Best Ever Albums

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Repo — Wed, 8 Oct 2025 13:52:05 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 10/08/2025 17:52

CA Dreamin wrote:

@Romanelli I want the Ozzy Rank 'Em thread to be more visible, gain traction, and have more participants posting and commenting. At the time I started it, the Diary Section made more sense on that front. Now that the Music Section has been mostly cleaned up, I'm open to shifting Ozzy over. I'm not a mod and therefore don't know the site's data, so I'll trust your word. Go ahead and shift it to the Music Section and let's see what happens, but I hope to see an uptick in activity. Two users have yet to put their two cents out on Vol 4.

Thursday night! I promise! 🤓

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

CA Dreamin — Wed, 8 Oct 2025 13:01:11 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/08/2025 17:01

@Romanelli I want the Ozzy Rank 'Em thread to be more visible, gain traction, and have more participants posting and commenting. At the time I started it, the Diary Section made more sense on that front. Now that the Music Section has been mostly cleaned up, I'm open to shifting Ozzy over. I'm not a mod and therefore don't know the site's data, so I'll trust your word. Go ahead and shift it to the Music Section and let's see what happens, but I hope to see an uptick in activity. Two users have yet to put their two cents out on Vol 4.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Repo — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 23:44:21 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 10/07/2025 03:44

Romanelli wrote:

I don't know...the junk posts in the music forum are gone. What is left is just one, and that thread is pretty central to what BEA is: an albums site. One that many users (including myself) have acknowledged is a prime spot for album recs. How much discussion goes on there depends on us. On an albums site: is it really detrimental to everything else in the forum to have a single thread dedicated to what album you are listening to, and does having that single thread justify ignoring and not posting at all in that entire forum based solely on that one thread's existence? And isn't that action counterproductive to what we're working to accomplish...have the music forum ultimately be more discussion based?

There has been a LOT of effort made recently to clean things up, and to try to make the forums more conversation and user friendly. It's one thread. That no one says you have to participate in. Does that really justify not using that forum at all as a protest?

The music forum has now been opened up with the removal of all of the junk threads, and the album and chart of the day threads. The one remaining thread that is disagreed with is stickied, so it's not even showing on the list. Right now, the Music forum is really showing an effort to be better. And if there's fear of discussion threads disappearing...they would do so now simply because they had died, because the Music thread page one now spans over a month.

And my answer is yes. I believe that the Beach Boys and Ozzy threads would be more visible and gain more traction in the Music forum. Because Music is the main forum here, and because of the large amount of cleanup that has been done there. And because the Albums thread is, again, stickied, so it is incapable of burying anything.

I agree with albummaster & baystate on this. Let's leave it up to the creators of those threads where they want them to be. CA Dreamin has reasonably and persuasively explained why he prefers these threads stay in the Music Diaries subforum for the present, and I totally understand and respect that.

Would LOVE to have you participate though, Romanelli! I'm sure you have some interesting takes on both bands!

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Romanelli — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 09:54:37 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 10/06/2025 13:54

I don't know...the junk posts in the music forum are gone. What is left is just one, and that thread is pretty central to what BEA is: an albums site. One that many users (including myself) have acknowledged is a prime spot for album recs. How much discussion goes on there depends on us. On an albums site: is it really detrimental to everything else in the forum to have a single thread dedicated to what album you are listening to, and does having that single thread justify ignoring and not posting at all in that entire forum based solely on that one thread's existence? And isn't that action counterproductive to what we're working to accomplish...have the music forum ultimately be more discussion based?

There has been a LOT of effort made recently to clean things up, and to try to make the forums more conversation and user friendly. It's one thread. That no one says you have to participate in. Does that really justify not using that forum at all as a protest?

The music forum has now been opened up with the removal of all of the junk threads, and the album and chart of the day threads. The one remaining thread that is disagreed with is stickied, so it's not even showing on the list. Right now, the Music forum is really showing an effort to be better. And if there's fear of discussion threads disappearing...they would do so now simply because they had died, because the Music thread page one now spans over a month.

And my answer is yes. I believe that the Beach Boys and Ozzy threads would be more visible and gain more traction in the Music forum. Because Music is the main forum here, and because of the large amount of cleanup that has been done there. And because the Albums thread is, again, stickied, so it is incapable of burying anything.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Mon, 6 Oct 2025 08:17:38 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 10/06/2025 12:17

baystateoftheart wrote:

Ultimately, I think adding more features to the site (and allowing us to pay to support) will be much more effective in boosting forum activity in the long run than taking more time deciding which threads should go in which forum.

