Great content, lousy layout and communication
Besides the unnecessarily confrontational initial response to what were perfectly valid and politely expressed complaints (I agree with them wholeheartedly - including the bit about the quality of the lessons themselves, which is the only thing that really matters to me), there was also something that seems counterfactual: the people who frequent the forums are certainly tight-knit -- to a fault, even. But from what I can tell, that tight-knit group represents a relatively tiny proportion of the total membership, and perhaps even of the people who look at the forums but who -- for one reason or another -- choose not to post much, even if they might like to. Some of them might have jumped in to actually help the guy, but their reticence to post at all might have stayed their hands.
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cosmicmechanic
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[EDIT] I wiped the original of this here post ... it was a poor choice of words ...
Sorry to expose you to a real case of "lousy communication".
What I meant is: Let's stop and smell the flowers.
Sorry to expose you to a real case of "lousy communication".
What I meant is: Let's stop and smell the flowers.
It is amazing how constructive feedback is anathema on here (to some people). The team who are working to improve things, and Neil, are well aware of the 'weakesses' but if anyone has the temerity to voice their criticism, no matter how eloquently or balanced, the knee-jerk kicks in.
dtaylor wrote:
Which is mildly disappointing, because the forums *could* theoretically offer a lot of value. But 18 years of working online has proved to me that participating in Internet forums is often like boarding an airplane or driving on a freeway -- the people setting the pace aren't always the ones you'd prefer.
For instance, Neil and I had some back and forth on ragtime music over the last couple of days. Nobody else chose to join in, and the conversation just died. Last night I happened on a PBS show about ragtime that hit on a bunch of the points our conversation, and points Neil made in his news vid. I was just coming in here to post about that -- but, you know, screw it. Why bother?
I'd *love* to be able to talk in an adult way about music with a bunch of fellow guitar players. But when the subject is actually interesting or enlightening in any way, or truly music-focused, few have anything to say.
But I'm basically fine with the situation: I'm here to get better on guitar, and thanks to this site, I am -- no exaggeration -- at least 10 times better than I was when I joined, and the forums have had nothing to do with that.
Hey, a few months ago, I posted a response to someone's negative feedback, which wasn't very constructive at all, by making a couple of polite, basically neutral observations, pointing out that the criticism was overblown, and concluding with heaps of praise for both the quality and quantity of the lessons. My post was pretty clear, but I nonetheless got some uncomprehending, inarticulate rage-bombs thrown at me by more than one member of the "tight-knit group" as if I were "trashing the site," even though I was explicitly doing precisely the opposite -- just as I basically did in this case. This kind of thing is just one of several reasons that I (and, from what I can tell, most other members) don't participate much, and derive value mainly from the lessons, where 98 percent of the value lies.It is amazing how constructive feedback is anathema on here (to some people). The team who are working to improve things, and Neil, are well aware of the 'weakesses' but if anyone has the temerity to voice their criticism, no matter how eloquently or balanced, the knee-jerk kicks in.
Which is mildly disappointing, because the forums *could* theoretically offer a lot of value. But 18 years of working online has proved to me that participating in Internet forums is often like boarding an airplane or driving on a freeway -- the people setting the pace aren't always the ones you'd prefer.
For instance, Neil and I had some back and forth on ragtime music over the last couple of days. Nobody else chose to join in, and the conversation just died. Last night I happened on a PBS show about ragtime that hit on a bunch of the points our conversation, and points Neil made in his news vid. I was just coming in here to post about that -- but, you know, screw it. Why bother?
I'd *love* to be able to talk in an adult way about music with a bunch of fellow guitar players. But when the subject is actually interesting or enlightening in any way, or truly music-focused, few have anything to say.
But I'm basically fine with the situation: I'm here to get better on guitar, and thanks to this site, I am -- no exaggeration -- at least 10 times better than I was when I joined, and the forums have had nothing to do with that.
Kevin,
Just know that there are far more people here who appreciate constructive criticism than there are those who view it as trashing the site. So I would encourage you to speak up anytime you've got a suggestion or an observation about the navigation or content.
One more thing: spend enough time here, and you'll learn whose forum feedback to value and whose to ignore. It doesn't take long, as you've likely already discovered.
- dennis
Just know that there are far more people here who appreciate constructive criticism than there are those who view it as trashing the site. So I would encourage you to speak up anytime you've got a suggestion or an observation about the navigation or content.
One more thing: spend enough time here, and you'll learn whose forum feedback to value and whose to ignore. It doesn't take long, as you've likely already discovered.
- dennis