Guitar/Music Discussions Lacking?

rcsnydley
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:02 pm

I'd like to make an observation if I may. It seems to me that a lot of the recent and most active discussions are off-topic and non-guitar/music related. Is that true or is it just me?

Every time I check the "recent discussions" on the forum they are either off-topic or song request. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with having these discussions, but guitar and music related discussions seem to be getting fewer and farther between.

I know I am as guilty of not adding any new musical content as anyone. So, for my part I will endeavor to find some more questions and topics relating to the guitar and music to help stimulate that avenue of discussion.

Thanks for listening
Ric


eric123
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:05 pm

Less Muppets ..more music...

Amen


BigBear
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:34 pm

Ric- I respectfully disagree with you and Matt. There is only so much guitar stuff we can talk about. There are over 20,000 forum members, each with their own needs. Some are extremely active because they choose to be, others are not.

This forum has achieved a level of camraderie I've never seen on any other forum I've belonged to. That is testament to what Neil and crew have created. We can literally talk about anything, including off-topic, whether it always pertains to guitars or not. 99.9% of the posts are civil and thoughtful.

Yes, the Muppet thing is silly but so what? It's just filler until a more pertinent topic pops up. And it binds people from all over the planet. What does it hurt, really? If others aren't interested don't join in.

As far as pure music topics go, they are often the least useful and interesting. I started a thread on "Improvisation". That's a huge part of the guitarist's toolbag. I was hoping for some discussion and I think I got one response, from my friend Chas. Obviously, it wasn't interesting to very many people.

A recent post, under "Ask Neil", was regarding music theory and the chords in each key. Neil was swamped with the server change over but no members jumped in to help. The poster got frustrated by the lack of help we provided! Another pure music theory question and no one found it interesting enough to jump in! I didn't feel qualified to answer it.

I think the challenge now is the forum is so big, the same guitar questions get asked over and over again. No one is going to spend the time to search the site to see if the question has already been asked. I would lobby for a permanent forum aection called "Frequently Aked Questions". Under it should be threads like "Barre Chords", "Music Scales and Patterns", "What Strings Should I Use", etc. At least we could collect all those questions in one place.

Ric, I'm certainly not opposed to more music or guitar questions but if there aren't any, do you suggest we let the forum just stand stagnant? I beleive that would drive members away in droves! IMHO, of course! LOL!

Rick


jdrdracing
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:49 pm

Just to be clear..

Not no Muppets...just more music..

Their is no way in a bazillion years Bear you can tell me theirs not enough music to discuss..from theory, to new music, to events in the music world...its a huge universe..and it grows daily..

What we are working on here is having some "qualified folk" participate in the technical side..so that questions posed are not left too long and that the burden is not entirely Neils..as I have him focusing on lessons for you guys..

I have a lot of stuff coming down the pipeline for TG and I need him where he is best served as always ...so we will be having some folk jump in here who can help people over some of teh technical hurdles..

I do love the community... you are correct it is unique...and we never want to dampen that spirit, I also want to point out that as new people come on board the muppet group needs to open their doors to membership and build the comraderie..or else it is just another clique..

My suggestion is we fill the boards with questions and tidbits and videos and interesting discussions, and allow the community to see how diverse it is..even if you are posing a question that is obviously technically based and would require some expertise to answer, I will be working on that additional support next couple of weeks, so get the posts in...and they will be attended too shortly..

I love the idea of an FAQ or beginners sticky..

I think we will never stop those posts being made even with that reference but we can point folk early on to the FAQ section early on..so..Ill look at how quickly we can get that organised..

Bear would you kindly begin a thread that lists everything you think would count in an FAQ section and well get everyones input..

Put it into question format..

ie - "What pick thickness should I use" etc etc

We will collate the thread next couple of weeks and make that happen..

Thx all, thx bear


BigBear
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:04 pm

Matt- I'm with you a 110%! Do you have any sense why the music-related threads get such poor response? I'm thinking maybe because those threads can usually be answered definitively. Once theyare answered the thread stops. Other topics like "Favorite Band", "Les Paul Dead at 94" are completely open ended and the thread can go one forever. That's good because new forum members can jump in even months later.

