Dave Bryce Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 please don't migrate to facebook. No worries - that's not an option. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 please don't migrate to facebook. No worries - that's not an option. Best, Geoff My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 I think the people who ARE on Facebook want that even less than you, Tom. There's already a forum group on there, and it's not at all able to replace this. Not in the slightest. Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 please don't migrate to facebook. No worries - that's not an option. I see what you did there. There are a lot of great ideas here, including Dan's suggestion of a Wiki. That could be a really useful feature of a site, and if it could be set up so that contributing members could edit but not any random punter, I think that would work. Overall, I have full confidence that dB will make something excellent happen for us. I'm willing to help in any way I can. I'm also sure that if there are any ads, they will be selected and from things we might care about (music related stuff) and not random B.S. nor all over the pages making a mess, screwing up the way the page loads etc. My guess is that it would be a similar model to the way sponsorships on Daring Fireball work, adjusted for our situation, of course. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 I would think twice before adding too many subforums, too... it could become confusing. Perhaps a way to do this, would be to add a 'subcategory' dropdown or checkbox that appears when creating a new post (i.e. gear review, songwriting, keybed, aftertouch, etc etc). This would create a type of user-managed indexing. So any future searching could refer richer and more relevant results, you get the same benefit of Sub-forums, but without having to clutter the look and layout? This means more steps for anyone who is posting (I guess it could be optional), but it might help to organize the data without adding clutter and noise to the look and feel of the site? 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...
Polychrest Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Enshrine the verb to svengle somewhere in code. "I like rock and roll, man, I don't like much else." John Lennon 1970 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Everything has pretty much been covered, but I'll re-iterate: 1) Better software that is mobile compatible 2) Working search function 3) Easy sharing via social media 4) Classifieds 5) I like the idea of users being able to sell music 6) I like the reviews / lessons idea too... perhaps it could be like bandcamp where you can get the content for free but there's a donation button there, to support the author. For example, if Fortner posts a killer review, we can throw him a few bucks for his efforts. Likewise with a lesson. I have no problem making some videos on organ techniques and such but a little donation to the kids' shoe fund would help! Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutefiasco Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 I'm sure it will be fine, but all of these feature requests are getting pretty fancy - the reviews/categories/keyword integration sounds a bit like Gearslutz. Glancing over there, they use a company called PortForward for what must be a custom installation of vBulletin or XenForo or similar, both of which are _commercial_ products (though, I've no idea if they have a free tier or similar). VI-Control, which a few of you mentioned, is running XenForo. I'm a long time lurker, and I feel like part of the community here, despite rarely participating. That, in itself, is a remarkable testament to what you've built here. The software is entirely secondary to keeping the people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 I'm sure it will be fine, but all of these feature requests are getting pretty fancy - the reviews/categories/keyword integration sounds a bit like Gearslutz. No worries - there's already a Gearslutz. Nothing wrong with anybody making suggestions - it's interesting to check out all the perspectives/expectations/suggestions; plus, there are people who hang here who are way smarter/more in touch with the state of the art than I... As some of you probably know, I do some marketing stuff here and there. Here's me, collecting data in order to try and make as informed a series of choices as possible. I'm a long time lurker, and I feel like part of the community here, despite rarely participating. Good...and who says that those who lurk don't participate? The software is entirely secondary to keeping the people. Absolutely agreed. Goal #1 is to preserve the community. Goal #2 - see Goal #1. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garubi Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 The one and more important think is a "responsive" layout/graphical theme that is easy to be read and use from tablets and mobile phones. Stefano My band: www.tupamaros.it Our music: https://tupamaros-it.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/artist/7GP4CEx224ccPgW6paHQwQ https://music.apple.com/it/artist/tupamaros/1468527891 Galanti Accordion + Voicelive Play | Roland FA-07 | GSI Gemini Rack | MIDI Drawbars controller (custom made) | IK Multimedia UNO Synth Pro | Roland VR-09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markay Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 I dont use social media and therefore no idea how their apps manage showing a complex range of topics on small screen such as phone. I never use my Samsung S7 phone to post because the virtual keyboard size makes it a PIA to use. But I read the forum on my phone in landscape mode using Firefox as my browser without any difficulty. In its current format the forum is fully accessible on my 10" Samsung Tablet and I post virtually everything here using the tablet and Firefox as my browser. So what exactly are the issues others have accessing the forum using a browser on phone or tablet? A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimkost2002 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Everything has pretty much been covered, but I'll re-iterate: 1) Better software that is mobile compatible 2) Working search function 3) Easy sharing via social media 4) Classifieds 5) I like the idea of users being able to sell music 6) I like the reviews / lessons idea too... perhaps it could be like bandcamp where you can get the content for free but there's a donation button there, to support the author. For example, if Fortner posts a killer review, we can throw him a few bucks for his efforts. Likewise with a lesson. I have no problem making some videos on organ techniques and such but a little donation to the kids' shoe fund would help! Jim, great ideas! "I have constantly tried to deliver only products which withstand the closest scrutiny � products which prove themselves superior in every respect.