As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I never read instruction books! More fun to figure it out on my own. And right as I do that, I buy a new one!
That sounds like me! After two and a half years of having my last camera, I pulled out the insturction book and read it. There were a few "Oh, so that's how that works" and "I didn't know it did that" moments. I no sooner had a grasp on my last camera when I thought it was getting ready to die, so I bought a new one and gave my old one to my nephew. (he didn't care if it died soon, just wanted something to pratice on) Of course, it is working fine for him and I am yet to figure my new one out!
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My Dad used to say that when all else fails, read the instruction manual. I haven't read the on for my old camera yet. I did glance at the one for my new one, though.
Liz
There is an acronym in tech support, RTFM, which stands for "Read The CENSORED Manual". I've been shooting for over 30 years and professionally for a little over a year. If you want snapshots fire it up an start shooting. If you want to have some creative control RTFM, experiment with all the different settings and have some fun with it.
I've been using cameras and taking photographs since I was around 10'ish, over 45 years...
Initially, we were smarter than the camera, they were all manual. Manuals were non-existent
Then cameras became a little smarter and manuals were included. Didn't read them, with all the fancy features we still did most things manual...
Then came digital, the camera was actually smarter than the user, but we still didn't read the manual and never explored the full potential of the camera....
Now, most point and shoots are really miniature computers, tons smarter than we are and do so many things that many never dreamed of doing... But, we set them on auto and never read the manual
Interestingly, 90% of the questions I get on how to do things with the camera, I get the answer for them by reading their manual
For the non-professional, you really should read the manual, even if it's just once. It is amazing what these little cameras can do, and you would be surprised how many scene modes they have to do exactly what you want done, the way you want it done, without all the headaches of try and fail you get when you don't read the manual.....
Happy Photo Taking to all in 2008, may you each get at least one award winning photo!!!!
All joking aside when all else fails I do read the manual... I try very hard to treat my digial like I do my film cameras, but I was made aware very early on it just doesn't work the same...
but I try my best to shoot all manual still... I just don't like having the camera do it for me lol
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
All joking aside when all else fails I do read the manual... I try very hard to treat my digial like I do my film cameras, but I was made aware very early on it just doesn't work the same...
but I try my best to shoot all manual still... I just don't like having the camera do it for me lol
I'm sure you do Toni...
You, and a few others of us, take thousands of photos a year and have been for a while. We enjoy the creativity that manual mode gives us.
Unfortunately, we are in a minority now. That isn't a bad thing, just a fact. The cameras allow anyone to take really great photos with no knowledge of what they do or how they do it. That is a good for the average person....
There will always be SLR's of some type because there will always be people like us... I really liked my medium format SLR's, but cannot afford the digital equivalent
I carry a copy of the manual for each camera that is with me in the front pocket of my camera bag (which in my case is a foll size Lowenpro back pack.
After you have read your manual, get some index tabs and mark the pages you need in a hurry "like when you just got to the fireworks and they start in 2 minutes and you have not turned your camera on yet and need to chane the settings"
Another tip is to use white 3x5 index cards and write down settings for each mode and things you want to try to carry with you for quick reference thats easy to find.
As a bonus you can point your camera at the 3x5 card when you turn your camea on and use the card as a White Balance Reference or manually do a white balance calibration using the card.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
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If I had read the instruction book I would have taken lithium batteries instead of Ni-Cad 
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That sounds like me! After two and a half years of having my last camera, I pulled out the insturction book and read it. There were a few "Oh, so that's how that works" and "I didn't know it did that" moments. I no sooner had a grasp on my last camera when I thought it was getting ready to die, so I bought a new one and gave my old one to my nephew. (he didn't care if it died soon, just wanted something to pratice on) Of course, it is working fine for him and I am yet to figure my new one out!
PassPorter Guide Author
Linear Mode
