Hello fellow Audiosexers,
when I joined the forum many years ago, we were in pretty different shape. Things were fresh and there was an aura of inception. I remember my first thread, where the second comment was "this guy must be crazy".

That put me away from posting for a while, but I came back because of one person that defined the aura of Audiosex for me, a person which I never had a problem for a while, but then they went too far. And while I have been personally affected by this person's actions, I cannot deny the fact, that this person, Catalyst made an image of what this forum was.
I won't go into too much into detail, there were enough threads about him, but the one thing he has done right was to inspire.

We had an image, Audiosex wasn't just another forum on the webz. Members were eagerly joining in to participate.

And since the incident, it seems to me we have started to lose that image, that aura of uniqueness that made me check the boards every two hours.
Why is that you might ask?

Is it the newcomers? Member count?

Or us, old farts with our opinions and arguments?

I don't think either. We have lost the idea of what this place should be, what defines AudioSex as the forum to join and enjoy.
It is partly my fault as well, I haven't been vigilant enough to represent the core values with my every post.
Running this place to its full potential requires abundance of power to motivate others.
When life happens, priorities change. But that isn't the main reason. It's procrastination and my unwillingness to solve all the issues. I openly admit it, in recent times I have been sometimes avoiding the boards not to take in the drama and negativity that seems to be persistent.
The issues were always there, even back then when I joined.

BUT

Let's rebuild this place together!

Let's revive this forum to its original glory and core priorities - helping others, sharing knowledge, collaborative projects, cooperation and friendship

Write two things which would help to make your experience here better. And please be as specific and constructive as possible.
If you're hinting an issue, please suggest its resolution to your satisfaction.

 

Hello @Andrew ,beautiful words you shared above ^ with us !

^
I like when old members here help new ones with their knowledge ,i try to share anything that i know so i encourage everyone to do it too !
I also like when we make Audiosex Albums ! ,it feels like a big Family here !

I would like to dedicate the lyrics/vibe of this track to ALL MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM ,spread the love :

 

The only things missing in this forum are active, responsible and fair moderators.

 

I have no suggestions, but I still think this place is great. While sometimes there are threads that seem to miss the point, at the same time there are threads that reflect exactly the reason it exists.

 

I don't totally agree with what you said. I've been here on and off for a few years, and while I sometimes stumble over some drama or in-fighting or whatever's going on here, the threads I start or comment on are usually filled with exactly the kind of folk that made me want to join the forum in the first place. I assume we're all adults here; we can go to the parts of the forum that are productive or fun and we can rap with the people that we genuinely enjoy talking to without having to get embroiled in unnecessary online drama or fight with trolls for 100 pages.

 

1.: Mods and Admin should show more balls and immediately close, better delete threads which lead obviously to nothing good and are only provocative and not intended to bring forth this forum and it's intention (i.e. "why do I have to learn how to: use a DAW, use a compressor, use an EQ, mix, play an instrument...", "why is modern music bad, talent gone after the age of xx, ...", "I have no brain, why can't DAWs have one?", "why are assholes round and bricks angular?" and so on and so forth, I think you got the idea).

2.: Don't feed the trolls!!! If you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty but the pig likes it!

 

Ive been visiting and participating in music forums for almost 20 years now and this is basically the only forum that I still enjoy or actively participate in. Even with its flaws, its still a pretty cool place and a lot of that has to do with its members. I know that not everyone here is exactly role model material... we all have our hang ups and flaws. But to me, that is the charm of interacting with others. You're not always going to agree with everything everyone believes in, but at least it opens up an opportunity for acknowledgement, understanding and communication. What doesn't interest me is the homogenization of exchange.

From my own experience, nearly every forum community I've been a part of has gone through cyclic changes. Personally, I think it's inevitable. People eventually become indifferent, but for every one person that decides to move on, there is another waiting to participate and bring something else to the conversation.

It may not seem that things are as memorable or inspiring as they used to be, and that's ok. Those that care about the community and enjoy interacting with others will always make an effort to continue doing so. It can be sad to see long time members leave but there will always be new members eager to share, contribute and continue to carry the torch.

 

I was following this forums as a guest long before I signed up and it has changed, but that's to be expected, at least to some degree. I do think some issues/conversations/debates could use some moderation, but for the most part, this forum isn't too far off the mark of what it should be.
As per ideas on how to improve it? A *bit more moderation, not in any sense of censorship or anything (with obvious exceptions,) but stepping in where someone is purposefully derailing a conversation to the point of distraction. There a select few who feel the need to just stay outside of *technically being a troll, but that doesn't mean that they aren't filling a threads pages with savagely off-topic rants and personally answering every individual, percieved slight. For the *most part, though, I do have to go with the age-old "The government that governs least, governs best," bit.
Basically, I agree with Iggy:

though, that being said, I find that it's become more difficult to find threads that aren't peppered with dipshittery, to some degree, anyway. (And yes, I am fully aware that dipshittery is not a word, but I feel it fits.)
And, as Spyfxmk2, mentioned:

