Personally I'm not here to debate music I've already formed a personal opinion of.
I read recommendations and explore them, and I make some of my own when I come across a thread asking for material that I can contribute to productively... meaning, I'm not going sit there and reiterate an established perspective.
I understand the point behind identifying who shares the same taste, as it can lead to mutual discovery of new music, but I've been around here long enough to know who I can talk to for productive discussion, and if I feel the need to fish for ideas, I'll do so.
I can probably improve the rate at which I spread my own perspectives of music, but again, if I think it's just going to be another identical fish in an already overpopulated pond, then I'm not going to waste unnecessary time and energy.

In that context, not having a lot to contribute says less about the individual and more about the vast diversity and quality of contributions of the community at large. I think we just need to re-evaluate the goals of this site and ask ourselves whether or not we're meeting them.
I think we are. And yes, there are imperfections, but I don't think the goal was ever perfection, nor could we ever reach it. The bad comes with the good, but from what I see, the good far outweighs anything else. I think if we keep sight of that and maintain an equilibrium that allows for growth, then we'll be alright.

I don't think the actual standard of MB has gone down at all but the lack of quality threads has and the fact that many posters (myself included) who contributed a lot have not been as active as they once were.

The expansion of the lounge has definitely had a detrimental effect on the rest of the forum and yes, we certainly should not disregard this aspect of the forum but at the end of the day, the clue is in the forums name. MUSICBANTER. There are tons of forums out there that can fulfill peoples appetite for non music related banter better or more appositely than MB. The lounge should be fun and an add on not a replacement for healthy intelligent discussion which I would much rather delve into regarding music.

I post in the lounge and mess around in there but I also post in the music sections too as it's the main reason I joined and it's what I want to talk about within this particular forum.

I seem to get the impression that some members with less musical knowledge than many on here are reluctant to comment in journals or certain threads which is understandable but very wrong when it comes to MB. 90% of members are more than willing to share opinions or recommendations without talking down or seeming to belittle them. Not everyone has the same tastes or knowledge about music but passion for what you DO like should always override these percieved shortcomings.

When did the lounge get bigger Lee?

The current affairs forum. I said that I would have no part of it when it was announced and I have stuck to that stance. There is some damn good threads in there but I feel that they have become a detriment to what MB represents with a lot of energy focused in there when I feel that it would be better served back out there where it belongs- talking about music.

If we didn't have a current affairs forum the political stuff would just end up in the Lounge anyway.
I don't see how any of the non music forums take anything away from MusicBanter.
And if we didn't have a Lounge, I don't think this site would be as busy as it is.
If anything they help to keep the members coming back, even when they have nothing to say about music.

It's all about choice.
If people want to talk about music they can. Those who want to talk about nothing else but music don't have to go in the Community forums.
I don't see any members who used to post in the music forums posting exclusively in the Community forums either, so I don't personally see how it's to the detriment of MB.

This topic of how "MB aint what it used to be" crops up at least once a year since I've been here.
The best comment I've seen about this subject was made by one of the Admins (not sure which one). Basically he said, that these boards belong to us and we make them what we want them to be.
It's as simple as that.
This thread is on 8 pages now and if some of the energy that's been put into some of the posts made in here was directed elsewhere instead of the bitching that's going on (this isn't aimed at you Lee) then we all wouldn't have much to bitch about would we?

There are admins besides yac?

Currently there are two others apart from Yac. The Admin man and some tech guy.
I was referring to previous Admin. Greg being the other.

i hardly ever post in any music sections anymore.

But its not because this site is getting worse, many of my old favorite members who i attached to left.

Or maybe its because I'm able to discover new music by other means.

:drummer:

I don't see any members who used to post about music exclusively using the community forums either but thats why they don't post in the music forums. I know for a fact talking to many members that the ideology of the forum has changed but my opinion as to why has already been stated. Mine is only one opinion but now being an outsider, it's more than coincidence that many regulars are nowhere near as active as they were since the introduction of that forum.

I have been on both sides of the coin and can say hand on heart that the heart of this forum has always been the discussion of music and these days the focus has shifted a lot.

Moderators are still doing a great job regarding maintenance but input has dramatically dropped IMO for sure over the last 12 months regarding the site and healthy threads.

As for coming up once a year? I don't see that myself and didn't feel that on my side but then it is a free forum so I can't expect the site to fulfill all my needs but as an ex moderator I feel I at should at least point out why I am not so active at least.

I think the popularity of the current events forum has dropped quite a lot lately and will continue to do so. You can only argue religion so many times before it becomes tedious.