Forum membership: what do you think?

[DJ Freez']

This might be a bit of a sensitive issue, but then again, that

[K-Bee]

In general I don't approve of the membership restriction idea. Forum lurkers isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion, as i've been a lurker myself on various occasions. I would hate the idea of not having access to, say, the IMDB forums simply because I do not post there. I've gathered valuable information about movie-related topics there for years but I don't feel I have the knowledge (or needed time) to contribute there myself. Obviously it's a matter of priorities but I choose to post in music forums as opposed to movie forums simply because music lies closer to my heart and in terms of knowledge, I have more to offer.
To me, the purpose of a forum is to share and receive knowledge about the topics covered there. It is our duty as forum leaders to engage people in bringing the place to life, and so far we've partly succeeded in doing so. Still we have hundreds of members that do not participate much, and I don't thin that's likely to change. However throwing people out because of lack of posts isn't a good thing in my opinion because it makes the forum seem elitist and more like a closed society. I'm not sure that's what we really want when it comes down to it.

[mrkeyes]

It's funny you post something about this Freez cus I was gonna do a similar kind of post when I find time. Cus I have a few suggestions which I will explain later. But till then my quick overview is not so much throw people off but to over an incentive for people to post more. Sort of similar to the a system they applied on my main site before NJS4e Ill muzik. I will explain later.

[Danadash]

I don't like the idea of a forum restriction. It's should be like the music itself. Some people like to make New Jack Swing ("the moderators"); some like to make use of it by dancing to NJS or by being a DJ ("the active members"); and some people just like to listen ("the lurkers").
Just because some people only like to listen to NJS shouldn't be a reason to exclude them from the music IMO. May be they just don't know how to dance, may be they don't like dancing at all, may be they are shy etc..etc... .

As long as they like the music, that's okay to me NJS is for everyone; the same applies to NJS4E IMO

[DJ Freez']

Good to see some replies here and I hope to get some more. See I am not aiming at restricting membership here, I just wanted to know what you all think. One of the things that made me think is that someone used my translation of the review from Zhype's 'Seduce Me' from this thread to sell the album for a very high price: http://www.marktplaats.nl/index.php?url ... -rare.html. I really don't care about all this, it's one of the great things about internet: user generated content. And the price that he asks for this item is not of interest to me as well, as I am very sure he won't sell it for more than

[eddie]

K-bee hit the nail on the head. There is a control in this experiment and those forums have limited posters but the creators and moderators have that right but did so from day one!!

I'm strongly against limiting access and I have my views, likes, and dislikes posted on Amazon chat forums for many to see. I'm disappointed in the amount of African-Americans that I can chat with about soul/NJS and that's the primary reason why I spend most of my "computer time" on Amazon.

There are certain attitudes among DJ's in nothern soul circles (60's Motownish obscure soul) in Britain, that fans should not know who they are playing. You buy certain DJ related Cds to find that they are edited or mixed just so the DJ can thumb his nose at you! It is a fact that other cultures from other countries have come to our shores, bought up all of the northern soul, deep soul, and funk that was clean and either sell it or buy the rights to it and restrict it without giving the artist any royalty.

I pose this question. How can restricting the sale, supply and conversation of soul music help the artists who perform this music or African-American culture?

[prettygrey_eyez]

Well I'm not a lurker but I am one of those people who hasn't been on or posted in a while. Suspension is rather drastic. I thought that was reserved for people who abuse the forum or its members. Just my thought. But asking that your info not be shared without your permission I think is not unreasonable. I know Freez' that you said it doesn't bother you but I think that your permission should have been asked before taking what you posted in confidence and using it to profit.

[musicdaughter]

No restriction please. Be tolerant. I've been away from the forum in a while , but NJS is and will always be in my heart.

[DJ Freez']

Well I'm not a lurker but I am one of those people who hasn't been on or posted in a while. Suspension is rather drastic. I thought that was reserved for people who abuse the forum or its members. Just my thought.

IF this was a thing we would ever consider, a three months period should be long enough, wouldn't it. But that's definitely not something that is considered.

But asking that your info not be shared without your permission I think is not unreasonable. I know Freez' that you said it doesn't bother you but I think that your permission should have been asked before taking what you posted in confidence and using it to profit.

Well I only translated the review from a magazine, so it's not exactly something I personally wrote.

