Dance Forum Feedback - How do you want things done around here?

KevIRL

This was something we spoke about doing sometime ago, and its been a while since the last one. So this is a thread for suggestions about how the forum is run.

Currently we try to run things pretty loosely and avoid having to come down overly strict like other areas of Boards. Are people happy with this? A number of threads over the last while have descended into silly bickering however. Personally I dont like to see this. I dont think we all need to be in agreement all the time but personal crap needs to be kept out of it imo.

I dont want to ramble on too much but would like to get a discussion going on this or indeed anything else that may on your mind about the forum, all thoughts and suggestions welcome

KevIRL

KevIRL wrote: »

Currently we try to run things pretty loosely and avoid having to come down overly strict like other areas of Boards.

In fairness, think the modding here is fine.

It's forums like After Hours and Politics that give Boards a bad name as a nanny state.

milltown

Not brown nosing or anything but I think this forum is one of the best modded fora on the site. It's obviously helped a great deal by the fact the regulars here are pretty well behaved and the fact that we're not always in agreement only improves the place, leading to some great two (or more) sided discussions.

I've yet to bear witness to any of the petty bickering threads you mention before they were cleaned or deleted but judging by what is normally permitted I can imagine they must have been sailing far too close to the wind.

Kudos too to the mods for weighing in with their opinions on many topics, rather than just silently refereeing.

No change needed IMO.

electrogrimey

Only change needed is the bickering between the familiar faces of the forum, that's about it. It has improved a lot recently, think a lot have fresh faces have joined in contributing. A vague suggestion would be to have a separate forum for the music side of dance music itself, to separate it from the tech talk etc, but it's not that necessary. Or, you could merge the dance & dance production forums to get more traffic, have it as a djing & dance production forum, and then have a separate dance music forum?

VinylJunkie

I for one would love less threads about bloody controllers they are easy to operate and easy to purchase, calculate how many functions you wish to control compare this figure to the number of knobs and sliders on a given controller and bobs your uncle.

I don't think its a good idea to split the forum its relatively small as it is no need to split it. The bickering has cooled down alot which I put down to a firm fist being put down by Kev in the Rant thread a while back so no need to discuss that matter IMO. You will always have a difference in opinion where music is concerned.

Jay D

I am completely fed up with arguments on here all the time, like a fcuking retard zone and it really puts me off coming on to this section.

Hawk Wing

Deleted User wrote: »

In fairness, think the modding here is fine.

It's forums like After Hours and Politics that give Boards a bad name as a nanny state.

I agree, other sections of this site are unbearable because of the tools modding them

electrogrimey

VinylJunkie wrote: »

I for one would love less threads about bloody controllers they are easy to operate and easy to purchase, calculate how many functions you wish to control compare this figure to the number of knobs and sliders on a given controller and bobs your uncle.

I'm sick of chats about oldschool Dublin clubs outside the oldschool thread, but I can't avoid them, as they pop up everywhere. You can pretty easily dodge any threads about controllers or digital djing.

VinylJunkie

I do avoid them threads like the plague but IMO all queries need to be put in the original thread Zascar made a few months back.

electrogrimey

VinylJunkie wrote: »

I do avoid them threads like the plague but IMO all queries need to be put in the original thread Zascar made a few months back.

Any of those threads I come across I link the poster to that thread, and the thread normally dies there, so it's not really a problem.

Táck

Jay D wrote: »

I am completely fed up with arguments on here all the time, like a fcuking retard zone and it really puts me off coming on to this section.

i think the place is fine. if i dont find the bickering amusing, i just scroll past it. i really wouldnt let it get me down. the moderation is grand compared to the rest of the site.

one thing i'd like, would be to be able to talk about non music related stuff. the majority of this board would be of the same age, from, i'm guessing 17-35 and we are all connected by our love for dance music, so I'm sure we would could all contribute healthily to other topics of interest. off topic threads are hard to keep momentum up on one issue...

the opinions of regulars, in this section, interests me a lot more then the opinions of the ****wits on the majority of other sections. and dont get me started on the ones who's only reason for posting is to accumulate "thanks thumbs up" for their witty typing

joker77

I dip in and out of the forum, and I've no issue with the modding - I'd agree that it's definitely one of the better mod'd forums.

