I'm all for a member of the week sort of thing, just as long as it doesn't make the chosen person feel all high and mighty. If anything, there could be a thread for compiling the member of the week's and showing the persons name and avatar with the date that they were awarded such a thing.

As for ideas? I don't see a whole lot wrong with this place to be quite honest. If people don't want drama, than don't get involved with already existing drama, not much more to it than that.

In regards to moderation, I think the current system is just fine. It's very relaxed and easy going, doesn't feel like we're being watched by a hierarchy or something. I even tend to forget who is a mod and who isn't because of the subtlety.

As far as something to work on, honestly I can't think of anything. Everyone seems to know where they are comfortable and they know who to go to for questions, and everyone seems to get along with most people for the most part. I see no reason to get in the way of something that is already working. Even though some bickering does take place, it's only human nature to want to correct someone of an opinion that they share about you, which I think should be an ok thing to do. Defending oneself doesn't seem like it should really cause too much trouble.

Ummm I think that's the point of member of the week to make the member feel special so what if they feel all high and mighty? that's how they choose to express their appreciation for being chosen as member of the week.

honestly I don't think it's a great idea personally but I have no negatives against it. It just feels like a bad idea. Also even if it does get started up. If it begins to turn sour quickly it can just be nipped in the bud by the mods.

I meant for them not to go into every thread and chatbox shouting "IM AWESOME BECAUSE IM MEMBER OF THE WEEK", of course they can feel special at the appropriate time. But there's a time and place for everything.

"troll" is different than "wrong" DONT USE SLIPPERY SLOPE AGAINST ME.

Edit: I'm just joking, I know what you mean. I'm thinking she means "troll" specifically, not any word that's hurtful. But you know Erica, she prefers not to be offensive at all.

We do act on blatant name calling, as soon as someone does it they're either warned to tone it down or given an infraction.

The problem isn't that we're not acting on this, the problem is people are exploiting grey areas to get away with it.

Let's say for example you post something and I reply 'I don't think you know what you're talking about' then gone of to say why and then ended the post saying 'LOL Vegans' I've not actually done any namecalling, I've also gone on to say why I disagree with you in the proper way, some might say the post is hostile in nature but others might say I'm just giving my opinion and that the little thing at the end is a harmless joke.

We're not psychic we don't know if people are going to respond well or badly to a joke and to eliminate any doubt we'd have to ban the whole forum from doing it.

I know. That's my point really. What's the point of focusing on some certain word or words?

that would literally be me if i win member of the week :bringit:

lol jk, im actually with dj on this one i don't like the idea would rather have a rep system like tore suggested..

but apparently ppl here hated that idea.

"its no good" they said.. >_>

"ppl will abuse it" they said... <_<

"its a cheap gimmick" they said. U_U

well you know what? this member of the week idea is also a gimmick! at least with a thanks system the rep would be spread around so everybody gets a piece of the action, BUT NOOOO~ apparently thanking ppl is for idiots that will thank others idiots cause cool ppl don't need to thank other cool ppl they are too cool for that.

I think the real issue with the rep system is that it would be difficult to implement because the site owners, who would be the only ones with the power to activate it, have virtually no direct involvement with the site.

I like this thread's parameters. However, one pattern is repeating itself: suggestions in this sub-forum turning into arguments. :bonkhead:

Re "troll" accusations, forget about infractions for now, in most situations. Just delete the comments, and moderators need to refrain from calling people trolls. Exceptions - when "troll" is repeated at someone so often it's virtually harassment and when a person keeps posting pictures of trolls (generally more distracting than just the word, in my opinion). And here's an alternative to calling someone a "troll" - tell that person to "stop derailing" a thread, if that's the situation.

I have an uncontroversial proposal to make later, on a less busy day.

The moderators aren't calling people trolls, not only that I seem to recall deleting posts from members that called yourself one as well.

Asking someone not to troll a thread or talking about trolling posts isn't the same thing as calling someone a troll.

This is a non issue.

^ brilliant
Concerning [deleted]heart's idea: I think the weekly member of the week a is bit too time consuming, maybe it should be done quarterly with those results used in the semi-finals and finals at the end of the year.

:laughing:

Good point Ki but I think 99.99999% of us here are mature enough not to do that. Also, I feel that --- assuming the idea were taken up --- any sort of protracted behaviour of that sort (you gotta let em celebrate once or twice if it means a lot to them) should perhaps result in first a warning and if that doesn't work they can be, well, stripped of their title. If THAT doesn't work, then they could be banned from being included in the nominations for a specific time, maybe a month, though of course that would lead to bad feeling and be negative.

