"Other" Category: Welcome to the Off-Topic Zone!

NeuM

@pedro said:
It’s the bickering that ruins the forum. Oh wait, I’m doing it too.

Let the bickering begin! 🙃

rs2000

@Michael said:

@gusgranite said:
I know it’s not a vote but I vote for not hiding the Other category and just showing all new threads. If some idiot starts spouting far right nonsense (this has been the most common reason for getting banned from what I have seen) then you’re still going to have to moderate them regardless of where on the forum they do it. Don’t be racist, don’t be a misogynist, don’t threaten other members, etc etc. I think you’re still going to have to step in.

I'm open to that if we can find the sweet spot. This is a first step in that direction. But I don't want to dive into the deep end immediately; we need to see if the community has the self-regulation for this first step to work, before we go further. I understand the impatience, but online life has changed in the last years, and my sense is that a little more care is called for. Maybe that's over-caution, but better over than under.

I'm convinced that we've been invitingly close to that sweet spot already.
Sure there were some disagreements and annoyances here and there, but that's life and in most cases, both our forum members and moderators managed to handle them in a very decent way.
I don't think that new, separated categories will prevent off-topic posts from popping up on the main forum.

NoiseHorse

The bickering category. It’s like the biker bar on the city limits.

Michael

@NoiseHorse said:
The bickering category. It’s like the biker bar on the city limits.

😆 Maybe we should call it “Bickering”! I love it!

wim

The (Gloves Are) Off-Topic Zone

NeuM

@Michael said:

@NoiseHorse said:
The bickering category. It’s like the biker bar on the city limits.

😆 Maybe we should call it “Bickering”! I love it!

LOL. I like it too.

"Are yooooooooou ready to Bicker?!?"

pedro

I like and appreciate the work done here. But I need help going to the category, best I know is coming here and pressing the link
Can we get a simple dropdown menu from the main page, you know the “new/following” sort-by button? Don’t know how troublesome it would be, just my wishlist

wim

On a wide screen the categories are listed down the right side of the page. On a narrow screen there's a hamburger menu with a categories link. Other is in both lists. I'm not sure I understand how the categories would be displayed differently.

if it helps, you can also bookmark the URL once you're on the page.

ExAsperis99

@Fruitbat1919 said:

@Michael said:

@gusgranite said:
I know it’s not a vote but I vote for not hiding the Other category and just showing all new threads. If some idiot starts spouting far right nonsense (this has been the most common reason for getting banned from what I have seen) then you’re still going to have to moderate them regardless of where on the forum they do it. Don’t be racist, don’t be a misogynist, don’t threaten other members, etc etc. I think you’re still going to have to step in.

I'm open to that if we can find the sweet spot. This is a first step in that direction. But I don't want to dive into the deep end immediately; we need to see if the community has the self-regulation for this first step to work, before we go further. I understand the impatience, but online life has changed in the last years, and my sense is that a little more care is called for. Maybe that's over-caution, but better over than under.

I’m writing this for information purposes for Micheal not to engage in what would likely become a row. I will not answer anybody commenting to this, as by making this comment, I will be thought of as ‘far right’ and or someone that needs to be brow beaten until I no longer dissent. Discussion on a personal level regarding this topic is not worth my time, as it will just be used as a vehicle to create drama and division.

Stating ‘far right’ is part of the problem. It is a term used in many countries to label people that do not conform to a certain way of thinking.

Just before I left here a few years back, I spoke to some people that felt really sad they were leaving here, but they felt their voices were being drowned out if they ever disagreed with the generally accepted narrative here. The majority of let us just say ‘more vocal’ people here are definitely in favour of certain political leanings. ‘Pile ons’ were quite common back then. The music was really the only strong bond that kept the community together - it was a great community because of the sheer diversity of people, but those louder than most of a certain political persuasion were not happy with dissenting opinions.

