Friends When I first tuned into these pages the subject was music and the arts and now its turning into silly putty. What were we talking about. DOD
D.O.D. - leave it to you to hit the nail on the head.
Some of it is still music, politics, and humor... but it does seem to have degenerated in some ways into just another board for bored people to post thoughts of the day and the like. There are a ton of boards like that and I suspect the people posting such things here belong to other more appropriate boards they could post those things to, and receive a more positive response.
The people doing such posting are warm and lovely human beings, who came here because they have a curiosity about anything to do with Viggo. Unfortunately that curiosity does not seem to extend to exploring this site enough to see what the actual thrust of it is.
The rest of us are generally just going along or being too polite to say much about it - certainly Travis has never been one to come down on people for what they post here so long as it isn\'t an attack on someone and the rest of us have been quick to defend each other from that as well.
Travis has said any subject is welcome - but it does seem that lately some of the subjects aren\'t really subjects at all - just someone reaching out to hear someone respond.
[glb]General Discussion
Post about any artist or in fact anything![/glb]
Actually the subject is music and per Travis posting on his board, he invites discussion of those things other than music as well.
Life is choice and if you do not wish to read a thread that clues you in as to it\'s content in the "subject line", you may scroll on.
However to judge others who post here because they are encouraged to, and because they believe their
sharing will engage a discourse with people whom they credit with the intelligence of making a choice to participate in a conversation or not, and seemingly speak for others in posting that judgment, is arrogance and consequently anything but polite.
As for the Viggo comment and indicting people who attend this site due to that curiosity; perhaps you would benefit from conducting a google search , or perhaps Ask Jeeves, etc... for , "Viggo Mortensen Message Boards".
Believe me, if someone were to attend a site for, "anything Viggo", it would be
any site but this one! As is clearly denoted in the posts on page one of the General Message Board and the many and varied subjects that are addressed by
many members. From newbies to "God" themselves.
Travis has set the parameters for the discourse of this
general message board, and that is what people read and consider when/if, they choose to share. We share generally because
that is the thrust of this board. Your free to post about music, politics, etc... and that\'s what people have done.
Quote(sic) but it does seem to have degenerated in some ways into just another board for bored people to post thoughts of the day and the like.
I just love it when people apply innuendo and then use terms like, "The rest of us are generally just going along or being too polite to say much about it ".
Clearly it took but one new post to cause you to say much about it gkg.
Quote(sic) "I suspect the people posting such things here belong to other more appropriate boards they could post those things to, and receive a more positive response. "
More appropriate? And receive a more positive response? I really don\'t think you see the irony in that statement .
However I\'m sure you\'ll continue to be surprised because there are people on this board who will post about "anything they like", as Travis invited them to do.
If you can\'t find a way to positively respond, don\'t call us bored for daring to share. You don\'t speak for everyone darlin. It\'s a message board, and that speaks for itself.
[/color]
I am very sorry if I hurt your feelings but that is how I see it. I personally would have to be very bored indeed before I thought posting a potty joke on this board appropriate.
Encouraging free range of discussion on any topic does not read to me as the same thing as endless shouts out to friends and dissertations on the meaning of thanks.
You are an incredibly bright and insightful woman, Ocean, and you give great thought and care to the things you post on politics and music and all sorts of things. I am just not sure why you post some of the stuff you do.
If I\'m seen as being harsh and negative, so be it. Maybe I am. Maybe I get tired of people playing the political correctness game rather than just being people. I\'m not gonna sugar coat my opinion - I never have before and I see no gain to such a thing.
I can love and appreciate people for their beauty and still acknowledge that some things piss me off.
Our dearest D.O.D, I agree that things can get a little silly in here some times and a lot of the music and art gets lost in the conversation. Travis has created such a fantastic environment that we have gotten so comfy with one another that it seems anything goes. From Ocean and Bella on the east coast, myself , gkg, and Chris on the west coast it makes for some exciting topics as to what is going on, on either side and everywhere and with everyone else in between. Then there of course are those like m4sure across the seas and oldfolkie watching down on us from the north. It is not everyday that you are able to connect with such interesting individuals, at least not me anyway. The honest truth is I do not belong to any other forums and do not spend time exploring other ones on the internet. So I am guilty of enjoying the learning experience this forum has given me on all the many different topics.
TDRS forum has an open door, anything goes policy, that is clearly stated, and I have certainly taken advantage of that in the things that I have posted, mostly unrelated to the arts and some things quite silly really, we are all guilty of that, but it is true that there is a time and a place for certain things. My love for singing and music brought me here so I do believe that we need to remember, that I need to remember that. Thanks to musicians like Travis and Chris Moss and artists like gkg and you D.O.D, when we do steer away from the main focus of the TDRS forum we have you to remind us and keep us on the music and art course. I don\'t agree that it means we can\'t discuss other topics, I don\'t know about anyone else but I have learned so much here, that is why I am here and stay here, is to learn, so teach me, but I do agree that the impertinent material does not belong here.
i have enjoyed everyone i\'ve come in contact with on the board - very much including Machete, with whom i have spared pretty directly on politics - it\'s that chemistry that keeps the board interesting.
there are just some meaningless anesthetic posts that i could do without. not the people - just certain posts.
i am sure that my approach is too blunt for some, but as i said, i don\'t see a gain in being someone i\'m not, even in something as anonymous as a board posting. what you see, virtually or literally, is what you get - smart mouth, paint smears and all.