I sided with Daroxtar a while ago on a thread because I thought the bickering was just getting a bit boring, and too many threads were instantly being jumped on.

I've no problem with everyone being entitled to their opinion, and if someone comes on spouting a load of ar5e then I've no problem with them being told so.

In terms of how to freshen up the forum - agree with VinylJunkie about the controller threads, but it's like a bug-bear of mine - people posting a youtube track in it's own post rather than in the youtube thread, unfortunately I don't see any other way around this than the mods merging threads like this into already existing ones - which is a bit of a pain in the hole for a mod I'd imagine...

Apart from that I dunno, I'll put my thinking cap on

Executive Steve

Modding here is pretty damn good I must say, a great compromise between the stern iron fist on the rest of the site and the formless chaos of other less general boards.

Pats on the back all around tbh

jtsuited

Jay D wrote: »

I am completely fed up with arguments on here all the time, like a fcuking retard zone and it really puts me off coming on to this section.

yes and the insight and intellectual complexity in that post is overwhelming.

for someone who is fed up with arguments, you have a very confrontational posting style.

francois

Modding is fine, though some of the bun fights become slightly tedious after a while. What gets on my tits are the threads asking the same questions about starting off/equipment when all the poster has to do is use the oh-so-terribly-difficult to use search facility

Executive Steve

francois wrote: »

Modding is fine, though some of the bun fights become slightly tedious after a while. What gets on my tits are the threads asking the same questions about starting off/equipment when all the poster has to do is use the oh-so-terribly-difficult to use search facility

They get on my tits too i must say, but 99.999999% of them are started by people with less than 20 posts who presumably are unaware of the tedious regularity of these threads as well as being generally unfamiliar with the ways of forums in general.

Bun fights are great craic though, by and large... If the soccer, hurling, rugby, golf, water polo and gaa forums were all in one general ball game forum you'd get the exact same thing kicking off (no pun intended) between the devotees of each particular code; it's just that their numbers justify their existence in a way that a set of seperate hard house / hardcore breaks / techno / house / Soulful & Funky House for a more clued up, mature crowd/ disco / electro / jungle / dubstep etc forums wouldn't.

Personally I relish the snobbery and subtle one-upmanship that comes with the whole thing, and a proper polarised musical debate can still draw out the occasional witty and or informed and / or educational post every so often...

jtsuited

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

hard house / hardcore breaks / techno / house / Soulful & Funky House for a more clued up, mature crowd/ disco / electro / jungle / dubstep

haha classic.

Zascar

Cheers guys I'm glad for the most part you are happy with how things work around here. We do want it to be fairly easy going. but there are some boards.ie rules we just have to uphold. Regardless we don't want it descending into the anarchy of other sites either.

In relation to the repetition of questions, as Tyrranny says its the same everywhere. Maybe we're work on updating the stickys etc and better document the frequently asked questions. Although in relation to the controller questions etc - I don't see whats wrong with it, with so much changing in the market and different people's requirements etc - I have no problem giving what advice I can.

The occasionally bickering in this forum is generally fine. it's way less than most others and actually its quite amusing and clever a lot of the time. The usual battles between the small few are pretty much an institution around here, you'd miss them if they were gone. I just ask that you don't blatantly abuse each other. Oh and I'll try to stop calling people Girls

I like the idea of the Off Topic thread - maybe we should make a greater effort to get it going. I'd like to see people starting more random threads to encourage discussion - the thing is that some people are afraid to cause there is usually someone coming on with a very dismissive attitude making them feel like an idiot. I'm not sure on what people's opinions are on this and how it should be handled.

The music genre thing has been debated to death, don't think we need to go over it again really.

Anything else worth discussing please shout.

copeyhagen

modding is spot on lads, the only downside is the trolls that pop in every now and then and just act like complete tards (see my sig)

but hey, "itz the internetz innit" so its to be expected.

only reason im on boards is for the dance music, world of warcraft (geek i know) and modified car forums

SteveDon

The modding in this forum is top notch in my opinion! The best dance music forum out there in my opinion. The bickering is what makes this forum interesting!

Im fairly skeptical of the internet in general, but in fairness through this forum I have actually met alot of the regular posters on here and its because of the community feeling that you get when posting here that I feel such things have happened.

