[flossie]

..me too! 

Seriously though - was that necessary? I think not. 

I spent time listening to and reviewing that song it's a bloody joke to delete this members song when he was already warned not to do it again.  I can't believe I had to type that as well.  I mean, okay, if someone literally dumped ten songs in the review board for review in one day I could understand it but this is getting out of hand in my opinion.

Not good 

[Boydie]

The big problem with discussions like this is that nobody is wrong in what they are saying - everyone is right and I can see where everybody is coming from

If the forum were "ours" (and I mean this individually) we could decide the "house rules" and run it "our way"

I am very conscious that this is TONE's forum so what he says goes - we then decide whether we want to play by the rules and stay or go to another forum/outlet for our music

TONE has set the "guidelines" and now sends out an email with "the rules" - which were all set following a similar discussion a while ago - so TONE has shown he is willing to take on board changes to the running of his forum

It is clearly a difficult task trying to keep everyone happy as there will be those that want stricter rules/controls and those that think things should be a little more relaxed

As I have said I really enjoy listening to and reviewing other people's songs so it bothers me not how many songs people post

However, if it were a "free for all" I can see that people could "take the piss" and a mod would need to jump in

I think the "rules" as they stand are fair enough (and I find it difficult to believe that anyone would resent the limit of posting only 1 song per week to ensure everyone gets a crack at staying on the front page) but I think the "policing" of the rules should take in to account new members to encourage participation

@ Perseverance

Please don't be put off - this forum is full of great people and I am sure you will get a lot from it - and I am sure there is much you can contribute!

[Alan Starkie]

Thanks Boydie.

And Flossie 

I'm gonna stick around. I know it's a difficult job moderating a message board.

[man of simple pleasures]

interesting read haha but think i'l stay out of this one its getting a bit argumentive amongst there!

[tone]

Since then I've received a message from your admin informing me my 2nd song has been deleted and not to do it again.

Hi Alan

I'm Tone, the forum admin, and it's the first I've heard of this. I haven't PMd you nor deleted any of your threads.

This is not what I meant when I said mods could gently and politely guide new members if the one song per week GUIDELINE wasn't being observed.

So I apologise if you've been on the wrong end of some heavy-handed moderation. It doesn't happen often, and you were unlucky enough to join during a rare period of turmoil.

-------------------------------------

Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this thread. I apologise that I can't implement a system that keeps everyone happy all the time, but I do believe the way it's run currently is the best compromise.

I don't think creating a closed forum is a good solution because it creates divisions between the members. If you want to talk to anyone or group of members privately, don't forget that you can use the PM system.

As for the forum leaching members, it's just normal for a forum to have a pretty dynamic flow of members. Some stay for a few weeks or months while posting very regularly, others stay for years and post once in a while.

If any long-standing members have left because of feeling disgruntled about the reviews forum (and not come back again after a rest) then none of them has said anything to me about it.

I hope you can see that even though I'm too busy to spend as much time on the forum as I'd like, I do care very much about this place, and I want to see it thrive.

If anyone wants to post any suggestions to this page or PM me, of course I will listen to any point of view.

[tina m]

oh for crying out loud you either have rules or you dont
you either have a endless influx of newbies who dont read the rules or you keep your old members

& youd all obviouisly rather listen to a newbies complaint than someone whos put soooooo much into this forum....thanks for letting me know were i stand ....i wont be back

bollocks ...ha

[tone]

oh for crying out loud you either have rules or you dont
you either have a endless influx of newbies who dont read the rules or you keep your old members

& youd all obviouisly rather listen to a newbies complaint than someone whos put soooooo much into this forum....thanks for letting me know were i stand ....i wont be back

bollocks ...ha

I'm sorry you feel less important than someone who's only just joined Tina - but it's simply not true.

The reason I use words like guidelines instead of rules is because no two members or situations are the same. You don't need me to tell you the world simply isn't black and white like that.

Yes you've put a lot into this forum and I've expressed my appreciation for that, but you've also gained a lot, and you've also been the first to complain when things aren't to your liking.

I'm sorry that I don't agree with you about how the review forum should be run. But I'm just temperamentally different to you.

Also, nobody has put more into this forum than I have, and do you see me complaining? No.

If that to you is bollocks, then I have nothing else to say.

[Alan Starkie]

Thanks for the message Tone. I appreciate it.

When I said 'admin' I was referring to the hierarchy I had encountered.

I can see you've got a lot to deal with so as far as I'm concerned, that day is done.

Looking forward to tomorrow...

Alan.

[The Corsair]

Ok, I'm going to pitch in properly now.

On another and believe me when I say considerably larger forum I'm a mod. Due to the size of the forum we have a fair group of us (about a dozen I think). Every time there is an issue with rules and/or guidelines (we have both) being broken all the mods discuss it together, decide on our plan of action and carry it out as quickly as possible. Every. Single. Time. Absolutely no rule breach, dispute or other such unpleasant action is reacted to unless we have at the very least discussed it among a few of us. We're able to do this because most of us are on at least once a day. This method ensures we examine cases on a person-by-person basis, which as Tone stated is how they should be handled.

