Forums

[Marco]

You get out of forums what you put in and I thoroughly enjoy the sillier side of fora. If you want to avoid conflict you just don't comment.....Simples.

Indeed (on all counts). It never ceases to amuse/baffle me why folks have to moan so much about the existence of stuff they don't like.

The reality is that nothing in life will ever be tailor-made to your requirements, forums included, so you either cherry-pick the bits you like and concentrate on those, and IGNORE the rest - or don't bother reading the forums you dislike in the first place.

If you get your 'kicks' simply out of bitching about forums (or specific sections of forums), or people there you don't like, and spend an inordinate amount of time doing precisely that, you should realise that in doing so you're saying rather more about yourself, and who YOU are, than those you're bitching about

Marco.

[YNWaN]

You're a very good and valued contributor here, Mark, and I always enjoy reading your posts, but perhaps you should consider the above in future, and the whole 'community' aspect of forums, before dismissing stuff that disinterests you as "facile"?

Marco.

Well that's very kind of you to say, but for me I do find the more 'community' elements to be of little interest*, both the threads and the content (though I admit I don't read the vast majority of the content so my perception may not be correct). However, I quite realise this is my own personal view and not those necessarily shared by others - particularly long term regular posters; after all, there are only so many hi-fi related questions one can have . My point wasn't really to criticise the non hi-fi/audio content of forums (and certainly not this one in particular) but to point out that forum contribution often has little to do with the apparent subject of the forum and more about the 'club' element. Therefore, to look at forum life and relate it to music and hi-fi is to view these subjects through a very specific and distorted lens (which is pretty much what you said).

* I barely have time for the work/life balance I already have.

_______________

I'm not moaning about the forum stuff I don't like, I just ignore it - but in this case it seems related to the question the OP raises and for the reasons given above.

As for 'bake-offs', well I've attended quite a lot in the past (though none were AoS organised, this forum wasn't really doing them back then). These days I rarely have the time and usually have other social commitments when I do have a day off. As for hosting one, well I'm afraid that does not fill me with enthusiasm, but then I am hardly alone in that.

[struth]

Off topic stuff is community stuff really. Many enthusiasts are not into the idea of community so don't like it
That's fair enough

[AlexM]

Once you've been a member of a forum for a period of time, you start to notice the repetitive nature of threads, restatement of entrenched points of view and the generally bounded nature of the discussions relating to the core topic. From this point there tends to a progressive disengagement from the community and your interest level starts to drop off.

I think it's normal that a lot of forum users will go through a cycle of discovery, enthusiastic engagement and involvement, a plateau of interest and then progressive reduction in participation. For a lot of people who join a forum, there is a transactional nature to their participation - they have a problem or need questions answered and once the itch has been scratched they tend to fade away.

That's why there is a certain churn of active membership that goes together with a hard core of committed participants that enjoy being members of a virtual community on a long term basis. So it's just a hypothesis, but if less people are joining a forum because interest in Hi-Fi as a hobby is waning (as opposed to interest in music in general) do Hi-Fi fora experience a reduction in membership growth? it would be interesting to know what the trends are in new member signups, volume of posts per user and what the profile of volume of posts looked like over time.

For myself, as my sig shows, I haven't bought any new Hi-Fi stuff for a couple of years so I have less to tell you all about, certainly little that is novel or hasn't already been covered in depth by others. I still check in periodically but am certainly less active than I once was.

[YNWaN]

This thread has got me thinking about the concept of community and the Internet as a whole. In terms of creating a living, real community of people who know each other I think this forum is probably the most successful I am aware of, certainly it has achieved an element of this. It’s really difficult to create a sense of community without it turning into a members only club. Many people live too far away to ever meet up and even those that live within driving distance may, as with myself, struggle to reconcile preexisting social commitments. Ultimately the Internet is multinational and multilingual place that no amount of local (perochial) meetings is going to address. Discussion of area specific topics are only likely to alienate the greater whole - it’s very hard to offer a broad church, be inclusive and have a close knit quality at the same time.

