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[Frosty Jack]

I was just thinking that one of the most useful things that I remember from the AUBL site is the comprehensive list of bands. It's also a fine feature of the Granite City Guide. How feasible would it be to create something similar on here? What I'm thinking is a regularly updated list of bands who are featured on this site, along with a list of band members who are forum users. Obviously there is space in a users profile for bands, but this is not always used - sometimes it is quite a surprise to find that a certain user is a member of whatever band etc. Maybe also a wee one line update on current status (eg currently touring, looking for a drummer etc)
This would make it easy for anyone with an interest in a particular band to check the list, and make direct contact with a band member on here. And it might just encourage more users to join up to represent their band...
Would take a wee while to gather all the info, but I'll volunteer to administer it.
This would not be a full list of Aberdeen bands, gcg probably do that way better, but it would be a list of Aberdeen-music bands. Might help a bit of two way communication between us and gcg too.

[Jan]

Hmm, that does sound like a good idea actually.

[Tubthumper]

I like it.

[Lucky Rathen]

Good idea that man.

[Humey Whilem]

Great idea. Sidenote: What's with the gcg? Hardly anything on the calendar.
Hope it picks up again because the idea is great.

[diarmaid]

The granite city guide.
And yeah that sounds like a good idea to me.

D

[Chris]

I like this idea. Dunno what plugins vBulletin might have to make it work. Perhaps there's a list plugin or some kind of wiki that could enable the site users to add their bands to it without our intervention.

[Neil]

Yep, vBulletin can be integrated with MediaWiki (the software behind Wikipedia). I even had a demo site up at one point but abandoned it because the integration wasn't as "tight" as I'd like. I'll revisit this though and see what progress has been made since then. I think a Wiki is the way to go because manually putting this information online and, more importantly, keeping it updated would be a bit of a nightmare. Bands are forming and splitting up all the time after all.

[spellchecker]

Originally Posted by bob bouma

Great idea. Sidenote: What's with the gcg? Hardly anything on the calendar.
Hope it picks up again because the idea is great.

i think ian put it down for a rest because neither the promoters nor bands were doing the bare minimum to get the listings in. i think certain promoters (not sure who) didn't pay for adverts after they promised to, and the whole process of getting listings from promoters / venues / other interested parties was beginning to be comme le floggage du cheval mort.

as the original developer of the terribly un-aesthetic yet functionally useful website, i am sad that it has not been kept up to date by those whom it directly benefits, i.e. promoters and bands. the website at its peak was getting around 500 hits a day which was great news for aberdeen - that so many people were interested in what's on in aberdeen - and testament to the burgeoning live music / entertainment scene that often exists in the toon.

as far as i know, the website is still up and running and you can enter content for submission, so if anyone has a an urge to get it going again, contact the promoters, or do the work yourself if you are keen enough. it was a very useful resource for me personally.

[soundian]

Originally Posted by spellchecker

i think ian put it down for a rest because neither the promoters nor bands were doing the bare minimum to get the listings in. i think certain promoters (not sure who) didn't pay for adverts after they promised to, and the whole process of getting listings from promoters / venues / other interested parties was beginning to be comme le floggage du cheval mort.

as the original developer of the terribly un-aesthetic yet functionally useful website, i am sad that it has not been kept up to date by those whom it directly benefits, i.e. promoters and bands. the website at its peak was getting around 500 hits a day which was great news for aberdeen - that so many people were interested in what's on in aberdeen - and testament to the burgeoning live music / entertainment scene that often exists in the toon.

as far as i know, the website is still up and running and you can enter content for submission, so if anyone has a an urge to get it going again, contact the promoters, or do the work yourself if you are keen enough. it was a very useful resource for me personally.

That about sums up the GCG. Money owed by promoters/venues stands at more than £1000, they can't be arsed spending a few minutes filling out the online form or even sending me an email without (in most cases) repeated requests, and bands very rarely put their own listings in or updated their profiles.
So, in a nutshell, I was paying for the privilege of spending hours putting in listings to directly benefit the very people who weren't paying me.
The amount of bands that entered gig/band details was always disappointing, it was a popular free resource and they didn't even have to sign up to enter listings, we made it as easy as possible to get the information onto the website, but still hardly anyone could be bothered.
If that hasn't completely poured cold water over the idea, two things I'd advise are:
1. Full moderation for band profiles, it's only a matter of time until someone decides to write an "amusing synopsis" of a band. I think you already know who the likely candidates are.
2. Have a 6 month limit on each profile, if it isn't updated in that time you should maybe send out an email asking for confirmation of the information. There's so many bands that just quietly fade away that the area (if anyone bothers using it) will, in a few years, become clogged with defunct bands.