I'm enjoying Head-fi Again

[chadbang]

Why? I finally decided about a month ago to stay clear of "take it Outside". That forum was giving me a headache and making me despise Head-fi and some of its members. In these highly-divided times, the last thing I needed was to hear more about the way the world is screwed up and ARGUE ABOUT IT.

How nice to be back to talking about music and equipment.

My recommendation if you're starting to get the Head-fi blues... stay INSIDE the music. Boycott OUTSIDE!

Peace.

 

[Welly Wu]

I still think that the Outside forum is a bad error on the part of the moderators and administrators because as Jude has said himself, "THIS IS HEADPHONE HI-FI!" If you take a good hard look at what makes Head-Fi work it comes down to talking about the music and the equipment in a fairly civil manner. Sub-forums such as Outside are totally unnecessary and out of the realm of Headphone HI-FI. If anything, my observations of the people and the discussions that have exploded in that single forum are a reflection of the regional and cultural differences of the United States of America with lesser emphasis on international politics. The threads about religion have been anything but "love thy brother."

 

[elrod-tom]

I've gone back and forth about that forum, sometimes advocating getting rid of it, and sometimes thinking that it's a good place to have a civil discussion about some interesting topics. Right now I'm leaning towards the latter.

I think that if Outside serves a purpose, it's to limit some of the acrimony that can crop up on the Members Lounge or elsewhere when one is discussing these topics. I'm thinking that, with a few exceptions, people who behave like jerks in Outside behave like jerks in the regular forums as well. The topics tend to be quite controversial, but we have our moments in the other forums as well.

For the most part, I think Outside serves its purpose. Occasionally, we get people in there who can't handle being part of a civil discussion of complicated issues. They typically find themselves excused from Outside rather quickly. For now, I think it works pretty well...but I reserve the right to change my mind.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I've rarely, if ever read or posted in that forum, and I don't really feel like I'm missing much

 

[tyrion]

I swore I was going to stay away from the Outside forum. In fact, earlier tonight, I was getting ready to post here about this topic when I went back to the Outside forum. I need to keep reminding myself that the reason I got involved here in the first place was because of the music. Not that I mind a good argument but I do that for a living so this should be my escape from my 9 to 5 life. Here I go again, no more Outside.

I see no reason to eliminate the Outside forum, however, as there are people that seem to enjoy it. While I certainly do not agree with all the opinions expressed there, I do not let that slip over into my interactions in the other forums.

 

[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang My recommendation if you're starting to get the Head-fi blues... stay INSIDE the music. Boycott OUTSIDE! Peace.

Good point, and good timing because I have been getting the Head-Fi blues lately, mainly due to a lot of the crap I'm reading in TIO. I'm just not going in there anymore.

Quote:

Sub-forums such as Outside are totally unnecessary and out of the realm of Headphone HI-FI.

I understand your point here, but I see this in other forums I belong to as well. For instance, I am part of a cycling forum, and there is a section where folks can go to voice their "political" concerns. I thought What, this in a Cycling forum? Then I thought again........hmmmmm.......well if Head-Fi does it......must be the norm. Keep all the controversial crap segregated from the stuff we are there to read in the first place. Kinda like keeping the toilets as far away as possible in a fine dining room.

 

[eyeteeth]

TIO is an OK diversion occasionally but is dominated by American issues and politics, which is understandable given the demographics of the Head-Fi community. Unfortunately American politics aren't that interesting having only two real political parties. The left versus right debates and struggles are kind of overly basic and predictable.

From a distance TIO can provide some good laughs though.

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer I've rarely, if ever read or posted in that forum, and I don't really feel like I'm missing much

ditto.

 

[tattoou2]

I've never even taken a peek into TIO and probably never will. There are too many other sites where one can vent, argue, and solve the world's problems from their computers.

 

[pbirkett]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adhoc ditto.

ditto x2

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett ditto x2

Make that x3. Every now and then there is a topic that could be considered a crossover between the member's lounge and outside, and I'll accidentally read the thread when I click on "new posts" but I rarely click into "outside" knowingly. It's just not interesting or fun for me at this point in my life.

 

[mbriant]

Chadbang, you are doing the right thing. If a particular forum or thread topic bothers you, simply ignore it. I'm not a big believer in cables and tweaks, and reading and/or participating in arguments about it are pointless and frustrating to me ... so I simply avoid the cables and tweaks forum.

The Outside forum was originally started when Head-Fi was a much smaller community to satisfy some member's desire to discuss topics which were not only not audio related, but were considered too "hot" for general discussion. There are a lot of intelligent people visiting Head-fi, and some of them do enjoy discussing politics, religion, and other controversial topics. Each to their own. Let's face it, in the big picture, many of these topics are ( or should be) much more important in a person's life than whether or not a certain headphone has muddy bass.

As long as members control their tempers, don't troll, don't make things personal and refrain from making personal attacks, don't intentionally insult others, and stick to the thread's topic, the Outside forum can be quite enlightening no matter which side of a discussion one may take. A lot of quality information and thought gets presented there. To prevent it from becoming an ongoing brawl, we've had to moderate a little more harshly than we'd like at times, but it's been decided that is better ( for the time being at least) than completely denying the option of more worldly discussions from those who enjoy participating. The Outside forum gives those who are interested a unique opportunity to discuss these topics with people of all ages and from all around the world. I think we're lucky to be offered this opportunity to have access to such diverse insight.

For those who aren't interested, or prefer to avoid debate and confrontation, follow Chadbang's lead and simply avoid Outside. But don't think that gets you completely off the hook .... I've seen some fairly heated arguments regarding muddy bass as well.

 

[Bill Ward]

I didn't come here to argue.

That being said, I think the forum serves Head-Fi by providing a venue for opinions and topics that some folks do want to explore. Like so much else here, it seems to be working.

BW

 

[warubozu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer I've rarely, if ever read or posted in that forum, and I don't really feel like I'm missing much

Ditto x4, TIO is the one forum I almost never frequent. I have no interest in getting into arguements about political, social, or religious issues with other members.

 

[gloco]

I always felt that TIO was a waste of time, anything that's not audio related belongs in the member's lounge. However, i think the age gap plays a big role in how people view politics, religion and other topics that some fear to tread into.