How other people see us...

[Jim Alfredson]

So I'm doing a google search on "organissimo" tonight (just for shits and giggles) and I run across this comment on another music forum:

Names have been removed to protect some person and his/her made-up alias that means nothing in the real world B) ... actually because it's not important.

Member#1:

I've always wondered.

Do you post at the Organissimo forum <name deleted>?

I got a little ambitious in that forum, and now I feel a bit ashamed to post there.

Member#2:

I lurked a bit, but all they seem to do is talk about politics and insult each other. If I wanted to discuss politics I would go to a Political BBS.

And the only music they seem to discuss is Blue Note recordings. There is only so much Hard Bop you can discuss or listen to. 

If it made you feel ashamed to post there than it's not the place to be.

These post are from January of this year.

Is this really how people see us? Personally I've been growing very tired of the politics forum. The same arguements, the same people arguging, the same insults, the same bullshit, nothing ever changes. I feel like it's just a couple of bullies who live across the street from each other, shouting at one another from their bedroom windows, but never actually listening to one another.

What's the solution? I don't know. But I'm not impressed if this is how some people see this board. I did not create this place in order for it to turn into a juvenille shouting match.

[Brad]

I don't want to get into the politics thing again because I've fought that battle and lost repeated times. What I wanted to say is that recently I heard from an old member of the BNBB who used to post there sporadically and I asked if he'd checked us out. He said he had but found this board "aggressive" and that he liked to post at AAJ. I didn't follow up but found it a little puzzling. Perhaps he was referring to the politics board, I don't know. I pass that one up so I can't offer any more. However, it left me a little unsettled that we might be viewed that way.

[JSngry]

This whole "Board X a bunch of blahblahblah" shit is really getting tired.

Community is cool, but get real - this is a CYBER community, not one that you have to really freakin' LIVE in.

Enjoy it for what it is, ignore what you DON'T like (and I haven't had much real interest in the political stuff for quite a while now), and let it be. "Feeling ashamed" about posting to this, or any other board is just TOO wierd.

The diversity of the posters here, and the topics/interests they bring, are what appeals to me, as is the availability of genuinely deep musical experience. With diversity comes "personality", with "personality" comes "color", and with "color" comes the potential for somebody to get pissed off if they can't handle a world other than their own.

So this board has some lively, fiesty, and randy personalities afoot.

Boo fucking hoo.

[JSngry]

And as for the "all they talk about is hardbop" shit, well, yeah, SOMEtimes, but by no means always. I get as weary of it as anybody, but that's far from being the only type of music that gets discussed here.

Pay attention.

[Jim Dye]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. There is no way to keep everyone happy. It'll drive you crazy if you let it.

[Jim Dye]

And as for the "all they talk about is hardbop" shit, well, yeah, SOMEtimes, but by no means always. I get as weary of it as anybody, but that's far from being the only type of music that gets discussed here.

Pay attention.

Funny Rat, anyone?

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=5071

Edited April 15, 2004 by Irwin Mainway

[connoisseur series500]

It's always an interesting excercise to imagine how we may be viewed by outsiders.

As for politics, I'm sure people have noticed how little I post on this forum since I've started my new job. I now stick to only the fora and topics which interest me the most and no longer feel obligated to read just about everything posted. It was too time-consuming and I had to cut down on my Organissimo-time. I don't even look at the politics section anymore.

My point is that it is easily ignored if you choose to do so. I believe we are all poorer by cutting out opportunities for discussion or even mudslinging. The main thing is that the mudslinging be confined to a forum. It can be viewed as a kind of playroom where some things are allowed to go on which otherwise would not be allowed elsewhere.

That playroom is easily avoided for those not inclined to visit it. In my case, I can't do it due to time constraints. For others, it may be because they are more sensitive towards arguments. But I certainly wouldn't look to get rid of our playroom.

If an outsider judges Organissmo by its Political forum then that person is pretty shortsighted and pretty darned narrowminded. There's a lot more here than our politics forum. I wouldn't sweat over what others think if they adopt that kind of circumscribed view.