� Robert Bosch, 1919 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 The bones do already exist for a separate e-commerce element. The Garage Sale and Shameless Plugs sub-forums could conceivably be directed towards more of a marketplace type of environment, while the discussion/community side of things could pretty much be left as is with small changes and improvements basically being dependent on the capabilities of which platform we end up with and the feedback we're generating here. Of course, what the Music Radar/Future folks decide to do will have an effect as well. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Out of curiosity, I just looked at two fora (Band-in-a-Box and Piano World) that seem to be running more recent versions of this same forum software. Then, I went to the UBB site and their test forums to see what's up there. What I found is that it's mobile-friendly and looks like it handles large images elegantly. The search might not suck either. I know, I know. We don't want a repeat of Harmony Central. (I'm betting most of you also don't want the forum layout to look as messy as the ones I mentioned, with the columns of ads and "Who is online" and all that junk. Neither do I. I'm guessing that's a configuration thing.) But I think if we end up going to a new home, some of us can test the migration before we finalize it and bring the rest of us there if migrating the current forum is what we do. At the very least, I wanted to get an initial impression of the current version of this forum software. If "simply" upgrading the software gets us most of what we want without losing what we have, that could be an excellent option. ["Simply" is in quotes because I know these things are almost never simple. Sometimes you get lucky, though.] "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 However this plays out, is there a way to maintain independence from the manufacturers and dealers? Seems it would be healthy and wise to do so. 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 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 However this plays out, is there a way to maintain independence from the manufacturers and dealers? Seems it would be healthy and wise to do so. What does "independence" mean? This forum is not independent from manufacturers - several of us work for them. We just follow forum policy. Those of you requesting things like this - you are remembering that I'm the one who instituted the sell-free zone policy in the first place, right? It has always been the policy of this forum to welcome the contributions of the manufacturers as relates to their products, especially the ones who reguarly participate in the community. I actually consider that a feature of the forum. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Yeah, one thing that makes our forum special to me is that there is a reality check which comes because so many of our members are in the MI industry. For example if some manufacturer is building an analog polysynth with digital control, well we have members who have actually done that. If some manufacturer is doing a "real world" rhodes sampling session, we have members who have actually done that. That brings a depth of perspective. And it appropriately limits the fluff/fanboy nonsense when discussing gear. I think what we all want to avoid, is where conversations turn into advertisements. It seems to me that the policies are working pretty well. FWIW, I'd be willing to pay a subscription fee, if that is being considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 I respect and welcome the contributions of manufacturers. What I DON'T want to see is a repeat of Gearslutz. The bias of a certain unnamed manufacturer on the Electronic Music Instruments subforum is very evident there, as there are WAY too many advertisements for their gear disguised as "threads". You don't see that at other forums. The bias of the moderators is also very evident there and is one of the reasons I left GS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 No worries, Michael. Not gonna happen on my watch. 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 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 However this plays out, is there a way to maintain independence from the manufacturers and dealers? Seems it would be healthy and wise to do so. What does "independence" mean? This forum is not independent from manufacturers - several of us work for them. We just follow forum policy. Raising my hand, I had no idea that folks worked for the manufacturers. Attributing that to my lack of knowledge of the history of the forum, and more so that I really dont know anyone here! I went back and read the policies raising my hand again Id never actually read them! They are thoughtfully written and help explain a lot how this all works. My note about maintaining independence is really covered by the first policy regarding advertising, soliciting and spam, and it seems thats been really embedded into the culture of the community. 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 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 Raising my hand, I had no idea that folks worked for the manufacturers. Excellent. That's kind of the idea of some of the policies. Mike Martin works for Casio....but he's not here for that. He's here because he's a keyboard geek. If folks want to ask him a Casio quetion though, he's happy to help. Same with me and Crumar. I went back and read the policies raising my hand again Id never actually read them! They are thoughtfully written and help explain a lot how this all works. My note about maintaining independence is really covered by the first policy regarding advertising, soliciting and spam, and it seems thats been really embedded into the culture of the community. Yep. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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