[QUOTE=I Am Vikingcore]fix'd :p

I've acually got a real question, have any write-ups on Unearth been done yet? I kinda wanna do one...[/QUOTE]
God...I hate the obvious jokes :p

But no I haven't even seen a unearth writeup before.

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419388[/url]

Delete this one, please, my browser lagged.

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419446[/url]

[QUOTE=Permanent Solution][url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419446[/url][/QUOTE]
Anyone that posts after Vince deserves a neg rep.

[QUOTE=Kingofdudes]Anyone that posts after Vince deserves a neg rep.[/QUOTE]
I can cover that, but the inaneness of the responses really deserves bans imo.

Okay. Some time in the middle or end of summer, myself, and quite a few others requested for the removal of the ***OFFICIAL*** thread tag. I thought we did this so that it would be allowed to have more than one thread about a single band or topic. As it turns out, the only thing the removal if this tag did was just that- We just don't see the excess of stars and caps. It is still basically not allowed to have more than one thread about a band.

This is just one example of why I think R&M has begun to sort of decline in quality in the past few months or so. When I say quality, I don't really mean quality, as there are tons of elaborate write ups and such, but lets take a step back and compare R&M to something I know we all share a passion for- Music; I think R&M has become a sort of "Dream Theater" of forums. It's basically everyone showing off their wonderful writing skills, it's too structured, and really no room at all for fu[size=2]cking[/size] around. (Just an example, don't flame me or anything for using DT as an example) Maybe it's just me, but I can only endure this type of virtuistic going-ons for so long. What I'm saying is that as a community, we need to loosen up, not care as much about sticking exactly to the rules, and just kind of have some fun here.

The only specific thing I can think of as to how to try and improve what we've got is to allow multiple band threads. I'm not talking about having a pair of discussion threads for a band, but I'm talking about threads that are about different topics pertaining to the same band. I don't want to do away with the band threads that exist now, but I think it would be good to allow bands to have threads that are about a specific album, or something. :shrug:

I'm also not saying "do away with the articles." I love reading these just as much as the next guy, but reading articles about the same band get a bit old...If you have an original idea for an article, then write it, but I've seen a lot of articles about bands that pretty much everyone knows about.

Think about it. Give me feedback. Neg me, whatever. If you have any more ideas, feel free to share them, but this is just an idea. I know it's been done before, but rather than create a thread just to say this, I thought I'd put it in here, as it [i]is[/i] the "suggestion" thread. :p

Thanks for reading.

I agree with about everything you said.

I feel like I come in this forum and see nothing new. That's why I rarely post. I can't just jump into a huge thread and really get into it.

I miss seeing threads about my favorite bands every once in a while.

If we did allow multiple threads about bands, I don't really see how we could keep the "official" threads open. They would still be bumped regularly, and like now, the non-official threads would be pushed off the first page(s).

Do we really need threads dedicated to bands that there aren't that many threads of in the first place? I don't think we do.

The R&M forum seems like it's divided into about 400 mini-forums (official threads).

I've never been a fan of official threads...but I think it would cause problems to eliminate them too.

I know it would. There is just a lack of change in here. It's getting boring. I love the R&M forum; I always have. I don't want to get bored with it.

This isn't about Dr. Jake Destructo and I trying to put our opinions over everyone else's, we were just discussing it and we both agreed.

I agree...hence branching out to other forums :)

However, I still do learn tons here, but more through the community thread than any other threads.

Closing the big band threads would be a bad idea, there is nothing wrong with general discussion of a band. But i do agree we dont have to close every thread about a band that has a thread already.

For example, it was a good idea to leave Ramsey's thread open about In Flames' new album, even though there is already an in flames discussion thread.

I say we get rid of the "Music reccomendation thread" though.

This is very true. Chris just counted up the threads on page one that have over 100 posts, and he counted 18. There is nothing wrong with having a thread that lasts to only 30 or so posts and then dies, is there? Sure, some threads go a bit too narrow in topic, but some bands should be allowed to have more than one thread.

off topic: I messed up the release date for Pulse in the review Med, it is actually January :-/

I know the phases you're talking about, Med. I've seen my fair-share of them. This one is getting out of hand, though. Like you said, the same threads are always on the first two pages. There is literally no room for new threads after three minutes of their creation.

We have an "official" thread for Trivium.. that's not necessary. They're not [I]that[/I] popular of a band. There are a few other threads for bands that aren't going to generate any more than a handful of threads a week. A handful of threads a week is fine, as long as they have a point.

I've seen a few intelligent threads that were made specifically about an "official thread" band, and the threads were closed. That saddened me. I personally find it difficult to have a solid discussion on one topic in a huge thread like the official ones. I distinctly remember there being a very large Tool thread, a looong time ago that went for pages, but the content was very good. There is no doubt in my mind that it would not have even been a discussion if the thread were closed and the threadstarter directed to the Tool thread.

I'd like to avoid things like that. I understand that we can't close the "official" threads - they're communities in themselves. Something needs to be done about the lack of room on the first two or three pages, though.

I'd be all for letting dead threads sink away.

Mainly because all my extensive writeups have died and then new threads have been made since O:-)

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419195[/url]

Jom wanted that closed at 11:59 PM Central time, and it's currently 12:08 AM. Do with it what you will.

Chris - Exactly. A thread about the lyrics or meanings behind the music of a certain band should be something that is totally okay.