As far as welcoming new members, I feel the Muppets and many others have tried really hard to welcome people and encourage them to introduce themselves. But with 20,000+ members and growing rapidly, it's really hard to keep up. All we can do is keep trying. We have been very successful in getting some new people to become major contributors.

I will glad start collecting the items to place in the FAQ section. Glad you like the idea! I think it could develop in to a major resource.

As you say, Cheers, mate! :cheer:


Chasplaya
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:09 pm

HI I thought I'd add my 15cents worth here, like Bear I think a FAQs section is a brilliant idea I suggested it many moons ago in one of those threads which seems to have died. As for welcoming new members I note Bear does this with every newbie and encourages them to post in the Please Intro yourself thread, I also look at the new members on the Home page and try and send off a Friend requests to them all, in my post to them I Welcome them to the TG and endorse what is going on here, nearly every member that joins one of the groups I've started I also send a PM and welcome them both to TG and the group. But with the increasing membership this is getting harder to do. And again with Bear I have never in all the years I have belonged to Forums seen such camraderie develop so quickly as here. The Muppet thing well its harmless fun its in the Off Topic area which clearly sends the message this is not necessarily about guitars and music. It does however encourage 'Esprit de Corps. Music topics and guitar questions again Neil got swamped and those of us who feel qualified do try to help out, but this it seems is not what some members expect given they are paying for membership. An answer to that is to maybe select a few of the guys as moderators either for technical advice around guitars or music, select some as Forum moderators to help keep things on topic. As well as vid lessons Neil could post a short lesson on the Forum for theory, I note this is a topic many have sought already, more theory, it could be set up for Admin only so responses not allowed, it could even combine with a TARGET theory short vid if practical lesson required, this would neatly follow basic adult education principles of Short theory and why you need this, followed by Demonstration showing how, and then finally set practical exercises so members can actually do the aspect of theory. Oops I think thats 20cents worth


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Music Junkie
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:50 pm

I'm very guilty about the off-topic posts........ I have just gotten to know some really great folks here, and when I get to know someone, I like to talk about other stuff as well.

I have noticed that many questions that lie squarely in the music categories do fizzle out quickly or don't really get answered well enough (I try to help out from time to time, but my skills are not such that I feel capable sometimes).

As far as the Muppets, if anyone likes a character and is willing to spout off once in a while, feel free to jump in the deep end. The more the merrier!!!!!!!

I love the idea of a FAQ section. That is always helpful and sure speeds up the search for answers.

So, sorry to anyone that was disappointed or bummed.... I certainly would not want the site to become anything other than a great place to share guitar ideas and knowledge. However, a little nonsense keeps us young as well.

MJ


AndyT
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:50 pm

I think Bear pointed it out that serious music questions get answered very quickly and since the answer is usually straighforward the thread dies on its own. How many people can give the same answer over and over?

There have only been a very few that have sat without answer for more than a couple of days. When I see that happen, I try and post some sort of response just to let the questioner know we did not ignore them. Not much else we can do if we do not know the answer.

The muppets and other silliness were taken to the off topic forums to keep the main site free for music Q and A.


Lavallee
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:18 pm

I personnaly like the very deep non guitar topics that are raised. Everybody think this is a great site (otherwise they would not be here). A good combination of seriousness and sillyness or of non importanceness is critical for the longetivity of the site. If it gets too serious whoever is interested to improved by do not not expect to live out of his instrument will drift away. I agree with the FAQ or some kind of order to find a an answer of your burning question. The first goal of all members is to enjoy Neil' s lessons, but having a smile , or expanding your horizons doing it is better.

My splash

Marc


BRBbrb
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:52 pm

May I add: those of us who have become muppets are the older site members so our karma has been quite built up from age alone. Therefore we are listed in the "Top Members" section on the homepage; as I recall, 3 out of 5 of us are muppets. To a newcomer it looks like, as Matt said, a clique. That is not our intention; it's just we have become like family here! I understand the concern & will switch my pic back to my ugly mug - it was fun tho :)


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