An Observation

Amz

I would just like to make a complaint about the current state of this message board!

It appears that almost 90% of the threads on the board are advertisements for gigs!!! This is becomming increasingly more common thus making the message board less appealing to us bored students etc who look at it!

There are plenty of other outlets where bands etc can advertise the Phantom FM pluglist which is on their website is an example of such an outlet also on the rock/metal board there is an entire thread dedicated to plugging gigs! Polars website also hav an area where bands can advertise their gigs! And thats juat a small proportion of places where these adverts can be placed!

I just feel that the board has lost a lot of its "personality" and "colour£" due to the presence of the afformentioned ads!

I dont know if anyone else feels the same but just thought id share my feelings about this situation which has become increasingly more common in recent weeks!

Pigman

You go girl!

But yeah I agree with you. I suggest that instead of this deluge of threads that we make one single 'sticky' thread for bands who want to mention upcoming gigs and have it all in one place. Either that or make all those responsible pass the information onto the mod whereby and he can do a compilation once a week or whatever.

Just an idea.

Thomas from Presence

I'm a guilty ad person myself but its because a lot of my mates are on this board and I genuinely feel that what I advertise is of genuine interest to those who frequent here as my ads (and indeed gigsmarty ones too) refer to genuinely interesting bands and events.

Hows about we start some contraversial or stimulating topics and therefore clear the way for some decent internet-doss-time enjoyment?!

polarbelly

i'm a culprit of the old gig postings but alot of the time what starts as a gig ad turns into an interesting conversation...

i agree with tom, if you're bored amz go on a mad one and start a load of crazy new topics that ppl will always reply to like the good ol' what you listneing to now? bad boy

Amz

Originally posted by polarbelly
go on a mad one and start a load of crazy new topics that ppl will always reply to like the good ol' what you listneing to now? bad boy

*ahem*

nim psychotic

Well I think it's good that gigs are advertised along with discussion topics. The Phantom messageboard is like a one-stop place for everything associated with Phantom : people who are into alternative music and people who go to gigs/are in bands. That's how I like it

thedrowner

yeah i have to say althought it can be annoying at time it is also extremely informative, and i quite like it the way it is. all the threads are clearly labelled as ads for gigs, so its easy to skip over if youre not interested.

i definately would not be going to as many gigs as i do if it werent for such advertising simply because i am too lazy to go to other people's website and check it out. and its nice to kind of meet up with the people on ther boards too at these gigs be they in the band, or just checking them out, and you can give ur opinion on the gig and the bands afterwards.

polarbelly

Originally posted by Amz
*ahem*

whats that for?

Raggamuffin

Originally posted by polarbelly
whats that for?

that red back you've got yourself due to the art of backslapping.


stop it now.


when will dublin bands ever get the messege that the majority of them suck plentiful ass...... and roll in it

p.s the dj in whelans on saturday is a F..u..ck...er
but hes a bit bald and i have hair.

polarbelly

raggamuffin,

exactly who's back have i been slapping or have you just posted that to get me a bit annoyed...
personally i dont recall slapping anyone's back but i'm sure you'll fill me in with plenty of examples... because otherwise then what your saying above about me is ballocks (check it in the dictionary, its another spelling for bollocks...class)

so go on fill me in, exactly who's back?

mick

Shorty

Omg Raggamuffin, you must have balls the size of I don't know what. lol.

But back on topic,there is a Gigs/Events board, and what pigman is suggesting and I'd agree with is to make a sticky thread for gigs, such as they have on the rock/metal board.

Also, this board seems to have gone slightly down hill the last couple of weeks, there was even a thread about it a while ago. I think it was The Snitch who pointed out that at times there's an element of group confirmation on the board. That could be seen especially on the thread about the letter to Hotpress slating Phantom. I dislike criticism, (see sig) and find it's harder to put forward something positive or constructive than to simply criticise. And I'm a very sarcastic person. But I still think positive criticism can help. Like has the problem of week old gigs being advertised on Phantom changed?

I think Amz should start some new threads, and maybe me too, but then she just rambles on deliriously from lack of sleep.

Amz

Originally posted by Shorty
Omg Raggamuffin, you must have balls the size of I don't know what.

Human males have bigger balls than gorrilas...........
but they're smaller thatn the balls of chimpanzees..........

just thought you lot would benefit from that piece of information...

