I'd like to get some opinions.... because I've been reading the threads....and paying attention. I haven't been saying much when boarders open new threads for topics which are already open....

would you like to keep the Contemporary Jazz forum as musical discussion forum and split "review" and "label" talk off into it's own forum?

Are there suggestions for keeping the forum more organized? Even I'm noticing that it's getting harder to find things.

I'll mention to Tony & D that the search function hasn't worked since we moved to the new servers in Spring, 2007.

Post away - interested in your ideas.

Kat,

I think a separate section for signings that we come across would be good.

But, then again, that would be self-serving to me.

All kidding aside, I think there's plenty of room for discussion on this matter.

It would be fun to talk about the different labels and what they are all up to.

From Peak to Heads Up to Narada to Artizen and Rendezvous (the new Big Five in my opinion) plus Trippin Records, Koch International and others like Larry Carlton's new 335 Music, it would be fun to have sort of like a tracker of future releases.

We'd have shorter discussion chains, but I think there would be much more substance to it. Like meat and potatoes as opposed to tofu (no offense to the tofu).

Those are my two bits.

How does everyone feel regarding this topic?

Signed with love,

Eric Viccaro
Peak Records' No. 1 fan!

Looking forward to Jessy J's debut "Tequila Moon" in March!

P.S. Just listened to the new Gerald Veasley track "Hear Now!" on "Your Move." I'm digging this sound!

As one who's on record as caring less about labels and more about the music and the artists who create it, I don't know that a thread for each label would be very productive. A fan of the Heads Up lineup may not read what's going on at Peak, although it may contain info we can all use.
We can pretty much expect the Concord family will be well represented, but how often do we hear about Verve, Reprise, etc.?
That's why I started the "New realeses, signings, etc." thread - in the apparently vain hope that everyone - including Eric and hbh - who had news to report would use that topic instead of starting a new one.
I've observed in reading message boards at All About Jazz, Contemporary Jazz and MySpace that members are becoming increasingly bothered by this practice.
Some examples of the kinds of comments I've seen:
- People start threads with no interest in discussing them, just so they can see their names in the "started by" column.
- Multiple threads about the same topic cause confusion, create clutter and make it more difficult for a member searching for a particular message to find it.
- It's a competition. One member gets some "insider" info about a new signing or upcoming release and just has to be the first one to say something. If the announcement is buried in an existing topic, other members might pay more attention to what was said than who said it.

Kat, I'll try to remember to share with you a copy of MySpace rules regarding this issue. I can't do it now, because I'm at work and these computers are blocked by Netgear. But I was looking at those the other day and thought we could adopt a few of them here.

Woody, I agree, I thought starting this thread may end the seemingly endless stream of "announcements" and such. And I'm guilty too, with Ken's stuff....but I think he's different, since he's a regular poster also.
Guess we'd have to discuss that.

I have no problem with us all using one thread, we just have to get the regulars on board with it.
And I like what you said about more music than labels...Verve sends me emails from time to time, and some of the artists there are still viable in my book. And there's several on Peak I could care less about, so let's keep it to existing and new artists/bands releases, regardless of label, and let's keep it in a single thread.

Agreed, folks??

Later
TonyY

I'm in agreement with Woody and Tony for the most part. I think Woody's initiative in starting a catchall thread for these announcements, as opposed to legit discussion about an album which would go its own thread, is a good idea. Keeps the front page lean and clean. (I don't think we need a separate section for this-- a thread should suffice and would probably be at the top more often than not anyway-- like the What jazz we're listening to thread)

I totally know the excitement of having the scoop but this thread idea can maybe help rein in that tendency to compete here. The thread would serve a good function for anyone wondering what is new without having to go all over the forums or use the limited search function.

Most forums have a sticky thread with guidelines and such, putting one together would be a fair thing to do. For example I've been wondering for ages if it's okay to describe our sites on the sigs instead of just posting a link, meanwhile some constantly point members to their site by starting threads. Some idea of what expectations are in general can only be a good thing.

Leslie,

Generally we have been ok with quotes in sigs - which can also be a description.... but the line that always gets crossed is the advertising, soliciting and marketing aspect.

Thanks to everyone who has responded/suggested so far. feedback and suggestions are welcome, so keep the comments going.

It's risky for me to comment so soon in the process, because I don't want anyone to think that I'm pressuring or trying to over-moderate. I just want to encourage the participation and try to address some of the underlying comments that I've been reading.
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So the following is my opinion, not a moderation thing -

I personally am OK with once a month announcement threads - for things that our members work on and participate in - like the various review and monthly websites.

I looked at the thread collection of this forum on the first page - and it's a little cluttered and there's been little participation in the threads since most of them are newsy and announcement like in nature.

What do you all think about guidelines in which members can start a "newsy" type thread to gather up all their monthly stuff?

Obviously, if a CD comes out that someone is enthusiastic about - and someone posts, that's great - so we can all discuss the release.

Announcements for the sake of announcing - without participation - is a signal that people are no longer motivated to either read or participate.

That's a cool idea, Kat.

Sounds okay.

Let me give my two cents to this discussion. I am a regular poster and writer since 1999. I have posted in several boards, many of them don't exist anymore.

In 8 years of observation I came to the conclusion, that a board with many rules and preconceived threads is drying up. A board with a main thread and many so called clusters is lively and will be participated.

Keep in mind: On this bbs are less than 20 active users! We have lived on this bbs several years without handicap and constraint. Don't kill a running horse with "innovation".

Just curious, what would be considered "active"? One post per week minimum?

I've posted sporadically here for over 10 years and participation seems at about an alltime low. I found there to be much more diversity here many years ago. That diversity may have had most to do with the (previous) members but it seems to me this BBS has tunneled into more of a pop instrumental/smooth jazz board, the later which we seem to loathe so much which is ironic since the genre gets so much mileage here.

I'm in support of anything that would encourage an expansion of jazz types.