Hey Jason,

You sound like someone I knew on the forums of omp before I was banned.

I'm probably one of the few people who actually knows the real story of what goes on behind omp since I was on there only a few months after it went live in the mid 90's, my number was 187.

It started out extremely slow and small. It was strictly a one man operation for quite some time (like MM actually). In fact it was so slow I barely bothered to go there and actually forgot about it for awhile because nothing was going on. It really didn't pickup until a few years later and then later Stewart needed some help as it started to grow. Stewart "was" omp until it got too big and he could no longer run it or fund it. That's when a non-photo company that was in the business of taking over possible money making ventures offered to buy him out but they did keep him on to show them the ropes. It was a very sad day and after that chaos just took over since the new people knew nothing about this industry. Even Stewart was an amateur photographer that was never involved in the industry, the only pics he had up were of his wife and I believe his daughter, oh and some landscapes.

After the new people took over there wasn't much concern for the members, they only wanted to figure out the fastest way to turn the site into a money making machine.

I won't go into names but I had many phone calls from certain omp higher ups asking my opinion and telling me what they were planning. In one conversion in particular I was being told about something they were planning. I asked him a question about how they were going to do all the things they promised and his exact answer was "We haven't got a clue, we actually have no idea what we're doing", he was quite serious. I'll never forget that answer.

The more I found out the more irate my conversations became and with words I won't repeat here being in my emails, on the forums I also made myself heard. All this is what led to my being banned.

Some may remember the "Photo Cruise" they planned with very little details about important matters they would not print. The cruise did not happen mainly because of my interference of bringing many facts to light to others that were not mentioned by the staff even when I basically told them it would not work the way they had it setup.

The omp staff could care less about their members and what's good for them and fair. And yes, the showcase pics were very one sided when being chosen. Most of the showcase was garbage and people noticed it immediately and complained right from the start, but has it changed? One of the problems was that they were being chosen by almost anyone on the small staff they had, this is what caused much inconsistancy in the pics chosen. Actually none of the staff had any qualified background to let them choose "showcase" pics.

Trust me, omp has members here right now and one I definitely know is watching everything that is being said and done and going back to them with it. I know for a fact they have done this to every single new site they felt was competing with them. The faster MM grows and brings in more people the less threat omp will be in trying to bring it down. Some even tried to work side by side with omp but omp said "F" off.

And to whomever brings this post back to omp tell them I said they can "F" off!

I really like this site more than any other site I've known and I know a few tricks that will help MM get noticed much faster. Lets all do what we can to put MM on the map.

Enough for now. I must say this here to cover my butt: "All this is just my speculated opinion and hearsay". Yeah right.

Gary
www.glamourstudio.com

i'm keeping it because its free for me! love it

sheesh. after reading what gary posted, everything makes sense now...but i still like the smut that comes in my inbox...so, i'm keeping it(omp). as progressive and avante garde and artistic i may want people to percieve me, i still like smut. and besides, mm is exactly like myspace and friendster was 2-3 years ago...the next addiction in cyberspace during my lunch hour. until i get bored of it too...(hopefully not)

whats a casting call..been there since the start..never got one..do i need one?

I've gotten maybe two paid jobs from omp and actualy not alot of porn offers. I know its mostly because my pictures are lacking a great deal. But I hope to change that.

I'm ALL about the MAYHEM!!! I believe I'll still run with both, but will definitely spend a greater majority of time here, it seems...

The only time omp is intrested in listening to anyone is when they think they can turn a buck on it. If this site stays true to its users it will become a monster.

I'm staying on OMP  just for the publicity - but it's a dry well.

I love omp - only because there is more photographers and MUA's, Fashion designers , Agencys on there right now. It looks like soon enough Model Mayhem will catch up to that amount.

IT doesnt hurt to be posted in a lot of places, as Lady Atropos said - its for the publicity.

Goodluck everyone!

www.onemodelplace.com/christiecampbell92 (CHECK OUT MY OMP)

OMP has a lot of accounts that are inactive.  In my small area, with maybe 20 models, there are 10 that are inactive.  I've emailed omp,and they tell me they regularily police and delete inactive accounts.  This is bulls***.  I've pointed out inactive accounts (non-working emails, haven't been updated in 2 years), and nothing has happened.  Inactive accounts is only one complaint.

The lack of consistancy on how they select showcase images is another story.

I am sticking with omp.  Just this week I got contacted for a decent paying gig through the site.  And I have made some excellent contacts which have helped my career tremendously. I'm model ID 88512.

I use omp

I was with them a long time ago when it was free. Then they kicked me off and  asked for money. When I didn't pay to rejoin they harrassed me with emails and I have to be firm with them several times, asking them to stop sending me emails. I did that with several different emails until finally they stopped contacting me about it. It was worse than the telemarketers.
Drop them.
Apollo GT

Well i have had pretty good success with omp and probably will renew my membership ?? still in the air.

The only real gripes i have is that their customer support sucks big time
They raise their membership fees like every six months with no real advancements made to the site. I mean fix little things like browser compatibility issues and site structure  forum links that never work correctly etc i mean we are not reinventing the wheel

Chester Victor Photography omp 43426