[rickcr42]

jeez flumpus , not tryin' to be a hard ass but anything exclusionary is by definition wrong for those not involved in the discussion.Kinda like a click you can't get membership to because you are not cool enough or do not look a certain way.Now that may on the surface sound extreme,but being caught out is caught out no matter the reason.And some take that badly

rick

 

[The Quality Guru]

Wow. Way to many

and

for my taste around here.

Hmmmm . . .

. . . . . .

But I don't really mind.


Alright . . . . . Good bye.

 

[shivohum]

Quote:

I really doubt the private forum would split us.

But it inevitably would. In an ideal world, when someone posts a topic, the entire community of interested and knowledgeable participants, across Head-Fi, Headwize, Audio Asylum, SoundStage, Usenet, etc. would be available to respond. The more people who are knowledgeable and interested and who can respond, the more such people will. The more such people who do, the more interesting, complex, and deep the discussions will be. The less such people who do, the more shallow discussions tend to be.

Now admittedly in other interest areas, it might be better just to have the truly knowledgeable people together, and exclude the ignorant. This way the knowledgeable might be able to get into really technical discussions without interruption. But the way knowledge and experience with headphones is distributed, even relative newbies can have valuable things to contribute. It's not a scientific field where years of rigorous study separate experts from laymen.

You could also argue that having an isolated place for the experienced is good to exclude trolls and the rest of the normal internet pests. But Head-Fi is not inhabited by many of these (knock on wood). So that's not a concern.

So, a private forum would decrease the richness of posts without any real gain to balance that loss.

Quote:

some point I think it'll be necessary to do this anyway,

Why?

 

[Flumpus]

I agree that some are gonna take it badly, but the normal forum is gonna be the same. The people who join the private forum would most likely still participate in the regular forum quite a bit. I don't see how you could compare this to a clique... That does sound extreme, and IMO is completely unrelated to what we're talkin' about. And it's definitely not "wrong" to have an exclusive private forum. All I'm saying is it would provide a great way to support Head-Fi financially, not effect the usefullness of the forums (newbies would still get answers to all their questions), and provide for some great discussion to those who contribute to the forum.

Again, it's not my intention to exclude anyone, and I think when this forum gets big enough, something like this is going to have to happen anyway. We saw what happened with chu, and Jude did too, so he took on sponsors. He himself said he's still losing money each month, and it will only continue as the site gets bigger and bigger. Outside of alot more sponsors and ads all over the pages, this seems to be the best way to provide financial support for the site as well as provide benefits for those that give the financial support.

It's obviously not going to happen right now; there are too many people opposed to it. And that's fine, I just want everyone to know that his was not meant to be an attempt to exclude anyone.

 

[Driftwood]

ok, let me put it this way. How many people use both head-fi and headwize? I know a lot of people do, but as headwize is a lot smaller than head-fi, I know not everyone posts both places. For most people, there is simply not the need. Why segment things further by making a new forum that one must pay for? People will only post in one place or the other ultimately (IMO) and it will only detract from the community as a whole.

I think it is the same problem that was faced a little while ago when a foreign language forum idea was introduced. I mean, I know that money would help head-fi survive, but jude doesn't seem interested in this idea, and said that he wanted head-fi to be non-pay from the start. It only segments the head-fi population and makes people feel left out. Head-fi costs us all enough as it is, don't make people feel they have to pay more money to be a part of it.

If we want to contribute to head-fi, we can do it in other ways.
(email companies and encourage them to sponsor head-fi?)

Driftwood

 

[carlo]

jude,

how about another forum (a'la "outside" on audioasylum), a place where people can post freely about things unrelated to audio, as well as a place where arguments and discussions can be continued without hijacking a thread. for example, a lot of times (and i've been guilty of it) two or three people get into a discussion about something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything and the original point of the thread gets lost. pm'ing doesn't work since it turns into a group dynamic.

"outside" on aa is cool just because originally someone who knew about it would email a link to invite conversation, and it's grown to the point where people speak freely about a lot of different things. kind of like a cool little society. now, it's grown to the point where it's the only board on aa i regularly read. rod claims to convienently forget that it exists most of the time.

just a thought (hanging out on the irc server as well),
carlo.

 

[pigmode]

What an utter joke of a hairbrained idea. It just doesn't make sense. What will you do in a private forum that you can't do here? Furthermore, I can't imagine that any sponsors would be willing to take part in such an activity. There's a negative connotation from the get go.