Keep up the good work lads!

jtsuited

SteveDon wrote: »

Im fairly skeptical of the internet in general, but in fairness through this forum I have actually met alot of the regular posters on here and its because of the community feeling that you get when posting here that I feel such things have happened.

yeah just to add I've met a good few people from here and most have been real sound guys.

to be fair to the modding of this place, I've got away with murder plenty of times and so have many others. And anybody who doesn't find the ongoing petty arguments at least mildly amusing needs to lighten up imo.

Everytime someone gets all wound up about the arguments, this place goes dead for a few weeks afterwards.
It's like the type of people who get all upset in a pub when there's a debate raging. They tend to be the real buzzkillers.

Arguing is a vital part of social interaction for humans. Whether we like to admit it or not, we crave argument. Hence, I would argue (haha), the existence of this very site.

Now granted, it should be civilised but sure we're still only getting the hang of that.

Hats off to the mods and their sterling work.

As far as the genres thing, I still maintain that the different interests in different genres really isn't the reason for most of the bickering.

One of the most knowledgeable and valuable posters here (imo), Cm Tyranny, is an expert in genres I wouldn't listen to in a million years but there doesn't seem to be too many 'incidences' with him and me, as it's clear he knows what he's talking about and I respect that.

Four-Percent

I agree, I love the forum and think it's grand at the moment.

seannash

yep i must agree that the modding here is great.

ive had my fair share of warnings from the mods here but i wouldnt hold any grudge against them for it as most,if not all,were well deserved.

there definitely is some great craic on here and the community vibe is definitely a friendly one.
to be honest i cant see how people would be put off by what goes on here because this is by far the tamest dance music site around(not a bad thing).seriously people who have issues with the "bickering"should go look elsewhere and they will realise that its far worse everywhere else.

anyway i defrinitely agree it would be nice to get other peoples opinions on matters outside of music.

so if someone started a thread about something not music related would it be moved to the appropriate section or would it be left up here for the regulars on here to answer?
id much rather here responses from people i have some sort of relationship(albeit just an internet forum one) than some randomers from another section of boards that i never go to

electrogrimey

I agree, this forum is much more of a community than any other of the forums, I actually know quite a bit about the regular posters here. The modding is also spot on imo.

Zascar

seannash wrote: »

so if someone started a thread about something not music related would it be moved to the appropriate section or would it be left up here for the regulars on here to answer?

Yeah go for it. I like this forum cause its like a big group of (internet) mates - all in a similar age group with similar interests - many of us have met and become friends and hopefully this will continue too. Generally people like us would hang out in similar crowds etc anyway - certainly a lot more similar than most others - so by all means go for it with random threads if you want to get some banter going about something you think the others might be interested in. (I will say that I have little interest in conventional sports like rugby and soccer so I don't particularly want to see the place getting taken over with footie talk etc - but most other stuff go for it).

People are right about other forums - I read emireland.com a lot and think its a great forum, but holy crap you need thick skin over there - you will get absolutely slaughtered if you say the wrong thing. However I like the way EMI is almost a 'general discussion' board for people who all happen to be into electronic music - so they discuss all things from current events, weird internet sh1t, drugs, funny stories etc etc.

As I've said before I'd just like to see more activity and more people starting more threads for the purpose of getting a good discussion going between us. Whether a broad topic of a very niche subject, throw it up and see what happens. I know there is resistance cause of the lashback you might get from some others - I'd ask that this is minimised and everyone try to respect eachothers opinions, and have a good discussion rather than trying to 'win' the argument - its rare that this even happens but lets just all try to play nice

I've been on this forum for a long long time and I think its as good now as its ever been. We've had a large amount of new members in the last year or so that have integrated really well and its a much better place because of them. We had an 'Introduce yourself' thread a while back, maybe its time for a new one?

milltown

I know the idea has been put to bed already but I think splitting into sub genres would be the beginning of the end. It's not like there's a huge amount of traffic through here as it is. I can go missing for a couple of days and still get back up to date on page one.

The biggest thing for me though would be missing out on new music. Not having had the time to keep my finger on the pulse of dance music since I started listening to it back in the early 80's (Kiss FM 12" show on a Sunday evening anyone?) I find it a big struggle to keep up with the pigeonholing. I hear a song I like but have neither artist nor title. Do I look under house, electro, techno, tech house etc. etc.

