Abrsm Forum Chat Room, How would you feel. Options

[A.U.K]

I notice that there are endless threads that seem to become way off topic and lose their way and I just wonder if this forum would be better served if they, the powers that be, installed a chat room where the "Chit Chat" aspect of the board could take place...it would clear a lot of the endless postings which become way off the subject and which must confuse some people who are either new or trying to contend with a thread that suddenly loses its way...I myself have moments when I have posted in a way that didnt serve the thread and it annoys me that I have done it and strayed from the point, easily done but easily rectified.

How would the members feel about this, is a chatroom something that they would like, are you tired like me of seeing so many threads get "hijacked" and turned into something far from what they started out as. Does the endless posting of unrelated comments distract you or drive you from posting what maybe useful advice when you face what appears to be page after page of comments that bear no relation to the subject in hand..

Speak up if you have had enough of the mindless postings, maybe a chat room would suit those who like their forums that way..

Maybe this has already been suggested in the past maybe not but I for one would be very happy to see a chat room where the endless chit chat could take place and not clog the board...it would make the place easier to navigate and far less intimidating to new members who must surely view it as cliquey and also to the shyer members who do not post very often.

Kindest regards

Andrew

[Malone]

Sounds like a good idea! There are many threads which I have to search back to find the last relevant post and its frustrating!!

[SarahSax1986]

I assume you mean something like gabbly? (www.gabbly.com/forums.abrsm.org) Perhaps it would be a good idea, but people have used gabbly in the past and it never seems to catch on, only ever attracting people for about a week..then it dies...and I could see that happening if there was a chat function.

There are plenty of Chat threads about that people could use and people don't seem to use them...Only CISD and the Double Bar are still being used and ones such as the Womens and Gentlemens club (can't remember the propper name) just become unpopular.

I agree it is a problem on this forum and I admit to contributing greatly to the problem but I guess it's just a habbit and is for others and habbits are hard to break.

[A.U.K]

I think we have all been guilty of it from time to time, some more than others but it takes hold of a thread so quickly and in some cases destroys the threads intention that maybe a chat room would be a better place for the "YAY" and "WOO HOOO" gang to exercise their internet lives and discuss things not remotely connected with the board in a freer enviroment, clearing the board and keeping the topics relevant. I had a search the other day for a thread that had been posted not very long ago and had no luck finding it, it had been driven clean of the board, there was however thread after thread that had been hijacked beyond all redemption which seemed a real pity and some are just using the threads to Chat amongst themselves...I felt a button on this board for a chat room where people could go and chat endlessly might be a good idea...

Kindest regards

Andrew

[Dulciana]

What exactly IS a chatroom? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) What I think would sometimes be good is if it was possible for a thread to become three-dimensional, if you know what I mean, like balls on a snooker table, but I have no idea how that would be possible. As in - rather than see all the posts in linear order, we can see tangents going off to the side, as 'by-the-way's, or 'while-we're-on-the-subject's. I suppose that would require a moderator to be fully employed to track a particular thread as soon as it started, and to be trusted to make decisions as to what was irrelevant and what was pertinent. A Big Brother...? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[mrbouffant]

To be fair, I think the idea of the Forums Cafe is to act in the manner of a chat room. i.e. anything goes, as long as it is within the "rules of the board". Given that this is a music forum, rather than just a generic social networking site, one might think it very hospitable of the mods to make this concession to general bonhomie... It didn't exist before the 2005 upgrade...

I'm not sure if when you talk about topics disappearing under the weight of trivia whether or not you mean musical topics or a non-musical topic which you found of interest.

For the former, the natural home is not the Forums Cafe. The difficulty with General Music Forum right now is it is subsumed with pinned threads (some out of date) which make it hard to see the wood for the trees. Your idea already mooted therein about a (sub-)forum for Concerts and Events would be a great way of dealing with that and then perhaps it would be easier to find what one was looking for in GMF.

If the problem is with interesting non-musical threads disappearing in the Forums Cafe under a cloud of banal chuntering, well I guess that is just the way it is - how far does one take it? The Games and Newbies sub-fora were factored out separately as a means of reducing the thread attrition rate in the Cafe. These were definitely categories of post which were easily discernible and hence could be redirected elsewhere. The difficulty with a "banalities" forum is that a value judgement would have to be made on nearly every post which was made as to whether it was trivial/crass/WOOable enough to go in there or not. A difficult and thankless task, I fear....

[lucky045]

Isn't that what the forums café is for - it's for banal chat, not related to music - and chat does occasionally go off the original topic... I think a chatroom could be fun too, but I don't really think anything's wrong with the way things are now.

