a plea to everyone - Suggestions - Forums : Best Ever Albums

HigherThanTheSun

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: UK

Thanks albummaster and pearljammer.

Also I think this is an unfair response for daring to ask a question about The Libertines, 'Not alot of love for The Libertines on this site?'

purple wrote:

there's not a lot of love for people who make a new thread for every artist or album they would like to see in the charts

That was my second effort making a thread, obviously not a success then...
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Shut up mate you're boring!

purple

apologies for the my directness in this thread. It's not my intention to scare away users but to address the point that users, myself included ( http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/vi...mp;start=0 ), need to increase awareness of what's already covered and put some thought into creating new threads. again, this is not me calling out the authors of the sample threads I used in the original post.

the possible remedies I originally posted are not law, simply suggestions. I encourage this entire community to make suggestions of how to improve awareness of what's already posted and how to improve the site's organization on this thread and in the suggestions forum e.g.

-a site map on the home page
-subforums, as suggested by Jhereko in the suggestions forum already
-a more user-friendly, aggressive search engine
-stickies at the top of each forum encouraging new users to explore before they create a new thread

my original post also deserves a charitable reading, and I stand by my suggestions. a common objection to them is the jazz tournament thread in which a member replied to a 2+ year old post; all I have to say is that posts are dated for a reason. I think the community would benefit if users begin to emphasize versatile threads like creating the generalized rank discography thread instead of creating one for each artist.

another issue (that this thread apparently isn't helping with) is intimidation of new users. I'd like to use this thread in addressing that issue too. for the users who were intimidated upon joining, what intimidated you and how can that issue be ameliorated? this is one of the most timid forums I've come across, so lack of confidence in new users is a lost perspective on me; for that reason new users are the ones that really need to come forward and address the issue if it's going to get better.

and lastly I have a personal apology for HigherThanTheSun. yes I have been picking on you in your threads, and you were one of the catalysts for this thread, but recognize that I have nothing against you as a person. you've got good taste in music, a refreshingly positive attitude, and have posted some great opinions but I just can't back some of the threads you've created. sorry if I've intimidated you.

HigherThanTheSun

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: UK

Nah you're cool purple there's no need to apologise. I just find it confusing how strict you see the criteria to be for making a thread. I mean it's a music forum so I struggle to see how a thread about The Libertines is somehow wrong?

I'm not against sub categories for evaluating individual albums or artists but they don't currently exist and if I'm not allowed to talk about a certain band then what exactly am I allowed to talk about? What would make an ideal thread for you?

I'm beginning to appreciate that this isn't some Yahoo Answers style free for all but still I think that if you add up all the different types of threads you object to then that actually leaves very little to talk about, and surely nobody wants that, it's a forum after all.

As for intimidation, well there's a few things but none too major, I mean I'm still here so it wasn't (isn't) THAT bad.

Firstly there seem to be a set of unwritten rules for what makes a thread acceptable or not. This can be hard for new users to understand and when your first two threads get completely slated it's a bit disheartening. When you join a forum and the first things you do are apparently wrong (and the old users don't mind telling you) it's hard to feel welcomed.

Secondly some people here know A LOT about music and don't mind letting you know. I'll be the first to confess I'm not exactly an expert, I know what I like but I can appreciate that I've barely scratched the surface in terms of the history of music. Sometimes it seems like this is less a place to discover new music and more a place to show off how much music you already know.

Thirdly it seems like a bit of a unique club here and it's a bit daunting when you see how people talk to each other like they seem well acquainted and you've only just arrived. I mean don't get me wrong it's great that people here get along but like I say a bit daunting. Also if you add this point to the first (ie. whatever you do it seems to be wrong) it's not the best start.
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Shut up mate you're boring!

RFNAPLES
Level 8

Gender: Male
Age: 75
Location: Durham, NC, USA

I agree with you. Idea

BTW don't piss off GARY; you might feel like dropping out again.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by RFNAPLES
Bubbling Under The Top 100 Greatest Mus...y RFNAPLES

GARY

RFNAPLES wrote:

I agree with you. Idea

BTW don't piss off GARY; you might feel like dropping out again.