[Ronksley]

I like forums against the more recent trend of social media and selfies where you cant have a discussion use to like message boards
but I am a pig headed know it all I know what I like
I am open to others opinions if I think they are worth listening to
At present I am at a end or stasis in my Hi Fi journey mainly due to lack of funds If I had a some money I pretty much know what I would spend it on and maybe some kit after I had got drunk
I do think that forums are on the decline but hopefully will stay I lurk rather than take part on aos I like the guys on here a bunch of Music lovers like me who just like to relax in front of the speakers to a good record or twenty

[Idlewithnodrive]

This thread has got me thinking about the concept of community and the Internet as a whole. In terms of creating a living, real community of people who know each other I think this forum is probably the most successful I am aware of, certainly it has achieved an element of this. It’s really difficult to create a sense of community without it turning into a members only club.

Audio Abattoir is another music / hi-fi (loosely) forum that is very heavily based around community / bake-offs / groups of friends and they make it work really well. Really vibrant, busy and fun, with a lot outside of hi-fi going on. Sometimes a bit irreverent but all in good spirit.

I think, as some have said here, that the way to keep a forum alive and relevant is definitely to promote a sense of community and lives / personalities outside of the mutual interest.

[Barry]

Audio Abattoir is another music / hi-fi (loosely) forum that is very heavily based around community / bake-offs / groups of friends and they make it work really well. Really vibrant, busy and fun, with a lot outside of hi-fi going on. Sometimes a bit irreverent but all in good spirit.

I think, as some have said here, that the way to keep a forum alive and relevant is definitely to promote a sense of community and lives / personalities outside of the mutual interest.

My brief acquaintance of Audio Abattoir is of a spin-off forum, populated by potty-mouthed individuals, who seem to like to out-gross one another in the first instance and who also happen to be interested in music and audio.

It's not the sort of forum that would interest me, and certainly not the kind of forum I would want to see AoS become.

[Idlewithnodrive]

Certainly not suggesting that AoS apes Audio Abattoir Barry. Forums are a broad church and I am illustrating that it is possible for the community to become more than the forum.

[Marco]

My point wasn't really to criticise the non hi-fi/audio content of forums (and certainly not this one in particular) but to point out that forum contribution often has little to do with the apparent subject of the forum and more about the 'club' element. Therefore, to look at forum life and relate it to music and hi-fi is to view these subjects through a very specific and distorted lens (which is pretty much what you said).

Sorry, Mark, I'm somewhat confused as to what you mean...

I'm not moaning about the forum stuff I don't like, I just ignore it - but in this case it seems related to the question the OP raises and for the reasons given above.

My earlier comment about "moaning" wasn't aimed at you, but rather some real sad cases out there, who don't have anything else better to do with their time. And they don't seem to realise that the more they carry on doing it, with no adverse reaction from their intended targets, the more ridiculous and pathetic they look, which is saying something, as they were pretty ridiculous and pathetic to start with!

As for 'bake-offs', well I've attended quite a lot in the past (though none were AoS organised, this forum wasn't really doing them back then). These days I rarely have the time and usually have other social commitments when I do have a day off. As for hosting one, well I'm afraid that does not fill me with enthusiasm, but then I am hardly alone in that.

No problem, I totally get that. My point still stands though, that it's the meetings and get-togethers members have with eacb other, which grows the community and ultimately sustains the forum's existence, and so the folks who organise and attend those events are to be congratulated for the time and effort they've put in.

We'll always seek to encourage members to participate in bake-offs, etc, as it not only grows the community, but we also value those who make the effort (and who like you contribute their knowledge and experience), more than those who seek to 'hide' and keep themselves to themselves, or simply take from the forum without giving anything (or much) in return.

At the end of the day, you'll always only get out of something what you're willing to put into it, and in that respect forums are no different from anything else in life.

Therefore, it's only to be expected that the 'takers' amongst us (those who never spend any time meeting and getting to know other members, and who selfishly use forums simply as their personal 'information resource') will ultimately never get as much out of the experience, or be afforded the same kudos by other members or management, as their 'giving' counterparts...

That's perhaps something for some folks to think about!

Marco.