Music Banter - View Single Post

Arya Stark · 08-08-2013, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojo

I haven't read through this entire thread, only about half of it, so forgive me if I'm slightly off pace. It's a lot to take in.

I'd have to go all the way back to the first couple of pages and Pedestrians posts to find one I completely, 100% agree with.

The way I see it is this:

The Lounge and the supposed problems it creates. There are even people here saying that people shouldn't post in The Lounge so much. What gives anyone the right to say that, when it is there to be used? It's quite simple really, if you don't want to read whats being posted in The Lounge, just don't use it. It should be policed, it will create more provocative discussion than the music forums by the very nature of it, but nobody is forcing you to use it. The way I see it is that the only people who do have to visit it and read it are the mods, because they need to police it. I have and I'm sure I will find something there to annoy me, but as a regular member it's so much easier to deal with the minority of posts in there that grind my gears - I just click out of that thread and move on to another one.

I don't think theres a question and answer system to fix anything here. I don't think it's a case of anyone going "Ok, this is what I don't like about MB - fix it" and closing down sub-forums etc to achieve a better, more positive, healthier forum. I don't think we can do that. I think to even attempt to achieve that (and who knows, maybe it just isnt possible) what would be required is a complete overhaul - and not in content, but in attitude.

I don't think we are a very welcoming forum. I think some new members will feel welcomed which is great, that means they got through. I'd bet that more don't get through, cause either they directly have an interaction with someone that puts them off, or they observe what happens here and decide they don't like it. Or they just don't think theres much of anything happening here at all and that we aren't a healthy enough forum to warrant their time.

To change that I think there are many members who need to recognise their part within that. Who need to recognise that the attitude they take onto the forums could be better, they could be more tolerant, they could treat people with more respect, and they make people feel more welcome. Posting in intro threads isn't enough (but certainly shouldn't be discouraged!) but a unanimous effort, I feel, would need to be made to start to take steps in the right direction to making this forum look a much more welcoming, warm, healthy place to any user who signs up with even a slight consideration given to staying here. If that were achievable, you may just find the forum would become more prosperous, because it would be much more enjoyable to be here rather than feel like so much of a chore at times.

For example this week has felt a huge chore for me, and so I haven't been here much. Only this morning did I remember that DJ has sent his album for Mystery Album Club out - a thread that, if people make use it, can only help to create music discussion and bring the community together in an activity to do together - and I've forgotten all about it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Both recognising where their attitude could improve and attempting to improve it, is applicable to everyone. Regular users and moderators. After all, the way I see it, the way in which a forum is moderated does effect the overall attitude and tone of the forum.

I'm not saying we should all be kissy face with each other and false, plastic versions of our true selves but I tend to try to think of that new visitor to the site who takes a look around, consider what they might just see, depending on what threads they click into, and am never surprised if that person doesn't come back.

You have some really great insight here, a lot that I agree with.

I think that a big problem here is that everyone wants to tell everyone else to "stop" doing this and "refrain from" doing that, but there are ways to add positivity without completely removing everything that is problematic. We all could stop getting so caught up in drama and stop attacking others personally. But people could also try to add more to the music side of the forum. Rather than solely sitting around in the lounge, they could try to do more to talk about music.

For a long time, my taste in music was changing, and definitely becoming more mainstream, and I didn't feel that I had a lot of places to talk about what I liked. I'm not always interested in specific threads for bands, and I prefer musical discussion. But I honestly feel like a lot of people here don't want to be involved in that discussion, so it's hard for me to stay in the music forums sometimes, because everything I keep up with seems to die down within a week, while threads about anything political will stay going for months. This is fine, but there's no balance.

I distinctly remember the lounge being the same when I first joined, and the arguments being similar. There WAS drama before, and I don't know why everyone's forgetting that. Some members have been around for a while and become friends, and stand up for each other when they want to, and if you only think there are some people doing this, you need to take another look around.

tldr; people need to try to be more involved in the MUSIC community. instead of trying to remove everything that bothers us, perhaps we should try harder to be more supportive when it comes to music threads.