I completely agree. I believe the last one--which,to my knowledge, never happened--was the Europa album that I made a cover for some while back. Maybe try and kickstart some albums on a bi-annual basis? Everyone seemed pretty hyped on the Jazz Journey album, and the overall discussions definitely took on a more positive and supportive feel, and, whether you feel that AudioSex has become more negative or not, a little more positivity is always good.
One more thing. Don't beat yourself up to much, Andrew.
AudioSex and the vybe that it has cannot be altered by a moderator, it must be something that comes from each person taking a second to think before they post some new, negative thread or rattle off some angry rant in response to something that they disagree with (and I'm certainly not excluding myself from that; it happens from time to time.) And then there are people who don't really have any investment in this forum, who are going to disrupt the site, each in their own special way, but, honestly, if the rest of us don't fuel these trolls, hacks and, of course, your average person who just likes to throw out an incendiary comment and watch people squabble and bitch, they will go away.
I'm not approaching all of this with some naive attitude that sways towards either optimism or pessimism. At the end of the day, AudioSex is a collective of creative people, so sparks are inevitably going to fly and people are going to fling some shit from time to time, but that doesn't mean it has to be on the regular or be what defines this forum.
Anyway, just my two cents....

 

I dont think I was reading or paying that much attention to the forum that long ago to remember any significant difference so, I find the forum pretty good as it is now.

I come hear to find answers to questions regarding all sorts of technical issues, or just to see new music uploaded and comment on some fun topic. a pretty light kind of use of the forum I would say so I dont see any problem really with how things are today.

now, sure if I peak in into the typical drama threads then you can experience the worst but I most often dont have time or interest, just take a fast look, confirm my suspicions and leave that thread.

my only suggestion would be:

obvious loudmouth bullies should be kept on a leash! and kicked out after just a couple of warnings, THAT calmes the whole atmosphere in here immediately, and creates a sense of stability AND signals the fun an interesting people to dear and want to participate.

pure logic tells me there are hundreds of such cool and nice people who today choose just to read, to just avoid being dragged into futile fights and childish drama.

 

Count me in!!

 

I maintain that this forum is a hell of a lot better than most audio-related boards, even with the occasional side-trips into Assholeville. I've almost never seen a newbie post a half-assed mix or ask a genuine audio-related question on here and get viciously attacked for their troubles. Just the opposite, in fact. Instead, most of these guys are encouraging and give decent advice. There are people on here actively being creative. Try to find that on Gearslutz or a product-specific forum. Unfortunately, it's a public venue and that means, the good and the bad go hand in hand. Don't feed the assholes and they go away.

 

Everybody knows about Gearslutz and KVR, right? I've been participating in those forums for many years, since late 90s. Nowadays I rarely even visit them any more. Why? Because AudioSEX.

But I'm not really a forum person, so I post rarely. I mention that because someone might think if I don't post much, I don't like the forum. No, it's just how I work.

This is a wonderful and generally very friendly forum, unlike the two aforementioned ones [at least these days]. I find them both full of cretins that make me don't want to visit any more, unlike this one.

So I say: just keep it up as it is. It's fine.

Cheers!

 

1 post per day (exactly 1,087652760219132)

 

This is the only forum I read on a regular basis, so I guess it's not a bad one... ;)
I must admit that I avoid topic which are too "sensitive" for my taste (ie:political, religious...) and prefer focus on those which speaks about music.
My only suggestion will be that mod should be more strict against troll and bully.

 

I have to agree, but, sadly, Gearslutz isn't the worst of them, as it's mildly helpful if you can find the one correct answer/recommendation after sifting through the 5,734 comments about how everyone is wrong but them and yet they themselves have no answers.
A perfect example is Future Producers, which I used to frequent, but soon found out is really just a Big Ol' Hunk of Online Egos which ignore new, lesser educated members seeking help and advice (or just mercilessly berate them,) and is filled with more misinformation (and, sometimes, disinformation,) than you'd think is humanly possible to collect in one place.
AudioSex is still the best out there, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement.

 

I think that some folks forget the uniqueness of this place and get caught up in mind gymnastics as in who is smarter and more knowledgeable than the other. Negativity abounds at times.
Catalyst may have been an inspiring character but he was also a bully so let's not forget that! People were afraid at times to express an opinion in case he banned them (and he did do that) I remember!
Apart from that I love this forum, there are so many decent people who contribute to the discussions and when people are looking for some help with software issues then there are plenty of people willing to share their knowledge to help them out.
You got to take the rough with the smooth and if you disagree with a post then you can just ignore it.
There has been a lot of disagreements recently and that is part and parcel of Human existence. If it doesn't happen here then it would happen elsewhere.
The fact that this forum is still up and running and as strong as ever is testimony to the people that inhabit it.
Let's not get caught up in past glories Andrew and just be thankful that we are still a community however fragile it may be at times.
Peace

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2018

I've learned more about production here then anywhere, but I've also learned how to be a human as well. A magical place truly

 

I totally agree Kung!

 

It's not that Gearslutz is unhelpful so much as it's filled with a bunch of armchair engineers who would rather sneer at somebody's ignorance instead of remembering that they were once that kid who was asking what "VU" stood for or whatever and actually help the poor S.O.B. Here, at least, you get twenty guys who will actually answer the kid's question (sometimes humorously) for every one or two dickheads who insist on putting him down for not already knowing the answer.