Thus, if this place was any other way I'd probably have missed out on two of my favourite tunes of the past year, Burial and Four Tet - Moth, and the Len Faki mix of Stranger to stability because they wouldn't typically be considered house music, as 80% of the dance stuff I listen to would.

milltown

Zascar wrote: »

Oh and I'll try to stop calling people Girls

Zascar wrote: »

I will say that I have little interest in conventional sports like rugby and soccer so I don't particularly want to see the place getting taken over with footie talk etc.

Pot?
Kettle?

KevIRL

Zascar wrote: »

Yeah go for it. I like this forum cause its like a big group of (internet) mates - all in a similar age group with similar interests - many of us have met and become friends and hopefully this will continue too. Generally people like us would hang out in similar crowds etc anyway - certainly a lot more similar than most others - so by all means go for it with random threads if you want to get some banter going about something you think the others might be interested in. (I will say that I have little interest in conventional sports like rugby and soccer so I don't particularly want to see the place getting taken over with footie talk etc - but most other stuff go for it).

Just a quick note on this. Non dance music talk should go into the Off topic thread. If a lot of threads started appearing that belong in other forums then the powers that be would get miffed. The OT threads work well in other fora (see the poker forums one for a perfect example)

I'll bump the OT thread and sticky it.

EDIT - Another problem with having for example a soccer thread on the main forum is that it would attract the trolls and retards from elsewhere on boards when they see the thread title

Scubadevils

All good around here from what I can see... defo good mods and generally the threads that do turn into bickering provide good entertainment and are stopped before they get too out of hand!

I agree that it would be good to have more off topic conversations also, good chance that people will have more similar interests. Could all help each other out too in our various professions - kinda like a Stonemasons club :pac:

Could we have some sort of regular weekly features from various people in their chosen stye of music? - Like a weekly magazine feature, assuming of course people want to give up the time to do it. A lot of knowledge here from many people so it would be good to see it being used.

brianc27

i dont understand why people complain about members bickering when its inevitable in 1 forum dedicated to all sorts of electronic music genres, the vast majority of people into music (no matter what it is) are snobs in some way, everyone thinks what they listen too is better then what someone else listens too, so either ignore it or join in, its not as if anyone has ever threathened to kick someones head in, some of the best and most insightful threads ive read on music forums stem from alot of bickering between members, the moderation here is grand in comparison to the rest of boards but is pretty bad in comparison to nearly all the other electronic music forums id post on, but haven said that most of the moderation id say comes from members complaining.

basically its near impssoble to moderate perfectly 1 board that covers a multitude of genres.

probably best trying to keep things the way they are now although id allow a bit more sh*te talk, you'll notice the forum being alot busier if it wasnt strictly dance music talk, also if a thread goes off topic dont lock it or edit it, just let it run its course.

my 2 cents

ntlbell

francois wrote: »

Modding is fine, though some of the bun fights become slightly tedious after a while. What gets on my tits are the threads asking the same questions about starting off/equipment when all the poster has to do is use the oh-so-terribly-difficult to use search facility

It's a big bone of contention on most forums where seasoned users tire of the same threads.

There's a number of reasons why users don't tend to use the search engine. But most people like some personal attention, they like to get direct feedback on their question's it's also an opportunity for other members of the forum to welcome new comers.

I haven't looked at the stickies in this forum for awhile but a decent FAQ for new comers might be helpful but you will still get people who want the "personal" touch.

As they gain more knowledge they should become the users who will answer the more mundaine questions and people like yourself can just simply ignore the thread if you're tired of reading them.

Executive Steve

jtsuited wrote: »

As far as the genres thing, I still maintain that the different interests in different genres really isn't the reason for most of the bickering.

One of the most knowledgeable and valuable posters here (imo), Cm Tyranny, is an expert in genres I wouldn't listen to in a million years but there doesn't seem to be too many 'incidences' with him and me, as it's clear he knows what he's talking about and I respect that.

We really need a blushing smiley here

Thing is, there's no real accounting for taste at the end of the day, and because taste is so personal people tend to get prickly when their taste is questioned, all the more so when their taste is questionable.

Mature and experienced internet users tend to possess the "social antennae" to know not to take it personally when someone tells them their favourite tune is raw sewage...

