Why message boards go down hill.

SATCHMO · 03-09-2010, 03:41 AM

You know, in so many ways this forum is better than it ever has been. If any of you could have taken a look at this place five years ago, There would be no question as to why we've garnered the reputation for being elitist flame throwers. There was little to no diversity in musical taste, amongst members there was not much intelligence beyond a rudimentary knowledge of mainstream contemporary artists, and no one, NO ONE, was doing any sort of journaling or any sort of lengthy intelligent dissertations on anything musical to speak of (I think Urban started that a few years ago the last time he got fed up with everybody yammering about how this place sucks, and what ensued was nothing short of an MB renaissance). So, although it was a good time, MB consisted of a few tightly bound kindred spirits who tore after moronic n00bs with flames a blazing. To tell you the truth...I rather enjoyed it.

This place has really grown to become a very eclectic collection of musically informed personalities, musical interests are very diverse and only growing more so, The music journals are absolutely fantastic and the writing is for the most part superb, and amongst our members there's a huge wealth of information on any style or genre music that you can think of, because these days our members know there shit Trust me I used to consider myself one of the most intelligent people on this forum, and now well I'm just blown away by the depth of musical knowledge that so many of our members possess. It puts mine to shame.

If anyone feels that they have reason to bitch about the direction in which this place is heading, (trust me I have my moments too), then post more! Start a thread about ****ing music that you're interested in, and quit talking about how many tangerines your girlfriend can fit in her vagina in The Sexual Experience thread.

Post you ****ing morons!

boo boo · 03-09-2010, 03:51 AM

I was very fustrated with this forum just a few years back when I felt that MB was nothing but indie fans who were straight up ignorant towards nearly everything else in music, Ethan was especially a repeat offender.

Yeah, I used to antagonize these people a ton, but over time the forum has become a lot more open minded, there's a greater diversity of tastes and interests, this forum isn't as dominated by groupthink as most forums I've been to. And thus it's now easier to make threads about music I like without them getting spammed to death by snotty 14 year olds who think indie folk, emo and genres with post in their title is the only music of any artistic merit. Had this forum been making comps a few years ago they would have been dominated by Sufjan Stevens, Okkervil River and totally lame sh*t like that.

But what I'm trying to say is, since this forum has become more friendly and the newer members are a lot more likable and capable of making non-bullsh*t arguments I don't feel the desire to be as much of a raging jerk as I used to be. Though there are still a few who can bring out the worst in me.

SATCHMO · 03-09-2010, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boo boo

I was very fustrated with this forum just a few years back when I felt that MB was nothing but indie fans who were straight up ignorant towards nearly everything else in music, Ethan was especially a repeat offender.

Yeah, I used to antagonize these people a ton, but over time the forum has become a lot more open minded, there's a greater diversity of tastes and interests, this forum isn't as dominated by groupthink as most forums I've been to. And thus it's now easier to make threads about music I like without them getting spammed to death by snotty 14 year olds who think indie folk, emo and genres with post in their title is the only music of any artistic merit.

But what I'm trying to say is, since this forum has become more friendly and the newer members are a lot more likable and capable of making non-bullsh*t arguments I don't feel the desire to be as much of a raging jerk as I used to be. Though there are still a few who can bring out the worst in me.

And I'm happy to see you're back to posting about something other than movies and video games

boo boo · 03-12-2010, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SATCHMO

And I'm happy to see you're back to posting about something other than movies and video games

Haha well, it took me a while to build up the confidence to start discussing music and politics again after my episodes with people like Unfan and Caveman, and the whole feminism incident.

duga · 03-10-2010, 12:27 AM

^

I actually think music and sports have one very important thing in common: emotion. Everyone...especially those who are incredibly into music like us...listens to it because we are emotionally attached to it in some way. It is life affirming, and knowing people who agree with you on that help validate those feelings. People love a certain sports team because of a family tradition that they want to feel close to, or they followed the team from the time they were unknown, or any other reason someone gets emotionally attached to a team. The reaction to insulting someone's favorite team provokes nearly the same reaction as insulting someone's favorite band. So...now that I think about it...the way we all react is perfectly normal.

stormjh · 03-11-2010, 07:00 AM

This kind of fits in here, I always find forums better when a users post count is not put under their name sig and such, as people tend to value the opinions of someone with a post count 1000 + over that of a newbie, as opposed to taking the posts on the merit of what's in them, they just think 'oh he/she has loads of posts, they're probably right', or he/she only has a few posts, I'll ignore it until someone with more says something too'.

Just putting that out there, not meaning to have a go or anything.

