Topic control at Electrogarden....please speak your mind.

[~Synapse]

Recently it has come to my attention that many of you do not want to see topics posted here containing such things as "Who is the best band" or "What is Depeche Mode's best song". I've recieved personal email as well as posts speaking out against these types of topics. I suppose that I may have been a bit hasty in removing them, and I apologize.

What I should have done (and what I'm doing now) is to post a poll and open this up for discussion prior to taking action. I will be more diplomatic in the future.

;)

Please get involved and speak your reasons. We want this to be a discussion, not just a casting of votes.

Thanks very much,

[Avil]

As I´ve earlier written.

This should be a free forum, and you should be allowed to write what you want (as long as it doens´t hurt anyone). And then, if there is people that don´t like that kind of topic; don´t read it, there is a lot more to read and discuss then. Just jump over that topic if it´s such a problem for you. Cause sometimes, it could be really fun to see what other people think, and why...
And many times people do comment what they have written, and a few times not.

But you have to prioritare what you want to read and not read, everything can´t fit you.

[~monger]

I think...

Forums promote discussion and so long as that discussion is on topic and not generally offensive, I think it should be permitted.

I personally ignore the posts which subject reads, "best band," "best song," etc. That's my prerogative. It doesn't really bother me that they're there. I mean, I'm reading through the subjects of the "General Discussion" forum. I expect to see all different sorts of subjects. That's the nature of the "General Discussion" forum, right?

So, there were a few people who don't like it. Ok, so then the topic gets banned. Then a few people don't like it when people post about Depeche Mode at all. Ok, so then that topic gets banned. After a while, what will be left to discuss?

We all have different likes and dislikes. That's what makes us individuals. That's what makes us who we are. It's ok that some people don't like the same things that other people like. It happens all the time. But it's unfair and a little prejudiced to suggest a ban on something that we don't like to discuss when a suffecient number of other people do... don't you think?

[Avil]

Yes that´s exactly what I´m trying to say!
You don´t like it,don´t read it,but you have to accept that the topic is there,and that there is people that do like it.

[~krs2]

I do agree that a ban on a subject is a little harsh. That wasn't my intention when I posted the original message. People do have a right to write what they like but give reasons as to why the group or song is in your list This may prompt people to go out and buy material by the artist, as most people do if they read a good review of a film, if you picked up a newspaper and just saw a list of movies there isn't much there to make you want to see them. It is pretty much the same with anything you buy.

Monger had a good idea with having a section for people who do want to post their lists of "top tens" and "favourite.....". It would make it easier for those of us who don't want to read through lists to skip them. I know this could be difficult as some people may feel other subjects that turn up don't belong in the "general discussions" category but, as was said earlier, this is our forum and we have a right to voice our opinions and ideas. What a boring place this would be if we didn't!

[~JBodine]

Again as I did on another post on the same topic I have to agree with Chris. I'm not saying that "what's the best band", "best DM song" or whatever are bad topics. I was merely saying as I think Chris was as well (before it got out of hand by a few people thinking we were taking their freedom of speech away) was that instead of just saying something like "DM is my favorite band" or "The Nine's new album 'Dreamland' is my favorite album" expand on that and tell us why you feel that way. I think everyone would agree that that would amount to more enjoyable reading and help out discussion on topics a lot more. So again I'm not saying ban any topics but let's all, including myself, try to be a little more creative with our posts instead of just saying "DM's my favorite band" and having a list of twenty other posts saying the same one line. I don't know about you all but that's boring!

[~FaiveCR]

I agree. Questions like what is your favorite band, or wich are your favorite songs, SHOULDNT BE BANNED but as this is a discussion forum and not a poll, it would be advisable for the sake of the discussion that if e.g. someone says: "my favorite song is ____," then that same person should say "because I like the beats, the sound of the instruments, the orchestration, the falsetto voice, the voice, the special lyrics..." You know, to feed up the discussion. Wouldnt it be nice?

Remember that we must stay united, because there are few of us in comparison wich other ---- music around there (Cristina Aguilera or the likes), and even tough quantity doesnt make quality, is sad to feel lonely...:)

[~Synapse]

This is turning out to be a very good discussion. Once again for those who had participated in the 2 discussion threads that were deleted, I apologize. When people speak out, I listen. At least you know that now, so don't be shy to make your voice heard. Like I said, I'll be more diplomatic in the future and conduct these kinds of discussions when problems arise before doing something hasty.

I know that adding other sub-forums within the "Synthpop" forum could start to become confusing so we need to decide how we should deal with this situation. So far, more people have been in favor of just letting "General Discussion" be what it is and leave it alone.

My suggestion to all of you would be to encourage each other to post interesting topics. If you do it tactfully, no one will be offended. So, everyone be a moderator of sorts. Following FaiveCR's comments, we could reply to a post asking the "why" question to try to get people to be more specific with their discussion. Other than that, I think that I've got the Forums divided into pretty specific categories already. What do you think?

[Avil]

OMG, this is what I´ve been trying to say from the very beginning. E.g. when I started the best dm-song topic, of course I wanted people to say WHY they liked this and that song, but it seems that I didn´t make myself clear enough.

Glad that it´s more or less over now,because I started to enjoy this place.

[~synth19]

I personally think if you dont want to read a certain topic, you should just ignore it. That's what I do. :) Watch out for my best band list coming soon...if you dont see it, it was probably deleted. hehe :)

ginash

[~Strasser]

If it's related to 'synthpop', let it roll.

[~Dusty Chalk]

Great big MHO:

This being the "General Discussion" area, I feel that should be almost unmoderated, that is, as long as it stays on-topic regarding synth-pop, it should be allowed.

However, there are several things that all participants can do to make this a more enjoyable discussion for everyone.

1) Use the appropriate sub-category -- if it's a show announcement, put it under the show announcements category, and include the area in the subject line, that sort of thing (I get depressed hearing about all the good shows in all the foreign locales). Todd has also put together some powerful extras on this board, it would be nice if we actually used them.

2) Intelligent subjects -- as in #1, most people are pretty good about this. I have to admit, I am not familiar with a lot of band names, and subjects like "Perfidious Words" and "Mobile Homes" are meaningless to me, but that's my fault, and I'll eventually learn of them. (BTW, if you want to promote those bands, you might want to liken them to other bands with which I might more likely be more familiar.)

3) Link back -- alright, now what I'm suggesting is going to start requiring a little work. If a subject has been posted before, instead of just rehashing the same old answers, link back to the other discussion. I've tried suggesting this on other boards, and no-one ever does it, but it just strikes me as obvious. Or maybe respond politely with, "This topic has been discussed recently with the subject of 'your opinion', read the archives".

Perhaps we should have a newbie area? Someplace where they (er...we) can post questions like, "I like De/Vision, Beborn Beton and Melotron, but am not familiar with much else, what else would I like?" And it would be nice if old-timers visited there and made the newbies feel welcome (newbies playing amongst themselves is like unattended day-care -- a bad idea). Is there a FAQ? Like a recommended usage for the icons? I see a lot of them make sense, but I never know which one to use. Like now, I would like to pick one that means, "MHO", would that be the "chat" one? I'll try it...

[~Vertitron]

I also agree with what appears to be the consenus so far.

1. If it's related to synthpop in any fashion, and it doesn't belong in another sub-category, let it fly.
2. If it is a best-of or favorite discussion, discuss why.

I also would like to add, if the "favorite" discussions take a significant portion of the general discussion, maybe it could be its own topic?