Naples does not run this site (though he acts like he does) Shame on you

albummaster

Site Admin

Wrote

Not sure why some people are trying to wind him up, and it's the same person again, but I suggest to forget the obsession with him because it is as tiring for him to read this all the time as it is for everybody else.

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I owe $100,000 and wasted 4 years of my life.

And all I got was this silly hat

.

RFNAPLES
Level 8

Gender: Male
Age: 75
Location: Durham, NC, USA

..
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by RFNAPLES
Bubbling Under The Top 100 Greatest Mus...y RFNAPLES

Facetious

Gender: Male
Age: 24
Location: Somewhere you've never been

purple wrote:

disclaimer: though I will be using names of threads as examples, this post is not intended as an attack on the authors of those threads.

disclaimer: this post has nothing to do with music, but applies largely to the music forum.

discussion on BEA is becoming stagnant and it's becoming stagnant because users are covering the same ground. by "covering the same ground" I mean that I have never seen so many useless or duplicate threads created in such a short time as the past month or so.

ultimately I don't want anyone to cut down on content, I just want users to organize it. I want users to organize their posts because a good thread gets buried within days after its inception by useless or duplicate threads and its simply annoying for older users to see multiples of similar threads. below are some recent examples of threads that should not be and methods to retain the content without creating a new thread.

(1) If you want to discuss a genre, chances are it's been done before. Search for threads containing the name of the genre you want to discuss, and post in those pre-existing threads.
e.g. problem: Rap and Hip hop on Best Ever Albums?:
remedy: search 'hip hop' and you might find Top 50 Hip Hop/Rap Albums, My Top 10 of Hip Hop, Greatest Rapper, and Rap

(2) Vs. album threads are for the VS THREAD (in games), tournaments, or really any thread in which the original poster can post his thoughts, and ask for others', on the albums in question (e.g. any thread which mentions one or both of the artists in the title). These are problem threads because they multiply quickly and often end quickly. There haven't been problems with Vs. artist threads yet, so I'll ignore them
e.g. problem: Exile on Main Street vs The White Album
remedy: VS THREAD post

(3) there are some threads that should never be
e.g. problem: Is this song worthy to be used as a username
remedy: don't make it! or post whatever you want to express in a relevant thread (for this one, the Album of the Day: Screamadelica thread would have been perfect)

(4) Influence threads are now becoming multiples of previous threads, and therefore old ground is being covered in new threads
e.g. problem: Is an album's influence overvalued?
remedy: search for a previous influence discussion and post in there

(5) [insert artist] new album threads take up space, are speculative, and easily condensed
e.g. problem: Modest Mouse- new album?
remedy: post in 2012 albums thread (20xx for future years)

(6) threads for individual albums, books, etc. take up space and are easily condensed
e.g. problem: The Satanic Verses
remedy: post your thoughts and questions in favourite literature thread (in lounge)
e.g. problem: What is the big deal with Pet Sounds?
remedy: post thoughts in appropriate beach boys thread (exists) or the Album of the Day: Pet Sounds thread

(7) what's the best album from [insert artist] threads.
e.g. problem: Favorite [Rush, Smiths, Black Sabbath, Beatles, Captain Beefheart] album?
remedy: discuss on pre-existing Album of the Day threads, threads discussing relevant artists (e.g. Beatles vs. Radiohead for favorite Beatles albums)

If there's trouble finding a previous thread related to content you would like to post, create a versatile thread that can be re-used e.g. instead of all the examples in (7), create a "Rank Discography from Artist" thread

As I post there are two joke threads on top of each other in the lounge (Jokes, the worst/stupidest pun jokes you've ever heard) which is a currently perfect example of why users should utilize the search function before posting a new thread. I recognize that the current search engine is clunky, but it works well enough, and perhaps making it more user-friendly should be a primary goal for 2012.

