What I don't understand is what can be gained by publicly bashing him.
Think of it this way, Marcel:
Ken Rockwell is a gatekeeper. He is one of the main points through which many newbies must pass to enter into the realm of photography online. Proof positive of this: his site ranks #1 for a Google search for many related topics. This is by design. I won't go into the gory details of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) here, but it should suffice to say that KR has positioned himself that way intentionally. But why?
To the novice, he comes off as a lovable goof, like the quirky neighbor on some sitcom show. His site is massive, and on the surface, appears to be chock full of valuable information. People follow his sage advice, probably even clicking a few links to buy his recommended gear or even opening up their wallets for a donation. As time goes by, a lot of these newbies will gain their own experiences by actually shooting and many of them will be satisfied. But there's also a good portion of them who won't. They will get frustrated and wonder why their photos aren't turning out. Wondering why they've spent thousands of dollars on gear and none of it seems to be working for them. Those people will eventually find there way to better sources...like Nikonites.
How many people have signed up here, and within their first few posts mention Ken Rockwell? A lot. "That's not right, I read X on Ken Rockwell's site" or "I've been using Ken Rockwell's setup guide for my camera". How many times are they dead wrong? A lot. And it's not just here, it's all across the web. It's everywhere. The man is an epidemic.
He advises that tripods are bad, camera bags are worthless, small DSLRs are the same as their bigger brothers, and by God if you fall for the marketing schemes of big bad camera companies you're an idiot because Ken Rockwell says so. There is an endless sea of tripe on his site like this. That's just the gear-related stuff, don't even get me started on how he advises to actually take photos. He's been "shooting seriously since he was 5 years old" and can't even take a decent photo of his children. And why? Why can't a guy with his supposed experience and plethora of gear take a decent photo? Why can't he offer good advice? Why why why?
The answer is simple, and can not be ignored. Should not be ignored:
Ken Rockwell has no real interest in photography. Any photo he takes is meant to be put on his site with the intent of panhandling. I seriously doubt that he even enjoys it. And THAT is why so many people dislike him. It's plainly obvious that his goal is not to turn budding newbies into photographers. His goal is to make money for himself. His site contains over 40,000 paid links. FORTY THOUSAND! That's
not including the multiple attempts to get visitors to click his PayPal donate links on each and every page.
I'll use Rick (
AxeMan) as an example. He's a former Rockweller. He found no use for the guy and came here. Look at some of Rick's stuff from 1-2 years ago compared to now. He has grown by leaps and bounds. He's won multiple photo contests. He's taken and offered advice and has come away a better photographer for it, and there are many others who have as well. I don't know of a single person who has grown as a photographer by following Ken's advice. Not a single one.