[QUOTE=Dr. Jake Destructo]This is very true. Chris just counted up the threads on page one that have over 100 posts, and he counted 18. There is nothing wrong with having a thread that lasts to only 30 or so posts and then dies, is there? Sure, some threads go a bit too narrow in topic, but some bands should be allowed to have more than one thread.[/QUOTE]

I think if you're an intelligent enough user to guage what precisely about a band deserves its own thread then the mods are pretty okay with leaving those threads open. For instance, Ramsey has made a few threads that deal with "outside" topics on bands (he had a big Ghost Reveries Opeth thread if I remember) which stayed open, and my Nightwish thread stayed open for a little bit. I have a feeling that the issues you're talking about are more a problem of silly users who like to throw their weight around when they see the slightest rule infraction and call out "against the rules, dumbarse!" probably because they want rep or something. Those users should be banned without exception, which is something that is in the rules but which the mods don't seem to do very often. Crack down on them, and I feel like you'd notice less of the bother of "against the rules" blah blah blah.

I agree that certain threads should be left open. I also agree that the number of large band threads is kind of an eyesore and also a strange murderer of subject matter. The alternative, though, is the unruly creation of thread after thread after thread on the same groups, providing no sense of people's general thoughts or feelings over time, nor of a sense of community: this is one thing that is good about the band threads despite the circular conversation topics. The key is balancing it out to make a happy middle ground between thread anarchy and the kind of stilted dryness you're noticing. It ebbs and flows, as Med said. There's really not much to do except treat the symptoms: everything else kind of goes the way it goes.

I definitely agree with leaving some of the threads open. I don't think anyone will disagree with us leaving the Metallica thread open. We all remember the hell that the forum was when St. Anger was released. :p

But the Trivium thread, for example.. I have nothing against that band (I've honestly never heard them), but they're not a huge band that will have seven threads on the front page at once.

[QUOTE=3074326]I definitely agree with leaving some of the threads open. I don't think anyone will disagree with us leaving the Metallica thread open. We all remember the hell that the forum was when St. Anger was released. :p

But the Trivium thread, for example.. I have nothing against that band (I've honestly never heard them), but they're not a huge band that will have seven threads on the front page at once.[/QUOTE]
I don't :upset:

But yeah, there are lots of "official threads" for bands which kinda seem to be the flavor of the month more than anything else.

If you want, you could trying closing the big band threads every few months, and then starting new ones. I did that with the PF thread, and it seemed to work out okay.

Also, I think "official threads" are a good idea, in that users who do ask questions get the right answers. I can't count how many times I've seen "How does The Wall and Wizard of Oz sync together?", with no-one correcting the threadstarter.

And besides, part of the forum's rules state that if there is a thread on a certain topic, you shouldn't make a new thread. That's the only thing governing the official threads now, since we took out the official title.

So, we have a dilemma. Remove one of the main tenets of R&M rules, or keep the official threads, which people seem to be intimidated by.

As for the write-ups, everyone knows where I stand on those.

Another side note; nobody seems to care about the classic rock thread, even though the discussion in there is quite terrible at times.

I don't have a problem with the official threads themselves, I have a problem with how much they consume the forum.

There are just too many of them.

The write-ups are fine. They're very informative.

EDIT: I have to throw in a smiley so I don't feel like an a[COLOR=White]s[/Color]s about this.

:p

I feel better.

[QUOTE=Permanent Solution]I don't :upset:

But yeah, there are lots of "official threads" for bands which kinda seem to be the flavor of the month more than anything else.[/QUOTE]

Definitely agreed. People seem to think that because ***OFFICIAL*** isn't seen on the official band threads anymore that suddenly the right to make "official" band threads has passed from the mod to the user, which really shouldn't be the case. People are coming up with the same types of pun names that were given to mod-sanctioned official threads on request from their existing communities, so it's as if they are creating official discussion threads themselves.

EDIT: To Riva- I would assume that no one cares because "Classic Rock" implies a more all-encompassing perspective with regard to discussion than a single-band official thread would. I.e. you can talk about something other than Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix if you want. The main gripe doesn't seem to me to be about the circular conversation in official threads (which just occurs naturally), it's more that certain users report away whenever a similar thread spurts up, thus effectively killing any attempt to get [I]away[/I] from the deadened talk that permeates those official threads. If the regulations are loosened (not eliminated), that should be good enough, right?

Again, official threads don't exist anymore. Users can call their threads whatever they like, and as long as they are current, similar threads are disallowed. It's one of the oldest rules of our fine nation.

Are you some kind of commie, Lucas?

[QUOTE=HeavyRiva]Again, official threads don't exist anymore. [/QUOTE]

Oh. Right. Sorry...

Even so, I'd say that the notion that they are still in some way "official" (due to number of replies, extent of conversation, etc.) carries over to the individual threads that are created and so the subconscious thought is still that once a thread on a band is created no others can exist. That's...more what I meant to say, I guess. The name has nothing to do with it, you're right. :)

[QUOTE]Are you some kind of commie, Lucas?[/QUOTE]

No, Senator, I have never been a member of, nor have I associated with or corresponded with any member, representative, or affiliate body of the U.S. Communist Party.

:swears on the Bible:

Right. Tell me which threads are too large, and I will close them, start a new one, and make it all pretty like.

Don't know if this is illegal or not, maybe it should be moved to classifieds?

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419553[/url]

Is/has anyone been bothered by the recent major server lags? For the passed three days it's been taking so long to get onto the forums or post in threads. And sometimes I'll just get a "error" or "page cancelled" thing come up.

[QUOTE=Butcher]Is/has anyone been bothered by the recent major server lags? For the passed three days it's been taking so long to get onto the forums or post in threads. And sometimes I'll just get a "error" or "page cancelled" thing come up.[/QUOTE]
me, its getting annoying.

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419613[/url]

Copy thread. He hit the submit button more than once. Just delete one please.

[QUOTE=Butcher]Is/has anyone been bothered by the recent major server lags? For the passed three days it's been taking so long to get onto the forums or post in threads. And sometimes I'll just get a "error" or "page cancelled" thing come up.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419393[/url]