100% agree, these issues should just be a sideshow

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

baystateoftheart — Sun, 5 Oct 2025 16:38:59 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 10/05/2025 20:38

An idea I just had: what if all posts on the forums that consist of only a BEA link without modification were automatically marked as off-topic forum posts and therefore received 0 site points? The most popular thread would continue without disruption, but it would provide a subtle incentive for people to add a comment about the album they're listening to, and remove the current incentive for low-effort posts. AM has previously explained why requiring a longer comment before posting wouldn't be feasible, but this would be a middle ground.

Definitely not a priority though imo. Ultimately, I think adding more features to the site (and allowing us to pay to support) will be much more effective in boosting forum activity in the long run than taking more time deciding which threads should go in which forum.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 16:05:33 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 10/03/2025 20:05

CA Dreamin wrote:

Lastly, the biggest reason I started it as a diary was specifically to avoid the music section. Between the what are you eating for lunch thread, and the COTD and AOTD threads (which were in the music section at the time), I deduced the Ozzy thread would get buried and receive 0 attention and visibility in the Music section… My $0.02 is the 'what are you eating for lunch' thread should be deleted its own section. Send the 0-effort posts to their own sandbox.

Apologies, the latter part of this discussion was really just to get a feel of how to differentiate the two forums and wasn’t intended to be prescriptive. In terms of where the thread started, automated posts have now all been moved, so just the ‘low effort’ thread(s) remaining and there’s only really one or two that are active enough to bump other topics in that forum (the main one is stickied). I’m not sure deleting that main thread would be universally popular (it’s the most active thread here by far) and the site has already shut down a few others causing a drop in forum activity in the process. However, both forums can definitely co-exist with Diaries offering more personalised/hosted(?) content and the Music forum for more general/open topics (& up to the user to choose which). I hope this helps people to find somewhere comfortable to post and enjoy the site.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

CA Dreamin — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 15:15:20 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 10/03/2025 19:15

Yeah, come on Patman, join us!

As for where the rank 'em threads belong, I should mention there were three reasons I started the Ozzy thread in the Diary section. One, I see it as a 'shared diary', one in which multiple users go through his discography together and put their thoughts out there. Another reason was because after the Ozzy listening project concludes, maybe I will turn it into more of a diary. I don't know; I haven't thought that far ahead. Lastly, the biggest reason I started it as a diary was specifically to avoid the music section. Between the what are you eating for lunch thread, and the COTD and AOTD threads (which were in the music section at the time), I deduced the Ozzy thread would get buried and receive 0 attention and visibility in the Music section. Given the positive reception it's received, I believe I made the right choice putting it in the Diary Section. Agreed, it's not introspective like a true diary. The discussion aspect of it means it probably leans towards the Music section. But the music section is so dominated by one bullcrap thread, I think I prefer keeping the Ozzy rank 'em thread where it's at. At least it has the chance to be seen on the main forum page. I know this was proposed by someone earlier, but my $0.02 is the 'what are you eating for lunch' thread should be deleted its own section. Send the 0-effort posts to their own sandbox. In that case, I might be more inclined to have Ozzy in Music Section. I don't know, you tell me, moderators. Would the Beach Boys and Ozzy threads get more notice in the music section? Again, I think they're doing fine where they are for the time being.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Repo — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 14:34:23 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 10/03/2025 18:34

Patman360 wrote:

Like the idea stemming from Romanalli's post, think it could be a good boost to the music forum for sure, I like sitting back in terms of those ranking threads and taking an outside view, but guess some feel people might feel more inclined to jump in if not in the diary section, if that makes sense.

Come on in, Patman! The water's warm! But seriously, would love to get more engagement in the Rank 'Em threads. Everyone should feel welcome to participate as little or as much as they want! 😎

Anyways, would love to get your takes on BOTH Black Sabbath and The Beach Boys. I know you have some!

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Patman360 — Thu, 2 Oct 2025 12:20:37 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 10/02/2025 16:20

Like the idea stemming from Romanalli's post, think it could be a good boost to the music forum for sure, I like sitting back in terms of those ranking threads and taking an outside view, but guess some feel people might feel more inclined to jump in if not in the diary section, if that makes sense.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Wed, 1 Oct 2025 10:04:56 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 10/01/2025 14:04

Repo wrote:

I'll leave this for a few days for others to chime in, but personally feel this might be a good move. We could maybe tighten up the definition for the Diaries forum as quite loose at the moment. I get that Diaries can also be quite 'bloggy', and blogs can wander a bit, but maybe there's a clearer point of distinction between the two forums to make them easier to moderate.

