The Real MC Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I prefer these forums as Facebook is a mess for a lot of our discussions I think. I'm in a number of FB Groups and as a person who has spent a lot of time on real forums, comparatively I'd say the Groups experience is hellish. It's not just the crappy content people post, but it's also that the threads are all unfolded and "older" posts are hidden. If you think people not reading what was posted here is bad, it's awful in FB Groups because they don't actually see older posts without a big effort. That's just one of the issues I have with it. Yeah FB is awful for a knowledge base. No search facility and it takes a month of Sundays to scroll through old posts looking for specific info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I just peeked at the MR site. Open an article and it's smothered with ads. I don't even see any forum system at all there, and they'll smother ads between posts like Yahoo did which drove people away. I never go to the Yahoo groups anymore. Met quite a few people who are on this forum over there many years ago before I came here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marczellm Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I think that's a limitation set by YT. I don't think we have any control over that. Videos embedded on other sites can be full screened but not on this site. Something is off with the way we embed. Life is subtractive.Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Discreet ad placement is ok with me if it means saving the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I prefer these forums as Facebook is a mess for a lot of our discussions I think. I'm in a number of FB Groups and as a person who has spent a lot of time on real forums, comparatively I'd say the Groups experience is hellish. It's not just the crappy content people post, but it's also that the threads are all unfolded and "older" posts are hidden. If you think people not reading what was posted here is bad, it's awful in FB Groups because they don't actually see older posts without a big effort. That's just one of the issues I have with it. Yeah FB is awful for a knowledge base. No search facility and it takes a month of Sundays to scroll through old posts looking for specific info. Yes you said it better than I could. "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 - Agreed for better searching, the ability to tag, and perhaps reactives (likes). - Maybe the ability to save threads or even individual posts (like on Facebook or Instagram) - Better, smart embedding of images & YouTube clips. Maybe other widgets (like a bandcamp page for the compilations?) My Site Nord Electro 5D, Novation Launchkey 61, Logic Pro X, Mainstage 3, lots of plugins, fingers, pencil, paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Remember how well the upgrades were received at Harmony-Central............they killed the busiest keyboard forum on the internet. HC did that because they wanted to. This is a different situation. I totally appreciate all the folks chiming in that they like things the way they are and they don't want to see things changed. I get that, I swear...but it's simply not productive here. We may be looking at a situation where we don't have much of a choice. The musicplayer domain has been sold, the odds of the new owners leaving us alone do not appear high, and what they have in mind does not seem like something that would benefit/preserve our community as it is now. I do not think it's a good idea to do nothing and hope that things just stay the same with the possibility that one day we could wake up and find things have been changed without our input or consent. Additionally, there are actually some really cool things we can do that I'm fairly certain would be really beneficial to the community. Many of the above suggestions are excellent examples. Discreet ad placement is ok with me if it means saving the forum. Thanks, Bill...and that might turn out to actually be the case. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I know the forum is regularly backed up, but are there any offline backups that could be accessed in case the new owners just nuked the sever content and replaced it with something else? Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Starting with the end in mind, it seems to me the most valuable thing we have is longstanding community. That seems to me that has been built with relatively flat hierarchy, open discourse, ability to track / contribute to multiple disparate threads which are easily visible on one page. Obviously some improvements might include easier search ability, ability to post images directly, nested / threaded comments and replies. But adding more robust organization may actually detract from the wide open feel of the forum. Also agreed that advertising that doesn't interrupt actual thread interaction would be welcome if it prolongs longevity. More than anything else, my humble opinion is we can get used to most minor changes over time. There will always be grumbling whenever change is made, but that's normal user behavior. User interface design that continues to deliver 'wide open' access to the stream of thought consciousness of the forum is (I think) a big part of what makes the culture 'work', and so hoping that new features / functions will promote this rather than severely change / curtail UX and workflow. