The Manchester Birding Forum is primarily a bird sightings and information forum, it is absolutely and purposefully not intended to be a photographic forum, for which there are already many well established ones out there. In the interest of its ever increasing users though, many of whom enjoy photography as a secondary or indeed a primary reason, photographs may now be included within posts on the sightings forums but they must follow the photographic guidelines below. The guidelines are there to maintain the integrity of the forum and its purpose and also to ensure the welfare of the birds. Posts failing to comply with the guidelines will be deleted or have the images deleted (I'm afraid I just don't have the available time to contact posters prior to edits or deletions).

METHOD OF POSTING IMAGES:

·        Please only upload images using the 'attach file' button on the bottom of posts as this automatically resizes and optimises images (to 1920 x 1080 pixels) but also creates a thumbnail for those wishing to view the image(s) whilst still maintaining a degree of discretion for those who may not.

·        Images will automatically appear side by side at the bottom of posts but please do not insert any images within the text of the post as this is very obtrusive within the thread.

·        Labelling images is admittedly awkward (as you cannot see them within the text box or preview panel whilst actually posting) but where this is necessary (for a few images of different species for instance) it will be best to post any labels for images as in the example within the post below.

THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES MUST BE ADHERED TO:

1.     Posts must be primarily about bird sightings. Posts solely to upload images (particularly of commoner birds) should be avoided and will be deleted; this is to curtail the potential flood of commoner bird images and forum user apathy after, for example, seeing the thousandth Pennington Flash Bullfinch image (as good looking a bird as they might be)! Those wishing to regularly upload images of commoner bird species should consider one of the many available photographic sites or similar.

2.     Images must be limited to a reasonable amount per post; remember, the forum is primarily about the quality of bird sightings and not images but users should still consider the quality of their images, with 'record shots' being reserved for rare or scare birds. Please avoid posting multiple images of the same bird/species unless they add value to the post/forum.

3.     The welfare of the birds must come first. The guidelines for posting bird sightings on the forum (found within the sticky threads) also apply for posting bird images. Any images involving instances where concern for the bird's welfare or the actions of the photographer has been raised will be deleted immediately.

4.     Do not reply to posts in order to congratulate users on images or indeed to discuss the images themselves. If you feel this is necessary, it should be done using the private message facility in order to maintain the clarity of the forum as a sightings/information forum first and forum. I'm afraid I make no apology for deleted such posts immediately.

5.     Do not post images where the identification of the subject is speculative or unknown. Please endeavour to establish the identification of the subject yourself where possible to facilitate your own learning but also to avoid the 'pseudo bird experts' which lurk on the Internet, replying to such calls for assistance usually by merely referencing the same field guides and  personal knowledge as you probably have! If you need assistance with any identification please feel free to contact me directly prior to posting.

The posting of images within the forum will possibly eventually take over from the Manchester Birding Galleries which are particularly labour intensive to update and are doomed to be affected by future software issues (though I hope to maintain them as an archive). Whilst I appreciate this renders forum images unsearchable and unable to be categorized, it is the best fix for now at least.

The posting of images within the forum will be for a trial period and may be removed at any point, it is not my intention for this forum to become more akin to Facebook and the likes (no offence to Facebook intended!). Opinions or comments on the subject of images within posts are welcomed to be sent to me privately. Likewise, anyone requiring clarification on any guidelines should not hesitate to contact me.

HOW TO POST YOUR IMAGES:

Sightings for the location you have visited should be entered within the correct site thread as per usual. Please note, posts made just to add images and nothing more are not permitted.

Once your sightings have been added click the 'Attach File(s)' button to add your image(s). If necessary add a line of comment at the bottom of your post for what species it is if it isn't obvious, the forum will then automatically add, resize and optimize the image(s) after all the text. Do not insert the image within your text.

For those who post their sightings whilst out in the field, images should be attached to their original sightings post by editing them in at a later time (but note there is only a 24 hour window in which to edit posts). Please do not add further posts to the thread just to add images.

For multiple images the method of listing the species involved (where necessary) should look similar to this, with the first added image as number 1, second added image as number 2 etc:

1. Abberant Robin
2. Hybrid Black-headed x Little Gull
3. Heavily moulting buzzard