Repo wrote:

But, keep in mind, my thread/diary has been all sorts of things (including a few months where I discussed... kaiju movies! 😲 🤣 ).

that's fine 😁

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Repo — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 05:51:53 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 09/30/2025 09:51

albummaster wrote:

Romanelli wrote:

Going back to this point again as I think Romanelli nailed it. Discussion posts that are not really diaries probably more belong in the Music forum (otherwise what else is it for). My own $0.02 is that diaries need to be more introspective to be in that forum (of which there are quite a few). However, there are several threads in that forum which are not really diaries in the way that people might imagine them (conversely some posts in the Music forum which probably more belong as Diaries). The relevant threads could be proactively moved, but diaries are personal and I don't want to cause a problem. However, I do think the forum definitions need to be better distinguished to get the most benefit out of the two forums.

re: the two Rank 'EM threads. I'm fine with that. Perhaps PM CA Dreamin, since he's been pretty busy with work & thus might not see this, about switching where the two Rank 'Em threads are located. I doubt he'd mind.

But, keep in mind, my thread/diary has been all sorts of things (including a few months where I discussed... kaiju movies! 😲 🤣 ).

Thanks for working so hard to try to get this right, AM!

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 04:59:49 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 09/30/2025 08:59

Romanelli wrote:

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Johnnyo — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 06:01:51 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 09/27/2025 10:01

MadhattanJack wrote:

That sounds good to me, though I suspect you'll want to pin the actual site-status announcements to prevent them from getting overwhelmed too...? :-k

Agreed. I think that it's a good idea to keep them and in Announcements would feel right to me.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 03:34:48 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 09/27/2025 07:34

Romanelli wrote:

Hey...here's a question.

Is there a way to post the AOTD and COTD in music...and then have them move automatically to Announcements after, say, 24 hours, when the next one comes up? That way, you would have both upfront in the music forum, but just for a day. And there would never be more than one of each of them there at a time...

There's definitely a way of doing it, but I think topics switching between forums might be a bit confusing. I personally think, let's give things more time to settle in (things definitely improving already).

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Romanelli — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:58:26 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 09/26/2025 22:58

Hey...here's a question.

Is there a way to post the AOTD and COTD in music...and then have them move automatically to Announcements after, say, 24 hours, when the next one comes up? That way, you would have both upfront in the music forum, but just for a day. And there would never be more than one of each of them there at a time...

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 04:35:21 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 09/26/2025 08:35

Romanelli wrote:

The real music diaries tend to be more one sided...as a diary is in real life. Discussion is not necessary for the thread to thrive. It's someone putting their thoughts and musical journey out there for others to read without having to participate.

Definitely agree. Diary forum was created for those kinds of posts.

Romanelli wrote:

Maybe if the more discussion based diaries were in music, they'd get more notice? With AOTD and COTD gone, things won't get buried nearly as easily.

There are easily six or seven threads in Diaries that would be better served in Music. The diaries page is, in reality, not very deep in threads...page one still contains threads last posted on in the month of June.

Also agree, but not sure how to approach this process (don't want to forcefully move and upset anyone).

Quote:

Also, the New Users forum is a graveyard of "hi" that goes back more than a full year on page one. Games has the two "Albums Below You" threads that would probably get more traffic in Music (and because of where they are, get ignored more than they deserve)...otherwise, it's a wasteland of tournaments that rarely seem to happen anymore...only 2 in the last year. Maybe we move the Albums Below You threads to music and rename Games as Tournaments?

Politics & Religion hasn't been posted on in over a year, and contains only one thread that isn't locked and dead. Naples isn't here anymore...do we really need it?

I guess what I'm getting at is that we could maybe streamline some things. Fewer subforums. Have some threads moved to spots where they might be seen a bit more.

Agree again, Bay also seemed to be aligned with those thoughts. Happy to rename Games forum to Tournaments and move those games threads to Music (feels less personal to proactively move these threads than diary ones). I've also closed the Politics subforum, future politics threads can be in the Lounge (not moved any of the posts from there, but might do that once this change has settled in). Users that were causing issues in the past in that forum are no longer here. Deciding to keep the New members forum (at least for the moment) as it does serve a purpose for introductory questions etc. The Movies & TV forum might also get merged back into the Lounge at some point.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

baystateoftheart — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:35:53 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 09/26/2025 00:35

Romanelli wrote:

I believe that the Diaries forum has been good, but it's also become kind of thin. There are a few threads there (the Rank-Em threads, for example) that would be much better served in the Music forum, as they aren't really built to be diaries, but discussions. The real music diaries tend to be more one sided...as a diary is in real life. Discussion is not necessary for the thread to thrive. It's someone putting their thoughts and musical journey out there for others to read without having to participate.