:-* to all.
O.K. I guess since we are now on the subject this is a good time to talk about something I have been thinking for a while. I have left this board with one category only for the reason that for the years this forum has been live prior to last March when I changed it, it operated well in that most of the people that came here discussed topics that were closely related to my studio and its activities. When I switched to this format I left it that way because I wanted people who were interested in one artist to be exposed to the goings on of other artists in the same way they do here at my studio. I never felt I had to define what was open for discussion, I just figured since my web site is the home on my production house for independent music people would generally discuss subjects related to that. And for years they did jut that. First I want to say any short comings of this board are in no way the fault of the posters, they are welcome to post here on any subject as i state on the forum heading. The fault lies in my managing of the board and it may be time for a few changes. I too have noticed the character of the board change. I have participated less here recently because and again it\'s not the posters fault but the content is frequently not on the subjects I\'m interested in, music, studio and the technical aspects of music, artists and their efforts. I also have noticed many of my favorite posters and friends on this board for years have stopped posting as well. I miss them but I understand that it can be frustrating to go over subject heading after subject heading and not see any posts related to your interests. Of coarse this all this is pretty silly, this is just a bulletin board and not a particularly important one at that but I think with a few tweaks I can make it a more useful place for more people. My first instinct is to create some sub-categories and keep the general discussion as just that. I\'ll mull this over for a bit. Any suggestions are welcome particularly any of the old school readers of this board have any ideas, I welcome your input. As I said this is not a very important place, in the past when there wasn\'t any thing important to say nothing was posted for days on end and I was fine with that, I\'m also fine posting something that\'s really not very important but I will strive to make this a useful and entertaining place to visit.
I get it, Toneing down some stuff, Will be more helpful to others, Less Nosey and weird Sorry D.O.D but my music tasts range from Abba to Rob Zombie and anything and everything inbetween, including Travis Dickerson after Miles Davis and before the Doors. Ditto with Art I manly Dig Botticelli,Dali, Giger, Warhol and others that I\'ve Known localy, some of them are , were desprately crazy or just plain nuts, so I guess some of that rubbed off on me, So it should be Art and Music. I as an Artist/Musician stand for the change.
Chris
Not really changing what you post just where you post it. I was thinking in addition to a "general discussion" category I add a "music, artist and studio related" category and maybe "Politics", that sort of thing, just to organize it for people who aren\'t interested in some of the lighter stuff that gets posted.
That sounds great Travis. Catogorize everything. Being the prefessional organizer, as I am sometimes called,
I would appriciate that.
I do have to say one thing though and I hate to be the one to say it but, you are wrong. This a very important place. :)
you know - i fought correcting Travis on that one - and it was a hard struggle... but we already have one long standing disagreement, something to do with lighting, so i didn\'t want to contradict him on this as well.
personally, organization has its place, but i totally understand Travis\' reluctance to partition things off. it limits people\'s exposure to each other, and that\'s a tough call to make.
That is a tough call :-/
I need a new hobby, maybe watching haircuts downtown Saturday evenings. D.O.D
hey now, DOD, why the sad note? Travis said himself he\'s been thinking about this topic... i think you just aired something that needed to be said. i for one love having your input on everything from music and art to politics and what not.
not sure about watching haircuts though. i cut my hair too often, i\'m told, and that way temptation lies.
QuoteI need a new hobby, maybe watching haircuts downtown Saturday evenings. D.O.D
hahaha that\'s wry!!! i catch your drift d.o.d.
good luck travis but this mb has morphed beyond categories :\'(
i hope you prove me wrong
QuoteI just figured since my web site is the home on my production house for independent music people would generally discuss subjects related to that. And for years they did jut that.
yes, it was really excellent that way. there\'s a lot of folks who really miss that a lot.
QuoteI also have noticed many of my favorite posters and friends on this board for years have stopped posting as well. I miss them but I understand that it can be frustrating to go over subject heading after subject heading and not see any posts related to your interests.
Travis, many Buckethead fans not only stopped posting here, they stopped reading as well. it\'s not that we don\'t still love you bunches, it\'s that your board used to be a place many of us counted on for updates on your current work and music related news that was important to us. after it turned into the personal blog/teen diary/wordsalad zone of just a handful of people, we elected someone for the duty of slogging through each and every post in the pursuit of actual news. we\'ve just been taking turns at that grueling job ever since so that we wouldn\'t all have to read through so much nonsense. you\'ve always done an excellent job, and some of us are real sorry about how your nice board has been abused.
~ the great smileyface-cutesy .gif plague of \'O4 ~
o that\'s right, i do have one constructive suggestion:
please travis ditch those user categories tied to number of posts
they are evil and have an evil ego influence and add nothing of value imo
thanks
QuoteI need a new hobby, maybe watching haircuts downtown Saturday evenings. D.O.D
Thats real nail biting and intence stuff especialy at Super Cuts Whoohh those guys (localy) almost cut my ear off, D.O.D try people watching it has a lot less stress involved, but learn to look away when looked at. This gets messy sometimes.