[skylark]

it would make the place easier to navigate and far less intimidating to new members who must surely view it as cliquey and also to the shyer members who do not post very often.

This forum was the first one I'd ever seen or joined, and I used to feel somewhat intimidated myself about joining in, and that was nearly a year ago so I think it's always been the same. But it's like being a new kid on the block and wondering how to join in when everyone else in the playground seems to be having a good enough time without you. Some people approach a gang they like the look/sound of and introduce themselves, and join in that way. Most people though, like myself, just start making the odd tentative post here and there, see how it goes, and then one day you realise that you're no longer skirting round the edges but you're there in the thick of it, and you wonder how did that happen (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) So if there are any members reading this who haven't yet taken the plunge, do join in if you'd like to - I don't know if the forum gives the impression of being cliquey like AUK says or not, but in my opinion, new members are generally warmly welcomed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) And if you do join in a conversation and your post is not acknowledged, please don't take it personally - that's just the nature of forum conversation. Keep contributing, because that's how we all get to know each other (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

How would the members feel about this, is a chatroom something that they would like, are you tired like me of seeing so many threads get "hijacked" and turned into something far from what they started out as. Does the endless posting of unrelated comments distract you or drive you from posting what maybe useful advice when you face what appears to be page after page of comments that bear no relation to the subject in hand..

I had a search the other day for a thread that had been posted not very long ago and had no luck finding it, it had been driven clean of the board, there was however thread after thread that had been hijacked beyond all redemption

AUK I can't think of any thread recently that has been "hijacked beyond all redemption", let alone "thread after thread", but then they might be threads that I haven't visited. Can you say which threads you're talking about so that I can understand what you mean and where you're coming from (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I had a search the other day for a thread that had been posted not very long ago and had no luck finding it, it had been driven clean of the board

As far as I know, threads remain on the board forever unless they are removed because they break the rules.

Do you know about the "search" facility at the top of each page? If you can remember who started the topic, or who posted in it, or one or two key words, then it's usually easy enough to find something using the "search" facility (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[maggiemay]

The difficulty with General Music Forum right now is it is subsumed with pinned threads (some out of date) which make it hard to see the wood for the trees.

Yes - a very good point from Mr B. I have found this to be a problem and probably missed some continuing threads which disappear from the first page when there is so little space.

[skylark]

The difficulty with General Music Forum right now is it is subsumed with pinned threads (some out of date)

Re the Leeds thread, just to confirm that I sent a message to the mods the other day when it was first mentioned, requesting them to unpin it.

[barry-clari]

The difficulty with General Music Forum right now is it is subsumed with pinned threads (some out of date) which make it hard to see the wood for the trees.

Yes - a very good point from Mr B. I have found this to be a problem and probably missed some continuing threads which disappear from the first page when there is so little space.

I and others have put on one of the event threads (the Leeds one, I think), that perhaps, with the great popularity of the forum events now, the time has come for a sub-forum for events, linking to the general music forum....

[BachPensioner]

One thing that is notable about this thread is that there is responsible use of quoting, rather than wholesale repetition of the same text with perhaps just a smilie at the end. That makes a big difference.

[skylark]

I think the use of smilies is a tricky one. I agree it can be irritating to go to a new post only to find it's a smilie, particularly when your computer is being particularly slow, but on the other hand I think they sometimes serve a polite purpose in acknowledging a previous member's conversation, whilst at the same time not progressing the conversation any further. It's a tricky one... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Deborah]

AUK, as mrbouffant said, you should have been here before the 2005 upgrade. Yes, threads do get hijacked, and some of them are probably posted in the wrong board (there's at least one recent thread in GMF which belongs in the Cafe). This is surely a job for the moderators, but as they have full-time jobs at the AB already I can understand why things might not always happen.

BachPensioner - I agree entirely regarding quotes! Better or worse (depending on your perspective) are the threads which are a quote from a previous post and nothing else.

If we're listing favourite grumbles, mine are the "Happy Birthday" threads for people who posted once a year ago and haven't logged in since.

To anyone bothered by the pinned threads, may I recommend "view new posts"? This brings up a list of all of the threads which have had posts added since you last logged out. Whether the pinned threads bother you or not, don't forget the orange boxes. Click on the orange box and it takes you to the first post made after your last visit to the thread in question. I think you may have to have biscuits enabled on your computer for these to work though.

[carol*piano]

Personally, I like the mixture on the forums of serious musical posting and mucking about - I would be most disappointed if all the mucking about had to be taken elsewhere (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
I like the fact that I can read/make comments about musical things and act like an idiot at the same time - a combination of my two favourite pastimes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)