Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFuzzBox
It's almost concerning, that this site is at the center of portraying our music scene to the outside world. Anyone having a browse around the forums, would hardly call our scene "Buzzing", would they?
This is of course, at no fault of the designers + the guys who run the site. They have done a terrific job over the years, in keeping this site alive, and providing gig information etc to Joe Public, and still continue's to do so. They have provided a platform, that is clearly not being used to it's full potential. The problem with this site, is the people, not everyone of course, but that small community of "idiots", that plague the site, and seem to rear their ugly heads now and again. Leaving silly comments, and attempting to put people and bands/artists down, brings nothing to the table, does it? Sure, you get a laugh for a few seconds, and everyone likes a sarcastic comment now and again, but in the long run, I feel that this put's these people off even visiting the site...
In my opinion (Maybe someone who run's this site can clarify?), I would have thought the main objective for creating a platform like Aberdeen-Music, is to bring "unity" to the local scene, no? Unity is something that is seriously lacking up here, and it's every band/artist for themselves. AB-Music, have failed to attract "The other half" of the Aberdeen Music Scene, and I'm talking about the alternative genres, which (I think) mainly consist of Indie bands/artists. However, It's not just up to the creators to market the site, it's the users too!!
This site should be the focal point for everyone in Aberdeen that likes music. From every genre of local band, to Mr & Mrs Average, who love listening music (regardless if we think it's rubbish) - As far as I can see, this site has turned into a gig guide...but then again, maybe I'm wrong.
Nonetheless, there is certainly room for improvement, which is not a bad thing...!
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You're absolutely spot on. I would love it if more people in the local scene used this site and contributed to it. I know for a fact that many local bands have members who look at it, although they don't necessarily register or post, in some cases for the very reasons you've outlined.
We've done our level best over the last few years to limit the amount of bonehead comments from people who have no interest in the site other than to stir up mischief and perpetuate their own online notoriety. You wouldn't believe the amount of the amount of negative and frankly childish nonsense I've had to delete from this site over the years pertaining to the efforts of others trying to make a go of things in Aberdeen. It's a culture problem, one that is slowly improving but still a long way away from being fixed.
There are many members who make a positive contribution here too, starting threads about bands and issues they care about in the local scene, but ultimately the success of those threads is down to the people who respond to them. If a user puts time and effort into creating a thread but gets little or no response from the community, then obviously they're going to be disheartened and dissuaded from doing so again. This is why we (the staff) are so proactive in ensuring discussions are kept friendly, informed and informative
Obviously we're never going to get everyone to sing from the same hymnbook, and argument and debate are always going to be a part of this site, but people have to take a reality check and realise that what we have here is a unique resource for bands, venues and promoters to communicate and interact with each other. We're not doing this for the good of our health, we're doing this for Aberdeen. There are people on here who still hark back to the AUBL days, and the times when people could basically run riot on here without fear of censure. All I can say to them now is grow up, times have changed, the internet has changed, and our role has shifted accordingly.
If anyone has any suggestions as to how we can persuade the people who look at this site, but don't post or register, to become more active, I'd be very interested to hear them.