more in recent times on the interwebs due to current life situation, but at the least the good web based providers of info will always come back and redress inaccurate info.

A quick example of a recent one I can think of, is that I watch a YouTube channel called PBS Space Time(info on spacey/sciencey stuff).
The guy that presents it(Matt, I think) had an item on space travel, and the subject of Alcubierre Drive came up .. where it warps space to move the craft along .. pretty much instantly .. and whatnot.
The data he presented on how it works was all good, but he said that chap who thought up the idea, Miguel Alcubierre was Spanish. Turns out later he is Mexican.
An episode or two later Matt made a point to correct his inaccurate info on the nationality of Miguel.
Made no difference to the episode on space travel systems, but at a minimum efforts were made to correct the wrong info .. even tho I don't think it was absolutely needed!

Good to know that some folks take the time to dot their i's and cross their t's

I recently happened on a Matt Granger u-tube he did on the Sony A7rMk4, and he said it perfectly, there was a mad scramble for some reviewers to get info out on the new camera in less than a minute at the event.
That is with a minutes play with the new camera they're already stopping to 'review' the new camera!
He made the point that his review is late due to him wanting to have more time and data to be more accurate in his review .. not another gear in the Sony marketing machine.

[blkmcs]

... PBS Space Time(info on spacey/sciencey stuff).
The guy that presents it(Matt, I think) had an item on space travel, and the subject of Alcubierre Drive came up .. ....

Thanks (I think) for the heads up on that, I just watched it and it confirms that my comprehension is receding at warp speed.

[arthurking83]

.... confirms that my comprehension is receding at warp speed.

Into an alcubierre drive worm hole maybe?


I'm way ahead of 'ya then! ... or is that way behind 'ya? .. confusing things those warped drives