Pigman

Originally posted by Raggamuffin
p.s the dj in whelans on saturday is a F..u..ck...er

What's the matter? Did he not play S-Club-7 for you or something?

but hes a bit bald and i have hair.

Yeah, but it's mainly on the palms of your hands

mumblin deaf ro

Oh yeah, I have a gig on Thursday. Thanks for listening.

Anyone know any other good gigs on?

the_corpo

there's gonna be a great gig in the music centre on dec 12th!

Thomas from Presence

Raggamuffin you have to like one Dublin band! What are ya inta man? Dollar Short, Fingermouse, U2, Thin Lizzy, Polar, Skyjack, Otranome, Popstar, Corrupted Loki....

C'mon man! Ya can't have seen them all! :cool:

thedrowner

i dont think the baord has really gone down hill, i just think theres more of a mix of threads on it these days rather than everything having to be about a really important issue-i enjoy reading the threads more when there's a bit of lighthearted banter going on (yes i DO know theres a limit to how much one can take!!!!)

im not really sure what u were saying shorty (that sounds really bitchy i dont mean it to) especially concerning the hotpress thread, but id like to know so i can answer u back

i think this board and these threads are the best place for these gigs as its the phantom message baord, and one of phantom's big plusses is that they promote irish bands, no matter how much certian people think these bands suck. you woudlnt have decided they suck unless u heard them and u had to find out about them from somewhere. i knwo where MY number one soucrce of information is....


also, if we had a sticky thread telling about all the gigs, it'd get very confusing when people were trying to say what they thought of the band/gig. i like being able to say what i thought of the band, and hear what other people thought.

shay

1) Pigman - I nearly choked when I read your reply to Raggamuffin - v v f'n funny

2) Amz - you watching that prog. on BBC too? Did you see the gorrila turning his back and scratching his head when the presenter announced to the world that his balls were bigger than the gorilla... he must have been thinking "jesus, I hope my mates aren't watching this"....

3) I don't find it a hassle when bands notify of gigs via threads. It's usually quite subtle. Anyhoo, what it also promotes is debate about the band and their type of music.... people can also put questions to them and stuff.

Trev M

I think this thread has been addressed before and I think its becoming ever more relevant as Phantom moves into the more commercial direction.....I'll stay on topic here , bands post here cause its close to grass roots and people here are generally interested, I can accept it gets tiresome but there ya go.....you could equally argue that the board is a propaganda tool also and you'd probably be right hahah ...

Trev M

oh Ragga....never dull , always controversial and if nothing else extremely consistent

All the best - Trev

Kurdt

i for one like hearing about gigs here....i wouldnt hear from anywhere else...

i have no phantom here in dundalk so this is my only source (coz i'm too lazy to go anywhere else)

Amz

Did i say i had a problem with bands advertising here?!


NO!!!!

My point is that there is increasingly less interesting topical threads on the board!

Its not that much fun having to skip over heaps of plug related threads to find something different to read/debate about and people arent that likely to go through all of the pages of threads looking for something to grab their attention

I think all the ads should be posted in a sticky thread and then if gigsmart/etc want to start peopl talking about their stuff then they can start a seperate thread or whatever i dont know im in a hurry at the mo so i havent time to really expand on my point ill do that later

I would be more than willing to begin other types of threads if i thought people would actually reply and as for you dudley and mumblin deaf ro COP THE F*CK ON! thats exactlythe kinda ****e that gets me about some of the people who post on this board

Raggamuffin

nah the DJ in whelans said "i onlt play what people want to hear" after i asked him to play a different queens of the stone age song.

i really don't like 1 dublin band and thin lizzy don't count cause phil is dead


not one i tell you.

Shorty

Exactly, I don't think that gigs shouldn't be advertised, just that there should be a sticky thread with simply the bare esssential info on the gig like they have on the rock/metal board. If ppl want to start a thread themselves for a post gig synopses or drunken tale or whatever then they should. Maybe there hasn't been an increase in ads/plugs, just a drop in other threads, so it seems like theres been an increase in relation to them.