[Soulstation1]

we should just be allowed to talk about big john patton and lee morgan

ss1

[Rooster_Ties]

This place would be pretty boring without all the variety we have, and we do have quite a bit of variety. We are what we are, and as long as any one (or just a few) posters don't come in and wreck the party -- then I'd say things are pretty much "OK" just as they are. Not ideal, to be sure -- but what the hell would be an 'ideal' version of this place be like anyway????

I just did a similar search, b3, and other than that one pair of posts (in one thread, on another board) -- I couldn't find a single reference to Organissimo (the band, or these boards) that was in any way disparaging (and I skimmed through something like 20 pages of Google hits, and clicked on about 20 or 30 of them).

Some days Politics rules the roost. But usually the non-political threads outnumber the political ones by 3 to 1 (or even by some wider margin). There’s a lot of shit going down in the world (has been for a couple of years), and I’d much rather have too many political discussions going on here, than none. (And those are my choices -- since it would be hard to limit the political discussions, without eliminating them completely.)

Some of what you describe about this place is probably true, b3, but only in a manageable minority of the threads around here. AND, for the most part, people do pretty much keep the political banter out of the non-political forum areas.

Could the place be a bit better?? – sure. Could the place be a LOT worse – that’s for damn sure. This place still kicks the old BNBB’s butt, and I’d rather hang out here than any other forum I’ve ever been on. Some people won’t agree, obviously, but that’s just the way it goes.

[JSngry]

Ok, it was Geoff who was "ashamed". I think he means that he's a bit "ashamed" to post here because he came on too strong with his "expertise", and got called on it (but usually in a friendly-if-tough way, as I remember) more than once.

Geoff, I said it then, and I'll say it again - you're on the right track. WAY so. Making your "mistakes" now is how you learn. The only thing to truly be "ashamed" of is NOT learning from them.

If, on the other hand, you mean that you're ashamed to post here because of the collective ignorance in the face of your brilliance (and I don't think you do, but I gotta cover all the bases here), well, that's ANOTHER mistake you're making.

As for the "lurker", who knows, and who cares?

Edited April 15, 2004 by JSngry

[Jazzmoose]

When I look at how my CD buying has changed over last year (new releases, way up; free jazz, way up; Blue Note and other hard bop reissues, dropping porportionally all due to this board and the posters I communicate with here), I honestly don't understand the "all Blue Note" criticism. Yeah, this board is Blue Note heavy, no surprise there considering our past on the net, but nothing else? Absurd.

[Jazzmoose]

And if the poster who is "ashamed" to post here means that as a "I embarrassed myself so I'm afraid to go back" ashamed, I hope they reconsider. It's no big deal, and nobody's keeping score. Not that I've ever embarrassed myself here...

[wesbed]

The aggresive nature of this board, if it can be called such, has taught me much. If you want an honest answer about jazz music, information, opinions, history, post it to the Organissimo board. You may or may not like what you get in return, but it will be an honest answer derived from several knowledgeable opinions. Take from it what you will, listen to some music, than add your own opinion if you so desire. Around these parts, it's acceptable to agree, to fight it out, to love on one another, throw rotten tomatoes, name-call, take sides, express your opinion, and engage in discussion. There is no physical harm done. To me, this is what a good online discussion community is all about.

Organissimo is a lively and self-sufficient board. It creates its own life, aura, and energy. The various members keep the board alive and continue to keep the board alive. I've noticed the moderators at AAJ trying to start discussion by posting given topics now and again. There's hardly any activity, period, at the Harlem.org board. You can put a fork in it over there. She's done.

Whether the political forums are liked or not... they are needed. If there is no outlet on the board for political banter, the exact same political posts will pollute the non-political and music forums. I believe this is a part of human nature. The political forum is a necessary evil, or pleasure, depending on how it is interpreted. I like that I have the choice to post-in, read-in, or completely ignore the political forum.

Hard bop only? Hmmm... I'm thinking of recent discussions of ELO, reggae, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, WAR... to name a few. This is a jazz bulletin board.