Maybe if the more discussion based diaries were in music, they'd get more notice? With AOTD and COTD gone, things won't get buried nearly as easily.

There are easily six or seven threads in Diaries that would be better served in Music. The diaries page is, in reality, not very deep in threads...page one still contains threads last posted on in the month of June.

At this point, do we even need both?

Also, the New Users forum is a graveyard of "hi" that goes back more than a full year on page one. Games has the two "Albums Below You" threads that would probably get more traffic in Music (and because of where they are, get ignored more than they deserve)...otherwise, it's a wasteland of tournaments that rarely seem to happen anymore...only 2 in the last year. Maybe we move the Albums Below You threads to music and rename Games as Tournaments?

Politics & Religion hasn't been posted on in over a year, and contains only one thread that isn't locked and dead. Naples isn't here anymore...do we really need it?

I guess what I'm getting at is that we could maybe streamline some things. Fewer subforums. Have some threads moved to spots where they might be seen a bit more.

Closing Politics & Religion (future threads can be in Lounge) and New Users (could be replaced by one pinned thread in Music called "Introduce Yourself and the Music You Like") is a good idea, and so is renaming Games to Tournaments and shifting the other games to Music.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

Romanelli — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:21:28 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 09/25/2025 18:21

I believe that the Diaries forum has been good, but it's also become kind of thin. There are a few threads there (the Rank-Em threads, for example) that would be much better served in the Music forum, as they aren't really built to be diaries, but discussions. The real music diaries tend to be more one sided...as a diary is in real life. Discussion is not necessary for the thread to thrive. It's someone putting their thoughts and musical journey out there for others to read without having to participate.

Maybe if the more discussion based diaries were in music, they'd get more notice? With AOTD and COTD gone, things won't get buried nearly as easily.

There are easily six or seven threads in Diaries that would be better served in Music. The diaries page is, in reality, not very deep in threads...page one still contains threads last posted on in the month of June.

At this point, do we even need both?

Also, the New Users forum is a graveyard of "hi" that goes back more than a full year on page one. Games has the two "Albums Below You" threads that would probably get more traffic in Music (and because of where they are, get ignored more than they deserve)...otherwise, it's a wasteland of tournaments that rarely seem to happen anymore...only 2 in the last year. Maybe we move the Albums Below You threads to music and rename Games as Tournaments?

Politics & Religion hasn't been posted on in over a year, and contains only one thread that isn't locked and dead. Naples isn't here anymore...do we really need it?

I guess what I'm getting at is that we could maybe streamline some things. Fewer subforums. Have some threads moved to spots where they might be seen a bit more.

Re: New "News and Opinion" subforum?

albummaster — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 05:20:09 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 09/25/2025 09:20

Still early days, but moving the automated posts hasn't made much difference yet. The only truly active thread is now the __listening one. The Diaries forum remains the most active. Just delved into the BEA archives to look back at the rationale for creating the Diaries forum ten years ago (and still agree with the rationale), but there are some interesting observations about the __listening thread from way back when:

"The beginning of the end of the most abused thread in BEA history"

"Would it be better to have that thread in that forum do you think? Maybe for someone who wants to post what they're listening to but doesn't want to write up a whole thing about it? Or perhaps we should just let the thread die".

"Some of the posts that end up in the "What album are you listening to?" thread would be much better preserved in a diary-like thread that could be easily browsed"

The main argument(s) the other way (and same arguments repeated in other threads):

"Even if people just post what they are listening to without talking about it, there's value in it. It's interesting to see what people are listening to... listening to albums is why we're here, and the thread is a big part of it. The diaries are separate, in a separate forum, and should stay that way. It's also probably the easiest source for recs on the site."

This is a bit of a stream of consciousness from me, so apologies, but if that thread (and other threads like it) were moved out of the Music forum, then I don't think anything else right now will pick up the vacuum. I think the Music forum has lost it's purpose and maybe needs to be redefined in an age where we also have a Diaries thread for people to express themselves. Most quality content has now migrated to the diaries.

In linked thread (above) which championed creating a Diaries forum, there was also the idea of making the diaries more exclusive rather, than open to all (a 'perk' for higher members). If this became the case, would this help move content elsewhere? Is there any point keeping open the Music forum if it will forever be mostly void.

I personally still believe the Music forum has a purpose as a 'gateway' into the site and for more general music discussion. There's also definitely an overlap with some of the content in the Diaries, which could work just as well in the Music forum. Maybe both forums need to be redefined (in terms of their descriptions), so they can co-exist without cannibalising each other.