I just feel that the board isn't as good as it could be or has been. Imo I feel that it could just be that the state of the music scene, not just in Ireland but worldwide, is **** at the moment. Maybe that's why there aren't as many good threads. There are limits to how far a "what song are you listening to now?" thread can go. The fact we have this thread is symptomatic of there not being any other half decent threads. I think Trev M's other thread might prove interesting, if some of the positve criticism is taken on. (I'll post on it when I gather my thoughts on the subject together)Not like the Hotpress thread where half the ppl rushed to console phantom, whereas the ppl who offered positive criticism seemed to have been brushed aside. If I was slagged off by someone I would prefer if my friends were honest with me instead of sychophantic. If there was an element of truth to what was said about me I'd appreciate honesty instead of feeble attempts at bolstering my self esteem, with" No, of course not you're great!", instead of how to improve and avoid such further attacks if the basis for them was true.

Again on the theme of no good threads and the music scene, there was a piece in the sunday times a few weeks ago about mp3s and the band wilco. At the end of the piece there was a mention of how musical movements appear in 13 year cycles. I'll try and find it and start a thread on it.

At least ppl are now starting to give a few witty comebacks to slagging off instead of long rants. Nice one Pigman and Trev M. I think Raggamuffin's powers of pissing others off are beginning to wain.

Also a question for dudley and mumblin deaf ro, how would you compare this board with that of thumped.com?

Raggamuffin

well now really shorty i thought your mother would have told you not to climb up people's asses

lamda

Hmmm I remember this exact thread about a year ago... and to be honest I think you cant really criticise cos... if you're a poster, then its up to you to put up interesting topics.... Anyway as for the board going downhill.... if you ask me its the same as it ever was......

Shorty

Indeed, YOUR MOTHER!!!

oh oh! Impending doom and censorship on the horizon!

the_corpo

Originally posted by Shorty
Also a question for dudley and mumblin deaf ro, how would you compare this board with that of thumped.com?

they're not really comparable, they have completely different user groups and motives for existing. thumped.com is principally for those interested in the nether regions of the irish music scene and grew out of the much missed hope collective, and it serves as an information point for people involved in or interested in that scene.

probably generates far more nonsense than this board though 8)

Amz

Thumped isnt as heavily censored therefore its a bit more entertaining people are too easily offended on this board which at times gets a little rediculous i.e. People practically queueing up to respond to posts/comments by Raggamuffin

RELAX!!!!

Shorty

Originally posted by the_corpo
probably generates far more nonsense than this board though 8)

Yeah that's what I like about it so much even when threads go off topic, they're still incredibly witty and funny. People shouldn't be afraid of that here. Exactly what Amz just said.

Plus there are a lot of Irish bands that Phantom don't seem to play, that are really good, such as The Redneck Manifesto, Decal, The Jimmy Cake, Estel, Yourselves and a lot others that get mentioned there and played on X FM. But I suppose that's were you're right in it being different to here, although not in a bad way.

Thanks

lamda

Originally posted by Shorty
they're still incredibly witty and funny. People shouldn't be afraid of that here. .

Eh I dont think that people aren't witty cos they're afraid to be so, they're just dull!! Take me for example.... dull dull dull

polarbelly

Originally posted by Raggamuffin
that red back you've got yourself due to the art of backslapping.


stop it now.


when will dublin bands ever get the messege that the majority of them suck plentiful ass...... and roll in it

p.s the dj in whelans on saturday is a F..u..ck...er
but hes a bit bald and i have hair.

considering you still havent replied to me i'll take it that you have no examples....

thedrowner

yeah but u cant please everyone

i remember over the summer me kurdt johnny etc etc all kept dragging the threads off topic with 'witty banter' some people anjoyed reading stuff like this (i know i used to enjoy readin it when i logged in) some people hated it, it was much too off topic, and they didnt like having to wade throught it all. fair enough, try and develop a happy medium. anyone who wants to only read debatable posts or jokey posts will be pissed off, but the majority of us are happy with the mixture

i think the board is at a happy medium....ive been on it for over a year know, and ok, there has been a decrease in the amount of debateable threads, btu i also remember at the last year there were about 10 threads like 'whats ur top 5 albums, singles, music to dance to, music video's, ur embarassing ones etc etc' sonctantly during the summer. also, i find there is an increase of irish bands, or at least interest in irish bands, so this has to be reflected in the website.

i dont want to have to feel like i have to come up with a big debatable thread before posting here, or else people will call me boring/stupid/predictable. i have to say i like things the way there are. i know the idea for the 'what tune r u listening to now' came from another forum on baords.ie and not due to not being able to come up with anyhting interesting-maybe the forum would benefit from some more threads to debate on, i love a good old debate, but im not gonna get sulky when there isnt any and start damning the board for it-in affect were insulting ourselves.