Blue Note only? Hmmm... I'm thinking of many recent discussions revolving around Mosaic, to include Verve, Pacific Jazz, Roulette, and Vee Jay. What about Shigeo Miyamoto and Tamaki Beck?

Edited April 15, 2004 by wesbed

[casanovas347]

i don't care what peps say....i like this board! Because it looks very honest, and you can let of steam if you need it as long you not hurt somebody else....there are other forums they have problems with the f-words...life is too short and we are all the same.....mmh? ok, not all LOLOLOL!

thanks to the admins, mods and organissimo.....great job!

GREETZ

paco

[Harold_Z]

I don't find this board overly aggressive at all. I made a personal decision when I started posting on boards to not participate in political forums. That alone eliminates 99% of aggressive attitudes. For me it's hard enough to express my Haroldist and Z-ism political opinions in person, let alone in print, so I decided to let that one go.

[EKE BBB]

I don't find this board overly aggressive at all. I made a personal decision when I started posting on boards to not participate in political forums. That alone eliminates 99% of aggressive attitudes. For me it's hard enough to express my Haroldist and Z-ism political opinions in person, let alone in print, so I decided to let that one go.

Ditto, Harold... except that mine are Agustinian stupid political opinions...

B)

Agustín

[7/4]

Hard bop only? Hmmm... I'm thinking of recent discussions of ELO, reggae, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, WAR... to name a few. This is a jazz bulletin board.

Blue Note only? Hmmm... I'm thinking of many recent discussions revolving around Mosaic, to include Verve, Pacific Jazz, Roulette, and Vee Jay. What about Shigeo Miyamoto and Tamaki Beck?

Yep. Silly comments.

And when I post to the What Are You Listening to thread, no one gives me crap about listening to non-jazz music like Morton Feldman or Hinduatani Raga. Even DownBeat steps off the the worn path some times.

Plus what Sngry said.

[Claude]

The BlueNote-centricity is still there, but it's slowly improving. Of the 40 last threads in the reissues forum, only 10 deal with Blue Note albums . But in the Box Set forum, 35 of 40 discussions are on Mosaic sets.

[Guest Chaney]

As members, we're each imperfect so why should we expect this board to be perfection or everything to all people?

What I want to know if where are all the silent members? Check out the posting stats:

Members who've never posted: 145

Members with one post: 81

Members with 2 - 10 posts: 130

TOTAL: 356

Over half the membership of this board has posted fewer than 10 times.

Have we scared them away?

C'mon people! We want your knowledge. Spill it!

Edited April 15, 2004 by Chaney

[Dan Gould]

So where was this posted, Jim?

[Claude]

Google finds it

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Over half the membership of this board has posted fewer than 10 times.

Have we scared them away?

Alot of folks probably drift in and sign up just for the heck of it and have no real intention of actually participating now. They see something they like and decide that they might just want to cruise back at another time if for some reason their currect favorite nesting spot goes in the tank (geez, never seen that happen before ), or they tire of it...or get locked in a death feud with someone and decide to flee....or whatever else.... By signing up they've basically thrown down a sleeping bag and feel like they can come back to crash whenever the spirit hits 'em. There are also people who have a favorite spot for asking one kind of question...and another spot for another. Oftentimes, rather than ask certain questions about audio related matters here....I'll go to an audio forum where no one knows me. And it's not because the technical question is one that someone here couldn't easily answer...it's just kinda like ya don't want to feel like a total dunce for not knowing what passive line-stage means, for instance. I mean, get real! ...everyone knows that passive line-stage is when ahh, um, um, um, um ah, um.... what is it exactly?

[Dan Gould]

Google finds it

Thanks, Claude.

Jim, I would not worry about this too much.

[jazzbo]

Why almost anyone here could tell you that it is a line stage that is "not active."

It might sound "agressive" though.

[J.A.W.]

Why almost anyone here could tell you that it is a line stage that is "not active."

It might sound "agressive" though.

That's one thing I never understood: how can it "sound" if it isn't active? Isn't it supposed to add nothing to the signal? If it sounds aggressive, then the aggressiveness surely must come from the source or an active part, or?