But I don't feel anyone will go lording it over everyone (unless it's our very own Batlord --- "I'm MOTW bitches! Swoon in the light of my glory!" etc ), just think it's more about people working to be the kind of member who can be chosen as MOTW by doing "good" stuff here, so in this case if it worked the means would in fact justify the end.

Also, if people feel smug about it then you can't control anyone's feelings. Just as long as they don't start looking for a sceptre and crown! That'd be extra! ;)

Also: @ Black Francis: the difference I see in the MOTW vs a +1 or Like system is that in the latter you don't have to say WHY you're adding your single digit or liking the post. To become MOTW (or month) as I've already explained you can't just vote for your mates UNLESS you have a valid reason why they should win it. So in former case, let's pick poor old Jansz again. People like his posts because he's a nice guy and has been known to offer free beer. Everyone Likes or plus-ones his posts. His popularity or karma or whatever goes up, but there's no clear indication why. Maybe these are all his mates. Maybe he's asked people to do it. Who knows? No paper trail as they say.

In my system, if implemented, eople vote for Janszoon. Commitee says why? Member says "cos he defused drama yesterday in political thread". Committee nods, marks down, agrees. That sort of thing makes it much harder for anyone to abuse the system or indulge in gartuitious, for the sake of another word, Liking. And I think that could work better.

Also, other members see this and it pushes them to do something good, nice or clever, to contribute. Everybody wins. Except me. I'll probably exclude myself from being chosen, to counter any claims I might be just doing this for personal glory.

I know I come across as a negative ned but you want to reward people for doing simple things that they should be doing on their own regardless of if there is a reward dangling in front of their face?

I just have an issue with constantly needing to reward people all the time. It's almost like you are treating people like that are pets and they need a treat as reinforcement for good behavior when it's something they should either be doing on their own or learning to do over time.

I agree. It's too close to the karma or rep system for me and we all know how I feel about that. People are going to find ways to achieve Member of the Week status just to get their ego stroked.

I´d just like to applaud the atmosphere in this thread, which feels so much more comfortable than some recent embarrassments.

I´m pretty much with Ki about the member of the week/month idea; if people take the trouble to set it up and contribute, it could be fun - especially for members who are constantly dipping into all the forums.
EDIT in response to BD: You´re right about the karma issue, but I´m thinking that if it´s only member for a week, are people really going to bother gearing up into cliques to claim such a transient reward ?

I agree with VEGANGELICA that there is a significant difference between calling someone a troll (i.e. insulting their person) and accusing them of trolling (i.e. criticising their behaviour). How that subtle distinction can be policed, I don´t know. As I think Jans and Urban mentioned, banning the word "troll" would be ineffectual. The moment a member posts, "You´re green and you live under a bridge!" it would become a worthless ban.

I support the red editing by mods too, though I don´t know how complicated that might be to operate.

Finally, this is no biggy, and may seem like a band-aid in order to fix a broken leg, but I have twice suggested that tore´s Weekly Theme thread be revived. So far nobody has dignified this suggestion with a reply - at this stage, even a rejection would be welcome !!

I must have not been reading the posts correctly. I thought we were just talking about using the word troll LESS. not banning it completely. I think that would be silly.

The red editing was a joke and it was applied by Neo. Not the mods unless they did come along later on and edited his post.

I'm really not bothered about the MOTW/M idea; if it's adopted fine if not then also fine. I do feel that there's a measure of negative reaction against it, but would refute DJ and BD's contention that it's a reward for good behaviour alone. It's not. It's meant to foster good behaviour and show people that they can be recognised at the end. Sort of like when you get good grades and your parents buy you a car or whatever. If you know that's on the horizon do you work harder and more diligently than otherwise?

I understand that people should not need inducements to behave properly, but the reality is some people will not do so on their own. Of course, these people may not do so even with a system like this in place. It was more an idea that those who take the time or put in the effort to make the place a better environment would get some recognition, in some small way. And a ham. But if everyone thinks it would lead to a stupid competitive atmos, then by all means don't implement it.

On Lisnaholic's point on tore's weekly themes, I have to say, I don't get it. I looked and all I saw was some posts leading to Wiki articles. Can someone please explain this to me, as as it stands I simply don't see what's being done.

You know why you can't find it? It wasn't Tore's weekly theme threads. It was Pedo's themed threads that she would put up.

You had the wrong member maybe that's why people didn't realize what you were talking about.

Earlier, it was mentioned that there should be some editing out, though! Neo's joke was in reference to that AND the trolling convo, if I'm not mistaken.

yes he's effective with his jokes. They are multi-layered.