so rather than everyone posting in agreement, and worrying about the state of the boards, why not contribute somehting you want to see on it? this thread in itself is a good way of starting this i suppose, coz it has sprang up a debate.

with regards to the idea of a sticky, ok...it probably is a good idea. but i;ll be honest now...sometimes the idea of wading through all the gig related posts is annoying, but i know if i dont i wont here about the ones i do want to go to. I think if a sticky like that was started, a good chunk of people would ignore it, for me, that goes against the whole idea of phantom.

oh ant the hotpress thread....u have to expect that kind of a reaction cos most people are here coz they like listening to phanotm...no one's goign to be too happy when something they like is slagged off.

this is getting long but ill say one last thing (in this post at least ) this is a message board, this is the internet-the nature of it means u ahve to put up with people trolling, being cleverer,stupider,younger, older, duller then u etc, and having different tastes to you, and this can of diversity can be seen in the way message boards are ran. If the layout was changed and we could only write up certain posts, theres still be people complaining about the state of the baord!

Raggamuffin

happy mediums are boring,
i prefer the weird and scary mediums the ones that scare small children.

people are only happy cause it suits them.
phantom suits them and fits in nicely to their life.
snore..............zzZ

Shorty

If the "what song" thread is so great, why is there a two star rating?

So, apart from witty/jokey threads, debatable threads, music, threads and gig threads, what are there? Debatable threads can get serious and boring, I don't think every thread should be one, but if one came along once every three weeks I'd be happy. In fact I'm not even looking for debatable threads, just interesting and off beat ones, like Raggamuffins drinks that go down easy ( I mean what has that got to do with anything? Nothing! ) I'm not looking for spam or trolling or flaming, just witty come backs. " i prefer the weird and scary mediums the ones that scare small children."

And as for people ignoring a Sticky Thread!! How can I argue with this, it's at the top of the board and would be marked GIGS!!:rolleyes:

And I never said I was against diversity, in fact I think we need more diversity. MORE DIVERSITY! MORE DIVERSITY! Oh and those little monkeys that hang from cocktail glasses, them too.:)

Just like to say that with the p(h)ub crawl, ppl will meet in real life and might not be afraid to have a bit of playful slagging since we'll know what each other looks like.

thedrowner

there has to be a little bit of relevance with threads to phanotm fm and its listeners. like has been previously stated, the message board got hidden amongst boards.ie for being too under moderated, and threads like ragumuffins would probably piss off the powers that be...slagging is great within threads, but not everyone's looking for that, and as far as im concerned, there is plenty to be seen in the different threads.

oh and i do not like the idea of a sticky for gigs, i think most of us benefit from them in the long term from HAVING to wade through them

thedrowner

Originally posted by Shorty
If the "what song" thread is so great, why is there a two star rating?

so what?
some people enjopy posting in these, some people dont. if u dont like it just skip over it, it'll die down eventually.

tony 2 tone

no it can't die! it must live for ever and take up all the bandwidth


Oh yeah .............I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaa-ack!

Kurdt

what sort of pants? eh? eh? eh?

hmmmmm....

you really gotta wonder sometimes....you really do!

Shorty

The same thread on the rock/metal forum has a five star rating, so it can't be theme, it must be content?

Kurdt

how do you rate a thread?

Shorty

There, I just gave it a five, I'm off to eat my words.

There's a bit at the bottom of the page were you can rate the thread.

thedrowner

i think the ratings that show up are the last rating posted
ive seen the one on the music/radio forum have only 2 stars
so shutup with yer damn thread moaning

Shorty

Ahh you know you still love me! Now lets forget all about it over a big bowl of strawberry ice cream!

johnnynolegs

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ice cream nice

thedrowner

ill have pralines and cream please made with free range eggs if yer offering

johnnynolegs

is mcdonalds ice cream made of pig fat???????

lamda

Originally posted by johnnynolegs
is mcdonalds ice cream made of pig fat???????

Lets hope so.... mmmmmmmmm porky goodness!!!

Shorty

I want to see if this thread will get any more replies? b u m p.

Amz

Of course it bloody well will!!!

Sure isnt this the thread that sparked the revolution.........

Muahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

mumblin deaf ro

sorry shorty just read your question to me now. I turned off this board a bit. Not sure why, it just doesn't seem as fun anymore. Maybe I'm wrong, but after the pub crawl it seemed to focus on small talk a bit much.