Ok Ian......yes, you are correct some digs do happen, as digs go, however out and out
verbal abuse and disrespect and bringing to the forum personal attacks should not be permitted or accepted on this forum....take
it off the board and face each other through
emails and not subject anyone else to the
horse dung that gets shoveled around here from time to time by people that can't control their emotions and personal hatred for some of the other members of this forum.
We can all still learn from and teach each
other many things yet...let us do that and keep the hatred off here....thanks again for your contribution to this thread....
TR

I agree with you 100%, Tony.

Unfortunately some people do not want to take it off the board and into private e-mail...I think they get some vicarious thrill out of hurting someone publicly, or being a smart-ass show-off.

There seem to be a few long brewing feuds between some people on this forum...some of them here longer than I, and consequently, I don't know the reasons why things got that way.

Hopefully peace will reign again and for a much longer period of time.

Thanks for your great response.

Ian

If anyone's interested in how other forums handle personal abuse/insults/stupid topics etc etc, I belong to a video gaming forum (!) in Australia, where the majority of the members are young - from 14/15 upwards to my age (30-ish) and a couple older.

Anyway.

The forum is moderated by a number of long standing members appointed by the site owner.

When there is personal abuse or something really distasteful the following happens:

1. A moderator (or the site owner) identifies the culprit(s) and gives a warning.

2. if the warning is not heeded then either -

a. The thread is deleted

or
b. The offender is banned (usually for "life" depending on how serious the behaviour is and whether or not it's been a long standing problem.


Sometimes a thread deletion/locking AND a banning is handed out.

I must say, it's quite a swift and decisive punishment system - but fair.

So here's my point -

There is (usually) very little trouble in our forum and what trouble there is disappears fairly quickly BECAUSE the disciplines handed out are consistent, fast and, often, far reaching and permanent.

I guess it's a much smaller community here then the games forum, so "every member counts" so to speak, and granted, the forum members in that same forum are MUCH younger than many of the members on this forum, but I guess we've all found that chronological age doesn't always equal maturity.


I really feel that the stricter a forum is, the better it runs.


I must also point out though, that I've emailed Nigel a few times, and found him to be an intelligent, thoughtful and insightful man (typical Aussie - lol), and he's probably too busy with his career (in video games co-incidentally!) to feel he has to babysit this forum.

I can understand that.

2cents...

Hellboy,

Thank you for your intelligent & enlightening insights.

In addition to emails & telephone chats, I've also had the pleasure of meeting Nigel in person (Synthzone Jam San Jose,CA) and can confirm that he's everything you said: intelligent, thoughtful, and insightful, and real easy going nice guy (typical aussie) I also appreciate everything he's done for us with the General Arranger Forum, but it's OBVIOUS that his career & life contraints just don't allow the time required to keep some people here in line, especially because many of the fights are allowed to escalate for too long before Nigel finally has a chance to catch them.

I realize it's a time consuming job, but if Nigel doesn't have the time (or interest) to more closely monitor this forum, then I suggest it's time for him to appoint a 'neutral moderator(s)" (not me of course) to take on/share in this task.

Yes, we could (yet again) plead for people to simply behave and act civil, but that has 'never worked' for very long, always with the same few people back to misbehave again, sometimes merely a few days, or week or two later. It's obvious (at least to me) that strict enforcement of the rules already in place is needed, and of which needs to include, after initial warning, permanently banning repeat offenders, similar to what was outlined in the rules enforcement Tony Rome uses on his "Cozemel" internet forum.

In a true Utopian World, strict rule enforcement wouldn't be necessary, but it's time to "wake up" to the real world of PUBLIC forums, where just about anyone (with a verifible email address) can join & post on Synthzone.

I realize that "it's Nigel's gig" afterall (as Diki so well pointed out), and will accept whatever he decides to do, but that said, my future participation here will also be based in part on how future offending Synthzone member are dealt with.

Respectfully,

Scott

Hellboy.....Thank you for your participation
in this thread. You have brought out some good points, however, the size of the membership of the forum should not dictate the civility of the membership to it's members. The rules of conduct should maintain decorum from the membership, should that decorum be breached then the owner or moderator should exercise their powers of containment where ever that may lead. With all due respect to Nigel, as I have stated before, he should not have to be subjected to this behavior while giving us a place to reside also the membership in general should not have to put up with the disruption that is so blatant on this forum.
Nigel, I apologize if I seem to overstep
my bounds as a member of this forum, I also
understand that it is not my place to dictate policy, however we have lost a good deal of good members and it's about time that the EXEDOUS stopped.
TR

It still amaises me how little it takes for some people to show their A**! When there is a bad post of member music here, I assume one of a few senarios is happening:

1. The player is so moderately skilled, he/she isn't aware of the level of incompetence.

2. Individual ego is driving written comments (bragging) and mediocre performances. It's a self-centered attention issue, not a music issue.

Either way, I have a really good chuckle and wish the person doing the posting well. Members with experience and talent know the score. Negative comments are really not necessary for me. The poster may not have enough ability to even understand constructive criticism. And, if we're dealing with a marginal performance by a good person really trying to learn, the obvious thing to do is encourage.

Thanks, Tony, for a well reasoned approach to
understanding some really childish behavior.


And, as always, thanks goes to Nigel for the unselfish way he keept this thing going.


Russ

I'm afraid I've got to stand by my earlier comments...

For this forum to have any value, especially to visitors and new members, that may be inexperienced enough to actually take some of the posted demos seriously, it is our obligation to at least call a poor demo from a self-appointed 'expert' for what it is. Otherwise, WE start to look like idiots that can't recognize sh!t from shinola

I'm not really talking about the day-to-day things that get posted by most of the members, most of which A) are fine and B) are posted with a genuine desire to hear what other members think (good or bad, as long as it's constructive), but when a member takes on that mantle of 'expertise', or is VERY vocal in criticism either of others' works, or others' equipment, then their posted demos and advice should be up to the scrutiny and criticism that they give others...

The thought that, when we actually DO have a forum where amateurs, beginners AND professionals all hang out together (mostly civilly!), someone can post anything they feel like, claim they are some kind of professional 'expert', and none of us will say anything just doesn't sit right with me. We don't have to be vitriolic about it, but SOMETHING needs to be said....

Diki, I understand your opinion on this issue and don't necessarily disagree. I just do it a different way. Your dedication to the art form and willingness to post somewhat controversial but well articulated opinions is, in most part, a good thing.


Regards,


Russ

Mmmmm, tonight I made a grilled chicken, walnut, & apple salad. I enjoy eating it at my desk where I partake of Nigel's "haven for the musical minds" !
I don't care how anyone else does their forum - this place is home for me. Show a little respect, contribute and enjoy.
There is absolutely nthing wrong with the forum or the moderation. There are momentary lapses of judgement, but hey - that's life. Let's minimise the lapses and move on.

Reading this post from Tony Rome I think that it's time to came back to SZ home.
Cheers for ALL my friends here.
Chico