Sparky

People have been saying this site has been getting worse since I joined 5 years ago.

Personally, I know nobody else cares, but the hip hop forum is thriving better than ever, as well as some genres that never existed on this forum prior. I think this forum is doing pretty good, it's only the people who religiously come on this site every 15 minutes that are bored.

Guybrush

A while back, I wanted to have a front page or something like an online blog/magazine style thing, a bit like I'm trying to do on my own site The Polite Force these days. That way, we could promote the various going-ons on that front page. We could have an index over album reviews that you didn't have to dig through a dusty old forum to find. When people wrote reviews, a summary and a link could be featured on the front page. In addition to featured reviews, there could be other music related articles. We're a lot of writers here.

Guys like TheCellarTapes and, for a short time Comus, had radio shows. Those could have been advertised there and been something for the community to gather around. A better webchat could be easily integrated into the website so that people could chat during the shows.

I'm open to the idea that that we shouldn't have a front page (for whatever reason) so it's not about that, but I'd love for the possibility for MB to develop. Then we could turn this place into an environment that better rewards enthusiasm and makes it more interesting to be a member. When we're productive now, it's despite the fact that it's likely not going to be rewarded like it should. I for one have stopped writing reviews here.

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midnight rain

This jayshreddz guy probably would've been better off if he hadn't joined first and made a negative impression on everyone before this announcement.

Rather than trying to ameliorate the situation, he comes in this thread and posts a couple of tactless and sarcastic responses. Here's hoping he'll remain a behind the scenes guy.

Sparky

I still think adding extensions and superflous accessories to the website has nothing to do with strengthening the content or discussion.

I think the multitude of sub categories, specifically the extension of the lounge area (adding the philisophical, media, and all that other BS) is what has effectively drew attention away from music discussion.

midnight rain

^ This is true. Old mods each had different and pretty well defined music interests, like boo boo, Urban, sleepy jack, Seltzer, etc. Maybe I haven't been paying as much attention anymore, but I have little idea what most of the current mods listen to.

Sparky

haha i deleted that cuz i thought it was hella inflammatory.

its definitively true though. Boo Boo was crazy but he was also crazy about his prog music for sure

Guybrush

It's about changing MB into an environment that rewards productivity. That's harder to do when the site is basically static and run as-is by someone who doesn't show any care about our community. Or do you disagree?

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Sparky

Well i guess it depends on if the argument is that the site has declined

If so, I would argue that the inclusion of these all sub categories, and a larger focus on shallow social media applications (the friends business, journals, photo albums etc) is a large contributor in the decline

If not, I would be more likely to agree with you. Other strong community sites like sputnik, undergroundhiphop bring in most of their traffic via reviews and other blocks of text.

I don't think thats the case here. It's the community that makes it what it is. If you notice a commonality with the posters mentioned by tuna it's that they're engagement and contributions to the website weren't full length text reviews, or well constructed analysis of anything, it was simply by contributing and being willing to participate in eclectic ranges of music.

I post in the music forums quite a bit, and I have never seen you, or most of the mods for that matter. I doubt thats just because my taste is obscure, but because we don't have people who feel like listening to new music, they'd rather shell out their recycled opinions about stuff they're familiar with.

Sparky

idk, im making some big generalizations with that post so take it how you want

Guybrush

I used to post more on music related topics a while back. I used to run the members compilations, had the prog & fusion album club, had my journal and so on and made a few elaborate official band threads.

Since then, I stepped down as a mod, tried to get my own Canterbury themed site going which has sort of worked (although I never managed to get a proper community going) and instead of doing an album club on these forums, I started one on a mailing list I had with my friends. So most of my music related writings now take place off-site in places where it's generally more rewarding.

For me, it was a conscious decision as MB wasn't able to satisfy my want for writing about music in a way which felt rewarding. That sounds quite bitter, but I'm actually more happy with music writing and the way I use this site these days. F.ex the album club on the mailing list is more fun than trying to do the prog & fusion album club here. I guess all this means that I'm part of the MB decline. But before it came to that, I tried my best and kept going long after it became a chore.

edit :

If my absence from music related going-ons on this site is a slight reduction in the quality of MB, then that itself is an example of the MB environment reducing the quality of the site. I doubt I am the only example of this.

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