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Starting with the end in mind, it seems to me the most valuable thing we have is longstanding community. Without a shadow of doubt. That seems to me that has been built with relatively flat hierarchy, open discourse, ability to track / contribute to multiple disparate threads which are easily visible on one page. Excellent observation. Obviously some improvements might include easier search ability, ability to post images directly, nested / threaded comments and replies. Yep...not sure too many of us would disagree with that. But adding more robust organization may actually detract from the wide open feel of the forum. Possibly....but I believe that if changes are chosen and implemented carefully and thoughtfully with the input and cooperation of the community, then they would be more likely to succeed. Hence this thread. More than anything else, my humble opinion is we can get used to most minor changes over time. There will always be grumbling whenever change is made, but that's normal user behavior. User interface design that continues to deliver 'wide open' access to the stream of thought consciousness of the forum is (I think) a big part of what makes the culture 'work', and so hoping that new features / functions will promote this rather than severely change / curtail UX and workflow. Be assured I am on the same page. It's even been suggested (more than once) that perhaps creating a different tier might be a good way to keep as much of the original feel as possible for those who prefer that while offering a busier experience for any who might find that appealing. Thanks, Tim! dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I presume Thunderbird 2 is still in its bunker ready to be launched if required? Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 I presume Thunderbird 2 is still in its bunker ready to be launched if required? Absolutely...so we do totally have a safety net. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Link Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 1) Ability to post photos and videos directly 2) A simple like or dislike capability that doesnt require logging in 3) After logging in, send me back to the last page I was on (thats where I was most likely to add something useful) instead of the homepage for all of the musicplayer.com family of forums 4) Let us argue about politics and religion 5) Just kidding about #4! aka âmisterdregsâ Nord Electro 5D 73 Yamaha P105 Kurzweil PC3LE7 Motion Sound KP200S Schimmel 6-10LE QSC CP-12 Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs Rolls PM55P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Overall: Keep it simple Wish: The ability to add tables within a post (hopefully this is in line with keeping it simple!) Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 Overall: Keep it simple. There does appear to be a path that most likely would allow us to keep it (relatively) simple. The decision which allows that apparently rests with Future Music at the moment. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 This may sound silly, but I'd want the forum to stay as close to how it is now as possible. Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Well, Better search as already mentioned, a notifications section or something so you know if you've been quoted or mentioned, mobile viewing can be a pain because everything gets shrunk down super far. Aside from those, I like the other features. I wouldn't want the data to have missing sections like what happened on, say, Organforums, or others. Local picture embedding would be nice, a way to embed audio files stored elsewhere perhaps too. And after logging in going back to the page you were on vs the home page, as mentioned. On a side note, I always thought MusicRadar was close to a scam site. Never liked it. Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76| Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT, Kurzweil PC4 (88) Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PianoMan51 Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Overall: Keep it simple. There does appear to be a path that most likely would allow us to keep it (relatively) simple. The decision which allows that apparently rests with Future Music at the moment. dB Lord, Dave, every time I see one of your posts, and I look over to the side and see Graham, I expect to be lectured about a joke that would kill anyone who heard it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I'd like to add my own willingness to pay for a revamped KC elsewhere, although I acknowledge that taking in money changes the complexion and workload of the entire gig. I'd be perfectly happy to throw money in the tip jar any time I entered the bar. Its just club dues. The general tone, useful info and arsehole filters are much appreciated. Shut up and take my money! "You seem pretty calm about all that." "Well, inside, I'm screaming. ~ "The Lazarus Project" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 My main request is that any new Keyboard forum preserve the user experience we have here with discussion threads which (often) have useful subject names. I saw one of my other favorite forums migrate to a Facebook group, which lacks the ability to quickly search by thread title, lacks the ability to direct meaningful input from multiple contributors into a single thread, and lacks the ability to let us later find the valuable info in these threads. That Facebook group is not meaningful today. I have seen the same problem with using the "Slack" tool for technical conversations at work - while it has "threads", those "threads" don't have subject titles, and it is extremely difficult to find a valuable conversation that is more than a few weeks old. The "discussion thread" structure of this forum enables the input by many to make this a wonderful forum. So I am for any technology upgrade as long as it allows us to preserve the experience we have today. Everything else is gravy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 It seems pretty clear that no matter what happens that everything should be done to preserve this format as much as possible - a sentiment with which I agree heartily, of course. I also quite like the idea of having a different level for those who want it. Seems to me it should be doable to have both with enough separation that the original forum retains the vibe we love. