Another modest proposal: TOP BILLING FOR SSS

[Duddits]

OK, here's another proposal I'm happy to live with if I'm the only one who feels this way. (It's one of those days. Thank you for your patience).

 

SSS is the preeminent forum on the bulletin board, so why not give it top billing? I'm pretty sure the contract states that unless Tom Cruise or Will Smith start a forum in Harmony Central, SSS should be the first to flash the screen. Also, I'm a little concerned about the size of SSS's trailor, but that's another matter. The important thing is there's fresh orange for all members before posting.

 

Forums like Counterfeit Info Central are important (I didn't know cheap Chinese tuber indicum truffles were being shamelessly passed off as the rarer French tuber melanosporum truffles... who knew?!) but shouldn't SSS, with its storied past be situated above this useful yet nichey newcomer?

 

I don't mean to sound petty and again, appreciate the fresh orange juice, honestly I do. It's just that during these turbulent times, sometimes the most important issues need to be addressed head on.

[Anderton]

Well, I get to determine the order, so you're talking to the right guy...

 

I put Pro Reviews first because they've been very popular and it's mostly an SSS spin-off with a dedicated purpose.

 

The Counterfeit forum will probably move down at some point, but frankly, it has exceeded my expectations and is providing a valuable service. I definitely want to spotlight it until it becomes fully established.

 

I also put the "temporary" threads like trade show report discussions above SSS because of their transitory nature. They need to attract a large number of people for a short period of time.

 

So, I appreciate the kudos for SSS but there's a reason for what I do with respect to forum order and it seems to be working. But it can always be adjusted as needed.

[Duddits]

Thanks for the explanation! Makes sense.

 

Also, just wanted to let you know that I'm not just here for the orange juice.

[Anderton]

Personal to Dudddits: The catnip is hidden just under the DJ Booth forum.

[MrKnobs]

Well, as one of the last white presidents of South Africa once said, "The only difference between South Africa and the US is that here we have apartheid by law, and there you have it by custom."

 

SSS has top billing, and has since it arrived.

 

What's needed, in my very humble opinion, is more mixing of the indigenous peoples (old HC folks) and the new "overlords" (Musicplayer folks). Personally, I've been trying to to facilitate that, and certainly there is no "apartheid" by law here, but customs run deep it seems.

 

I guess with time all things will work themselves out.

 

Terry D.

 

P.S. Lest anyone accuse me of having this opinion because I'm an old HC'er, you're welcome to check the archived MP boards and you'll see I was a longtime forumite there as well, just not *quite* so frequent a poster.

[Duddits]

 

Personal to Dudddits: The catnip is hidden just under the DJ Booth forum.

 

 

Thanks... good to know!

 

(Although what's with those DJs and their private stashes?!)

[Duddits]

 

Well, as one of the last white presidents of South Africa once said, "The only difference between South Africa and the US is that here we have apartheid by law, and there you have it by custom." SSS has top billing, and has since it arrived. What's needed, in my very humble opinion, is more mixing of the indigenous peoples (old HC folks) and the new "overlords" (Musicplayer folks). Personally, I've been trying to to facilitate that, and certainly there is no "apartheid" by law here, but customs run deep it seems.

 

 

I believe once the laws in South Africa were altered to discourage the proliferation of RIP and Pun threads, the population of Johannesburg diversified almost overnight. I can only believe that if it worked in South Africa, it can work here as well!

[soapbox]

 

What's needed, in my very humble opinion, is more mixing of the indigenous peoples (old HC folks) and the new "overlords" (Musicplayer folks). Personally, I've been trying to to facilitate that, and certainly there is no "apartheid" by law here, but customs run deep it seems.

 

 

There are a great many HC posters who I would welcome here; but there's an HC subculture that's not only tolerated but seemly nurtured, one that enjoys character assassination and criticizing authority for no other reason than that they're in charge. I'd just as soon those members stay away.

[Anderton]

SSS has top billing, and has since it arrived.

 

The position of forums doesn't relate to "top billing" as you'd have with a band at a club, but flow. The off-topic forums are toward the end because, well, they're not what this site is all about yet they are a vital part of the site. We didn't want people going to the site for the first time and hitting an off-topic forum...can you imagine someone being told "hey, there's this cool music site" and the first thing they hit is the Political Party? A lot of times they didn't come back.

 

At MP, SSS was the equivalent of Open Jam but much more on-topic - particularly because I changed it to being more on-topic once it came to HC. So, it was logical to put SSS where OJ had been as that retained the spirit of having something eclectic to draw people in, but was more representative of the music-oriented nature of the site as a whole.

 

Since then, I've felt that the Pro Reviews and Trade Show discussions were an even better introduction, so that's why they jumped to the top over SSS. The Counterfeit forum is providing a public service, so that comes before SSS as well.

 

So, after you've checked out some gear in depth, found out what was happening at the latest show, made sure you don't get scammed when buying a guitar, and gotten into an eclectic mix of topics, then you get to the more specific forums and finally, the more off-topic ones. Any of this can be changed at any time, of course, and we're always open to ideas about how to improve the flow.

 

What's needed, in my very humble opinion, is more mixing of the indigenous peoples (old HC folks) and the new "overlords" (Musicplayer folks). Personally, I've been trying to to facilitate that, and certainly there is no "apartheid" by law here, but customs run deep it seems.

 

It's important to remember that when HC was bought, it was in trouble and had MF not come along, it's likely there would be no more HC, or at least one that would be dramatically reduced in size. The infusion of MP people helped tremendously, and they needed an environment that encouraged them to stay. Simultaneously we certainly didn't want to continue losing the HC loyalists, so we figured we'd keep what they wanted but also give them more options, more forums, and more people to converse with than before...as well as a site that actually continued to exist

 

After HC was purchased, the numbers kept dropping for a while because the "indigenous people" continued to leave, and many MP people didn't like what they saw. Fortunately, the owners think long-term, and didn't panic. We concentrated on content, what with the article library, videos, pro reviews, etc., and worked hard on search engine optimization.

 

As a result we started attracting a new audience who often came for the videos (we've had videos with 40,000+ views in the first week!), but then checked out the forums. And the happy ending is that we now have a bunch of people who were neither on MP nor part of the "old" HC, and they can basically find anything they want on the site. As a result, at the present time everything about the site that can be measured by a metric is growing - traffic, posts, ad revenues, newsletter subscriptions, amount of time spent on the site by individuals, etc.

 

Eventually, I think these newcomers will help keep the site strong by providing new ideas and new blood. There's much more potential for this site than just keeping the indigenous peoples of HC, or attracting the refugees from MP who were tired of MP's unwillingness to put any resources into the forums (thus losing people like George Massenburg, Roger Nichols, etc.). I would like to think we are creating something new here that combines the best of HC, the best of MP, and perhaps most importantly, elements that neither site had before. The process is not yet complete by any means, but we continue to work toward that goal.