Travis also thing about a sub catogory for Viggo and Bucket.. er Bucket and Viggo, Sounds good.
Chris
Thanks to all of you for your input. It\'s good to know my old friends are still around but telling you have chosen to email or PM your suggestions, thank you caper and zuzu (zuzu, I can always count on you to cut to the chase) for actually posting your input here, and everyone else who have contacted me it\'s heartening to know it matters enough to you to do that. Your input is very valuable and will help me to make the changes here that are needed.
Please feel free to chime in if you have ideas you think would help. Most of my time is spent in the studio making music. I\'m currently working on several projects with Buckethead, a new Lysa Flores CD, a Paul iLL solo record and working with Vince DiCloa and Doane Perry on a couple of projects. My focus here is on the music I and the artists I work with make. I would like to keep that the focus of this board as well.
Quotezuzu, I can always count on you to cut to the chase
no problem. I don\'t have time to waste either.
QuoteMost of my time is spent in the studio making music.
here\'s hoping you get to go back to doing more of that, and less of this. thanks for everything.
Just putting in my 2 cents (in foreign coin) on this, Travis.
I\'m a fairly new intro to your board, although I did visit your site before this new format and I think posted a couple of times. Who knows under what name; I certainly don\'t remember. Been around off & on for a couple of years though. I\'m a musician of sorts myself, although not recorded on any official label, just on some home-grown CDs of group efforts. So much for me ::)
I think your idea of splitting categories is good. We still have the choice of reading them all. And I do come here mainly for the musical discussion, but sometimes I get drawn into the political, the personal, or the silly. There\'s a place for all of those, but I\'d love to see the music headlining this board as it used to. I had to hunt through every single thread before concluding that there wasn\'t one on Vince DiCola, or Lindy Dickerson either, and start them myself. They were both soon buried deep in the back pages. (That\'s not a criticism, but it could be a justification for an all-music category, or even a thread for each artist you list or something like that.)
I\'m a regular participant, hell, I\'m co-owner of another board. It\'s totally irrelevant to this board which one it is. :-*
I come here to talk about music. Travis, regardless WHY I originally came here, the CDs you have produced by so many different artists have opened my eyes to a new range of musicians and forms. I\'ve acquired many of them, and wandered off to other indie labels too, in search of more by these and other artists. It\'s added a whole new dimension to my appreciation of music!
THANK YOU!!!
Whatever you choose to do with YOUR BOARD, Travis, will be AOK with me. ;)
Oldfolkie- Beautifully stated! Older than you D.O.D
Hello Everyone,
I have been insanely busy in the studio for the last few days but last night I had chance to reflect on the situation here at the forum and more broadly with respect to what we are all about here at this site. In addition to the few posts here, I have had many contacts by long time visitors and newer members of this site. I took time to go over the history of this board, reading posts both since it was first set up and after I changed the format in March and taking in what people are telling me.
First off here\'s my thinking about this site. It was started as the site of a production house for independent music and artists as a way of spreading the word about music you will have a hard time finding in record stores and have a place for those artist to make their records available to those interested, and as a place where you can interact with the people that make that music. This is not a fan site for any one artist, if it became that it would defeat the whole idea about raising the consciousness of those interested in finding out of the mainstream music. This goes for Viggo, Buckethead and Vince, or anyone else who is represented here. Nor do I want this to be a water cooler or over the fence meeting place for a few people because it again defeats the reason for it being. I don\'t mind if some of that goes on but we must be mindful somewhat of why we are here. I think it would be good for members to check the members list and see how many posts you have made in relation to the average and ask when you post, is what I\'m posting really adding to the cause I\'ve outlined above. Sometimes it\'s good to let the place breath if there is nothing important to say. Again none of this is the fault of any posters because I had not made any of this clear before.
One thing I noticed was that this place ebbs and flows depending on who has a new record out. When there is something to talk about the conversations gets interesting. The other big event of coarse was the Lord Of The Rings. I have worked with Viggo for the last decade. We have done seven records together. Before LOTR the traffic here was around 6 thousand hit\'s a month, after TLOR it went to 60 thousand, with peaks higher then that. That\'s a big ebb, but I expect there will be a flow to follow and the faces will change a bit around here with the next record that comes out. I would hope there could be a bit more tolerance of the mix of people who participate here. The idea that there is a Buckethead collective of fans that who only two months ago were volunteering to donate money to the cause of independent artist has now decided to boycott my site because of a few animated gifs is disappointing to me and I hope not true because if thats that\'s case I might as well pull the plug on this forum and perhaps the whole enterprise because that means this whole idea isn\'t tenable.
Forums are just a meeting place for people and the interaction of those people is what makes them interesting. I know of no forum thats not 90 percent humdrum punctuated with moments of real interest and drama. It\'s just like life, it is life, all it needs is a little focus.
I am going to proceed with my notion that there is really not much wrong around here a little direction can\'t fix. Over the next week I will add some categories and define some parameters and lets see what happens.