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 It seems pretty clear that no matter what happens that everything should be done to preserve this format as much as possible - a sentiment with which I agree heartily, of course. I also quite like the idea of having a different level for those who want it. Seems to me it should be doable to have both with enough separation that the original forum retains the vibe we love. dB Adding... if focusing on the consumer (v. paying advertisers) and keeping the site as much as possible "as is" is one of the goals, but recognizing that some sort of monetization is also necessary and desired, then you will have choices on how to accomplish that. Paywalls is one, and maybe a great choice to accomplish the "close to as-is goal". But that might also greatly reduce the member population. If advertising is another option, highly recommend to avoid brand ads (the kind of ads that are desirable from a profit standpoint - they are lucrative), but they are really disruptive (the popups and other similar ads) that take over the screen and negatively impact the user experience. Perhaps you're already in progress, but you might want to select a few esteemed members to participate in the evaluation and testing of any of the options, that might help you arrive at a better decision. Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Ability to ignore users Likes Better Search Expanded user profile: Band, Web site, Facebook, Twitter, Homepage, Blog, etc... Friend flag. I don't know if this is available, but it would be nice to mark people as friends, giving them access to more of my profile so they can track me down on Facebook or other places if they wish. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Ability to ignore users indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 All really good suggestions. Way cool to have all this feedback - very helpful. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 What about something like a wiki? A place to save reference information - of course things would need to be verified and it would have to be managed by somebody or a group - not something that anybody can just immediately post something to. Some of this information exists in threads if you search for them and read through the whole thing. It could be for users looking for something like "what is the current crop of keyboards available that use the Fatar TP100L action?" Or what's the current crop of keyboards with aftertouch? Might be difficult to manage, but it would be great to have a place to go for that kind of information. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I like this JDan, maybe different styles or versions of this could be considered. A searchable, query & user-friendly database of all the great gear, old and new. Include ratings in the database. Maybe populated and maintained by the community. And charge the manufacturers for that data, there's a potentially valuable source of revenue? Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveCoscia Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 This forum is nice just the way it is. It's informative, organized and absent the nuisance internet ads. Steve Coscia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Lobo Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 As a composer, I spend roughly as much time at VI-Control as I do here. Their software has a number of features I would welcome here: When I click on a thread I visited before, I'm taken directly to the posts that I had yet to read. All of those posts are marked as "new." I very much like the Sax On The Web forum. Related to Geoff's comment above, when I visit the SOTW forum, I can set it so the opening window shows me only threads that I have posted in before or subscribed to, and only if there are new posts. This is extremely handy in keeping track of topics I'm interested in and following a discussion. I can click on another tab to see all threads with new posts, as on KC. I'd love to refresh my KC window and quickly see threads that I've posted in if there are new posts in them. It really helps foster a sense of a conversation in a community, the proverbial having a pint with punters at the pub. And also be able to upload my own avatar image without it having to be something posted on a web site somewhere. That's incredibly limiting. I'm on many forums (fora) and none of them have that limitation. The wind controller forum requires an avatar image that you upload. These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Speaking for myself, possibly for no one else: please don't migrate to facebook. I do not do "modern" social media, and although that means I miss out on some good stuff, I'm also spared a hell of a lot of bad stuff. If necessary to monetize (which would be understandable), a no-ads paywall would be great, in contrast to Hated Popups. As I mentioned earlier, $6 Aus per year seems to be a nice price point. -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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