Now what we also do is have different moderators for different boards. If someone has a question about the rules on the board I moderate they ask me first. If there's a dispute on my board then I'm the one who sends the message or what have you once a plan of action has been decided on.
THIS BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING IMPORTANT
We have different rules for different boards. Now over there the boards are not drastically different but for legal reasons we have to have things like 'no pictures of firearms of [description]' while elsewhere people are able to write about such things in a novel they're posting.
I think this is something we could seriously benefit from. We have all these guidelines that actually only really apply to the reviews board, not even the lyrics board in most cases, and we're not consistent in our applying of these rules across boards anyway.

MOST FUCKING IMPORTANTLY

That forum is massive compared to this one and somehow we have zero, I say again ZERO problems with old members upset at new people joining. The reason for that is our attitude is 'Hi, welcome, come right in, enjoy yourself.' There are people who have been there for ages, there are those who have been there for only a few days. Everyone who is not a mod is treated equally to the point where we recently were forced to ban one of our longest standing members because he started attacking people of faith on our forum.

This attitude is something we desperately need to adopt here.

I'm not saying we need to accept the new members regardless of how they behave, I'm saying we need to welcome them with open arms because members are the lifeblood of the forum and we are no more important than them.

Please, please, please can this whole thing just stop being a problem? If people here think it's an issue then really there's an issue with them and their view.

Now before Tina replies saying she likes this place if she can treat it like a home we manage to generate that same sense on Brass Goggles with no trouble. Think of it instead like an apartment building. You have your apartment that you share with the people you feel the strongest sense of community with and are on friendly, neighbourly terms with the rest for the most part. You also have those you don't like but for the sake of everyone's comfort you keep that to yourself.

Now can we just get on with enjoying the damn good music people post here?

[jmacdon]

i just want somewhere where i feel at home & know evryone & yes new people can come in as long as they respect my/our house

Smack me in the face with a wet kipper if you think i'm romanticising this, but Tinam, you are part of the family of this forum.  Without your posts and gritty reality checks - we would all be worse off.  (Remember, without you, I'd have never heard of PJ Proby !!)

Oddly, we all have our personalities and quirks - both new and old members - and that's what makes this forum so great.  I don't want this forum to be so big that we lose the individuality and familial quality that the moderators have created.

[Kafla]

God back to this bullshit !

Some new members become old members - lets give them the opportunity.

I need a break sometimes - I can't be on here all the time - I have 3 kids , I run my own business , I am involved in various committees and groups.

Sometimes I will give more than I take on here , other times vice versa.

I just love listening to music and being involved in this community when I can - who cares if someone joins and posts too much - it does always sort itself out in the long run.

Members don't leave due to this - I am sure there are a variety of reasons why people leave - you would need to ask them - let's not speculate.

This forum is as good as it gets - there is an ever increasing and evolving 'hardcore' who benefit greatly from the spirit of this forum - if others miss out on that opportunity then so be it.

I for one won't be intimidated into ignoring new members or making a minimum number of appearances.

Peace and love to you all 

[estreet]

I haven't been here in months. I faded away because this whole ongoing thing was getting irritating then. The forum is still in my bookmarks, so I took a look in and I can't believe it's still going on now. I agree that the inevitable occasional influx of one-post-wonders can get annoying, but the griping about it is even worse. There's a big pile of teddies in that corner.

[S.T.C]

I haven't been here in months. I faded away because this whole ongoing thing was getting irritating then. The forum is still in my bookmarks, so I took a look in and I can't believe it's still going on now. I agree that the inevitable occasional influx of one-post-wonders can get annoying, but the griping about it is even worse. There's a big pile of teddies in that corner.

Only Tina was making a fuss..i don`t think anyone else is really that bothered...the multiple posting problem is largely contained....so i  wouldn`t have that opinion if i were you... if no one brings the subject up again,,it won`t exist.

[Schavuitje]

For a while now I haven't given the forums the same intense kind of attention that I used to, not because I don't love this place but just like you Kaf I have kids to look after and tons of other stuff going on that keeps me away and not any political reasons or because I am unhappy with the forums as some others may have thought or assumed.
Sometimes I am away for weeks at a time but I awlays jump back in when I can. I still review and contribute in other sections way, way more than I post anything of my own. Can't remember how long ago it is since I posted anything.
I will when I get one of the few pieces I'm working on slowly is finished or is at the point where I think I need advice.  
As regards the current state of the forums... I can't see much wrong and I would have to be with STC on the way I am looking at it. I don't really think that at this moment in time a problem really exists that is worth such a debate.
Glad to see both of you, Estreet and Kaf back here and to be honest I'd just ignore this thread. I have been doing.