Yeah I believe Neapolitan edited his own post - taking the troll out of Trollheart as a joke :)

I really do miss those weekly theme threads! Was it weekly or were they monthly?

I feel like I heard about a lot of new music and got to share some stuff that people didn't know I listened to!
For a while, Mojo was doing them too, if I'm not mistaken.

There was a lot of sharing going on there, it was so great.

I'll be happy to start those back up if people are interested. They never seemed to see much action unfortunately.

I'm thinking of the right threads, right Jans? The ones that Mojo was doing for a while and would post youtube videos of examples?

Or is that a different one??

I hadn't commented on the Member of the Week/Month idea because I was hoping it would go away. Please dispose - it won't help and is drawing attention away from better suggestions.

Re "troll" and variations thereof, okay then, just cut down on usage of the word (moderators lead the way). But please delete pictures of the creatures.

My idea that no one should dislike:
Track down interesting old music threads that are long, have been active within the past three years, mostly stay on topic, are low in conflict, and possibly could be discussed anew. Then make an index to those threads in a sticky in the General Music sub-forum. Also, anyone could personally bump those threads, if there's something worthwhile to add.

Your description sounds like it. It was started by Tore and i think both Mojo snd Pedestrian may have run it for while.

Yes, dj, I got a laugh out of Neopolitan´s " ****heart " joke too, but I was actually refering to this idea of editing that tore and VEGANGELICA have mentioned:-
Sorry if I haven´t explained the Weekly Thread idea very well, Trollheart.
This link here, http://www.musicbanter.com/announcem...-calendar.html
made by tore, is just the index or calendar of events. The idea is that you can look for the up-coming weekly theme or (in some cases) follow the attached link to a thread that occured in a previous week. To my knowledge, it was Pedestrian who always opened up a thread each week, which could be found in the appropriate forum. First time I "met" Janszoon was when Pedestrian opened up an "It´s Latin Week!" thread in the world forum.

^ That´s a kind offer, Janszoon; probably best to see if any real enthusiasm is evident here before spending too much time on it. I´d offer to help myself, but I´m already feeling guilty about the amount of time I spend on this infernal, contrary and addictive website !

The Weekly Theme Threads were something I took over from Dankrstra after she took them from Tore in 2011. The idea was to broaden peoples' horizons by asking them to share music from a less-common genre like, I don't know, Balkan Folk Punk or something. I'd include summaries of the genres, taken from wikipedia and RYM (because honestly, what the hell do I know about Balkan folk punk?) and RYM's list of top-rated releases, so people would have a starting point into the genre.

I had also played around with doing years (It's 1952 week!) and places (It's Chilean music week!), but I found that they were not active enough to really justify trying to remember to do them on time and complete all the tedious tasks associated with creating them. I suppose I could have whopped out half-assed versions of them, but I don't like to work that way. I like to do my best.

I have nothing against seeing them come back, if someone wants to give it a go, or if people want to do one of the variations. As long as it creates some momentum, which they weren't really doing.

Yup, crickets so far, including the important last part. One possible use of it would be inclusion in some responses in the New Members sub-forum - as a way to get newbies directly involved in music threads.

^Why not close old music threads and start new ones with a revamped OP etc. Most of the old music threads start with "this band rocks". Kind of lame imo.

exactly

perfect example & one of the worst:
http://www.musicbanter.com/199947-post1.html

Excellent first reply though. Really shows off how friendly and welcoming the forum used to be. We really need to get back to that kind of general feel.

What about reviving my old "Beginner's guide to..." thread, but probably with YT now instead of an uploaded mix, which seems to piss Mediafire and others off and make it undownloadable? I'd be happy to start with an intro to Tom Waits, anyone else with ideas throw 'em in, though I'd say do one artiste at a time.

Yay? Nay? Couldn't-care-less-ay?

I think it's a great idea why don't you make a start on it.

So your suggestion is:

1. Disregard an idea that the majority supports, because it doesn't work for you specifically and distracts attention from ideas you like.

2. Say "troll" less, and delete pictures of trolls.

3. Have someone index old threads they think are interesting and fit a criteria while disregarding the fact that when people discuss things they're interested in that already exist, we routinely link them back to the original thread. So basically, try to foresee what people will be interested in and allow them to access it all in a thread (On the off chance that they want to discuss that thing) instead of letting them use the search feature.

I'm not trying to be snarky or anything. I'm legitimately wondering whether or not this is accurate in your perspective, and if not, please explain.

Seconded, can we get a third on this?

33.3333333333/100