Why i no longer visit soft.com

[Vio]

Though potentially flame-worthy, this thread is meant more as a feedback thread to the moderator to highlight some of the reasons why soft.com forum might be losing its faithful following.


1. Unavoidably there will be nonsense postings and attention seekers and trouble brewers in all forums. However due to the younger mean age of forumers here, there tend be a lot less productive discussions than useful informative debates.


2. Over the time i been on soft and met quite a few of the forumers, i have noticed that some of those who seem very respectable online here are not quite as deserving of my respect as i had envisaged. ie: the words are but hotair without credibility. This, though, is a personal issue that cannot be controlled by soft.com, but it IS still one of the reasons i no longer visit here.


3. There is only ONE moderator. IMO that's unhealthy because the whole forum is run by the perspective and beliefs of one single person. A group of moderators might give some form of democracy. IE: this place is very PAP without the opposition party.


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i mean not to offend but i'm just stating it as it is. And in case you wonder why i'm even back here to type this, i'm here to exploit the advertisement for musicians section.

 

[nitrovo]

I agree with the moderator bit. James is a very busy man and can only do so much at once and that might mean neglecting SOFT for a day or so, and things could get out of hand.

 

[edo83]

Point #1 is very valid, that's all i could say with the situation in this forum right now.

 

[jony]

Maybe you should stay here and help out with the moderation.. I know how it feels when u ahev been at a forum for a long time and then loads of new people come in aand turn the place upside down..

 

[mellapong]

I agree with all 3 points he has brought up

 

[gargamelesp]

In case most of you havent noticed ( which im sure is the case since most of you just joined recently in the last 1-2 years), many of the older and more informed people have ceased to post or even read the stuff in the forum becasue of the "level of intellect which goes towards the music discussion".

Granted, we should not discriminate and every beginner should be able to get help, but if you look at the big picture, this is not going to work, especially when more new donkeys are posting more and more wierd (to put it politely) stuff.

No one (definitely not the moderators) is to blame in this case, but its quite a pity to see the forum go down from where it was 4 years ago. To all the informed people who are still making an effort to share your knowledge : my heartfelt thanks go out to you. To all the new people here who have been "contributing" to the growing number of "wierd" posts, take a step back, and ask yourself why are you part of this forum.

 

[gkinsingapore]

1. The only way you can change that is to come back here and actively post. I am an oldie too. The music biz is a young persons game. I ignore the crap and enjoy the fresh perspectives.

2. Welcome to the internet. And the musicians forums are even worse. For the ultimate dose of hot air I usually check out the reviews on Harmony Central for pure entertainment. Iespecially like the reviews from people that dont even own the piece of gear they are reviewing! Unfortunately musicians are, in general,a little flakey and lacking in credibility....even the older ones.

3. Fair point. Are you volunteering?

The only way this place will be better is if people like you participate. I've met some great guys off this board who dont fit the mean age (or IQ) criteria. As a result I've been playing more regularly than I have in years have become a better player for it. Yes, there are people who make themselves out to be highly knowledgeable with thousands of posts who haven't even played in a real band where they have had to interact with other musicians, but you should be able to take those discussions for what they are. Despite the posts discussing at length about how one particular distortion pedal or another are the holy grail of tone, you will never convince me that they are a substitute for pre and power tubes in an amp being driven hard.....and a lot of guys here have never had the opportunity to play in that situation.... but that doesnt make me want to not read the posts and listen to thier perspectives, and maybe learn something along the way. BTW I am merely presenting an example, not trying to start a discussion about distortion!!

If you are older, have experience and have been able to put all the discussion into practice in the 'real world', then you have a lot to share with the younger guys on this board. A lot of these young guys tend to take postings on these boards or incorrect advice as gospel and it could potentially lead them to waste a lot of time on money along the wrong path. Is it not your responsibility to offer a guiding hand or at least a different opinion?

So how bout it? Will you come back?

 

[Indigo_blues]

when i really want to find out about guitar gears, i head over to the TDPRI forum. People there are more helpful and informed.

 

[bongman]

this is a forum and open for discussion.

the young can learn from the senior

 

[gargamelesp]

=gkinsingapore

Hi, sorry but i beg to differ just a little here. I wont go so far as to say its a "responsibility" for the older people to guide the new ones, especially since new people pop up every week asking practically the same questions. However, i think that if you do take it as a "responsibility", full credit should be given to you as no one is responsible for anything ( in this forum anyway) . =)

 

[khai_stereotype]

vio: hey there.

garmelesp: i too dont see it as a responsibility. but contributing wouldnt take you so much strength right.

anyway, when newbies post repeated posts we can gently just remind them about search for the particula similar subjects. or just better, ignore.

