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Condensed forum = more concentrated discussion?


ChainsawAkimbo

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One thing that i noticed right away here was the huge amount of different categories in the forum, especially when there seems to be a lack of participation it makes a lot of it feel like a complete ghost town. Maybe the solution could be more condensed forum, with more focused activity. I don´t want to sound like i join and i want to turn the place upside down right away, it´s just something that came to mind as a possible solution to make this place feel bit more lively. :) 

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We've had a reconstruction planned for a while, but it's up to the admin to make it happen. The main reason we've kept so many old threads is to preserve those conversations - the forum has completely turned over since its inception, but some new users might be interested in digging around. I would tend to agree with you, and as I've said elsewhere recently, the promo sections could also do with a bit more organization. We do typically have a fair amount of activity and discussion amongst regulars in the "Forum Games" section, mostly album recommendations, the occasional piss take, and general chat about life. That's what it comes down to for me - a sense of community. I consider most of the regulars here to be personal friends. 

I am planning on doing some pruning soon, hopefully things will flow a little better as a result.

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2 hours ago, Requiem said:

I just minimise a few of the sections that don't really interest me. That helps to display only those that I'm interested in. 

Sure it´s easy to do, but the thing is the discussion and activity is spread out all around the forum. I mean.. theres own category for bloody quotes! This structure might work if there was huge amount of people contributing and keeping up the activity. Here are some examples of what i mean:

-The whole "Metal instruments" with all of the categories could be simply just one category called "Musicians" or something like that. Both recruitments could easily just be a sticky topic and would fit under this one category too.

-Everything in "Misc and general" could also be under one category, such as "General discussion" with maybe couple subcategories for promotions and album reviews. Off topic too. 

-"Bands heavy metal" is also pointless.. both categories could easily just be a topic somewhere. If theres a need to give more exposure for promoting a band it could be a subcategory in "Musicians" or "General discussion".

-"Artist and band forums" should just disappear, there simply is not a band huge enough to carry its own forum section.

-Genre specific categories could easily be condensed a bit too.. You can put a lot of stuff under "Heavy metal" (power, Thrash, british, battle, groove). Djent certainly does not have to be its own category. I´m sure even more adjustments could be made.

These are just things that come to mind as a first quick glance. :D 

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Yep, I agree with you on every call there except the Genre Specific forums, simply because I'm personally a genre fiend and love talking about things separately. Granted there isn't a lot happening in the 'Battle Metal' forum, and that could obviously be condensed into the Folk Metal forum, but I really like the idea of having them. 

Look at Gothic Metal. That would be one of the first to go that'd be sad hahaha. 

Good calls though. I'm new too, but I definitely think you're onto something. 

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Believe it or not, we'd recommended some very similar changes about a year and a half (??) ago when we switched to this new platform. Several of us put some thought into it and offered suggestions to the admin. And yes, sorry Requiem, the genre-specific sections might go on the chopping block in favor of larger overall categories; they might become subsections. Regardless, we're not planning to get rid of active content. Except the "Gothic Metal" section. ;) At this point, we'd certainly welcome more suggestions, but I'd also encourage you to "love the one you're with" here.

 

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I have a long history of being a community admin so things like that kinda just catch my eye even if i´m not really looking for them. :) 

I personally have no problem with the current format, just observing how it might look to someone with less patience and someone looking for something bit more lively feeling. I´m happy as long as i get the damn login problem sorted eventually. :D 

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2 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I've messaged the admin, so bear with us and hopefully we'll get it sorted out quickly.

If i wasn´t this bloody lazy i could have tried the facebook thing, maybe that alone sorts it out. :) 

EDIT:Ok linked my FB i will report if it sorts out the issue.

EDIT2:Issue is still there but at least i can now login with FB without password reset.

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Oh yeah, i´ve been a part of couple groups that had really interesting discussion at first but more the people came in more it ended up as a place for memes and motivational quotes. I have absolutely no expectations of anything on FB. Was just curious why people like it there but don´t actually join the forum. :D 

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4 minutes ago, GrayscaleDawn said:

Oh yeah, i´ve been a part of couple groups that had really interesting discussion at first but more the people came in more it ended up as a place for memes and motivational quotes. I have absolutely no expectations of anything on FB. Was just curious why people like it there but don´t actually join the forum. :D 

Because that is the world we live in.  Things are far too accessible on FaceBook and you can click "like" without ever even clicking onto the actual forum home page.  We are all saturated by the availability of things out there on FaceBook and as such their value is constantly being demeaned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love a good meme though.