My main reason for starting this thread is we see so many people register, but only a few of them do the odd post. Doesn't it feel like your information is being used unthankfully when people don't do some posts here? I mean, sharing information should be a two-way thing, not just a one-way thing... It's a forum, not a bulletin board or something!

I'd like to see some more people do some more regular posting here, with about 2 or 3 per cent of all the members realy being involved in all the activity here. And you don't need to be spreading knowledge perse, it's about sharing experiences, moments, opinions, enthusiasm about music, whatever! Most people seem to think it's unnecessary to post because (they think) they have no knowledge, but everyone has some knowledge, at least to some extent. And if you really don't know anything, you can at least share the things that you have experienced, like meeting artists, going to concerts, discovering (new) music, being glad you found a certain album (maybe even because you read a review here)....

It's all about the community, so please do some (more) posting people! It's fun, really!

[Knyte]

Hi Freez'

Glad you brought this up. I think there may be two factors at work:

a) Time being an issue
b) Intimidation from other, "knowledgeable" members

As far as b) is concerned, I think this really applies to the US set -- I've noticed since day one, that the level of knowledge displayed by the Euro set vastly eclipses most of the US crowd. The attitude toward music in general is different than in the US. I think for the most part, we treat it like bubblegum, and spit it out. Europeans on the other hand (again, a generalization) treat music like wine. It's almost as if, the older it gets, the sweeter/better.

I'd like to open up the forum for people to talk about virtually anything. That's what the random section is for. I'd also like to reach out to whom I consider the "hipster" set...those cool, against-the-grain individuals (who you'll often find in major cities like NY, LA, Los Angeles) who might be into magazines like Paper, The Fader, Urb, and Vice. I think this is the crowd we need to invite, since the "original" NJS set is well into their 30s...and has a hard time making room for this community when they've got so many other committments.

The Hipsters eat, sleep, breathe, and (you-know-what) music, and the arts. I think NJS should be a part of that healthy diet.



I digressed a bit, but not really. I think as with anything, this forum and NJS4E in general is going through a transition. An important question was raised, and I appreciate the responses to it so far!

- Knyte

[musicdaughter]

When i was in Europe i didnt have internet at home but i was more present on the forum. Since i'm in Chicago, i have the internet at home, but i don't even have time to use it. This country runs too fast for me. Because of school, and work, i have barely time to cook and eat, and make music which is my passion. Thats why i 've been away from the forum.

I reads posts from time to time but don't even have 5 minutes to post anything on the forum.

BIG UP to those who are continually present on the board.

[DJ Freez']

Hi Freez'

Glad you brought this up. I think there may be two factors at work:

a) Time being an issue
b) Intimidation from other, "knowledgeable" members

As far as b) is concerned, I think this really applies to the US set -- I've noticed since day one, that the level of knowledge displayed by the Euro set vastly eclipses most of the US crowd. The attitude toward music in general is different than in the US. I think for the most part, we treat it like bubblegum, and spit it out. Europeans on the other hand (again, a generalization) treat music like wine. It's almost as if, the older it gets, the sweeter/better.

I've been giving this some thought after Knyte posted this and it's odd to think about this. I can understand that the knowledge bit can be intimidating somehow, but that's not necessary at all! You just use whatever you can use and share the knowledge you can share. Every little bit of info is interesting, which means it's not just about knowing all the facts about the music (which can really be useful at times!), but also your opinions, any NJS (related) experiences or other stuff. I hope you all understand that more members doing some posting makes the forum more lively.

So drop your questions, experiences, whatever!

We had the 'Anorak week' a short while ago, which was meant to joke around with the fact that some of us are so anoraky. But also to show that it's useful too... See at some point I knew I could buy certain records because of the record label, songwriters and/or producers. Once you know that you like stuff from one of these labels, songwriters and/or producers, you can use this to gather more great music that they were involved with. This can mean disappointment at some point too, but it does make it very interesting and that's what we wanted to prove. And we're sharing that with you all, because we love the music so much, like I'm sure over 90% of you do, otherwise you wouldn't have signed up. It's great to share that passion, so join in on the fun!

Loved your post, Knyte! Brilliant as ever .

BTW: I try not to post too much and become dominant on the forum, even though it might seem different. I really try to give room to other members to reply, so I really try to hold back in replying on other posts. I hope it will give you all more room to be a part of the great community that NJS4E is!