Some personal experience and opinion:
The community here is pretty damn good, in all honesty. I've been online for a long time, since before there was a world wide web. I've been a part of many forums, IRC channels, and other online groups. Even moderated on some, including this site for awhile. You would be hard pressed to find a better forum in my opinion.
That said, this community is largely geared towards beginners and hobbyists. If you ask a question, you're practically guaranteed a response from several people. Other forums have a lot of cliques, but Nikonites doesn't have that. This is a pretty laid back place and there is a lot of help and information here, as long as you're not an advanced photographer. Those who are more advanced openly share their knowledge here and have a willingness to help others. That's not always easy to find, either.
Nothing is stopping anyone from checking out other forums, but in my opinion, it's a waste of time. If you're looking for stuff online about photography, you're going to participate in 2 different ways:
- Socially (forums, social media, contests, sharing) PARTICIPATION
- Academically (how-tos, reading, information gathering) LEARNING
Check your browser bookmarks. If you're participating on several forums, you're never going to learn anything. You'll be too worried about what Bob said in that last thread you posted to on Forum A, that ongoing debate you have with Bill on Forum B, and if your question ever got answered on Forum C. Conversely, if your bookmarks are full of how-tos, all that knowledge has no application. You're not getting feedback on what you've learned or the photos you've taken. It's a balancing act.
My advice is to take a serious look at Google+. Photography communities are HUGE there and very active. Not only that, but G+ is a mixture of participation and learning, which makes it a great resource. G+ is not like Facebook, so don't approach it with that mentality.
