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I really enjoy this site. I enjoy reading the comments in the forum section, and I find the reviews very helpful as I build my personal collection. But I have found that many people who were at one time very involved in this site have not posted or reviewed for several years.
There have now been almost 8,000 SACD's released, and I am finding with the people I listen to music with that the interest in SACD continues to grow. I have got at least five people interested enough in SACD to go out and purchase players and disc's in the last two years.
I am just wondering what has happened to those who were once involved, and is there some way to get them re-involved? Zeus, is there a way for you to send out a mass e-mail to all members reminding them about the site and the continued interest in the SACD format?
Just a thought.
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Post by zeus August 7, 2012 (2 of 132)
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classicrecordings said:
I am just wondering what has happened to those who were once involved, and is there some way to get them re-involved? Zeus, is there a way for you to send out a mass e-mail to all members reminding them about the site and the continued interest in the SACD format?
People come and go. My concern is that the forum has become stale and with too much bickering. I also have little time for armchair critics here. I've been giving all this thought for some time and there's likely to be significant changes in the future, aimed more at discussion on available content and less unfocussed exchange. I don't have anything more to add at this time as I haven't made any decisions yet.
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zeus said:
People come and go. My concern is that the forum has become stale and with too much bickering.
The bickering and the unfair and odious carping at certain labels has driven away at least two very nice friends I met here about 6 years ago.
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Post by SnaggS August 7, 2012 (4 of 132)
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I used to check everyday to see if any new releases had come out, but its not up-to-date any more, so I don't tend to come here as much.
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Post by akiralx August 7, 2012 (5 of 132)
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Windsurfer said:
The bickering and the unfair and odious carping at certain labels has driven away at least two very nice friends I met here about 6 years ago.
I was a keen site reviewer until a couple of years ago, my review numbers and posts have reduced dramatically. Two reasons:
1. The boring discussions about the technical specifications of recordings.
2. The unpleasant comments from several users, who I'm amazed are still allowed to post - they should have been banned years ago.
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akiralx said:
I was a keen site reviewer until a couple of years ago, my review numbers and posts have reduced dramatically. Two reasons:
1. The boring discussions about the technical specifications of recordings.
2. The unpleasant comments from several users, who I'm amazed are still allowed to post - they should have been banned years ago.
Yup. Bitrate carping and personal attacks characterize an annoying amount of the posts here.
Honestly, though, part of the problem is that there isn't as much to discuss as increasing numbers of major and mid-size labels are abandoning SACD. Channel and BIS and Pentatone rock, and there are a few other labels as well. But...while lots of discs are still coming out, many if not most of them are live recordings of provincial european orchestras playing the same core repetoire. Much of it seems aimed solely at audiophiles, and is mostly of niche interest.
I'm not denying that great stuff is still being released...but less and less of it overlaps with the broader classical market.
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All I can say to the above is 'ditto', and then a bit more...
I was a keen poster and reviewer until several months ago. Then I basically gave up, when I realised that the pain was consistently outweighing the pleasure of participating..
1) The fundamental reason was continuous ill-informed, boorish and just plain nasty ad hominem attacks from the well-known carpers and jihadists on this forum. Whether or not we like it, some people seem only to want to contribute bile and prejudice. All web fora have morons like this, but SACD.net just seems to have more than its fair share.
Some moronic jerks systematically going through all my reviews and retrospectively trashing them after one heated debate was the final straw. Enough is enough.
2) Second reason? The reviews in this Forum are - for the most part - simply not credible and believable. Over-marking was always rife here and - as a separate thread notes - five stars are systemically awarded to palpably sub-par sound and performance. And, frankly, some of the staff reviewers are the worst culprits.
I am not sure why this should be so. I do not for one instant think there is corruption or 'buying of stars'. I suspect sub-par equipment may explain some of the more bizarre observations. Plus many reviewers seem not to be aware of what live music actually sounds like, and consequently value affect and artifice over musical veracity. There is also widespread ignorance, apparently, concerning great recordings of the past, and the standards they set. The bottom line is that when 5 stars has almost become a default for new recordings, something has gone fundamentally wrong.
3) The quality and utility of most threads is now minimal, in some cases zero. However hard most forum members seek to discuss music, performance and the SACD medium, they are regularly trashed by the yahoo brigade, resulting in threads degrading to sterile technical nit-picking or rampant yar-boo shouting matches between the same old culprits.
This is very much connected, I feel, to the pervading intolerance of divergent or heterodox opinion in some quarters. Different opinions or perceptions are great; they can stimulate constructive debate and resolution. But just how much of this do we see in this Forum? Instead we see knee-jerk hostility and attack whenever YOUR opinion differs from MINE. That's childish and wholly destructive to the overall tone and standard of debate in this Forum.
4) One of the highlights of this Forum was always its ability to reliable inform of new and forthcoming recordings. When this went, so did my main reason for visiting this website.
I know of several folk who, for very similar reasons to the above, no longer participate actively in SACD.net.
Best wishes. Sort these out problems, and I'll be back. And I'm happy to help.
I nearly forgot. OLYMPIC TEAM GB ROCKS.
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Since I seem to be the source of some people's angst, I will leave. May the celebrations begin.
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Post by Arnaldo August 8, 2012 (9 of 132)
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flyingdutchman said:
Since I seem to be the source of some people's angst, I will leave. May the celebrations begin.
Don't be such a cry-baby and rejoin the flock. While you may be a pain in the butt, there's no witch-hunt out to get you...
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Post by Arnaldo August 8, 2012 (10 of 132)
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Jonalogic said:
Sort these out problems, and I'll be back...
Please Zeus, don't change anything or else Colonel Gaddafi is coming back from the dead. I promise I'll behave!
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