It goes against the grain of what this place is about, imo. I remember back at Headwise when many of the most knowledgable members here were total newbies. Everyone was there to share knowledge and experiences and growth. That pretty much is still what is happening here.

 

[morphsci]

This is really funny. It reminds me of the arguement of Head-Fi vs. Headwize and the idea that advertisements would somehow taint the sanctity of our headphone discussions. Get back to me when you grow up.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Driftwood If we want to contribute to head-fi, we can do it in other ways. (email companies and encourage them to sponsor head-fi?)

Thanks for the thought, Driftwood, but maybe it's best to simply tell the companies who are already sponsoring Head-Fi at any given time that you're a Head-Fi'er if/when you order stuff from them.

Quote:

Originally posted by carlo how about another forum (a'la "outside" on audioasylum), a place where people can post freely about things unrelated to audio, as well as a place where arguments and discussions can be continued without hijacking a thread. for example, a lot of times (and i've been guilty of it) two or three people get into a discussion about something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything and the original point of the thread gets lost. pm'ing doesn't work since it turns into a group dynamic.

Now this is an idea to consider -- but couldn't we use this Members' Lounge for that? Or would you all want a separate forum for this? Admittedly, I've hijacked threads too. And to simply take issue with something that would inevitably go off-topic in a given thread and say something like, "I think that so-and-so is wrong, and I'll start a thread in the Members' Lounge (or Outside Forum) to continue this...."

What do you all think about this, everyone? Members' Lounge for this, or separate forum? I'm open to either.

 

[Driftwood]

jude, I do like to mention to companies that I am ordering things as a result of head-fi. It makes me feel informed and important, although they are probably just like "uh huh, so you wanted what again?" But it doesn't hurt... maybe enough of this and they will feel that head-fi is a pretty good place to send some advertising dollars.

also, I didn't think about moving an off-topic discussion to the member's lounge. I think I will do that in the future.

Driftwood

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I agree with Flumpus. We need to divide the members up into categories, based on the quality of their posts. I'm a busy man. I don't have time to sit around here all day and sift through all the crap. When I come here, I just want to cut to the chase. Just tell me what's important, and I'll be on my way. Even this conversation, one that I am participating in, I didn't take the time to read the whole thing. Who's got the time for that? Not me. I don't want to be here all day. As I said, I'm a busy man. I've got things in the hopper. I wish there was a "Headline News" version of Head-fi. It would really save me some time.

My vision for the board is a 5 or 6 tier division. The board elders would evaluate the posts and put us into groups. There could be the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Right by each person's name, you'd see the group they belong to. The Alphas are the top tier. They know a lot. When reading an Alpha post, you could be sure that you're spending your time well. The Epsilons are the bottom group. The Epsilons don't know what they're talking about. They're lucky they even know how to use a computer. When you see that an Epsilon has replied in a thread, you'd know to avoid that post.

 

[shivohum]

Jude, I think the Members' Lounge is fine for off-topic discussion (and it's been used for such in the past), but you may want to explicitly indicate that non-audio topics are OK, e.g. "If it doesn't fit in any other forum, try here. Non-audio topics are welcome."

 

[dhwilkin]

Given the number of non-audio-related threads in the Members' Lounge already, I thought non-audio topics were already welcome there, which suits me fine.

And I don't like the idea of a private forum, since it does tend to make universal discussion more troublesome. I like the idea of being a Premium Member better. You know, pay a low yearly subscription, and get stuff like a Head-fi e-mail address, maybe the ability to double the size of your avatar, or even actually get to see jude's official reviews on time!

 

[ai0tron]

Headwize and the idea that advertisements would somehow taint the sanctity of our headphone discussions

NO it somehow taints the sanctity of our interpersonal relationships

As would a private forum.

Excluding the ignorant just makes them more so.

The spirit of head-fi is education.

PS, why dont you get over the idea of having your own little "club" and grow the **** up???

 

[morphsci]

Quote:

Originally posted by ai0tron PS, why dont you get over the idea of having your own little "club" and grow the **** up???

Ah, now I see. That is a very educated comment.

Quote:

NO it somehow taints the sanctity of our interpersonal relationships

If an online BB is your idea of interpersonal relationships then I suggest you try and get out more. Interpersonal relationships can only be tainted by those involved not by outside forces.