Now it is pretty much an echo chamber vocally for the most part here. Terms like ‘far right’ are used as signals to anyone even daring to challenge the accepted norm. While the diversity still exists, the vocal segment are pretty much those that will argue and not discuss when anyone presents with an opinion too far from the dominant group accepted norm. This does not stop arguments or bust ups as it only takes one dissenter to rile a mob and infighting in dominant groups is common.

This seems all negative and some things have definitely changed from my perspective since I returned. I have noticed a lot of the people I used to chat with are gone or at least silent and when I tried to run one of the making sounds for an app threads, it’s uptake was nothing like the popularity it used to have. However, group activities such as musical challenges and the wonderful SOTMC remain. There is some wonderful music being posted and people are generally helpful for the most part. Some seem intent on arguments and some seem unable to post their comments to a thread question, preferring to aggressively argue with individual opinions instead, but their are still some wonderful people and positive things happening here.

The difficulty in enjoying this place comes from the enjoyable threads being swamped by the ‘drama’ threads. The threads that mention subjects like ‘Trump Guitars’ are obviously done to rile up division, as I doubt anyone here is stupid enough to not know that such a thread will start an argument at some point. It becomes obvious that some people love the ‘drama’ threads. I think they see them as a way to gain instant gratification from agreement from their peers and a way to find any dissent from their agreed narrative. This is obviously quite common on the internet.

The difference with this forum and what actually found us all some common ground, is our love for music and music making, that’s why I find it incredulous that the loudest voices are determined that we know that they are bored by music threads and want their ‘drama’ threads front and center. Not even a compromise of hiding the ‘drama’ threads from the main page is acceptable for them, they see it as a win for them pesky ‘far right’ bigots that just need putting in a field and having their thinking ‘readjusted’. I’m not even affiliated with right or left, as it’s pretty stupid division if you ask me, but many of the ‘other’ threads are simply activism in poor disguises.

My hope is that by moving the ‘other’ material to a separate section, it will give the forum music threads room to breath and that many of the silent majority will start engaging with them again. Maybe we can breath new life into the forum and we can all make more music and share material and ideas without the need for partisan ideals or attacking individuals, just open and honest dialogue about the one thing we all actually love here - the music!

The "silent majority" certainly sounds ominous. Never pegged you for a Nixonian!

wim

I keep checking the other category to see if there's anything juicy here. It's a bit disappointing that it's so quiet. 😂

Oh well, at least it's here if anyone does want to post something unique or interesting to them, to get attention, to seek a row, or to advance a cause. Sure, they won't get as many eyes as when it was in the main feed, but they will get a more suitable audience - those interested in off-topic discussion, and they won't have to feel like they're on such thin ice as long as they're reasonably respectful of others.

rs2000

@wim said:
I keep checking the other category to see if there's anything juicy here. It's a bit disappointing that it's so quiet. 😂

Oh well, at least it's here if anyone does want to post something unique or interesting to them, to get attention, to seek a row, or to advance a cause. Sure, they won't get as many eyes as when it was in the main feed, but they will get a more suitable audience - those interested in off-topic discussion, and they won't have to feel like they're on such thin ice as long as they're reasonably respectful of others.

I expected this to happen, not the least because off-topic subjects often come up during a discussion and it's hard to foresee if it's going to be worth to open a new off-topic subject.

gusgranite

Question for the Mods - I thought Other was where threads could be moved to for more free flowing discussion with less moderation (within a threshold of acceptability for a public forum). Why was the 'Nobody cares if you use AI' thread shut down in that case rather than moved to Other? It seems like it was an interesting discussion.

I know moderating can be a thankless task but I would like to see this forum continue to thrive so a space to discuss this is appreciated.

NeuM

Speaking of "Other"...

RIP to artist, musician, craftsman, filmmaker David Lynch.

yellow_eyez

@NeuM said:
Speaking of "Other"...

RIP to artist, musician, craftsman, filmmaker David Lynch.

Good call on a big loss

I can’t think of too many other artists with his level of talent, particularly for film making