This is not intended to be restrictive. Keep the content but keep it organized. Do this, and you'll be welcome to the community, and not known as the user who creates useless threads of which there seem to be several lately.

This content is sticky worthy, but I suggest simply trying to float this at the top of the music forum for awhile because new users often skip past the stickies.

Ah, purple, you're so unpredictable.

So, here are my thoughts:

While I do agree with you on many points, I don't agree with you that the "Jokes" threads are a perfect example of why users should use the search function before posting a new thread. The other thread is specifically about bad pun jokes, which, if you noticed, is not the only kind of joke in the world.

Ah, whatever. This is a good idea, yada yada yada, and it should be used.

End of story.

pearljammer13
Young Pilgrim

Gender: Male
Age: 36
Location: Massachusetts

HigherThanTheSun wrote:

Thirdly it seems like a bit of a unique club here and it's a bit daunting when you see how people talk to each other like they seem well acquainted and you've only just arrived. I mean don't get me wrong it's great that people here get along but like I say a bit daunting.

When I joined this was my biggest problem with getting into the forums. When I started reading them it seemed like there was about 10 or so users that were very tight knit, and as I started posting slowly I was just looking for approval from a couple of you before I started really getting involved more. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that there's a small number that's so close (it's actually quite nice now), but that coupled with how much you guys seem to know just made me a bit timid at first to voice my opinions.

And to drag in another thread that's been hot lately, my chart has quite a bit of more mainstream stuff (Foo Fighters in the top 10 Shocked

), and it seemed like that was a little abnormal too, so I was wondering if I'd get less respect for that.

Of course now I see that those thoughts were silly and the vast majority of you guys are extremely nice, and there is absolutely nowhere I would have more fun discussing and discovering new music, so for that I thank you all and thank this site. I'm certainly not going anywhere else.

Mr. Shankly

Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Auburn, Washington

pearljammer13 wrote:

HigherThanTheSun wrote:

Thirdly it seems like a bit of a unique club here and it's a bit daunting when you see how people talk to each other like they seem well acquainted and you've only just arrived. I mean don't get me wrong it's great that people here get along but like I say a bit daunting.

When I joined this was my biggest problem with getting into the forums. When I started reading them it seemed like there was about 10 or so users that were very tight knit, and as I started posting slowly I was just looking for approval from a couple of you before I started really getting involved more. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that there's a small number that's so close (it's actually quite nice now), but that coupled with how much you guys seem to know just made me a bit timid at first to voice my opinions.

And to drag in another thread that's been hot lately, my chart has quite a bit of more mainstream stuff (Foo Fighters in the top 10 Shocked

), and it seemed like that was a little abnormal too, so I was wondering if I'd get less respect for that.

Of course now I see that those thoughts were silly and the vast majority of you guys are extremely nice, and there is absolutely nowhere I would have more fun discussing and discovering new music, so for that I thank you all and thank this site. I'm certainly not going anywhere else.

Welcome, pearljammer 13! Very Happy

Wombi

pearljammer13 wrote:

HigherThanTheSun wrote:

Thirdly it seems like a bit of a unique club here and it's a bit daunting when you see how people talk to each other like they seem well acquainted and you've only just arrived. I mean don't get me wrong it's great that people here get along but like I say a bit daunting.

When I joined this was my biggest problem with getting into the forums. When I started reading them it seemed like there was about 10 or so users that were very tight knit, and as I started posting slowly I was just looking for approval from a couple of you before I started really getting involved more. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that there's a small number that's so close (it's actually quite nice now), but that coupled with how much you guys seem to know just made me a bit timid at first to voice my opinions.

And to drag in another thread that's been hot lately, my chart has quite a bit of more mainstream stuff (Foo Fighters in the top 10 Shocked

), and it seemed like that was a little abnormal too, so I was wondering if I'd get less respect for that.

Of course now I see that those thoughts were silly and the vast majority of you guys are extremely nice, and there is absolutely nowhere I would have more fun discussing and discovering new music, so for that I thank you all and thank this site. I'm certainly not going anywhere else.

Glad to hear it! Smile