Fruitonica · 03-12-2010, 06:27 PM

I don't have much new to add to the talk, except to agree that a blog on the front page would be great. We have a wealth of great material in the journal and review sections that would draw people in if it was in a more prominent format.

I think MB is in great health at the moment, sure it might begin to feel a bit stale for the older members, but this is inevitable to a point. I've never come across an online community as balanced and interesting as this one, and the community of sharing that has sprung up is great.

Maybe because I've been here a while and know am not really intimidated by any of your bull**** opinions any more, but elitism doesn't seem to be a problem to me. The big response to Big3's Miley Cyrus and Kesha threads points to an openness to the pop side of pop culture.

Revol · 03-17-2010, 10:58 AM

So...this forum is a haven for elitists and music snobs?

Like every music forum then.

Guybrush · 03-17-2010, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revol

So...this forum is a haven for elitists and music snobs?

Like every music forum then.

You get all kinds, but I don't think of musicbanter as particularly bad. Actually, I was surprised how friendly people were when I first signed up.

Revol · 03-17-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

You get all kinds, but I don't think of musicbanter as particularly bad. Actually, I was surprised how friendly people were when I first signed up.

Do you get many trolls/sock puppets on here?

03-10-2010, 12:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	^ I actually think music and sports have one very important thing in common: emotion. Everyone...especially those who are incredibly into music like us...listens to it because we are emotionally attached to it in some way. It is life affirming, and knowing people who agree with you on that help validate those feelings. People love a certain sports team because of a family tradition that they want to feel close to, or they followed the team from the time they were unknown, or any other reason someone gets emotionally attached to a team. The reaction to insulting someone's favorite team provokes nearly the same reaction as insulting someone's favorite band. So...now that I think about it...the way we all react is perfectly normal. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

03-11-2010, 07:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
stormjh Music Addict Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 161	This kind of fits in here, I always find forums better when a users post count is not put under their name sig and such, as people tend to value the opinions of someone with a post count 1000 + over that of a newbie, as opposed to taking the posts on the merit of what's in them, they just think 'oh he/she has loads of posts, they're probably right', or he/she only has a few posts, I'll ignore it until someone with more says something too'. Just putting that out there, not meaning to have a go or anything. __________________ Sig removed by mod.

03-09-2010, 03:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
SATCHMO Al Dente Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 4,847	You know, in so many ways this forum is better than it ever has been. If any of you could have taken a look at this place five years ago, There would be no question as to why we've garnered the reputation for being elitist flame throwers. There was little to no diversity in musical taste, amongst members there was not much intelligence beyond a rudimentary knowledge of mainstream contemporary artists, and no one, NO ONE, was doing any sort of journaling or any sort of lengthy intelligent dissertations on anything musical to speak of (I think Urban started that a few years ago the last time he got fed up with everybody yammering about how this place sucks, and what ensued was nothing short of an MB renaissance). So, although it was a good time, MB consisted of a few tightly bound kindred spirits who tore after moronic n00bs with flames a blazing. To tell you the truth...I rather enjoyed it. This place has really grown to become a very eclectic collection of musically informed personalities, musical interests are very diverse and only growing more so, The music journals are absolutely fantastic and the writing is for the most part superb, and amongst our members there's a huge wealth of information on any style or genre music that you can think of, because these days our members know there shit Trust me I used to consider myself one of the most intelligent people on this forum, and now well I'm just blown away by the depth of musical knowledge that so many of our members possess. It puts mine to shame. If anyone feels that they have reason to bitch about the direction in which this place is heading, (trust me I have my moments too), then post more! Start a thread about **ing music that you're interested in, and quit talking about how many tangerines your girlfriend can fit in her vagina in The Sexual Experience thread. Post you **ing morons!

03-12-2010, 06:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
Fruitonica Pale and Wan Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Aus Posts: 917	I don't have much new to add to the talk, except to agree that a blog on the front page would be great. We have a wealth of great material in the journal and review sections that would draw people in if it was in a more prominent format. I think MB is in great health at the moment, sure it might begin to feel a bit stale for the older members, but this is inevitable to a point. I've never come across an online community as balanced and interesting as this one, and the community of sharing that has sprung up is great. Maybe because I've been here a while and know am not really intimidated by any of your bull**** opinions any more, but elitism doesn't seem to be a problem to me. The big response to Big3's Miley Cyrus and Kesha threads points to an openness to the pop side of pop culture.

03-17-2010, 10:58 AM	#8 (permalink)
Revol Clean Shirt Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Yorkshire - Home of the white rose, Emmerdale and the higest teen pregnancy rate. Posts: 68	So...this forum is a haven for elitists and music snobs? Like every music forum then.