Hello All,

What on earth is happening at Synthzone?

I have been coming here for years and it has never been as bad as this. Petty arguments over whose gear is better is one thing but personal attacks are quite another.

Then in the middle of it all we have members taking obvious delight in stirring the pot a little more in order to provoke a response.

If you take the view that this is 'Just the Internet' then feel free to tell me to get a real life.

HOWEVER.... in my opinion this may be just an online forum and I may not have actually met the majority of you BUT this in no way de-values my interactions or relationships here. I actually care as much about what happens here as I would if a group of my 'non internet' friends were at each others throats. Words can hurt others just as much if they are written as when they are spoken out loud.

I have tried to leave when things have got silly in the past but this forum draws you back somehow. However we need to sort ourselves out otherwise Synthzone will stop being special. All of us have more than enough hassle to cope with in everyday life without signing on here for a heap more.

I made a resolution a while ago to try not to post negatively when someone got my back up. Lately it has been hard to keep BUT if we all tried I am sure that things would get back to how they should be.

I'm not having a go at anyone, I'm not apportioning any blame, I don't care who said this and who said that and above all I am not taking sides.

All I am asking is that we all think about what we write BEFORE we write it, think again BEFORE we retaliate (or at least keep it in private emails) and try to remember that there are real people who will be affected for good or for bad by what we post here.

Of course I don't want Synthzone to become a sanitised eutopia of politeness where there is no passion. Healthy debate is a good thing and something that the members here excell in. BUT there is a big difference between healthy debate and what has been going on here lately.

I am not trying to be superior or patronising here, beleive me some of the posts in my head lately have been as bad as the worst of recent examples. BUT at least I managed to KEEP THEM IN MY HEAD and as a result no-one has been hurt or offended by my words. After a day or two passed I was so relieved I had not posted them because I want my friends to see the best of me not the worst.

Well that is it. If you agree with my observations or not I am sure that we all agree that Synthzone is worth the effort. That is a good starting point imo.

Best wishes to all
Tony