You'll notice, for example, that 99%* of the fights that break out tend to break out over matters of genre taste etc tend to be started by people with less than 100 posts, and the snidest comments will be made by people with no more or less than that.

@Zascar - if you think emireland.com requires a thick skin, you should have been on dancemusicireland.com before they banned all the most interesting posters (which is what led h3lix to set up emireland in the first place.

It's certainly not intrinsic to dance music forums that they descend into fights and bitchiness though - irishdrumandbass.com / irishdubstep.com & their "other styles" board is one of the most pathologically friendly online communities I've ever encountered, although the fact that the vast bulk of the regular posters all know each other means that real drama is pretty damn rare...




*87% of statistics are made up on the spot to make someone look clever, correct, or both.

Jev/N

Ah DanceMusicIreland, good times

Jay D

jtsuited wrote: »

yes and the insight and intellectual complexity in that post is overwhelming.

for someone who is fed up with arguments, you have a very confrontational posting style.

:rolleyes:

*slow clap*

It's my opinion, I'm not getting into an argument over it.

BaZmO*

brianc27 wrote: »

..... everyone thinks what they listen too is better then what someone else listens too, so either ignore it or join in, its not as if anyone has ever threathened to kick someones head in, some of the best and most insightful threads ive read on music forums stem from alot of bickering between members, the moderation here is grand in comparison to the rest of boards but is pretty bad in comparison to nearly all the other electronic music forums id post on, but haven said that most of the moderation id say comes from members complaining.

I'll kick your head in if you use "too" instead of "to" again!


As for the Mods in this Forum, they're all girls but they're good at the aul Modding.

jtsuited

Jay D wrote: »

:rolleyes:

*slow clap*

It's my opinion, I'm not getting into an argument over it.

that's ridiculous. you say you're sick of people's petty arguing but you post your point in an argumentative and confrontational style.

BaZmO*

Ha deadly. Fighting in the Feedback thread.

MikeHoncho

I think its great and I think its also been improving over the last year or so. There seems to be a greater frequency of posting going on and more of a sense of community. Keep up the good work.

brianc27

BaZmO* wrote: »

I'll kick your head in if you use "too" instead of "to" again!


As for the Mods in this Forum, they're all girls but they're good at the aul Modding.

ive reported you too the mods, i dont have too put up with threats of phsyical violence, this board is getting too aggressive, head over too EMI if you want to be a hard man, we just want to talk about our love for tiesto and bangin sexy electro house on here.

Executive Steve

Thread is turning into a Golden Moment tbh.

acman

Lately I have been a little bored with this forum...same 'ol topics over and over again.

I would like to see people introduce more up to date and relevant topics to the forum. New events, artists, releases etc. deserve to be properly discussed, not just some buried post in the "New Tunes" thread...many even without a thanks, never mind a comment or debate. It's much more interesting and stimulating to discuss new content rather than reading people reminiscing over the gigs of the yesteryears and archaic tune preferences.

Last but not least, I do think people need to lighten up and not take things so much to heart. This forum is very well moderated and I have seen very little offensive content worthy of getting worked up over.

Scubadevils

acman wrote: »

Lately I have been a little bored with this forum...same 'ol topics over and over again.

I would like to see people introduce more up to date and relevant topics to the forum. New events, artists, releases etc. deserve to be properly discussed, not just some buried post in the "New Tunes" thread...many even without a thanks, never mind a comment or debate. It's much more interesting and stimulating to discuss new content rather than reading people reminiscing over the gigs of the yesteryears and archaic tune preferences.

Last but not least, I do think people need to lighten up and not take things so much to heart. This forum is very well moderated and I have seen very little offensive content worthy of getting worked up over.

I agree and not unlike what I said earlier in the thread. A vast amount of knowledge here and it would be great to see more input and information about new releases etc from people about their preferred genres.

Executive Steve

acman wrote: »

Lately I have been a little bored with this forum...same 'ol topics over and over again.

I would like to see people introduce more up to date and relevant topics to the forum. New events, artists, releases etc. deserve to be properly discussed, not just some buried post in the "New Tunes" thread...many even without a thanks, never mind a comment or debate. It's much more interesting and stimulating to discuss new content rather than reading people reminiscing over the gigs of the yesteryears and archaic tune preferences.