 

[atee]

Yea, I remember the old days. I never did dare to post much back then considering what I knew. Not that I do now :lol:

I think one way to do it is for mods to be more active. This way if topics are ever repeated mods can just close these threads on the basis that they are, well, repeated. And if James is too busy at times, then I think it's time to have a few other helpers.

 

[gutturalpiss]

hahah rick ye said it bro..i rmmbr the last post frm u tht i saw was last yr (or early this yr?) :lol: well..the drummer has spoken!

 

[Jiro]

I dont visit soft.com..

I think its soft.com.sg?

Dont troll him man...

Ricky, I agree with everything you have stated, but personally I just ignore things like the useless posts...

 

[Cheez]

http://soft.com.sg/2006/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=206855#206855

 

[thor666]

1. Irrelevant posts.
2. Same questions - With answers present. I admit this is more of an information organization issue.
3. Those that need specific detailed help can MSN me. It's faster. I don't believe the forum is good if you want every reply in 5 minutes.



gkinsingapore - valid about more experienced people being able to guide the younger ones. However, what's it in for them? Should they be morally responsible in this forum? Do they get benefits?

If you hired a guitar teacher, at the very least they get paid for teaching you.

 

[bongman]

the forum to relax lah, why so serious ah?

 

[12bar]

Finally!!

You could'nt have expressed my sentiments any better Ricky..Colin here btw

I dare say the majority of users on this forum have not even served NS..so that leaves us with an age group of say between 14-18?

Can't really expect much from kiddies 'cos they are an impressionistic lot..asking repeated questions, and some really RIDICULOUS ones such as, 'how high do you sling ur guitar?', 'do u use ur pinky?', 'who's the fastest shredder?'

Seriously, it only shows how much of an intellect u have when u post such insane questions

As u can see from my nickname, i appreciate blues music a whole lot..just a reminder to metal maniacs here...SPEED ISN'T EVERYTHING!

Guys, please grow up and try to develop ur musical prowess as much as u can...listen to more songs...read up on theory and stuff...learn from the greats and most of all..have a mature outlook on music

Jony : that was a very insensitive comment u made earlier..the soft.com.sg part...if u have nothing constructive to contribute...take a hike

Oh...one more thing..there's no such thing as 'stuffs'...the word stuff is ALWAYS singular..who the heck taught u guys english man?

I do appreciate James for setting this forum up, but sadly...we've got alot more nincompoops than musicians here..

 

[SherT]

Welcome to the internet.

12bar, that comment you made about 14-18 "kiddies", I daresay you are asking for trouble by making it. Please don't stereotype all of us just because a couple of morons are prominent in here for all the wrong reasons... :roll:

Agreed, we have to draw the line somewhere, or soft could end up like this;

http://www.tidesofblood.com/modules.php?name=Forums

On the other hand, if you want to be a nazi about how this place is run, it might end up like the forums for a certain sport here in singapore (some of you might know what I'm talking about). People are going to become segregated into the whole "Old Guard" and "Noobs" bit and then we'd have a problem whereby every newcomer gets bombed just because the more senior folks are saddled up so far onto their high horses that they dont realise all the lesser folk see when they look up are assholes.

So point is, there's really nothing much you can do about it. This is an internet forum. If it bothers you, best thing to do is ignore it, or you could go be a keyboard warrior and get an entire thread dedicated to whether you are healthy for the forums.

 

[Vaiyen]

The point is, domains of mildly regulated human interactions like the Internet have a tendency towards Chaos. You can't escape it. It's happened to a much greater extent in other forums. Indeed, for a forum that is expanding in membership and scope as rapidly as Soft, I'm surprised it still remains at manageable levels.


For the people who are genuinely concerned (and not just jumping on the bandwagon because they think it's cool to bash Soft), I suggest you gather a group of like-minded folks, convene, and set down agendas for posting. Then submit your proposal to James, and I'm sure that if your proposal is in line with the direction James wants Soft to take, your plan will be implemented.


Complaining never helped anything on the Internet. There have been complaints in this forum since day one, and they've usually been useless.



As for the present state of the forum, I really don't have much to nitpick abt it. The threads I pay attention to, i.e. the guitar and gig threads, are usually packed with useful information. Not as indepth as the specialized forums like Jemsite and Thegearpage, but good enough for a general forum. Thus, these areas of Soft are not half as bad as what the detractors claim.

I am not very aware of what goes on in the other threads though. If there is a real problem there, and pple are bothered, then it is time for these very people to step up and be counted.


Remember that chaos is the inherent nature of the Internet. Once people grasp this concept, they'll understand that it is redundant and silly to complain (Do we complain about aging? No. Because it is part of nature). Instead, they will initiate proactive efforts to curtail this chaos.


A couple more concepts like 'responsibility' and 'moderation' I'll talk about when I have more time.


For now, happy long weekend, and post Responsibly!