Last week, Photography Bay saw a site redesign.  Along with that design, as some of you have noticed, Photography Bay also gained a dedicated forum for Photography Bay readers and anyone else wishing to participate.

The forums are located at www.photographybay.com/forum.

I’ve been testing it for about a week with a handful of Photography Bay readers (Thanks guys!) and I think/hope that it’s ready for prime time.

Read on for further details and find out how you can score some free swag.

Why Add a Forum?

You guys leave a lot of comments.  Because of the 1500 or so spam comments Photography Bay receives every week, I have to moderate all comments (spam sometimes slips through our spam filter).  Sometimes, it can be a few hours before the comments get approved, which can kill an active discussion.

Now, you can create or continue a discussion in the new forum without the need for me to approve each and every post.  We’ll still have some ground rules, but hopefully it will be a more open and fluid discussion.

Aside from commenting on news and rumors, a fair numbers of readers have questions about shopping decisions or photography techniques.  I try to respond to all of these because they will often appear on older posts that regular readers may longer visit.  Frankly though, sometimes I don’t have the answers.

I know that many Photography Bay readers know more and are more experienced photographers than me.  My hope is that these readers will be able to help folks that come Photography Bay looking for answers.

How Much Does It Cost?

Nothing. $0. Zilch.  That’s right, free.

How Do I Start Posting?

If you are registered Photography Bay user, you just use the same username and password for the forum.  If not, don’t worry.  You can sign up on any page in the forum and you should stay logged in when you comment on a post at Photography Bay as well.

Head on over to the main page and register.

You will also find a link at the bottom of every post so you can get to the forums quickly so you can start or join a discussion about the post you just read.

What Are the Guidelines?

We’ve got a few ground rules, which mainly amount to “play nice.”  You can see the current version of guidelines here.

What’s In It For Me?

You’ve got a place to chat about the latest and greatest camera gear, rumors of the same and photography techniques.  You can also post images by using the <img src=”"> html tag into your post. (Note, your image must be hosted elsewhere, like Flickr or an alternative to Flickr.) By doing so, you can seek critiques or just show off your work to fellow photographers.

Also, Photography Bay will be offering some special stuff exclusively to forum members.  The first giveaway will be coming later this week and only forum members will have a shot at the prizes.

Why Doesn’t the Forum Have [This or That] Feature?

The Photography Bay forums are new.  As such, it’s not packed full of bells and whistles.  And, I’m not convinced it needs them.  However, I’m open to suggestions.  If I see a big enough demand for a given feature, I’ll do my best to find a way to make it happen or give you the reason it can’t happen.

If you’ve got something to add, feel free to drop a line in the Site Feedback forum thread.

What Now?

Head on over the forums, check it out and register.  Chime in on a topic, start a new topic, post some pics or just read what everyone else is posting.

www.photographybay.com/forum