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Yeah i´ve been talking about it for ages, how facebook and such devalues things that would deserve much more thought and respect. Some of the most amazing quotes in the world ie. are merely random entertainment to most folks.. I actually did a new FB profile just few days ago, because the feed was intolerable. My aim is to click like only on things that i have a true long term interest into.

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I deactivated my FB account a few months ago. My mind is still getting back to normal. I'm just not cut out for dealing with the torrent of mental diarrhea. The worst part is how quickly you can get trained to expect that much stimulation. It could definitely stand to be busier here, but I'm all for quality over quantity.

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I approach the forum strictly by the #unread content# button at this point. The sticky threads of recommendations are useful for sure, but when the anthropologists show up I think we will be glad for the huge archive the forum is dragging around. What I want from the forum besides the social aspect is something that motivates me to make art and help me appreciate it. Plus I plan to get famous, and I just know its right around the corner. Seriously though it's not the place to learn about technical stuff, I'm referring to gear and instruments here. Alabaster seems to know a fair amount about technical stuff and the occasional guitar nerd spends two or three days here seeming impressive on the subject, but I bet there are better places to go looking for that information. The Encyclopedia Metallum is where I would go if I wanted to read an album review. I've been turned on to loads of music here, and had fun. This is where I go to discuss alcohol and tobacco, but to discuss firearms I go elsewhere. Oh right I forgot about drugs and mass murder, we need to make more time for that... and Satan I guess, we never seem to talk about Satan anymore, which is fine; he is a bit of a douche-bag.

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4 hours ago, GrayscaleDawn said:

Yeah i´ve been talking about it for ages, how facebook and such devalues things that would deserve much more thought and respect. Some of the most amazing quotes in the world ie. are merely random entertainment to most folks.. I actually did a new FB profile just few days ago, because the feed was intolerable. My aim is to click like only on things that i have a true long term interest into.

On my desktop I have FaceBook Purity which solves the feed issue. Not aware if it is available for mobile?

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14 minutes ago, MacabreEternal said:

On my desktop I have FaceBook Purity which solves the feed issue. Not aware if it is available for mobile?

Never even heard of that, thanks for that need to check it out. I rarely browse facebook on my phone, i´m annoyed of the people who are constantly playing with their smartphones.

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I actually had to use the forum exclusively on my smartphone for years, until we moved recently and got reliable home internet again. Nothing beats a desktop, but I've been impressed with how capable a smartphone can be. The mobile version of the site is good, too. Tapatalk unfortunately jumped the shark a couple years ago, for my money anyway.

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Facebook is the worst thing ever, and I deactivated my account about two years ago. And do you know I felt I ended up missing? Not a goddamn thing. It really is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with modern society. 

And oi, don't go messing with the glorious Gothic Metal forum you cheeky blighters or I'll nut ya! 

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4 hours ago, Requiem said:

Facebook is the worst thing ever, and I deactivated my account about two years ago. And do you know I felt I ended up missing? Not a goddamn thing. It really is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with modern society. 

And oi, don't go messing with the glorious Gothic Metal forum you cheeky blighters or I'll nut ya! 

I feel it could merge nicely with the "non-metal" section we have planned. :D

To be fair, despite its many drawbacks, Facebook was great for band promotion and music and art contacts. I've met some great people through there, and gotten some pretty cool illustration jobs. It's fair to say a lot of the cooler opportunities I've had over the past few years would not have presented themselves if not for FB. And I'll have to jump back on there once my new recording is complete, nobody else is going to do that for me. I don't relish the thought. 

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19 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I feel it could merge nicely with the "non-metal" section we have planned. :D

To be fair, despite its many drawbacks, Facebook was great for band promotion and music and art contacts. I've met some great people through there, and gotten some pretty cool illustration jobs. It's fair to say a lot of the cooler opportunities I've had over the past few years would not have presented themselves if not for FB. And I'll have to jump back on there once my new recording is complete, nobody else is going to do that for me. I don't relish the thought. 

I guess so. 

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  • 6 months later...

I'm a newb to the MF, but I'm gonna offer my two cents (pence). Get rid of Djent or put it under progressive metal. Get rid of Battle metal and ban all stoopid genres like that one (conflict is at the heart of all metal IMO). Either add alternative metal or change the name on the nu-metal to alt/nu-. Where are sludge and drone?

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