2006 RAW survey

[500mm]

Folks

I am posting a note from another discussion group that I am part of regarding a survey being conducted on RAW files and the issues involved.

If anyone is interested then go to the site and complete the questions. If not ignore.

Many thanks. Mods feel free to move this thread if not considered to be in the appropriate section.

2006 RAW Survey.

Through February 21, three weeks after the launch date, nearly 18,000
individuals - photographers and other digital imaging specialists from all
over the world - have completed the survey questionnaire. Our preliminary
reviews indicate that the quality of the response data is very good. The
response patterns are consistent and easy to interpret, and there is very
little missing information - nearly 97 percent of those who started the
survey answered every question.

In our initial Press Release, we indicated that we would keep the survey
open through March 31, 2006 to ensure that every interested party would have
an opportunity to participate. However, now that three weeks have passed
since launch, we are seeing only about 50 new respondents each day - a
significant drop from the activity levels during the first two weeks. If
current trends continue, we would expect only a few hundred more
participants over the next five weeks.

Given this pattern, we are considering the possibility of closing the survey
early so that we can complete the initial analyses and report results to the
public earlier than initially planned. Although we believe this would be
beneficial, we also want to ensure that everyone with an interest in this
issue has an opportunity to have their experiences, perspectives, and
preferences represented in the survey database.

To help speed the process of reporting results, we are asking that all
listmembers who are interested in this topic but who have not yet responded
to visit the survey site at http://openraw.org/survey and complete the
questionnaire. Most respondents find that it takes only 10 to 15 minutes. We
regret that the survey questionnaire is available only in English, but many
participants who are not native English speakers have told us that the
questions and answer categories are clear and easy to understand.

In the interest of building the most representative database possible, we
are also requesting that listmembers consider assisting this process by
sending posts to other photography or imaging-related forums or lists
mentioning that the 2006 RAW Survey may close early and encouraging all
interested parties to visit the site and record their views.

Although the 2006 RAW Survey is being sponsored by the OpenRAW Initiative,
we feel it's very important to communicate that we are NOT attempting to
collect survey data from only those who share the views expressed on
www.OpenRAW.org. We welcome the participation of all parties interested in
RAW technology, regardless of their preferences concerning open versus
proprietary approaches. Our intention is to collect a sufficiently large
number of responses to help ensure that ALL perspectives are fully
represented in the survey data and that the resulting statistics will
provide an accurate understanding of the distribution of experiences and
preferences concerning RAW imaging technology.

Thanks in advance for your help and support,

[Joe T]

Cheers, have filled it out, and also posted it elsewhere.