Yeah, I never look in the new tunes thread, and I think it should be locked and seperate threads made for when people talk about releases - you don't see the Rock & Metal forum talking about their devil music in one big gargantuan thread... There's plenty of themed threads that get made that concentrate tunes without clogging the forum up too much anyway, and I'm on a wack computer at the moment that seizes up entirely every time I open a thread with with more than one youtube clip embedded, and it's running ubuntu and i can't add the flashblocker extension because i lost the root password...

Also, a Polish mate of mine who runs a Dublin based free net label was well puzzled someone moved / deleted the thread he made about a free album release... It's hardly "advertising" if you're giving something away for free, surely?

BaZmO*

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

Also, a Polish mate of mine who runs a Dublin based free net label was well puzzled someone moved / deleted the thread he made about a free album release... It's hardly "advertising" if you're giving something away for free, surely?

It was deleted? Booo-urns!

KevIRL

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

Also, a Polish mate of mine who runs a Dublin based free net label was well puzzled someone moved / deleted the thread he made about a free album release... It's hardly "advertising" if you're giving something away for free, surely?

A note on this. I'm not sure what thread you are referring to, but if it was a brand new poster promoting this then it was likely deleted. We do get a large amount of crap posted from all over the world and is just pretty blatent advertising.. If you tell your mate to drop us a PM we can sort.

In general we will try to differentiate between users of the forum and advertisers but sometimes get it wrong. The best idea for anyone who is new but genuine is to send a PM before posting, this will probably avoid the thread being deleted.

Zascar

[cm]tyranny wrote: »

Yeah, I never look in the new tunes thread, and I think it should be locked and seperate threads

I was thinking this myself. There is too much variation in one thread. I think we should have maybe a few separate threads for each style perhaps, not too many maybe just 3 or 4?

francois

Zascar wrote: »

I was thinking this myself. There is too much variation in one thread. I think we should have maybe a few separate threads for each style perhaps, not too many maybe just 3 or 4?

That will be fine until the genre fascists start arguing over which genre it really is

Zascar

Its almost unavoidable but I think I'll put a request that we try to avoid doing this. Maybe start a thread specifically for genre debates even hahaha.

Any suggestions for genre split? I'd say one for tech house & techno - possibly even minimal in there too. One for house/electro etc. We already have a dubstep thread - can we put something else in there like dnb/breaks maybe? Possibly another for trance/hard house etc.

If someone has a good suggestion for the splits please shout

* Queue jokes on threads for Funky Uplifting Piano House / Hardcore Breaks.

Executive Steve

Zascar wrote: »

I was thinking this myself. There is too much variation in one thread. I think we should have maybe a few separate threads for each style perhaps, not too many maybe just 3 or 4?

Think you're overthinking it really - 99% of tunes that get posted get posted up in themed threads as it is already - "What are your current favourites" that sort of thing, just let people make seperate threads about releases they're into and see how it goes, if that doesn't work out and the board gets swamped you can think of a different strategy then.

Daroxtar

Zascar wrote: »

I was thinking this myself. There is too much variation in one thread. I think we should have maybe a few separate threads for each style perhaps, not too many maybe just 3 or 4?

francois wrote: »

That will be fine until the genre fascists start arguing over which genre it really is

Techno alone would need about 10 threads, you cant lump wonky in with minimal or schranz with detroit. What about naples style, acid, swedish, post acid, uk, hardcore.... then you have to figure out if tech trance is techno or trance. Might be better just leave it alone and not take up half the page with new threads.

If someone is posting a new track just make sure they put an accurate(ish)genre or style/similarities description with the post. If someone just says "Techno" and i expect 145 upbeat swedish/tribal but get 125 ambient/minimal then i'll be disappointed. If someone is impressed enough with a track to post it then they should do it the service of getting the description half right. If people want to look in the thread then there's nothing stopping them finding what they're looking for by just having a glance at the accompanying comments.

BaZmO*

Daroxtar wrote: »

If someone is posting a new track just make sure they put an accurate(ish)genre or style/similarities description with the post. If someone just says "Techno" and i expect 145 upbeat swedish/tribal but get 125 ambient/minimal then i'll be disappointed. If someone is impressed enough with a track to post it then they should do it the service of getting the description half right.

That should be the case when every posts a link to any type of track or video. You end up just getting bored clicking on links that of a style that you don't like, and as a result you end up possibly missing some gems.